Swansea City A.F.C.
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Template:Football club infobox
Swansea City F.C. are a Welsh football team currently playing in the Football League League One. Swansea City and arch-rivals Cardiff City are the only Welsh football clubs to have played at the highest level of British football.
Nicknamed "The Swans", the club played from its formation until 2005 at the Vetch Field in Swansea city centre. From the 2005-06 season onwards, Swansea City will play at a new 20,000-seat ground, the White Rock Stadium.
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Club Honours
- F A Cup semi-finalists 1926, 1964
- Division Three winners 2000
- Division Three (South) winners 1925, 1949
- Welsh Cup winners 1913, 1950, 1961, 1966, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1989, 1991
- Welsh Cup runners-up 1915, 1926, 1938, 1940, 1949, 1956, 1957, 1969
- Autoglass Trophy winners 1994
Club Records
- Biggest win 12-0 v Sliema Wanderers (Malta), European Cup Winners' Cup First Round First Leg, 15 September 1982
- Biggest win (League) 8-0 v Hartlepool, Football League Division Four, 1 April 1978
- Biggest defeat 0-8 v Liverpool, FA Cup 3rd Round Replay, 9 January 1990; 0-8 v Monaco (France), European Cup Winners' Cup First Round Second Leg, 1 October 1991
- Biggest defeat (League) 1-8 v Fulham, Football League Division Two, 22 January 1938
- Highest attendance 32,786 v Arsenal, FA Cup Fifth Round, 17 February 1968
- Lowest attendance 1,301 v Northampton Town, Football League Division Four, 18 September 1973
Early Years
Swansea Town AFC was formed as a professional club in 1912 when the town was invited to send a team to join the Southern League, as many other South Wales towns were already represented.
J. W. Thorpe was the club's first chairman, Walter Whittaker its first manager. Its first secretary was S. B. Williams, who was to serve in this capacity for some 35 years.
The club's first professional match was at the Vetch Field against Cardiff City on 7 September 1912; the result was a 1-1 draw.
Goodbye to the Vetch
Swansea's last League at the Vetch Field was a 1-0 win over Shrewsbury Town on 30 April 2005. A full house of 11,465 people were present to say farewell to the asymmetrical ground, its crooked floodlights and irreplaceable acoustics.
Many thought it fated that Swansea would win promotion during the final season at the Vetch, given so many false hopes for both promotion and the new ground itself. One week after the Shrewsbury game, Swansea did indeed clinch promotion to Coca Cola League one with another 1-0 win, this time at Bury, where over 5,000 Swans fans had made the journey north.
The last game of any sort at the Vetch Field was a 2-1 win against Wrexham in the final of the 2005 FAW Premier Cup; it was the Swans' first trophy win since the Division Three Championship in 2000 but the first Cup triumph since 1994's Autoglass Trophy.
Legendary players
Four Swansea-born men were named among the Football League's 100 legends, to mark the 100th season of League football in 1998. All four began their careers with the club. They were Ivor Allchurch, John Charles (signed by Leeds before making his first-team debut), Trevor Ford and Cliff Jones.
More recently, popular players have included Robbie James, Alan Curtis, Roger Freestone and Lee Trundle.
Miscellaneous
Swansea City and its supporters are unofficially known as the 'Jacks'. The reason for this name is that during the 17th century, sailors from Swansea were extremely well respected and any 'Swansea Jack' was allowed to join the crew based simply on the town's reputation for great seamen. Swansea City has a loyal and proud following and had easily the highest average attendance in League Two during the 2004-05 season.
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League competitions |
Cup competitions | |
| FA Premier League | FA Cup | |
| The Football League (Champ, 1, 2) | England (men) | League Cup |
| Football Conference (Nat, N, S) | FA Community Shield | |
| Northern Premier League (Prem, 1) | (women) | Football League Trophy |
| Southern League (Prem, 1W, 1E) | List of clubs | FA Trophy |
| Isthmian League (Prem, 1, 2) | FA Vase | |
| English football league system | Records | FA NLS Cup |
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