50 free Southampton trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Southampton began as a church young men's team in 1885, gave Athletic Bilbao and Atlético Madrid their red-and-white stripes, and won the FA Cup as a Second Division side. This quiz covers the whole story: the six Southern League titles, the two early Cup finals, the bomb that cratered The Dell, England's first permanent floodlights, Ted Bates and Ron Davies, Lawrie McMenemy and Bobby Stokes in 1976, Kevin Keegan's two years, the 1984 runners-up, Le Tissier and Shearer, the 1999 Great Escape, the last goal at The Dell, Markus Liebherr and the League One rescue, Adkins and Lambert's double promotion, Pochettino and Koeman, Mané's 176-second hat-trick, van Dijk's £75 million, the two 9-0s, Russell Martin's play-off win and the 2026 spying scandal. Early questions suit anyone who has sung 'When the Saints Go Marching In'; later ones are for supporters who know their Antelope Ground from their Archers Road end: what the 'Even Season' was, which Spanish clubs owe their colours to a batch of Saints shirts, and who scored seven in one match in 1901. Good for a supporters' club night or a Hampshire pub quiz. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's article on the club and its records, and each question shows its source.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Southampton were founded in November 1885 by members of what organisation?
A church young men's association
St Mary's Church of England Y.M.A. gave the club both its name and its 'Saints' nickname.
Q 02Where did the young St Mary's side play most early games, interrupted by pedestrians exercising their right to roam?
The Common
Bigger cup ties were moved to the County Cricket Ground or the Antelope Cricket Ground.
Q 03How many times did Southampton win the Southern League championship before joining the Football League?
Six
They won three in a row from 1897 to 1899 and again in 1901, 1903 and 1904.
Q 04Southampton lost their first FA Cup final, in 1900, by what score to Bury?
4-0
Two years later they lost a replayed final 2-1 to Sheffield United.
Q 05Which two Spanish clubs owe their red-and-white colours to 50 Southampton shirts bought in England in 1909?
Athletic Bilbao and Atlético Madrid
A Bilbao representative who played for the affiliated Madrid club shared the shirts between the two squads.
Q 06The Dell, opened in 1898, cost how much to build?
£10,000
The club rented it at first and could not afford to buy it until early in the 20th century; it remained home for 103 years.
Q 07Southampton's 1922-23 campaign is known as the 'Even Season' because of what?
14 wins, 14 draws and 14 defeats
Goals for and against were equal too, and the club finished mid-table on exactly one point per game.
Q 08In November 1940 Southampton briefly had to play home games at Fratton Park because of what?
A bomb cratered and flooded The Dell pitch
The 18-foot crater damaged an underground culvert, sending the Saints to their rivals' ground.
Q 09In 1950 The Dell became the first ground in England to have what?
Permanent floodlighting
Two of its stands were rebuilt after fires during its 103 years, and by the 1990s its 15,000 capacity was the smallest in the top flight.
Q 10Which striker set Southampton's club record with 44 goals in the 1959-60 Third Division title season?
Derek Reeves
Ted Bates was the manager; Bates would go on to take the club into the First Division in 1966.
Q 11Which striker scored 30 of Southampton's 85 goals as they first reached the First Division in 1966?
Martin Chivers
Ron Davies then arrived and scored 43 in his first top-flight season.
Q 12Southampton's first European campaign, in the 1969-70 Fairs Cup, ended with a third-round exit to which club?
Newcastle United
Two years later they went out of the UEFA Cup in round one to Athletic Bilbao, the club that wears their colours.
Q 13Who scored Southampton's winner against Manchester United in the 1976 FA Cup final?
Bobby Stokes
Lawrie McMenemy's side had been relegated in 1974 as one of the first victims of three-down relegation.
Q 21Which former England manager took over Southampton in 2000, then quit for Tottenham a year later?
Glenn Hoddle
Jones had stepped aside to fight abuse allegations that were later proved groundless.
Q 22The last ever league goal at The Dell, in a 3-2 win in May 2001, was scored how?
A Le Tissier half-volley on the turn
Le Tissier had come off the bench late; the club moved to St Mary's Stadium that summer.
Q 23Southampton reached the 2003 FA Cup final, losing 1-0 in Cardiff, powered by 24 goals from which striker?
James Beattie
Q 14Southampton's 1979 League Cup final ended in a 3-2 defeat to which club?
Nottingham Forest
They had returned to the First Division the year before as runners-up to Bolton, captained by Alan Ball.
Q 15In 1980 Lawrie McMenemy stunned football by signing the reigning European Footballer of the Year. Who?
Kevin Keegan
He stayed two seasons, scored 26 goals in 1981-82 as Saints led the table for two months, then left for Newcastle.
Q 16Southampton's 1983-84 runners-up finish left them how many points behind champions Liverpool?
Three
They also lost that season's FA Cup semi-final 1-0 to Everton at Highbury.
Q 17Which Guernsey-born Southampton midfielder was PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990?
Matthew Le Tissier
He retired in 2002 aged 33 having won eight England caps and scored the last league goal at The Dell.
Q 18Alan Shearer announced himself in April 1988 by scoring a hat-trick against which club at the age of 17?
Arsenal
He left in 1992 for Blackburn for a national record of over £3 million and became the world's most expensive player four years later.
Q 19Which two Souness signings scored twice each in Southampton's 6-3 win over Manchester United in 1996?
Egil Østenstad and Eyal Berkovic
Souness resigned after a single season and was replaced by Dave Jones.
Q 20Which Latvian striker helped Le Tissier keep Southampton up in the 1998-99 'Great Escape'?
Marian Pahars
They had been bottom for much of the first half of the season.
The final was played at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium while Wembley was rebuilt; the club finished eighth that year.
Q 24Which manager did Rupert Lowe appoint in December 2004, days after he resigned at Portsmouth?
Harry Redknapp
He signed his son Jamie, went down on the last day, ending 27 seasons in the top flight, then went back to Portsmouth.
Q 25Which England rugby World Cup-winning coach became Southampton's technical director in June 2005?
Clive Woodward
He joined under Rupert Lowe in a much-mocked experiment while the club adjusted to the Championship.
Q 26Which 17-year-old left-back broke into Southampton's side in 2006-07 before being sold to stave off administration?
Gareth Bale
Walcott had become the club's youngest player at 16 years and 143 days a year earlier.
Q 27Which Swiss-German businessman bought Southampton out of administration in 2009, a year before his death?
Markus Liebherr
The main building at the Staplewood training campus is named after him.
Q 28Southampton's 4-1 Wembley win over Carlisle in March 2010, their first silverware since 1976, came in which competition?
The Football League Trophy
They had started that League One season on minus 10 points after administration.
Q 29Rickie Lambert, Southampton's first big signing under the new owners in 2009, arrived from which club?
Bristol Rovers
He won three Golden Boots in four seasons and was Championship Player of the Year in 2012.
Q 30Southampton's 2011-12 promotion season featured a club-record run of how many straight home league wins?
13
Nigel Adkins's side went up as runners-up to Reading, completing back-to-back promotions.