Football in London

For other uses, see Football in London (disambiguation).

AFC Wimbledon

Arsenal

Brentford

Charlton

Wealdstone

Barnet

Bromley

Chelsea

Crystal Palace

Fulham

Leyton Orient

Millwall

QPR

Sutton United

Tottenham Hotspur

Wembley Stadium

West Ham

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As of the 2025–26 season, there are sixteen teams playing in professional leagues in London: seven play in the Premier League, seven in the Football League, two in the National League. Wembley Stadium is also marked.

Association football is the most popular sport, both in terms of participants and spectators, in London.[1] London has several of England's leading men's football clubs. The city is the home of seventeen men's professional clubs, several dozen men's semi-professional clubs and several hundred men's amateur clubs regulated by the London Football Association, Middlesex County Football Association, Surrey County Football Association and the Amateur Football Alliance.[2] Most London clubs are named after the district in which they play (or used to play), and share rivalries with each other.

London football teams have won a total of 21 English first division titles, 42 FA Cups, 12 EFL Cups, 28 Community Shields[a], 16 English second division titles, 2 Club World Cups, 2 Champions Leagues, 5 Cup Winners' Cups, 5 UEFA Cups/Europa Leagues, 2 Conference Leagues, 1 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, 2 Super Cups, and 2 Intertoto Cups. In the 1989–90 season, eight of London's professional clubs were in the top tier of English Football at the same time, meaning that 40% of the member clubs of the First Division that season were based in one city.

## Introduction

[edit]

Fulham was founded in 1879. The club is London's oldest football club still playing professionally. Royal Arsenal were London's first club to turn professional in 1891. The club became Woolwich Arsenal in 1893 and then became Arsenal Football Club in 1913. Arsenal are only the second English club (after Preston North End of 1888–89), and the only London club to go an entire League season unbeaten, in the 2003–04 season. Arsenal have won The FA Cup a record 14 times; they were the first London team to win the Football League First Division in the 1930–31 season and the first London club to win the Premier League in the 1997–98 season. They were also the first London club to reach the European Cup/UEFA Champions League final, which they did in the 2005–06 season, though losing 1–2 to Barcelona.

Chelsea is the only club from London to win the UEFA Champions League, securing the title in both 2012 and 2021. On 15 May 2013, Chelsea won the UEFA Europa League to become the fourth club and the first British side to win all three main UEFA club competitions. Chelsea are also the only London club to have participated in and win the FIFA Club World Cup in 2021, beating Palmeiras in the final. Previously, they were runners-up in 2012, losing to Corinthians.

Tottenham Hotspur were the first British club to win a European trophy, winning the Cup Winners Cup in 1963. Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are traditionally London's most successful teams. Between them, they have won a total of 103 titles and trophies. Wembley Stadium (1923), England's national stadium, was in London. The site of the 1966 World Cup Final and numerous European cup finals, it was the home venue of the England national football team and had traditionally hosted the FA Cup Final since 1923. Wembley closed in 2000 and its replacement opened in 2007.

## History

[edit]

The playing of team ball games (almost certainly including football) was first recorded in London by William FitzStephen around 1174–1183. He described the activities of London youths during the annual festival of Shrove Tuesday.

"After lunch all of the city's youth would go out into the fields to take part in a ball game. The students of each school have their own ball; the workers from each city craft are also carrying their balls. Older citizens, fathers, and the wealthy would come on horseback to watch their juniors competing, and to relive their own youth vicariously: you can see their inner passions aroused as they watch the action and get caught up in the fun being had by the carefree adolescents."[3]

Regular references to the game occurred throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, including the first reference to the word "football" in English when it was outlawed by King Henry IV of England in 1409. Early games were probably disorganised and violent. In the sixteenth century, the headmaster of St Paul's School Richard Mulcaster is credited with taking mob football and transforming it into organised and refereed team football. In 1581 he wrote about his game of football, which included smaller teams, referees, set positions and even a coach.

Royal Engineers A.F.C., 1872.

The modern game of football was first codified in 1863 in London and subsequently spread worldwide. Key to the establishment of the modern game was Londoner Ebenezer Cobb Morley who was a founding member of the Football Association, the oldest football organisation in the world. Morley wrote to the Bell's Life newspaper proposing a governing body for football which led directly to the first meeting at the Freemasons' Tavern in central London of the FA. He wrote the first set of rules of true modern football at his house in Barnes. The modern passing form of the game was invented in London in the early 1870s by the Royal Engineers A.F.C.[4][5] (albeit the club were based in Chatham, Kent).

