Portsmouth, Football

Portsmouth Football Club is an English professional association football club in Portsmouth, Hampshire, which plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, following their promotion as EFL League Two champions in the 2016–17 EFL League Two season. The club was founded on 5 April 1898 and home matches are played at Fratton Park in Milton, Portsmouth. Portsmouth have been the top tier Football League Champions of England twice consecutively in 1949 and 1950. Portsmouth have also won the FA Cup twice in 1939 and 2008, and have won the FA Charity Shield once, in 1949. 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. In the early twentieth century, Portsmouth were also champions of the 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 football club (in terms of cups, honours and titles) outside London. Portsmouth have played in European competition for only one season in their history, the 2008–09 UEFA Cup (now UEFA Europa League), a result of winning the 2008 FA Cup Final. In this period, the club had international footballers including England players Glen Johnson, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, David James and Sol Campbell. Between 2003 and 2010 the club spent seven consecutive seasons in the Premier League. The club's fortunes declined in 2010–13 when the club entered administration twice and were relegated three times, reaching the fourth tier (EFL League Two) and their lowest point since the 1979–80 season. The club were saved from liquidation after being bought out by the fan-owned Pompey Supporters Trust (PST).[2][3] This made Portsmouth the largest fan-owned football club in England until 3 August 2017, when the PST sold it to The Tornante Company, an investment company owned by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner.[4][5]