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History of the club

A football club headquartered in Burnley, Lancashire, England, Burnley Football Club now participates in the Premier League, the top division of English football. The club was founded in 1899 and has won the Premier League on three occasions. It was founded on May 18, 1882, and was one of the first to turn professional (in 1883), putting pressure on the Football Association to allow players to be paid. The club made its first appearance in the FA Cup in 1885–86 and was one of the 12 original founders of the Football League in 1888–89, when it won the competition for the first time. Under chairman Bob Lord's leadership from the 1950s through the 1970s, the club developed a reputation for its youth policy and scouting system, and was one of the first to establish a purpose-built training site.

Turf Moor has been the home of the team since 1883, when they relocated from their original location in Calder Vale. The claret and blue club colours were established before the 1910–11 season as a nod to the then-Football League champions Aston Villa. The club is affectionately known as "the Clarets" due to the predominant colour of their home jerseys. Burnley's current logo is based on their coat of arms. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Blackburn Rovers, with whom it competes in the East Lancashire Derby.

Owners

The club became a limited company in 1897 after incorporating as an association. Burnley was owned and operated by local business people and fans from the time of their founding until 2020. VSP, the sports investment branch of American management company ALK Capital, purchased an 84 percent share in Burnley Football Club in December 2020 for a total of £170 million, according to the club's website. Alan Pace, managing partner of ALK Capital, took over as chairman of the club when Mike Garlick stepped down.

Stadium

Since February 1883, the team has played its home games at Turf Moor Stadium, which was built to replace their previous home at Calder Vale Stadium. Turf Moor has been used for sport since at least 1843, when the Burnley Cricket Club relocated there.

The first stadium was only a pitch, and the first grandstand was not completed until 1885. Burnley defeated Bolton Wanderers 4–1 in the first ever league match played at Turf Moor in 1888, with Fred Poland scoring the first league goal ever scored at the stadium in the process. Turf Moor's capacity was raised to 50,000 during the 1910s, thanks to the efforts of chairman Harry Windle. A semi-final between Huddersfield Town and Notts County was played at the stadium in 1922, and five years later, it staged its sole full international encounter, a meeting between England and Wales for the British Home Championship. With an average attendance between 20,000 and 35,000 from 1945 through 1965, Burnley averaged an attendance of 33,621 in 1947–48 First Division matches. The previous attendance record for a single game was reached in 1924 against Huddersfield Town in an FA Cup third round fixture, when 54,775 people turned out to watch. There were 52,850 people in attendance for a replay of the FA Cup fifth round versus Bradford City in 1960, according to official attendance figures. Some of the gates, on the other hand, were torn down, and a large number of spectators surged into the stadium.

Fans may gather in four areas at Turf Moor: the James Hargreaves Stand (previously the Longside), the Jimmy McIlroy Stand (formerly the Bee Hole End), the Bob Lord Stand, and the Cricket Field Stand, which is used by both home and away supporters. The current capacity is 21,944 people when all seats are used. It wasn't until 1974 that Turf Moor's field was levelled to eliminate the sloping effect on the playing surface. The ground had significant restoration in the mid-1990s, when the Longside and Bee Hole End terraces were rebuilt with all-seater stands in response to the Taylor Report. Two corner stands for disabled home supporters were created between the Jimmy McIlroy and both the James Hargreaves and Bob Lord Stands in order to comply with the Accessible Stadium Guide standards, which were implemented in 2019.

Cups won

Besides winning the FA Cup once, in 1913-14, and the FA Charity Shield twice, Burnley has also been champions of England twice: in 1920–21 and 1959–60. Burnley has also won the FA Charity Shield twice, in 1960 and 1973, and has been crowned champions of England twice. They finished second in the First Division twice, in 1919–20 and 1961–62, and also finished second in the FA Cup twice, in 1946–47 and 1961–62. The team also advanced to the quarter-finals of the European Cup in 1960–61.

Current squad

1 GK Nick Pope

2 DF Matthew Lowton

3 DF Charlie Taylor

4 MF Jack Cork

5 DF James Tarkowski

6 DF Ben Mee (captain)

7 MF Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson

8 MF Josh Brownhill

9 FW Chris Wood

10 FW Ashley Barnes

11 MF Dwight McNeil

13 GK Wayne Hennessey

No. Pos. Nation Player

14 DF Connor Roberts

16 MF Dale Stephens

17 MF Aaron Lennon

18 MF Ashley Westwood

19 FW Jay Rodriguez

20 MF Maxwel Cornet

22 DF Nathan Collins

23 DF Erik Pieters

25 GK Will Norris

26 DF Phil Bardsley

27 FW Matěj Vydra

28 DF Kevin Long

Biggest transfers

Record transfer fees paid: Chris Wood for £15m to Leeds United on the 21 August 2017.

Record transfer fees received: Michael Keane for £25m from Everton on the 3 July 2017.