Prior to the first meeting of the Football Association in the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street, London on 26 October 1863, there were no universally accepted rules for the playing of the game of football. The founder members present at the first meeting were Barnes, Civil Service, Crusaders, Forest of Leytonstone (later to become Wanderers), N.N. (No Names) Club (Kilburn), the original Crystal Palace, Blackheath, Kensington School, Percival House (Blackheath), Surbiton and Blackheath Proprietary School; Charterhouse sent its captain, B.F. Hartshorne, but declined the offer to join. All of the 12 founding clubs were from London though many are since defunct or now play rugby union.

A rise in the popularity of football in London dates from the end of the 19th century, when a fall in church attendance[specify] left many people searching for a way to spend their weekend leisure time.[6] In 1882 the London Football Association was set up. Over the next 25 years clubs sprang up all over the capital, and the majority of these teams are still thriving in the 21st century. Of those clubs currently playing in the Football League, Fulham is generally considered to be London's oldest, having been founded in 1879.[7] However, Isthmian League side Cray Wanderers is the oldest extant club in all of the Greater London area, having been founded in 1860 in St Mary Cray[8] | (then part of Kent but now in the London Borough of Bromley).

Just before a North London derby between Spurs and Arsenal in 2007.

Initially, football in London was dominated by amateur teams, drawing their membership from former public schoolboys but gradually working-class sides came to the forefront. Royal Arsenal was London's first professional team, becoming so in 1891,[9] a move which saw them boycotted by the amateur London Football Association. Other London clubs soon followed Arsenal's footsteps in turning professional, including Millwall (1893), Tottenham Hotspur (1895), Fulham (1898) and West Ham (1898).

In the meantime, Woolwich Arsenal (formerly Royal Arsenal) went on to be the first London club to join the Football League, in 1893. The following year, the Southern League was founded and many of its members would go on to join the Football League. In 1901 Tottenham Hotspur became the first club from London to win the FA Cup in the professional era, although it would not be until 1931 that a London side would win the Football League, the team in question being Arsenal (having moved to Highbury in 1913 and dropping the "Woolwich" from their name).

In the 1989–90 season, eight of London's professional clubs were in the top tier of English Football at the same time, forming 40% of the First Division that season.

Arsenal

Charlton Athletic

Chelsea

Crystal Palace

Millwall

Tottenham

Queens Park Rangers

Wimbledon

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There were eight London clubs in First Division in the 1989–90 season

Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham are regarded as three of the Premier League's current "big six" alongside Liverpool, Manchester United, and Manchester City. In the two seasons immediately proceeding the start of this top six run, Arsenal and Chelsea became the first pair of London clubs to finish first and second in the top flight, with Arsenal winning in 2003–04, and Chelsea winning in 2004–05. The 2009–10 season saw Chelsea (1st), Arsenal (3rd) and Tottenham (4th) all finish in the top four, qualifying all three of these London teams into the same UEFA Champions League competition.

Before the 1996–97 season, when Chelsea started its run of consistent high finishes, the two highest profile London clubs were Arsenal and their long-standing North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, both of whom were considered to be members of English football's "big five" (with Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton) for much of the post-war period.

## Clubs

[edit]

The table below lists all London clubs in the top eight tiers of the English football league system: from the top division (the Premier League), down to Step 4 of the National League System. League status is correct for the 2025–26 season.

