Manchester City Football Club Profile
Manchester City Football Club Facts
Full Name: Manchester City Football Club
Nickname: The Citizens, The Blues, City
Founded: 1880
Colours: Sky Blue and White
Home Ground: City of Manchester Stadium
Manager: Mark Hughes
Premier League Titles: 2
FA Cup Titles: 4
Manchester City Football Club Profile
Manchester City Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Manchester. They are current members of the English Premier League. The club has won the League Championship twice, the FA Cup four times, the League Cup twice and the European Cup Winners Cup once with their most successful period in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Manchester City Football Club History
Manchester City F.C. was founded in 1880 as St. Marks (West Gorton) by Anna Connell and two wardens of St. Mark’s Church. They changed their name to Ardwick A.F.C. to reflect their 1987 move to their new ground at Hyde Road in Ardwick. Ardwick joined the Football League as founding members of the Second Division in 1892.
One year later, a reorganisation within the club as a result of financial difficulties led to a second name change to Manchester City F.C. They were promoted to the first division in 1899 and won their first FA cup in 1904. They won their second FA cup in 1934, and their first First Division title in 1937, but were relegated the following year.
Their third FA cup victory came 19 years later in 1956. Poor performances over the next few years led to relegation to the second division in 1963 but this was followed by the club’s most successful period during the late 1960s and early 1970s when they won several major trophies including the European Cup in 1970 under the management team of Joe Mercer and his assistant Malcolm Allison.
In the 1980s, the club was relegated twice from the top flight (in 1983 and 1987) and Manchester City’s fortunes continued to fade. Although Manchester City were founders of the Premier League in 1992, they were relegated to Division One only four years later in 1996. Two seasons later, they had the dubious distinction of becoming the first ever European trophy winners to be relegated to English football’s Third tier.
Under Kevin Keegan, Manchester City returned to the top division and won the 2001-02 Division One Championship. Although they have not won any major trophies since 1976, they have remained in the top tier of English football since 2001.
City of Manchester Stadium
Manchester City’s current stadium is the City of Manchester Stadium, a state-of-the-art 47,726-seater stadium originally designed as part of Manchester’s failed bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair laid the foundation stone in December 1999, and construction began in January 2000.
The stadium was constructed by John Laing for approximately £110 million with Sport England and Manchester City Council contributing to this payment. Manchester City have signed a 250-year lease for use of the stadium which is the twelfth largest in the United Kingdom.
Supporters and Rivalries
Manchester City have an estimated fanbase of 886,000 in the United Kingdom and a total in excess of 2 million worldwide. They enjoy fairly large support despite their lack of success on the pitch, and their fans have been voted the most loyal fans in the premiership by the British Football Fans Association, with attendance figures in the top six in England.
Manchester City’s biggest rivalry is with its closest neighbour Manchester United, against whom they contest the Manchester derby.
