Derby County F.C.

Derby County
Full nameDerby County Football Club
Nickname(s)The Rams
Short nameDerby
Founded1884; 140 years ago (1884)
GroundPride Park Stadium
Capacity33,500
OwnerDavid Clowes
Head CoachPaul Warne
LeagueEFL Championship
2023–24EFL League One, 2nd of 24 (promoted)
Websitedcfc.co.uk
Current season

Derby County Football Club (/ˈdɑːrbi/) is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.

One of the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888, Derby County is one of only nine clubs to have competed in every season of the English football league system (125 seasons up to the end of the 2023–24 season), with all but six of those being in the top two divisions.

The club was founded in 1884 by William Morley as an offshoot of Derbyshire County Cricket Club. Its competitive peak came in the 1970s when it twice won the First Division and competed in major European competitions on four occasions, reaching the European Cup semi-finals as well as winning several minor trophies. Additionally, the club was a strong force in the interwar years – finishing league runner-up twice in the 1930s – and winning the first post-war FA Cup in 1946.

The club's home colours have been black and white since the 1890s. The team's nickname, The Rams, honours its links with the First Regiment of Derby Militia, its mascot being a ram, and its regimental song.[1] They have a long-standing rivalry with Nottingham Forest, with whom they contest the East Midlands derby.

  1. ^ "The Derby Ram, 1867". Folkplay. 28 June 2004. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2008.