Club | Stadium | Capacity | Founded | Notes

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Premier League (7)
Arsenal | Emirates Stadium | 60,704 | 1886  | Originally based in Woolwich. First London club to become English League Champions, in 1931. Record FA Cup winners with 14 titles. Won the league unbeaten in the 2003–04 season, becoming only the second team to do so after Preston North End.
Brentford | Brentford Community Stadium | 18,250 | 1889  | Founded as Brentford Rowing Club. Played at Griffin Park from 1904 to 2020 before moving grounds.
Chelsea | Stamford Bridge | 40,343 | 1905  | The only club to have won all four UEFA main club competitions, the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, the European/UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League. The first and only club to win all three pre-1999 main UEFA club competitions more than once each. The only London club to win the Champions League, Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
Crystal Palace | Selhurst Park | 25,486 | 1905  | A Crystal Palace team established in 1861 were FA founder members. Won the FA Cup, their first major trophy, on 17 May 2025.
Fulham | Craven Cottage | 29,600 | 1879  | London's first professional club in the Football League.
Tottenham Hotspur | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | 62,850 | 1882  | The only non-league team to win the FA Cup (in 1901) after the founding of the Football League. The first London club (as well as the first English club) to win a European trophy, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1963. Also, inaugural winner of the UEFA Cup/Europa League in 1972.
West Ham United | London Stadium | 62,500 | 1895  | Founded as Thames Ironworks. Played at the Boleyn Ground from 1904 to 2016, before moving to Stratford. The first English club to win the UEFA Conference League.
EFL Championship (3)
Charlton Athletic | The Valley | 27,111 | 1905  | Won FA Cup in 1947. Have ground-shared at Selhurst Park and the Boleyn Ground.
Millwall | The Den | 20,146 | 1885  | Founded in East London on the Isle of Dogs, moved south across the river to Bermondsey in 1910.
Queens Park Rangers | Loftus Road | 18,439 | 1882  | The team was renamed Queens Park Rangers in 1886 after the merger of St Jude's (formed in 1884) and Christchurch Rangers (formed 1882).
EFL League One (2)
AFC Wimbledon | Plough Lane | 9,300 | 2002  | Formed by fans of Wimbledon in protest after the club announced relocation to Milton Keynes. Starting at the ninth level of the football pyramid, they won promotion to the Football League in 2011.
Leyton Orient | Brisbane Road | 9,271 | 1881  | Leyton Orient was originally formed by members of the Glyn Cricket Club.
EFL League Two (2)
Barnet | The Hive Stadium | 5,100 | 1888  | First London team to be promoted from the Football Conference into the Football League, in 1991.
Bromley | Hayes Lane | 5,150 | 1892  | Won the FA Trophy in 2022.
National League (2)
Sutton United | Gander Green Lane | 5,013 | 1898  | The 2021–22 season was Sutton's first season in the Football League.
Wealdstone | Grosvenor Vale | 4,085 | 1899  | First ever non-League team to achieve the double of FA Trophy and Football Conference title in the same season, in 1985.
National League South (4)
Dagenham & Redbridge | Victoria Road | 6,078 | 1992  | Formed through a merger of Dagenham (formed in 1949) and Redbridge Forest (1979).
Enfield Town | Queen Elizabeth II Stadium | 2,500 | 2001  | Founded by supporters of Enfield protest against the club owners' actions.
Hampton & Richmond Borough | Beveree Stadium  | 3,500  | 1921  | Known as Hampton FC until 1999.
Hornchurch | Hornchurch Stadium | 3,500 | 2005  | Founded as successors to Hornchurch F.C. Renamed from AFC Hornchuch to Hornchuch FC in 2019
Isthmian League Premier Division (8)
Carshalton Athletic | War Memorial Sports Ground  | 5,000  | 1905  |
Cheshunt | Theobalds Lane  | 3,000  | 1946  |
Cray Valley Paper Mills | Badgers Sports Ground  | 1,000 | 1919  |
Cray Wanderers | Flamingo Park  | 3,252  | 1860  |
Dulwich Hamlet | Champion Hill | 3,000 | 1893  |
Hendon | Silver Jubilee Park  | 1,990  | 1908  |
Welling United | Park View Road | 3,500 | 1963  | Took over the ground that used to be played on by defunct club Bexley United.
Wingate & Finchley | The Maurice Rebak Stadium  | 1,500  | 1991  | Formed after Finchley and Wingate merged.
Southern Football League Premier Division South (2)
Hanwell Town | Reynolds Field  | 3,000  | 1920  |
Hayes & Yeading United | SkyEx Community Stadium  | 2,500 | 2007  | Formed through a merger of Hayes and Yeading.
Isthmian League Division One North (4)
Redbridge | Oakside Stadium  | 3,000  | 1959  |
Romford | Mayesbrook Park  | 2,500  | 1992  | Groundsharing at Barking.
Sporting Bengal United | Mile End Stadium  | 2,000  | 1996  |
Walthamstow | Wadham Lodge  | 3,500  | 1868  |
Isthmian League Division One South Central (11)
Hanworth Villa | Rectory Meadow  | 1,000  | 1976  |
Haringey Borough | Coles Park  | 2,500  | 1973  |
Harrow Borough | Earlsmead Stadium | 3,070 | 1933  |
Kingstonian | Prince George's Playing Fields  | 1,500 | 1885  | Currently groundsharing at Raynes Park Vale
Metropolitan Police | Imber Court  | 3,000  | 1919  | Founded by officers and staff of the Metropolitan Police
Northwood | Acretweed Stadium  | 3,075  | 1926  |
Rayners Lane | Tithe Farm Social Club  | 1,000  | 1933  |
Raynes Park Vale | Prince George's Playing Fields  | 1,500 | 1995  |
Southall | The 1878 Stadium  | 2,500  | 1871  | Groundsharing at Burnham
Sutton Common Rovers | War Memorial Sports Ground  | 5,000  | 1978  | Groundsharing at Carshalton Athletic
Uxbridge | Honeycroft  | 3,770  | 1871  |
Isthmian League Division One South East (4)
AFC Croydon Athletic | Mayfield Stadium  | 3,000  | 2012  | Founded as successors to Croydon Athletic F.C. in 2012
Beckenham Town | Eden Park Avenue  | 4,000  | 1971  |
Erith Town | Bayliss Avenue  | 6,000  | 1959  | Groundsharing at Sporting Club Thamesmead
Phoenix Sports | Phoenix Sports Ground  | 2,000  | 1935  |
Southern Football League Division One Central (3)
Enfield | Hertingfordbury Park  | 2,500  | 2007  | Groundsharing at Hertford Town
Hadley | Brickfield Lane  | 2,000  | 1882  |
Northwood | Skyline Roofing Stadium  | 3,076  | 1926  |

