Burnley F.C. facts for kids
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| Full name | Burnley Football Club | |
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| Nickname(s) | The Clarets | |
| Founded | 18 May 1882 | |
| Ground | Turf Moor | |
| Capacity | 21,944 | |
| Owner | ALK Capital LLC | |
| Chairman | Alan Pace | |
| Head coach | Scott Parker | |
| League | Premier League | |
| 2018–19 | Premier League, 15th of 20 | |
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Burnley Football Club is a professional football team from Burnley, Lancashire, England. They are known as "The Clarets" because of their claret and blue home shirts. The club was started in 1882 and was one of the first teams to become professional in 1883.
Burnley was one of the 12 founding members of the English Football League in 1888. They are one of only five teams to have won all four professional divisions of English football. Burnley has won the top English league twice, in 1921 and 1960. They also won the FA Cup once in 1914.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, Burnley was famous for its youth academy and scouting system. They were also one of the first clubs to build a special training ground. When Burnley won the league in 1960, their town was one of the smallest to have a top-tier champion. The team has played their home games at Turf Moor since 1883.
Contents
Burnley's History
Early Days and First Wins (1882–1946)
Burnley Football Club began on May 18, 1882. It was started by members of a rugby team called Burnley Rovers. They decided to switch to football because many other local clubs were doing the same. The team won their first trophy, the Dr Dean's Cup, in 1883. By the end of that year, the club became professional.
Burnley first played in the FA Cup in 1885. In 1886, their home ground, Turf Moor, became the first professional football ground visited by a member of the Royal Family. This was Prince Albert Victor. The club was one of the twelve teams that started the Football League in 1888. In their second league match, William Tait scored the first-ever league hat-trick for Burnley.
Burnley was relegated to the Second Division in 1897. But they won the division the very next season and were promoted back. In 1900, they were relegated again. The club faced money problems in the early 1900s.
In 1909, Harry Windle became chairman and helped the club's finances. In 1910, new manager John Haworth changed the team's colours to claret and blue. This was a tribute to Aston Villa, who were champions at the time. Burnley hoped these colours would bring them good luck.
In 1913, Burnley was promoted to the top league. The next season, they won their first major trophy, the FA Cup, by beating Liverpool 1–0. Bert Freeman scored the winning goal. Burnley became the first club to beat five top-tier teams in one FA Cup season. Their captain, Tommy Boyle, was the first to receive the trophy from a king, King George V.
In 1921, Burnley won their first-ever First Division championship. They lost their first three games but then went unbeaten for 30 league matches, which was an English record at the time. Nine seasons later, the team was relegated again.
Golden Era (1946–1976)
After World War II, in the 1946–47 season, Burnley was promoted and reached the FA Cup final. They lost to Charlton Athletic after extra time. Their defence was so strong that it was called "The Iron Curtain."
In 1954, Alan Brown became manager, and Bob Lord became chairman a year later. Under them, Burnley became a very forward-thinking club. They were one of the first to build a special training ground at Gawthorpe. They also became famous for finding and developing many young talented players.
In 1958, former player Harry Potts became manager. His team was built around captain Jimmy Adamson and playmaker Jimmy McIlroy. Potts often used a 4–4–2 formation, which was not common then, and played a style of football where players could swap positions.
Burnley won their second First Division title in 1960. They only reached the top of the table on the very last day of the season. The team was very cheap to build, costing only £13,000 in player transfers. Most of their players came from their own youth academy.
The town of Burnley, with about 80,000 people, became one of the smallest towns to have an English top-tier champion. The next season, Burnley played in European competitions for the first time. They reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup. In 1962, they finished second in the First Division and reached the FA Cup final, but lost to Tottenham Hotspur.
In 1961, the rule about how much players could be paid was removed. This meant that clubs from smaller towns like Burnley could not compete with richer clubs from bigger cities. Key players like Jimmy McIlroy and Jimmy Adamson also left or retired. Burnley stayed in the First Division for the rest of the 1960s.
In 1970, Adamson became manager, but the team was relegated in 1971. Burnley won the Second Division title in 1973. They also won the FA Charity Shield against Manchester City. In 1975, Burnley had a big FA Cup upset when Wimbledon, a non-league team, beat them 1–0. Adamson left in 1976, and Burnley was relegated from the First Division again.
Tough Times and Comebacks (1976–2020)
Burnley was relegated to the Third Division for the first time in 1980. Under manager Brian Miller, they won the Third Division title in 1982 and returned to the second tier. But this only lasted one year.
In 1985, Burnley was relegated to the Fourth Division for the first time. In 1987, they almost dropped out of the Football League entirely, but a win on the last day saved them.
In 1988, Burnley played in the final of the Associate Members' Cup but lost. In 1992, under manager Jimmy Mullen, Burnley won the Fourth Division. This made them only the second club to win all four professional divisions of English football.
Burnley won the Second Division play-offs in 1994 and were promoted to the second tier. They were relegated after one season. In 2000, under manager Stan Ternent, Burnley finished second and were promoted to the second tier again.
