10 OLDEST FOOTBALL CLUBS IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE AND EFL (RANKED)

The long history of English football is unrivalled in the world. A multi-faceted history written by the thousands of clubs that coexist in the United Kingdom - there are officially more than 40,000 of them scattered across the four corners of Great Britain - and all of which, in their own way, have contributed to the renown of British football.

Whether amateur or professional, each has managed to find its audience and forge strong links with its supporters. And no matter what level of the league each belongs to, the resulting passion remains similar. This article now ranks the 10 oldest clubs playing professional football, from the Premier League to League Two.

The 10 Oldest Football Clubs in the Premier League and EFL (2023/24)
Rank	Club	Founding date	2023/24 season championship
1	Notts County FC	1862	League Two
2	Stoke City FC	1863	Championship
3	Wrexham AFC	1864	League Two
4	Nottingham Forest FC	1865	Premier League
5	Sheffield Wednesday FC	1867	Championship
6	Reading FC	1871	League One
7	Aston Villa FC	1874	Premier League
8	Bolton Wanderers FC	1874	League One
9	Birmingham City FC	1875	Championship
10	Blackburn Rovers	1875	Championship

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Blackburn Rovers FC

Founding date: 1875

Formed by Shrewsbury School pupils John Lewis and Arthur Constantine on the 5th of November 1875, Blackburn Rovers FC is one of the oldest professional clubs in the UK. One of the founding members of the Lancashire Football Association (1878) and then the Football League (1888), Rovers lifted their first trophies at the end of the 19th century, winning five FA Cups (1884, 1885, 1886, 1890, 1891) in seven years - only Wanderers FC also managed to win the competition three times in a row (1876, 1877, 1878).

English champions on three occasions (1912, 1914, 1995), the club now plays in the Championship and has not tasted Premier League football since the 2011/12 season.

Birmingham City FC

Founding date: 1875

Birmingham City FC, also in the Championship, was founded in 1875. Initially called the Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888. The name changed again in 1905, becoming Birmingham FC, and then in 1945, when it became Birmingham City FC, the name it still bears today.

The Blue and Whites turned professional ten years after the club was founded, and enjoyed the most successful period of their history in the middle of the 20th century. They reached the final of the 1956 FA Cup and, in 1960, became the first English club in history to reach a major European final - in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. In 1963, BCFC also won the first League Cup in its history and would then triumph over Arsenal in a dramatic final to lift some more silverware in 2011. Despite a long history in the top flight of English football, the club now plays in the Championship.

Bolton Wanderers FC

Founding date: 1874

Formed by the Reverend Joseph Farrall Wright, Vicar Perpetual of Christ Church Bolton, and Thomas Ogden, schoolmaster of the adjacent parish school, in 1874 as Christ Church FC, the club, based in the town of Horwich, Greater Manchester, adopted the name Bolton Wanderers in 1877.

Also one of the founding members of the Football League, the Trotters' greatest successes came at the beginning of the 20th century, when they won three FA titles (1923, 1926, 1929). In 1923, against West Ham, they won the first official match played at Wembley (the FA Cup final known as 'The White Horse final'), which is also one of the highest attended cup finals in football history.

Aston Villa FC

Founding date: 1874

In its 150-year history, Aston Villa has won numerous trophies (7 English league titles, 7 FA Cups, 5 League Cups, etc.) and established itself as one of the most decorated clubs in the UK. The club owes its reputation in part to four men, Jack Hughes, Frederick Matthews, Walter Price and William Scattergood, who founded it in November 1874. All members of the chapel cricket team, they had found football a way of training during the winter months.

Gradually establishing themselves as one of the best teams in the Midlands, in 1886 Aston Villa appointed George Ramsay as their manager - he enjoyed the status of the world's first professional football coach. Like many other clubs based in its region, the Birmingham club was one of the founding members of the Football League, initiated by William McGregor, one of the Villans' directors.

