Cardiff City F.C. facts for kids
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| Full name | Cardiff City Football Club | |||
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| Nickname(s) | The Bluebirds | |||
| Short name | CAR, CCFC, City | |||
| Founded | 1899 (as Riverside A.F.C.) | |||
| Ground | Cardiff City Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 33,316 | |||
| Owner | Vincent Tan | |||
| Chairman | Mehmet Dalman | |||
| Manager | Omer Riza (caretaker) | |||
| League | Championship | |||
| 2018–19 | Premier League, 18th of 20 (relegated) | |||
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Cardiff City Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football team from Cardiff, Wales. They are often called "The Bluebirds" because of their blue and white home kits. The club plays in the EFL Championship, which is the second-highest football league in England.
Cardiff City started in 1899 as Riverside A.F.C. and changed its name in 1908. They joined the English Football League in 1920. The team has played in the top English league for 17 seasons. Their most recent time in the top league was the 2018–19 Premier League season.
Cardiff City is the only team from outside England to win the FA Cup. They won it in 1927. They have also reached three other major cup finals in England but lost them. These were the 1925 FA Cup final (against Sheffield United), the 2008 FA Cup final (against Portsmouth), and the 2012 Football League Cup final (against Liverpool). They have won the Welsh Cup 22 times, which is a lot!
The team's first home ground was Ninian Park, which opened in 1910. They played there for 99 years. In 2009, they moved to their current home, the Cardiff City Stadium. Cardiff City has big rivalries with nearby teams. They play Swansea City in the South Wales derby and Bristol City in the Severnside derby.
Contents
History of Cardiff City
Starting Out (1899–1920)
Cardiff City started in 1899 as Riverside A.F.C. The idea came from Bartley Wilson, an artist in Cardiff. He wanted to keep players from the Riverside Cricket Club fit during winter. At first, they played friendly games at Sophia Gardens. In 1900, they joined the Cardiff & District League.
When Cardiff became a city in 1905, the club asked to change its name to Cardiff City. This was not allowed at first because they were not playing at a high enough level. To improve, they joined the South Wales League in 1907. The next year, they finally got permission to be called Cardiff City.
The club needed a better stadium to join bigger leagues. They found land and built their own stadium, Ninian Park, which opened in 1910. The team became professional that same year. They signed their first player, Jack Evans, in 1911.
Cardiff joined the Southern Football League Second Division. They hired their first manager, Davy McDougall. The team finished fourth in their first year. Then, Fred Stewart took over. He signed experienced players like Billy Hardy. Stewart led the team to win the Second Division title in his second season. This meant they were promoted to the First Division.
Success and Challenges (1920–1945)
In 1920, Cardiff City joined the English Football League in the Second Division. They played their first league game on 28 August 1920, winning 5–2 against Stockport County. The team finished second that season and were promoted to the First Division. They even reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
In their third season in the top league, they almost won the title. They finished second to Huddersfield Town by a tiny difference in goal average. In their last game, Len Davies missed a penalty, and the match ended 0–0.
The 1924–25 season was special because Cardiff reached their first FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium. They lost 1–0 to Sheffield United.
The 1926–27 season was amazing. On 23 April 1927, Cardiff City made history by winning the FA Cup! They beat Arsenal 1–0 in the final. Hughie Ferguson scored the only goal. This made Cardiff the only team from outside England to win the FA Cup. Captain Fred Keenor received the trophy from King George V. When the team returned to Cardiff, about 150,000 people cheered them on.
That same year, they also won the Welsh Cup, beating Rhyl 2–0. This meant they won two national cups in one season! They also won the FA Charity Shield by beating the Corinthians 2–1.
After this success, the club faced harder times. They were relegated from the First Division in 1928–29. Two years later, they dropped to the Third Division South. In their first season there, Cardiff had their biggest win ever, beating Thames 9–2. Manager Fred Stewart left in 1933 after 22 years. The club stayed in the Third Division South until World War II stopped the league.
After the War and European Games (1945–2000)
After World War II, under new manager Billy McCandless, Cardiff won the Third Division South in 1946–47. They returned to the Second Division. They were promoted to the top league again in 1951–52 and stayed there for five seasons.
In the 1960s, Cardiff played in European competitions for the first time. They qualified by winning the Welsh Cup, which led them to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Their first European match was in 1964–65 against Danish team Esbjerg fB. They won 1–0 overall. They reached the quarter-finals before losing to Real Zaragoza.
Two years later, they reached the semi-finals of the Cup Winners Cup. They beat teams like Shamrock Rovers and Torpedo Moscow. They then faced German team Hamburg. This is still the furthest any Welsh team has gone in a European competition. Hamburg won the second leg 3–2 at Ninian Park.
In the 1970–71 season, Cardiff reached the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners Cup again. They played against Spanish giants Real Madrid. In the first game at Ninian Park, 47,000 fans watched Brian Clark score the only goal, giving Cardiff a famous 1–0 win. However, they lost the second game 2–0 and were knocked out.
Cardiff spent most of the time between 1962 and 1982 in the Second Division. From 1985 to 1993, they were in the lower two divisions. In 1995, Welsh clubs playing in English leagues were stopped from entering the Welsh Cup. Cardiff's last match in the competition was a 2–1 loss to Wrexham in the 1995 final.
