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Team profile Leicester City Football Club

Nicknamed The Foxes since Leicestershire is known for fox hunting, Leicester City Football Club only introduced the image of a fox into the club crest several years after its formation. Leicester City is a Premier League football club, playing in the top division of the English football league system.

The club had moved no less than three times since its formation before it finally came to the King Power Stadium, their current location. For football fans, Leicester remains in memory as one of the most surprising victories in the history of football, when the team won the 2015-2016 Premier League against all odds, earning them the nickname "the Unbelievables".

History of Leicester City

The club first wore its iconic blue and white home colours in 1884, when it was founded under the name Leicester Fosse F.C., for its proximity to Fosse Road. Leicester Fosse Football Club then moved to Filbert Street in 1891, where they were first elected in the Football League. Yet, the name was officially changed only in 1919 after the First World War for the now renowned Leicester City. After staying for over 100 years at Filbert Street, the club moved to Walkers Stadium in 2002, its current location.

During its early years under the name Leicester Fosse, the club faced its record defeat, 12-0 loss against Nottingham Forest, which contributed to its relegation to Second Division before the First World War. After the name change, Leicester City attempted to rebuild its position in football history, yet the unlucky 1930s brought another relegation.

In the after-war period in 1949, Leicester reached the FA Cup Final and secured its survival in Division Two. They won the Championship in 1954 and finally managed to ascend to Division One in 1957, where they remained until 1969.

Under Jimmy Bloomfield, the team made its way back to Division One and remained in the First Division for the whole duration of Bloomfield's tenure. The club has not been able to stay in the top division for so long since.

Management changed in a bid to resume Division One promotion. Yet, the successful result was only achieved by one of Leicester's most famous home-grown players, Gary Lineker, who was sold to Everton in 1985. Leicester City was relegated after his departure into the Second Division and even risked falling to the Third Division in 1991. After fewer management changes, Leicester City started to decline between 2000 and 2008, reaching the third tier of English football.

In 2010, Leicester City changed ownership, which marked the beginning of the club's ascension back top second tier and Premier League. The club made history by becoming the first team to beat Manchester United from a two-goal deficit.

In 2015, Leicester City appointed managing Claudio Ranieri for the Premier League season, leading the club to an unbelievable victory against Tottenham, completing one of the fastest rises for the Premier League title in history (in only 7 years). Yet, Ranieri, awarded coach of the year at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2016, was inexplicably sacked a few months later. Followed a rapid change of caretaker management and management until former Liverpool manager Brandan Rodgers was appointed in 2019, recording one of the largest away win in English top flight history against Southampton in October 2019. After the pandemic, Leicester City won their first-ever FA Cup and qualified for the UEFA Europa League for 2021-2022.

Owners of Leicester

Thai billionaire businessman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, bought Leicester City Football Club in 2010 via the Asia Football Investments consortium, owned by his travel retail group King Power. Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha is reported to have first discovered a football match in 1997 when he watched the League Cup Final between Leicester City and Middlesbrough. It is assumed that Leicester's victory influenced the purchase of the club.

Vichai bought Leicester City F.C. from Milan Mandarić after a three-year shirt sponsorship deal was agreed with King Power. Convinced that the club's success was affected by karma, Vichai supported Buddhist minks and temples to accumulate good karma.

In October 2018, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four other people died in a helicopter crash shortly after leaving Leicester's stadium. The ownership of the football club remained with King Power. Vichai's son, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, assumed the position as the chairman of Leicester City after his father's death.

Leicester Stadium

Formerly known as the Walkers Stadium on Filbert Way, the stadium officially changed its name in 2012, after the acquisition of the club by King Power's CEO and founder, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

Leicester City was forced to relocate from Filbert Street, his previous location, due to the stadium's low capacity. Plans for redevelopment and relocation went back and forth until officials agreed on plans for a 32,000-seat stadium to be completed on time for the 2002-2003 season. The Walkers Stadium opened its doors in July 2002 through an opening ceremony with Gary Lineker. The build cost is estimated at approximately £37 million.

The record attendance is 32,242 for Leicester City's first home game of the season 2015-2016. Under King Power's ownership, the club plans to increase the seat capacity to 40,000 and improve the surrounding area. e

Leicester City - Cups won

Leicester City Football Club is a multiple cup winner:

FA cup - winner: 2020-21

League cup/ EFL cup winner: 1963-64, 1996-97, 1999-2000

Charity Shield/ FA Community Shield: 1971, 2021

They are also recurring league winners in the first, second, and third divisions.

Current Squad - Leicester

The Leicester City first-team squad counts 28 players, including 3 goalkeepers, 11 defenders, 9 midfielders, 5 forwards.

• Captain Kasper Schmeichel - Denmark - Goalkeeper

• Vice-captain Jonny Evans - Northern Ireland - Defender

• Goalkeepers

• Danny Ward - Wales

• Eldin Jakupović - Switzerland

• Defender

• James Justin - England

• Wesley Fofana - France

• Çağlar Söyüncü - Turkey

• Ryan Bertrand - England

• Daniel Amartey - Ghana

• Ricardo Pereira - Portugal

• Jannik Vestergaard - Denmark

• Timothy Castagne - Belgium

• Luke Thomas - England

• Filip Benković - Croatia

• Midfielder

• Harvey Barnes - England

• Youri Tielemans - Belgium

• James Maddison - England

• Marc Albrighton - England

• Hamza Choudhury - England

• Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - England

• Nampalys Mendy - Senegal

• Wilfred Ndidi - Nigeria

• Boubakary Soumaré - France

• Forwards

• James Vardy - England

• Kelechi Iheanacho - Nigeria

• Ayoze Pérez - Spain

• Patson Daka - Zambia

• Ademola Lookman - England (on loan from RB Leipzig)

Biggest transfers Leicester

The current first-team squad count some of the biggest transfers in the club history, including:

• Çağlar Söyüncü - €21m from SC Freiburg

• Ricardo Pereira - €22m from Primeira Liga Side Porto

• Timothy Castagne - €24m from Atalanta

• James Maddison - €25m from Norwich City

• Kelechi Iheanacho - €27.5m from Manchester City

• Ayoze Pérez - €33.5m from Newcastle City

• Wesley Fofana - €35m from Saint-Etienne

• Youri Tielemans - €45m from AS Monaco

Top goalscorers Leicester

The current holds a surprising goal record with a shot accuracy of 65% or over for the current season:

• James Vardy - 65% accuracy - 7 goals

• y Barnes - 67% accuracy - 2 goals

• Ayoze Pérez - 67% accuracy - 1 goal

• Ademola Lookman - 100% accuracy - 2 goals

• Marc Albrighton - 100% accuracy - 1 goal

James Vardy has a current goal total of 154 during his entire career with the club so far.

However, Leicester City F.C. has a long history of prolific goalscorers, including Arthur Chandler with 273 goals, Arthur Rowley with 265 goals, and Gary Lineker with 103 goals.