PORTSMOUTH FOOTBALL CLUB

Club History

Portsmouth Football Club were founded in 1898 and the club have always played at Fratton Park.

The oldest stand still in use is the South Stand, built in the 1920s and designed by Archibald Leitch. It houses the dressing rooms, boardroom and offices and is the heartbeat of the stadium.

Pompey were promoted to the top-flight for the first time in 1927 and reached two FA Cup finals before winning the trophy with a 4-1 victory over Wolves in 1939.

In the 1930s the stadium was further developed with the building of the north stand, which is still in use.

Pompey enjoyed a golden post-war era, winning Division One (now the Premier League) in 1949 and 1950 – becoming one of only five clubs to win the trophy in back-to-back seasons since the war.

The club went into decline and dropped into Division Four (now League Two) but fought back, returning to the top-flight in 1987.

In 1997 the Fratton end, the home of Pompey’s noisiest section of fans, was rebuilt and a decade later a roof was put on the smaller Milton end for the first time.

By then the Blues were back in the Premier League – where they enjoyed a seven-year stay – and, in 2008, won the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Cardiff at Wembley, qualifying for European competition for the first time in their history.

Pompey reached their fifth FA Cup final in 2010, losing 1-0 to Chelsea, and were relegated to the Championship in the same season, as a crippling financial crisis took hold.

In 2012 the Blues were relegated to League One, dropping out of the top two divisions for the first time since 1983, and fell into the bottom tier a year later.

But stability was restored by fan ownership and they started on the journey back up the leagues by securing the League Two title in May 2017. That saw Pompey become one of only five sides to win all four of the fully-professional divisions in English football.

Michael Eisner's Tornante Company became the new owners in August 2017 and a couple of years later, the Blues won their first EFL Trophy, defeating Sunderland 5-4 on penalties at Wembley Stadium following a 2-2 draw under previous boss Kenny Jackett.

Jackett would later depart Pompey in March 2021 following EFL Trophy success in 2018-19.

After almost three seasons with Pompey, Jackett would later be replaced by former Lincoln City and Huddersfield head coach Danny Cowley, alongside his brother and assistant Nicky Cowley. The pair would see out the remainder of the 2021/22 season, coming back from behind to defeat Ipswich Town at home 2-1 in their first game and overseeing six wins from the 12 remaining matches of the 2021/22 season.

Cowley started the 2022–23 season well, winning the League One Manager of the Month award for August 2022 after picking up 13 points from a possible 15. This strong start to the season fell away and following a run of over two months without a league victory, Pompey would later replace the Cowley brothers in January 2023, with the Blues sitting in 12th position.

Mousinho won his first two games in charge, marking both Portsmouth's first win since November 2022, and their first home win since September 2022. Mousinho also led Portsmouth to their largest win of the 2022/23 season with a 4–0 home victory against Cheltenham Town, marking four wins in his first eight games in charge.

The former Oxford midfielder and ex-PFA Chairman oversaw the remainder of the 2022/23 season, finishing with 10 victories, nine draws and only four defeats from 23 league matches. Mousinho and the rest of his first-team staff will now look to take this into the planning for his first full season as Blues boss in the 2023/24 season.