Reading FC

Founding date: 1871

Reading FC was born on Christmas Day, on the 25th of December 1871. It was only in 1895 that the club, originally founded by Joseph Edward Sydenham following a public meeting at the Bridge Street Rooms, acquired professional status. It was the start of a new era for the club, which had almost disappeared a few years earlier.

Although the Biscuitmen were one of the founding members of the Southern League (1894), it was not until 1920 that they finally entered the Football League and the Football League Third Division South - the equivalent of today's League Two. In the course of their history, Reading have never won a major trophy, although they have twice won the Championship (2006, 2012) and finished eighth in the Premier League in 2007 - their best-ever league finish.

Sheffield Wednesday FC

Founding date: 1867

A football offshoot of The Wednesday Cricket Club, Sheffield Wednesday FC was founded on the 4th of September 1867 under the name The Wednesday. Charles Clegg played a key role in the founding of the club.

Clegg made history by playing in the first-ever international match between England and Scotland in November 1872, and was also president of the Football Association. The club turned professional in 1887 and joined the League (Division 1) in 1892. Its first major success came in 1896, when the Owls won the first FA Cup in their history. Now playing in the Championship, Sheffield Wednesday - renamed in 1929 - have won four English league titles and three FA Cups.

Nottingham Forest FC

Founding date: 1865

Nottingham Forest are the second oldest club in the Premier League for the 2023/24 season. Founded in 1865 by a group of Shinty (a type of grass hockey) players led by J.S. Scrimshaw, the club has, over the years, contributed financially to the creation of several other teams, including Liverpool, Arsenal and Brighton. Having achieved professional status in 1892, Forest won the FA Cup in 1898, but it was not until the second half of the 20th century that they established themselves at the very top of national and international football.

This period of success began in 1959, when the club won its second - and until now last - FA Cup. Crowned English champions in 1978, Forest added its name to the list of winners of the European Champion Clubs' Cup (the forerunner of the Champions League), in 1979 and 1980, and the 1979 European Supercup, to establish their dominance on the Old Continent. This golden period was followed by a slow decline that saw the club relegated to League One, before their recent revival to the Premier League.

Wrexham AFC

Founding date: 1864

At the time of writing, Wrexham AFC is no longer a League Two club, but a League One club. A league that the Red Dragons will be returning to 20 years after leaving it. As was the case with Aston Villa, the members of Wrexham Cricket Club decided to create a football section so that they could be physically active during the winter.

The result was Wrexham AFC, which became the fifth oldest association football team, the third oldest professional club and the oldest in Wales. Although the club has never won a major trophy in English competitions (it joined the Football League's Third Division North in 1921), it is the record holder for the number of Welsh Cups (23) and FAW Premier Cups (5) won.

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Stoke City FC

Founding date: 1863

Although Stoke City was founded in 1863, its first recorded match dates back to 1868, when it played under the name of Stoke Ramblers. Whatever the case, the club's founder, Henry Almond, created the club to play a sport he had developed a taste for during his studies: football.

A founder member of the Football League (1888), Stoke City Football Club acquired its full name when Stoke-on-Trent was granted city status in 1928. Despite being one of the oldest professional clubs in England, the Potters (who owe their nickname to the city's pottery tradition) never really managed to add to their trophy cabinet, with the 1972 League Cup being the club's one and only major title.

Notts County FC

Founding date: 1862

Quite simply, it is the oldest active club in British professional football - and, more broadly speaking, the oldest professional club in the world. Founded on the 28th of November 1862, Notts County FC is even older than the Football Association (1863). This particularity led the club to start playing matches under its own rules. Also a founder member of the Football League, Notts County achieved their best ever league results in 1891 and 1901, when they finished third.

In 1894, the Magpies won the FA Cup (the first and only major trophy in their history) to become the first non-Premier League club to win the Cup - they were then playing in the Second Division. Over the years, Notts County have become the second club in the city of Nottingham, playing in League Two, and have not experienced the flavour of the top flight since the 1991/92 season.