Portsmouth Football Club is an English professional association football club in Portsmouth, Hampshire. The team compete in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded on 5 April 1898 and home matches are played at Fratton Park, their original home ground which was first opened on 15 August 1899.
The football club is known as Pompey; the local nickname for both the city of Portsmouth and HMNB Portsmouth, which has also become associated with Portsmouth Football Club. Uniquely, Portsmouth is the only football club in English professional football which is not located on the mainland of Great Britain, as the club and the city of Portsmouth are both built on Portsea Island instead.
Portsmouth have been the top tier League Champions of England twice; in the consecutive 1948–49 and 1949–50 seasons. Portsmouth have also won the FA Cup twice; in 1939 and 2008, the FA Charity Shield once in 1949 and the EFL Trophy once in 2019. The EFL Cup is the only major domestic cup competition that Portsmouth has yet to win.
Portsmouth have also won the second tier division title once in 2002–03, the third tier division title three times in 1923–24 (South), 1961–62, 1982–83 and the fourth tier division title once in 2016–17. Before their election into the national English Football League in 1920, Portsmouth were also champions of the regional Southern Football League in 1901–02 and 1919–20. Portsmouth were also champions of the Western Football League in 1900–01, 1901–02 and 1902–03. These, and their more recent wins, make Portsmouth southern England's most successful club (in terms of cups, honours and titles) outside of London.
Number 1 was temporarily retired for the 2001–02 season in respect to goalkeeper Aaron Flahavan, who died in a car crash in August 2001, days after being handed the squad number 1 for the first time. Since the 2003–04 season, number 13 shirt was reserved in respect for him, as this was the number he wore for the majority of his stay at the club. Ten years after his death, however, the number 13 was again used.
Number 12 is the number reserved for the Portsmouth fans, regarding the fans as the twelfth player.
Michael Eisner
John Mousinho
Current season
Portsmouth Football Club
EFL Championship 2024–25
