Stoke City F.C.

"Stoke City" redirects here. For the city itself, see Stoke-on-Trent. For the women's club, see Stoke City F.C. Women.

Stoke City
Full nameStoke City Football Club
Nickname(s)The Potters
Founded1863; 161 years ago (1863) [1][2][3]
1868; 156 years ago (1868) (first recorded match)[a][5][6]
as Stoke Ramblers F.C.
Groundbet365 Stadium
Capacity30,089[7]
OwnerStoke City Holdings Limited
ChairmanJohn Coates
Head coachNarcís Pèlach
LeagueEFL Championship
2023–24EFL Championship, 17th of 24
Websitestokecityfc.com
Current season

Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.

Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the club changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke-on-Trent was granted city status. Stoke's home ground is the 30,089 capacity bet365 Stadium. Before it was opened in 1997, the club was based at the Victoria Ground, which was their home ground since 1878. The club's nickname is The Potters, after the pottery industry in Stoke-on-Trent, and their traditional home kit is a red-and-white vertically striped shirt, white shorts and stockings. Their traditional rivals are Midlands clubs West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers, whilst their local rivals are Port Vale with whom they contest the Potteries derby.

Stoke were one of the twelve founding members of the Football League in 1888. They failed re-election in 1890, but were re-admitted after winning the 1890–91 Football Alliance title. The club were relegated from the First Division in 1907 and entered liquidation the following year. Though the club was saved, they were not re-elected until 1915, and instead spent the intervening years in the Birmingham & District League and Southern League. Promoted from the Second Division in 1921–22, the club were relegated twice in four years by 1926. Stoke won the Third Division North in 1926–27 and then the Second Division title in 1932–33. They remained in the top-flight for twenty years and then spent a decade in the Second Division, before winning promotion as champions in 1962–63.

Under the stewardship of Tony Waddington, Stoke won the League Cup in 1972 with a 2–1 victory over Chelsea. Stoke had also been beaten finalists in 1964. The club spent fourteen years in the top-flight, and would secure promotion in 1978–79 after being relegated two years earlier. Stoke remained in the top-flight from 1979 to 1985, though were relegated to the Third Division in 1990. Having won the Football League Trophy in 1992, they were promoted as champions in 1992–93. Relegation in 1998 allowed the club to win another Football League Trophy title in 2000, before promotion was secured with victory in the 2002 play-off final. Manager Tony Pulis took Stoke into the Premier League at the end of the 2007–08 campaign. They played in the final of the FA Cup in 2011, finishing runners-up to Manchester City, which saw the club qualify for European football. Ten years of Premier League football culminated in relegation to the Championship in 2018.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference 1863-1888 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "Landmarks". Stoke City. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Stoke City". English Football League. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Matthews was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "The Crest Dissected: Stoke City". The Football History Boys. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Stoke City Football Club: History Of The Club Formation". History of Soccer. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  7. ^ "bet365 Stadium". Premier League. Retrieved 13 August 2017.


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