Below the eighth tier, numerous London clubs are represented within the Combined Counties League (SW), Essex Senior League (NE), Southern Counties East Football League (SE) and the Spartan South Midlands League (NW).

### Defunct clubs

[edit]

Club | Stadium | Founded | Dissolved/
Merged | Notes

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Casuals | ? | 1878  | 1939  | Founder members of the Isthmian League in 1905 and won the FA Amateur Cup in 1936. Merged with Corinthian to form Corinthian-Casuals.
Clapham Rovers | Clapham Common | 1869  | 1911  | Former FA Cup winners. Scorers of the first ever FA Cup goal.
Corinthian | Queen's Club,
Crystal Palace,
Leyton | 1882  | 1939  | Rarely partook in competitive matches yet defeated many strong teams, often by a wide margin – e.g. FA Cup holders Blackburn Rovers 8–1 (1884) and Bury FC 10-3 (1903). Merged with Casuals to form Corinthian-Casuals.
Croydon Athletic | KT Stadium  | 1986  | 2011/2012  | Supporters of the defunct club and some of the old club management and officials formed a new member owned, fan owned, club — AFC Croydon Athletic.
Croydon Common | Croydon Common Athletic Ground | 1897  | 1917  | The only Southern League Division One club not to return to playing football after World War I.
Croydon Municipal | Croydon Arena | 2009  | 2010  | Offshoot of Croydon FC. Withdrew from the league at the conclusion of their first season.
Ealing | Various in West London, including Wembley Stadium | 1905  | 2013  | Founding Member of the Ishmian League. Southern Amateur League and Amateur Cup double in 1927. Folded due to demise of long term team officials and increased costs. First amateur team to play at Wembley. Played 8 home games there in 1928.
Edgware Town | White Lion Ground (Now at Silver Jubilee Park, Kingsbury)  | 1939  | 2008 (Reformed 2014)  | At the end of the 2007–08 season, Edgware Town were forced to resign from the Isthmian League Division One North when lack of funds meant that the club were unable to confirm a new ground for the following season after their lease at the White Lion ground had expired.
Fisher Athletic | Champion Hill | 1908  | 2009  | Once tenants of Dulwich Hamlet. A new fan-owned club, Fisher F.C., was formed.
Hayes | Church Road | 1909  | 2007  | Merged with Yeading to form Hayes & Yeading United.
Leyton | Leyton Stadium  | 1868  | 2011  | In January 2011, after a short suspension from the league for not paying its subscription, the club was forced to withdraw from the Isthmian League Division One North division due to debt.
London XI | Multiple | 1955  | 1958  | Created specifically to take part in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup between 1955 and 1958, reaching the final
Nunhead | Brown's Ground (also known as 'Nunhead Sports Ground')[10] | 1888  | 1949, with day-to-day operations ceasing at the end of the 1940–41 season[10] | Founded as Wingfield House Football Club in 1888, the name was changed to Nunhead F.C. in 1904.[10]
Thames | West Ham Stadium | 1928  | 1932  | Members of the Football League between 1930 and 1932.
Upton Park | West Ham Park | 1866  | 1911  | Represented Great Britain at the 1900 Summer Olympics football tournament, winning the gold medal.
Wanderers | The Oval and others  | 1859  | c. 1887  | Winners of the first ever FA Cup.
Wimbledon | Plough Lane, Selhurst Park | 1889  | 2004  | Moved to Milton Keynes in 2003, renamed Milton Keynes Dons in 2004. AFC Wimbledon formed in 2002 by the majority of its former fans.
Yeading | The Warren  | 1960  | 2007  | Merged with Hayes to form Hayes & Yeading United.

