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| Full name | Bristol Rovers Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Pirates, The Gas | ||
| Founded | 1883 | ||
| Ground | Memorial Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 12,534 [1] | ||
| Owner | Hussain AlSaeed | ||
| Manager | Matt Taylor | ||
| League | EFL League One | ||
| 2023–24 | EFL League One, 15th of 24 | ||
| Website | bristolrovers.co.uk | ||
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Bristol Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club in Bristol, England. The first team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club's official nickname is "The Pirates", reflecting the maritime history of Bristol. The local nickname of the club is "The Gas", derived from the gasworks next to their former home, Eastville Stadium. Since 1996, the club has played home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield.
The club spent 89 years in the heart of North Bristol between 1897 and 1986 at the Eastville Stadium. Following a sale of the land they spent ten years at Twerton Park in Bath. The club's nickname: "The Gas" originally began as a derogatory term used by fans of their main rivals, Bristol City, but was affectionately adopted by the club and its supporters. Cardiff City and Swindon Town are considered their second and third biggest rivals.[2] Other rivalries include; Cheltenham Town, Exeter City, Forest Green Rovers, Plymouth Argyle, Torquay United and Yeovil Town. These rivalries are considered West Country Derbies and are often heated encounters. The women's team play in the FA Women's National League.
The club was founded in 1883 as Black Arabs F.C. and entered the Bristol & District League as Eastville Rovers in 1892. The club moved to the Birmingham & District League in 1897, then changed divisions to the Southern League as Bristol Rovers in 1899. They won the Southern League in 1904–05 and were admitted to the Football League in 1920. They were placed in the Third Division South the following year and remained there until winning promotion as champions in 1952–53. They recorded their highest finishing positions in 1956 and 1959, a sixth-place finish in the Second Division, before suffering relegation in 1962. Promoted in second-place in 1973–74, they spent another seven seasons in the second tier until relegation in 1981. They won the Third Division title in 1989–90, though this time lasted just three seasons in the second tier and were relegated back into the fourth tier by 2001.
Rovers won the League Two play-off final in 2007, but relegations in 2011 and 2014 saw the club drop into the Conference Premier. They finished second in the Conference under the stewardship of Darrell Clarke and immediately regained their Football League status with victory in the 2015 play-off final. They followed up this success by securing promotion out of League Two at the end of the 2015–16 season. They were relegated from the third tier in 2020–21 but returned at the first attempt claiming the final automatic promotion spot to League One.
Rovers have won the Gloucestershire Cup 32 times, the Third Division South Cup in 1932, the Watney Cup in 1972, and have been Football League Trophy finalists two times.
- ^ "Bristol Rovers consult residents". BBC News. 19 July 2024.
- ^ "Club rivalries uncovered" (PDF). Football Fans Census. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2008.