In 2009, with Owen Coyle as manager, Burnley was promoted to the Premier League after 33 years. They beat Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final. Burnley also reached the League Cup semi-final that season.
Being promoted to the Premier League made Burnley one of the smallest towns to have a team in the top league. Manager Owen Coyle left in 2010, and Burnley was relegated after just one season.
Sean Dyche became manager in October 2012. He led Burnley back to the Premier League in 2014, even with a small budget. They were relegated again after one season. But in 2016, they won the EFL Championship title, going 23 league games unbeaten.
In 2017, the club built a new training centre, Barnfield, replacing Gawthorpe. Dyche helped design it. In 2018, Burnley finished seventh in the Premier League, which meant they qualified for the UEFA Europa League. This was their return to European football after 51 years.
New Owners (2020–present)
In December 2020, an American company called ALK Capital bought most of Burnley Football Club. This was the first time the club was not owned by local business people or fans.
In 2022, Burnley was relegated back to the Championship. In June 2022, Vincent Kompany from Belgium became Burnley's manager. He was the first non-British manager for the club. Kompany signed many new, young players and changed the team's playing style to focus on keeping the ball and attacking.
Burnley won promotion back to the Premier League in 2023 with seven games left, which was a Championship record. They also won the Championship title. However, in the 2023–24 season, Burnley was relegated from the Premier League again. Soon after, Kompany left to manage Bayern Munich.
Club Identity
Team Kits and Colours
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| Burnley's strip in the first season of the Football League (1888–89). The actual kit had long sleeves. |
In their early years, Burnley used many different kit designs and colours. They often used blue and white, which were the colours of their first team, Burnley Rovers. For a while, they wore black and amber, and even pink and white stripes. From 1900 to 1910, they wore all green.
In 1910, Burnley changed to their famous claret and blue colours. They have mostly kept these colours ever since. They chose claret and blue to honour Aston Villa, who were champions at the time. Burnley's committee and manager John Haworth thought these colours might bring them good luck. After World War II, in 1946, the club officially registered their colours as claret and blue again.
Local companies made Burnley's jerseys until 1975, when Umbro became the first company to put its logo on the shirt. Since then, many different companies have made Burnley's kits and sponsored their shirts.
Club Crest
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Burnley first used a crest in December 1887. They wore the royal arms on their shirts to remember Prince Albert Victor's visit to Turf Moor. This crest was used until 1895. It appeared again in the 1914 FA Cup final.
After 1914, the team mostly played in plain shirts. But they wore the coat of arms of Burnley town in the 1934–35 FA Cup semi-final and the 1947 FA Cup final. After winning the First Division in 1960, Burnley was allowed to wear the town's crest on their shirts.
The club has used different badges over the years. In 2009, to celebrate 50 years since their 1960 title win, they brought back the logo used from 1960 to 1969. In 2023, they updated their crest, making the elements white on a claret shield.
Burnley's current badge is based on the town's coat of arms.
- The stork at the top represents the Starkie family, important in the Burnley area. It holds a Lacy knot, from the de Lacy family, who owned Burnley long ago.
- The stork stands on a hill with cotton plants, showing the town's history with cotton.
- The hand below represents the town's motto, "Hold to the Truth."
- The two bees show the town's hard work.
- The lion represents royalty.
- The chevron shape refers to the River Brun, which flows through the town.
Home Stadium: Turf Moor
Burnley has played their home games at Turf Moor since February 1883. Before that, they played at Calder Vale. Turf Moor has been used for sports since at least 1843, when Burnley Cricket Club moved there. Both clubs have stayed there ever since. Only Preston North End has used their stadium, Deepdale, for longer.
The ground first had only a pitch. The first main stand was built in 1885. In 1888, Burnley won their first league match at Turf Moor, beating Bolton Wanderers 4–1. Fred Poland scored the first league goal at the stadium.
In the 1910s, the capacity of Turf Moor was increased to 50,000. It hosted its only FA Cup semi-final in 1922. In 1927, it hosted its only full international match, between England and Wales.
From the end of World War II until the mid-1960s, crowds at Turf Moor were usually between 20,000 and 35,000. The record attendance for a single match was 54,775 in 1924, for an FA Cup game against Huddersfield Town.
Turf Moor can hold 21,944 people and has four stands: the North Stand, the Jimmy McIlroy Stand, the Bob Lord Stand, and the Cricket Field Stand. The pitch used to be sloped until 1974, when it was made flatter. In the 1990s, the stadium was updated, and standing areas were replaced with all-seater stands. In 2019, the club added new corner stands for disabled fans.
Supporters and Rivalries
Supporters
Burnley fans mostly come from East Lancashire and West Yorkshire. The club has a very loyal fanbase for the size of its town. Burnley has many fan clubs in the UK and other countries.
Burnley fans have a long-standing friendship with supporters of the Dutch team Helmond Sport. Fans from both clubs often travel to visit each other's matches. Helmond Sport even adopted claret and blue as their away kit colours in tribute to Burnley.