There are also a huge number of minor London clubs playing outside the top eight levels of English football. Hackney Marshes in east London, home to many amateur sides, is reportedly the single largest collection of football pitches in the world, with 100 separate pitches.[1]

### Popularity

[edit]

Many association football clubs from London are also successful on social media with a large international fanbase. Three of the top 20 most popular sports clubs on Instagram in the world, as of 23 November 2023, are from London:[11]

# | Sports club | Sport | Country | Followers

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1 | Real Madrid | Football | Spain | 149 million
2 | FC Barcelona | Football | Spain | 124 million
3 | Paris Saint-Germain | Football | France | 65.7 million
4 | Manchester United | Football | United Kingdom | 63.1 million
5 | Juventus | Football | Italy | 59.8 million
6 | Manchester City | Football | United Kingdom | 49.4 million
7 | Liverpool | Football | United Kingdom | 43.6 million
8 | Chelsea | Football | United Kingdom | 41.4 million
9 | Bayern Munich | Football | Germany | 40.8 million
10 | Golden State Warriors | Basketball | United States | 32.1 million
11 | Arsenal | Football | United Kingdom | 28.2 million
12 | Los Angeles Lakers | Basketball | United States | 23.6 million
13 | Borussia Dortmund | Football | Germany | 19.3 million
14 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Basketball | United States | 16.5 million
15 | Tottenham Hotspur | Football | United Kingdom | 16.5 million
16 | Atlético Madrid | Football | Spain | 16.3 million
17 | Inter Miami | Football | United States | 15.4 million
18 | AC Milan | Football | Italy | 15.3 million
19 | Galatasaray | Football | Turkey | 14.4 million
20 | Mumbai Indians | Cricket | India | 13 million

## Most successful clubs overall (1871–present)

[edit]

Team  | English Football Champions | FA Cup | EFL Cup | FA Community Shield | Championship | Domestic Total  | European Cup / Champions League | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | UEFA Cup / Europa League | UEFA Conference League | UEFA Super Cup | UEFA Intertoto Cup | Fairs
Cup | Intercontinental Cup / FIFA Club World Cup | European / Worldwide Total  | Total

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Arsenal | 13  | 14 | 2  | 17  | –  | 46  | –  | 1  | –  | –  | –  | –  | (1)* | –  | 1  | 47
Chelsea | 6  | 8  | 5  | 4  | 2  | 25  | 2  | 2 | 2  | 1 | 2  | –  | –  | 2 | 11  | 36
Tottenham Hotspur | 2  | 8  | 4  | 7  | 2  | 23  | –  | 1  | 3 | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 4  | 27
West Ham United | –  | 3  | –  | 1  | 2  | 6  | –  | 1  | –  | 1 | –  | 1  | –  | –  | 3  | 9
Wanderers | –  | 5  | –  | –  | –  | 5  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 5
Fulham | –  | –  | –  | –  | 3  | 3  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 1  | –  | –  | 1  | 4
Crystal Palace | –  | 1  | –  | –  | 2  | 3  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 3
Queens Park Rangers | –  | –  | 1  | –  | 2  | 3  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 3
Charlton Athletic | –  | 1  | –  | –  | 1  | 2  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 2
Clapham Rovers | –  | 1  | –  | –  | –  | 1  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 1
Wimbledon | –  | 1  | –  | –  | –  | 1  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 1
Brentford | –  | –  | –  | –  | 1  | 1  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 1
Millwall | –  | –  | –  | –  | 1  | 1  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 1

The figures in bold represent the most times this competition has been won by an English team.
Shared Community Shield results listed as wins.
* The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup is not considered a UEFA competition, and hence Arsenal's record in the Fairs Cup is not considered part of its European record (although they won it in 1970, at a time when participation was based on league position).

## Most supported clubs by Londoners

[edit]

### 2024 YouGov poll

[edit]

Percentage of fans polled who live in London (YouGov, 2024)[12]

Club  | %  | Sample
Arsenal | 33%  | 3,020
Aston Villa | 8%  | 933
Bournemouth | 13%  | 277
Brentford | 53%  | 215
Brighton & Hove Albion | 5%  | 546
Burnley | 1%  | 219
Chelsea | 38%  | 1,629
Crystal Palace | 41%  | 421
Everton | 6%  | 666
Fulham | 49%  | 194
Liverpool | 11%  | 2,936
Luton Town | 3%  | 177
Manchester City | 18%  | 1,290
Manchester United | 13%  | 3,879
Newcastle United | 2%  | 1,554
Nottingham Forest | 2%  | 555
Sheffield United | 2%  | 298
Tottenham Hotspur | 22%  | 1,836
West Ham United | 23%  | 1,078
Wolverhampton Wanderers | 4%  | 502

## Domestic honours

[edit]

### English football champions

[edit]

* Titles (clubs): 21 (3)
* Runners-up (clubs): 23 (5)

Club  | Winners  | Runners-up  | Winning Years

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Arsenal | 13  | 12  | 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1947–48, 1952–53, 1970–71, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04
Chelsea | 6  | 4  | 1954–55, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2014–15, 2016–17
Tottenham Hotspur | 2  | 5  | 1950–51, 1960–61
Queens Park Rangers | –  | 1  |
Charlton Athletic | –  | 1  |

Outside of those five, the highest league positions of London clubs which have played in the top-flight are 3rd (Crystal Palace, West Ham United), 5th (Brentford), 6th (Wimbledon), 7th (Fulham), 10th (Millwall), and 22nd (Leyton Orient).

