Swansea City

Full Name: Swansea City Association Football Club

City: Swansea

Founded: 1912

Stadium: Liberty Stadium: 20,532

Colors: White

Previous Names: Swansea Town (1912-69)

Nickname: Swans, Jacks

Rival: Cardiff City

Description:

Swansea City will make their English Premier League debut in August 2011 and in the process becoming the first Welsh club to reach the league. While it's not the first time a Welsh club has played in the top tier of English football it represents an extraordinary rise from the ashes for the Swans and, no less importantly, a snub to bitter Welsh rivals Cardiff City. Life as a Swansea City supporter (or a Jack as they're commonly known) has rarely been dull. The club narrowly avoided bankruptcy, was twice sold for 1 pound, avoided relegation to the Conference on the last day of the season, moved to a new stadium and was promoted three times. And that's just the story of the last ten years!

Swansea City History:

Swansea Town launched in 1912 as the first serious effort to bring professional football to Swansea, which was then (and now) a rugby union hotbed. The club were based at Vetch Field off Glamorgan Street in the West of Swansea. The field was truly little more than a field at the time and took its name from the vetch (a cabbage-like plant) which grew there. Their first league affiliation was to the Southern League, whose Second Division they joined for the 1912-13 season.

That debut season was a success not just for getting started but on the field as well, as the Swans won their first silverware, the 1913 Welsh Cup. During their second season (1913-14) Swansea Town became the first Welsh club to reach the FA Cup First Round. During their third season Swansea Town were the first Welsh side to host (and defeat) a team from the Football League First Division in the FA Cup, eliminating defending league champions Blackburn Rovers 1-0.

That third season also saw promotion to the Southern League First Division. After the end of World War I the First Division of the Southern League was absorbed into the Football League and thus Swansea Town were founder members of the Football League Third Division (South) in 1920.

Swansea Town were Third Division (South) champions in 1925 and reached the FA Cup semifinals for the first time in 1926 (a feat they repeated 39 years later). The next several decades were a story of ups and downs amongst the lower leagues, with a second Third Division (South) title coming in 1949 and a handful of Welsh Cup titles. During the 1961-62 season, Swansea became the first Welsh club to enter European competition, entering the European Cup Winners' Cup as Welsh Cup winners. Another important event of note came in 1969 when the town of Swansea was granted city status by the United Kingdom. In line with that change the Swansea Town Football Club became Swansea City Football Club.

By the middle of the 1970s though Swansea Town had reached rock bottom, finishing within the bottom four of the Football League Fourth Division and being forced to face league re-election, which they survived. These dark days proved to be brief for the Swans however. John Toshack (former Liverpool stalwart and Welsh international) took over as player-manager and helped engineer a remarkable rise up the league for Swansea City. The Swans won three promotions in four seasons (a joint English record equaled only by Wimbledon in the 1980s) and reached the Football League First Division for the first time in 1981.

Swansea City's debut season in the First Division was truly extraordinary, starting with a 5-1 win over Leeds United and victories over Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal during the course of the season. At various points during the season Swansea led the league, ultimately finishing in sixth.

Swansea City's moment at the top was extremely short however and they could not maintain their position in the First Division. Swansea were relegated the following season and again in 1984-85 and nearly went bankrupt in December 1985 before a last-minute rescue.

The first decade of the 21st century was another period of unhealthy excitement for Swansea City supporters. City were in serious financial difficulty and during 2001 the club was twice sold for £1. Yes you read that right, 1 pound! Within the next few years the club narrowly avoided bankruptcy for the second time and also avoided relegation to the Conference with a victory in the final match of the season.

As with the previous low better times were just around the corner. City were taken over by a group of local businessmen who have proved able stewards of the club and in 2001 a supporters trust (Swans Trust) was created. The Swans Trust (the first supporters trust in Wales) now owns approximately 20% of the shares of Swansea City and have a representative on the board of directors.

in 2005 Swansea City said goodbye to Vetch Field and moved into the shiny new Liberty Stadium, which they would share with local rugby union side Ospreys. A trio of promotions was again recorded though they took twice as long the second time around.

Swansea City will enter the English Premier League as one of the smallest clubs ever to reach this level. The Liberty Stadium will have the second smallest capacity in the league after fellow promoted club Queens Park Rangers. Whether they can maintain their position remains to be seen but for now let's just celebrate their remarkable achievement in reaching the Premiership.

Liberty Stadium:

The Liberty Stadium opened in 2005 and is currently shared by Swansea City and rugby union club Ospreys. The stadium was built by the Swansea City Council to fill the needs of both clubs, both of whom faced challenging stadium situation and neither of whom could afford to build or upgrade. The stadium is also occasionally used for Welsh internationals. The stadium is named for title sponsor Liberty, a property development company.

Previous Stadium: Vetch Field (1912-2005)

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Major Trophies:

Third-Tier League Titles:

Football League One (2008)
Third Division South (1925, 49)

Fourth-Tier League Titles:

Third Division (2000)

Domestic Cup Titles:

Football League Trophy (1994, 2006)
Welsh Cup (1913, 32, 50, 61, 66, 81, 82, 83, 89, 91)
FAW Premier Cup (2005, 06)

South Wales Derby:

The one (and really only) rival of Swansea City is Cardiff City. Matches between the two are known as the South Wales Derby. The two clubs are historically the most successful Welsh clubs as well as representing the two largest cities in Wales so a fierce rivalry between the two comes as no great surprise. And in a sense the rivalry was on from the start for Swansea - their first professional match in the Southern League way back in September 1912 was against Cardiff City.

Swansea City Kit and Logo:

The Swans adopted their traditional all-white strip from the Swansea Rugby Football Union and have more or less worn the same kit throughout their history.

Swansea City's logo incorporates the club name as well as a Swan, which is a common abbreviation for both city and club.