Cardiff City F.C.

Cardiff City F.C.

Cardiff City Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football league system and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. They are the best supported football club in Wales, with their attendances averaging 22,139 for their home games in the 2011–12 season. They play their home games at the Cardiff City Stadium, where they moved to in 2009 after 99 years at nearby Ninian Park.

Cardiff City were founded in 1899 and are the only non-English side to have won any of the three major English competitions. They won the FA Cup in 1927, during a decade when they were one of the strongest sides in the English league, finishing runners-up in 1923–24 and also losing 1–0 to Sheffield United in the FA Cup Final of 1925. They have also been regular winners of the Welsh Cup, and as the winner of the Cup in 1966–67 gained entry to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, reaching the semi-finals in 1967–68. They played in old Football League First Division periods of 1921–29, 1952–57 and 1960–62.

In 1986, they were relegated to the Fourth Division, and over the next 14 years slipped into the league's basement division three times. In 1996 they were the league's third lowest placed team. However, a Football League Second Division playoff triumph in 2003 lifted them into the Football League First Division; In the 2008–09 season they failed to make the play-offs for the Premier League on goals scored to Preston on the final day of the season. However, in the 2009–10 season they managed to secure a place in the play-offs for the Premier League with two games to spare after beating Queens Park Rangers 1–0. In the semi-final they drew 3–3 on aggregate over two games against Leicester City, before winning 4–3 in a penalty shoot-out. In the final they lost 3–2 to Blackpool at Wembley Stadium after being ahead twice. The following season the team finished fourth in the table again, but ended the season by losing 3–0 on aggregate to Reading in the play-off semi-finals. Manager Dave Jones soon parted company with the club, before being replaced by Malky Mackay.

Overall, Cardiff City have played 15 seasons in English top flight football and are the 39th most successful club in English League football based on points gained during their time in the top flight. From all points collected during their time so far in all professional football leagues, they are ranked 61st.

In 2012, Cardiff City were rebranded by the club's Malaysian owners, Vincent Tan and Chan Tien Ghee. This included the change of the club's home colours and crest, although their nickname, the Bluebirds, remained. Alan Whiteley from the board of directors said the rebrand was designed to help the club expand their appeal. The majority of the fans were against the changes but it has been lightly accepted.