### FA Cup

[edit]

There have been seven all-London FA Cup finals the first being in 1967 between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. Arsenal have won three all-London affairs, Spurs and West Ham both two. Chelsea have featured in four (a joint record with Arsenal) losing all four.

Arsenal playing Chelsea \- two of London's most successful FA Cup teams. FA Cup finals between London clubs  Final No.  | Season  | Winners[13] | Score[13] | Runners–up[13] | Venue[14] | Attendance[14]

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86th  | 1966–67 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2–1 | Chelsea | Wembley Stadium (original)  | 100,000
94th  | 1974–75 | West Ham United | 2–0 | Fulham | Wembley Stadium (original)  | 100,000
99th  | 1979–80 | West Ham United | 1–0 | Arsenal | Wembley Stadium (original)  | 100,000
101st  | 1981–82 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–1
1–0 (Replay)  | Queens Park Rangers | Wembley Stadium (original)  | 100,000 ,
90,000 (Replay)
121st  | 2001–02 | Arsenal | 2–0 | Chelsea | Millennium Stadium | 73,963
136th  | 2016–17 | Arsenal | 2–1 | Chelsea | Wembley Stadium (new)  | 89,472
139th  | 2019–20 | Arsenal | 2–1 | Chelsea | Wembley Stadium (new)  | 0[B]

* Titles (clubs): 42 (9)
* Runners-up (clubs): 25 (10)

Team  | Winners  | Runners-up  | Years won  | Years runner-up

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Arsenal | 14 | 7 | 1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005,
2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 | 1927, 1932, 1952, 1972, 1978, 1980, 2001
Chelsea | 8 | 8 | 1970, 1997, 2000, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2018 | 1915, 1967, 1994, 2002, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022
Tottenham Hotspur | 8 | 1 | 1901, 1921, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1981, 1982, 1991 | 1987
Wanderers | 5 | 0 | 1872, 1873, 1876, 1877, 1878 | —
West Ham United | 3 | 2 | 1964, 1975, 1980 | 1923, 2006
Crystal Palace | 1 | 2 | 2025 | 1990, 2016
Charlton Athletic | 1 | 1 | 1947 | 1946
Clapham Rovers | 1 | 1 | 1880 | 1879
Wimbledon | 1 | 0 | 1988 | —
Fulham | 0 | 1 | — | 1975
Queens Park Rangers | 0 | 1 | — | 1982
Millwall | 0 | 1 | — | 2004

### EFL Cup

[edit]

EFL Cup finals between London clubs  Final No.  | Season  | Winners  | Score  | Runners–up  | Venue  | Attendance

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47th  | 2006–07 | Chelsea | 2–1 | Arsenal | Millennium Stadium | 70,073
48th  | 2007–08 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2–1 (a.e.t.)  | Chelsea | Wembley Stadium (new)  | 87,660
55th  | 2014–15 | Chelsea | 2–0 | Tottenham Hotspur | Wembley Stadium (new)  | 89,294

* Titles (clubs): 12 (4)
* Runners-up (clubs): 18 (5)

Team  | Winners  | Runners-up  | Years won  | Years runner-up

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Chelsea | 5 | 4 | 1965, 1998, 2005, 2007, 2015 | 1972, 2008, 2019, 2022, 2024
Tottenham Hotspur | 4 | 5 | 1971, 1973, 1999, 2008 | 1982, 2002, 2009, 2015, 2021
Arsenal | 2 | 6 | 1987, 1993 | 1968, 1969, 1988, 2007, 2011, 2018
Queens Park Rangers | 1 | 1 | 1967 | 1986
West Ham United | 0 | 2 | — | 1966, 1981

### FA Community Shield

[edit]

Community Shields between London clubs  Final No.  | Season  | Winners  | Score  | Runners–up  | Venue  | Attendance

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|

69th  | 1991 | Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur | 0–0  |  | Wembley Stadium (original)  | 65,483
83rd  | 2005 | Chelsea | 2–1  | Arsenal | Millennium Stadium | 58,014
93rd  | 2015 | Arsenal | 1–0  | Chelsea | Wembley Stadium (new)  | 85,437
95th  | 2017 | Arsenal | 1–1 (4–1 p) | Chelsea | Wembley Stadium (new)  | 83,325