A popular song sung by fans since the 1970s is "No Nay Never," which is based on "The Wild Rover." It has lyrics that tease their main rivals, Blackburn Rovers.
Famous Burnley fans include football legend Jimmy Hogan, journalist Alastair Campbell, and cricketer James Anderson. Even King Charles III is a supporter of the club! In 2019, Burnley fan Scott Cunliffe won an award from UEFA. He ran to every away Premier League ground during the 2018–19 season, raising over £55,000 for charity.
A special drink served at home matches since World War I is "Béné & Hot." It's the French liqueur Bénédictine mixed with hot water. Soldiers from the East Lancashire Regiment learned to like this drink while stationed in France during the war. They drank it with hot water to stay warm in the trenches. When they returned home, they brought the drink with them. Burnley Football Club is one of the biggest sellers of Bénédictine in the world!
Rivalries
Burnley's main rivals are Blackburn Rovers. Their games are called the East Lancashire derby, or sometimes the "Cotton Mills derby." Both clubs are from old mill towns and were founding members of the Football League. They have both won the top division and the FA Cup. The two towns are only about 14 miles apart. Burnley has won more games against Blackburn than they have lost.
Burnley also has rivalries with other nearby clubs like Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, and Preston North End. They also have a "Roses rivalry" with West Yorkshire teams like Bradford City and Leeds United.
Players
First-team squad
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Players on Loan
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Management
Football Staff
| Position | Name |
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| Head coach | Scott Parker |
| Assistant coach | Henrik Jensen |
| Coaching staff | Jonathan Hill Mike Jackson Connor King Kersten Kuhl Eliot Tybebo |
Club Managers
Burnley-born Harry Bradshaw was Burnley's first manager in 1894. He led them to win the Second Division title in 1898. John Haworth was the first manager to win a major trophy, the FA Cup in 1914. He also led Burnley to their first English championship in 1921.
Harry Potts guided the club to its second First Division title in 1960. Other managers who won league titles for Burnley include Jimmy Adamson (1973), Brian Miller (1982), Jimmy Mullen (1992), Sean Dyche (2016), and Vincent Kompany (2023).
Club Owners
From when it started until 2020, Burnley was run by local business people and fans. In December 2020, an American investment company called ALK Capital bought 84% of Burnley. Alan Pace, from ALK Capital, became the club's chairman.
In May 2023, J. J. Watt, a famous American football player, and his wife, Kealia Watt, became new smaller investors in the club. In August 2023, the YouTube group Dude Perfect also became smaller investors.
Board of Directors
| Position | Name |
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| Chairman | Alan Pace |
| Members | Dave Checketts Antonio Dávila Stuart Hunt Mike Smith Vlad Torgovnik |
Club Chairmen
Here are the people who have been chairman of Burnley Football Club:
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Honours and Trophies
Burnley is one of only five teams to have won all four professional divisions of English football. The club's main trophies include:
League Titles
- First Division (top league)
- Champions: 1920–21, 1959–60
- Second Division / Championship (second tier)
- Champions: 1897–98, 1972–73, 2015–16, 2022–23
- Play-off winners: 2009
- Third Division / Second Division (third tier)
- Champions: 1981–82
- Play-off winners: 1994
- Fourth Division (fourth tier)
- Champions: 1991–92
Cup Wins
- FA Cup
- Winners: 1913–14
- FA Charity Shield
- Winners: 1960 (shared), 1973
- Anglo-Scottish Cup
- Winners: 1978–79
Regional Trophies
- Lancashire Cup
- Winners (13 times): 1889–90, 1914–15, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1992–93, 2022–23
Club Records
- The player with the most appearances for Burnley is goalkeeper Jerry Dawson. He played 569 games between 1907 and 1929.
- The club's top goal scorer is George Beel, who scored 188 goals from 1923 to 1932.
- In 1962, Jimmy Adamson won the FWA Footballer of the Year award, the only Burnley player to do so.
- Willie Irvine was the top goal scorer in the top league in 1965–66 with 29 goals.
- Jimmy McIlroy is the most capped player while at the club, playing 51 times for Northern Ireland.
- The youngest player to play for Burnley was Tommy Lawton, who was 16 years and 174 days old in 1936.
- The oldest player was Len Smelt, who played his last match at 41 years and 132 days old in 1925.
- Burnley's biggest win in a league game was 9–0 against Darwen in 1892.
- Their biggest FA Cup wins were 9–0 against Crystal Palace (1909), New Brighton (1957), and Penrith (1985).
- The longest time Burnley went unbeaten in the league was 30 games, from September 1920 to March 1921. This helped them win the First Division title.
- The highest number of fans at a home game was 54,775 for an FA Cup match against Huddersfield Town in 1924.
- The highest transfer fee Burnley has received for a player is £31.5 million for Wilson Odobert in 2024.
- The highest fee Burnley has paid for a player is £16.1 million for Zeki Amdouni in 2023.
- In 1925, Bob Kelly broke the world transfer record when he moved from Burnley to Sunderland for £6,500.
See also
In Spanish: Burnley Football Club para niños