* Titles (clubs): 28[b] (4)
* Runners-up (clubs): 24 (7)

Team  | Winners  | Runners-up  | Years won (* denotes shared)  | Years runner-up

|
|
|
|

Arsenal | 17 | 7 | 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1991*, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2023 | 1935, 1936, 1979, 1989, 1993, 2003, 2005
Tottenham Hotspur | 7 | 2 | 1921, 1951, 1961, 1962, 1967*, 1981*, 1991* | 1920, 1982
Chelsea | 4 | 9 | 1955, 2000, 2005, 2009 | 1970, 1997, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018
West Ham United | 1 | 2 | 1964* | 1975, 1980
Queens Park Rangers | 0 | 2 |  | 1908, 1912
Corinthian | 0 | 1 |  | 1927
Wimbledon | 0 | 1 |  | 1988

### Second Division / Championship (Tier 2)

[edit]

* Titles (clubs): 16 (9)
* Runners-up (clubs): 18 (9)

Club  | Winners  | Runners-up  | Winning Years

|
|
|

Fulham | 3  | 1  | 1948–49, 2000–01, 2021–22
Chelsea | 2  | 5  | 1983–84, 1988–89
West Ham United | 2  | 3  | 1957–58, 1980–81
Tottenham Hotspur | 2  | 2  | 1919–20, 1949–50
Queens Park Rangers | 2  | 2  | 1982–83, 2010–11
Crystal Palace | 2  | 1  | 1978–79, 1993–94
Charlton Athletic | 1  | 2  | 1999–2000
Brentford | 1  | –  | 1934–35
Millwall | 1  | –  | 1987–88
Arsenal | –  | 1  |
Leyton Orient | –  | 1  |

## London football in Europe

[edit]

* Titles (clubs): 14 (5)
* Runners-up (clubs): 8 (6)

### UEFA Champions League

[edit]

* Titles (clubs): 2 (1)
* Runners-up (clubs): 3 (3)

Team  | Winners  | Runners-up  | Years won  | Years runner-up

|
|
|
|

Chelsea | 2 | 1 | 2012, 2021 | 2008
Arsenal | 0 | 1 | – | 2006
Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 1 | – | 2019

### UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

[edit]

* Titles (clubs): 5 (4)
* Runners-up (clubs): 3 (2)

Team  | Winners  | Runners-up  | Years won  | Years runner-up

|
|
|
|

Chelsea | 2 | 0 | 1971, 1998 | –
Arsenal | 1 | 2 | 1994 | 1980, 1995
West Ham United | 1 | 1 | 1965 | 1976
Tottenham Hotspur | 1 | 0 | 1963 | –

### UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League

[edit]

* Titles (clubs): 5 (2)
* Runners-up (clubs): 4 (3)

UEFA Europa League finals between London clubs  Final No.  | Season  | Winners  | Score  | Runners–up  | Venue  | Attendance

|
|
|
|
|
|

48th  | 2018–19 | Chelsea | 4–1[15] | Arsenal | Baku Olympic Stadium | 51,370
Team  | Winners  | Runners-up  | Years won  | Years runner-up

|
|
|
|

Tottenham Hotspur | 3 | 1 | 1972, 1984, 2025 | 1974
Chelsea | 2 | 0 | 2013, 2019 | –
Arsenal | 0 | 2 | – | 2000, 2019
Fulham | 0 | 1 | – | 2010

### UEFA Conference League

[edit]

* Titles (clubs): 2 (2)
* Runners-up (clubs): 0 (0)

Team  | Winners  | Runners-up  | Years won  | Years runner-up

|
|
|
|

West Ham United | 1 | 0 | 2023 | –
Chelsea | 1 | 0 | 2025 | –

### Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

[edit]

* Titles (clubs): 1 (1)
* Runners-up (clubs): 1 (1)

Team  | Winners  | Runners-up  | Years won  | Years runner-up

|
|
|
|

Arsenal | 1 | 0 | 1970 | –
London XI | 0 | 1 | – | 1958

### UEFA Super Cup

[edit]

* Titles (clubs): 2 (1)
* Runners-up (clubs): 4 (2)

Team  | Winners  | Runners-up  | Years won  | Years runner-up

|
|
|
|

Chelsea | 2 | 3 | 1998, 2021 | 2012, 2013, 2019
Arsenal | 0 | 1 | – | 1994

### UEFA Intertoto Cup

[edit]

* Titles (clubs): 2 (2)

Team  | Winners  | Runners-up  | Years won

|
|
|

West Ham United | 1 | 0 | 1999
Fulham | 1 | 0 | 2002

## London football in FIFA Club World Cup

[edit]

* Titles (clubs): 2 (1)
* Runners-up (clubs): 1 (1)

Team  | Winners  | Runners-up  | Years won  | Years runner-up

|
|
|
|

Chelsea | 2 | 1 | 2021, 2025 | 2012

## London derbies

[edit]

Main article: London derbies

## Stadium

[edit]

### Wembley Stadium

[edit]

The Wembley Stadium in London, England.

Main article: Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium, in north-west London, is the national football stadium, and is traditionally the home of the FA Cup Final as well as England's home internationals. The original stadium of the same name was closed in 2000 in order to be demolished and completely rebuilt, and reopened in 2007; during the closure Cardiff's Millennium Stadium was the venue for cup finals, while England played at various venues around the country. Wembley was one of the venues for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, as well as UEFA Euro 1996 and 2020, hosting the final of all three tournaments. It also was the venue for the European Cup final in 1968, 1978, 1992, 2011 and 2013. With a 90,000-capacity, it is the second largest stadium in Europe.

### Other stadiums

[edit]

Most clubs in London have their own stadium, although some clubs share, and some clubs may temporarily take up a tenancy at another's ground due to their own ground being redeveloped. The largest operational football stadium in London apart from Wembley is Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with a capacity of 62,850. Other large stadiums include West Ham United's London Stadium (62,500), Arsenal's Emirates Stadium (60,704) and Chelsea's Stamford Bridge (40,343). There are 10 stadiums in London (apart from Wembley) with capacities over 18,000.

## Administration

[edit]

London is the location of the headquarters of the Football Association, at Wembley Stadium (formerly Soho Square and Lancaster Gate), while the Premier League's offices are located in Marylebone. The Football League maintains its headquarters in Preston, although its commercial offices are based in Marylebone as well.

## See also

[edit]

* London portal
* English football portal

* Sport in London
* Football in England
* List of football clubs in England by competitive honours won

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The 1991 FA Charity Shield was shared between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
2. ^ The 1991 FA Charity Shield was shared between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "London :: Football". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
2. ^ "Football l & amateur London football". first4london.com. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
3. ^ Stephen Alsford, FitzStephen's Description of London, Florilegium Urbanum, 5 April 2006
4. ^ Wall, Sir Frederick (2005). 50 Years of Football, 1884-1934. Soccer Books Limited. ISBN 1-86223-116-8.
5. ^ "Early History of Football". The Encyclopedia of British Football. Archived from the original on 18 April 2007.
6. ^ "Football in London". Life in London Magazine.
7. ^ "History Overview". Fulhamfc.com.
8. ^ History of Cray Wanderers
9. ^ "125 years of Arsenal history - 1891-1896". arsenal.com. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016.
10. ^ a b c Blakeman, Mick (2000). Nunhead Football Club 1888-1949. The Book Factory, London. ISBN 1874427534.
11. ^ "The Most-followed Sports Teams on Instagram". 23 November 2023.
12. ^ "How local are Premier League fans? It depends".
13. ^ a b c "F A Cup Summary – Contents". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
14. ^ a b Barnes, Stuart (2008). Nationwide Football Annual 2008–2009. SportsBooks Ltd. pp. 132, 134–143\. ISBN 978-1-899807-72-7.
15. ^ UEFA.com. "Chelsea-Arsenal". UEFA. Retrieved 1 July 2023.

* v
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Association football by city

* Amsterdam
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* v
* t
* e

Football in London

League teams
(tiers 1–4)|

| 1|

Arsenal
Brentford
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Fulham
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United

|

Charlton Athletic
Millwall
Queens Park Rangers

AFC Wimbledon
Leyton Orient

Barnet
Bromley

Non-league teams
(tiers 5–8)|

| 5|

Sutton United
Wealdstone

|

Dagenham & Redbridge
Enfield Town
Hampton & Richmond Borough
Hornchurch

Carshalton Athletic
Cray Valley Paper Mills
Cray Wanderers
Dulwich Hamlet
Hanwell Town
Hendon
Welling United
Wingate & Finchley

AFC Croydon Athletic
Beckenham Town
Erith Town
Hadley
Hanworth Villa
Haringey Borough
Harrow Borough
Hayes & Yeading United
Kingstonian
Northwood
Phoenix Sports
Rayners Lane
Raynes Park Vale
Redbridge
Sutton Common Rovers
Uxbridge
Walthamstow

Rivalries|

* London derbies
* Arsenal–Chelsea
* Chelsea–Tottenham
* Millwall–West Ham
* North
* South
* East
* West

Cup competitions|

* London Senior Cup
* London Intermediate Cup
* London Junior Cup
* London Charity Cup (defunct)
* London Challenge Cup (defunct)

See also|

* The Football Combination
* London Football Association
* London XI
* London League (defunct)
* West London League (defunct)

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