New Owners and Recent Times (2000–present)
In 2000, Lebanese businessman Sam Hammam bought the club. He wanted to change the club's name to "The Cardiff Celts" and the colours to green, red, and white. But after talking with players and fans, he decided not to change the name. The club crest was updated to include the bluebird and the Flag of Saint David.
Hammam brought in new players. Manager Lennie Lawrence led Cardiff to promotion in 2003. They won the Second Division play-off against Queens Park Rangers with a goal in extra time. This brought Cardiff back to Division One after 18 years.
The club faced money problems later on. In 2006, plans for a new stadium were not approved. Then, a group led by Peter Ridsdale took over. In the 2007–08 season, Cardiff reached the FA Cup semi-final for the first time in 81 years. They beat Barnsley 1–0 in the semi-final at Wembley. But they lost 1–0 to Portsmouth in the final.
In 2010, a Malaysian group led by Datuk Chan Tien Ghee and Vincent Tan invested in the club. Vincent Tan later became the main owner. In 2011, Malky Mackay became manager. In his first season, Cardiff reached the League Cup final for the first time, but lost to Liverpool.
The next season, Cardiff won the 2012–13 Championship title. This meant they were promoted to the top English league after 52 years! On 18 August 2013, Cardiff played their first Premier League away game against West Ham United, losing 2–0. They only won three games in the first half of the season. On 27 December 2013, Mackay was replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjær. However, Cardiff was relegated back to the Championship after just one season. Solskjær was also sacked in 2014.
In October 2016, Neil Warnock became manager. He helped the team improve from near the bottom of the league to finish 12th. The 2017–18 season saw Cardiff set a club record by winning their first three league games. They then earned promotion to the Premier League by finishing second. But they were relegated again after just one season.
Warnock left in 2019 and was replaced by Neil Harris. Harris led Cardiff to a 5th-place finish but lost in the play-off semi-final. After a series of losses, Harris was sacked in January 2021. Mick McCarthy took over but left less than a year later. The club's under-23 manager Steve Morison then became caretaker manager and helped the team stay safe from relegation. Morison was sacked in September 2022 and replaced by Mark Hudson, who also lasted only four months.
In December 2022, FIFA put a transfer ban on Cardiff City, but it was lifted in January 2023. The club also had a ban from the English Football League that stopped them from paying fees for players until May 2024.
Fan Support
Cardiff City has many supporters from Cardiff and the surrounding South Wales Valleys. Since it's a Welsh club playing in English leagues, many fans feel a strong national connection. In the 1980s, when the club was struggling, only about 3,000 fans came to games. As the team improved, more people came. Average attendance grew from 3,594 in 1997 to 12,522 in 2002.
When the Cardiff City Stadium opened, average attendance reached 20,000 fans. During their two seasons in the Premier League, between 28,000 and 31,000 fans attended games. However, some people think the club attracts fewer fans than other similar teams. This might be because of the controversial change to red shirts between 2012 and 2015.
Welsh identity is a big part of the club's fan culture. Songs like "Men of Harlech" and "I'll Be There" are often sung before and during matches. "The Ayatollah" is a special hand gesture that Cardiff fans do to celebrate. It involves raising both arms up and down above the head. This action became popular in the early 1990s. Famous Welsh sports stars like boxer Nathan Cleverly and rugby player Gareth Thomas have also done the Ayatollah.
Rivalries
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Cardiff City's biggest rivalry is with nearby team Swansea City. This is called the South Wales derby. They have played over 100 games against each other. The rivalry became more intense in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1993, one game was called "The Battle of Ninian Park" due to problems. This led to away fans being banned from matches between the teams for four years. When the ban ended, fans could only attend games by traveling in police-escorted groups.
There is also a rivalry with Bristol City, known as the Severnside derby. They also have a smaller rivalry with Newport County because the cities are close. However, they have not played each other often since the 1980s.
Stadium
Ninian Park
Cardiff's first home was at Sophia Gardens from 1899 to 1910. As more people supported the club, Bartley Wilson found land on Sloper Road to build a stadium. This land used to be a rubbish dump, so it needed a lot of work. With help from the city and volunteers, the work was done. The stadium was named Ninian Park after Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart, who helped a lot with its building. The first game there was a friendly against Aston Villa on 1 September 1910.
The stadium first had one stand. A second, larger stand was built in 1928. Ninian Park hosted its first international match in March 1911, with Wales playing Scotland. The record number of fans at the ground was 57,893 for a game against Arsenal in 1953. Over the years, the stadium's capacity was reduced to about 22,000 due to safety rules. Ninian Park was used for 99 years until the club moved to a new stadium.
Cardiff City Stadium
In June 2009, the club finished building a new stadium called the "Cardiff City Stadium". It cost £48 million and could hold 26,828 people. It was built where the old Cardiff Athletics Stadium used to be. Three of the stands kept the names from Ninian Park: the Grange End, the Canton Stand, and the Grandstand. The fourth stand was named the Ninian Stand.
The stadium officially opened with a friendly game against Scottish team Celtic on 22 July 2009. The first competitive match was on 8 August 2009, when Cardiff won 4–0 against Scunthorpe United. The Cardiff Blues rugby team also shared the stadium for a few years, but they moved back to their old ground in 2012.
In August 2014, the stadium was made bigger. The seating capacity increased to 33,316. In 2015, part of the stadium was closed because not enough tickets were sold, reducing the capacity to 27,978. But it was reopened the next year as more fans came to games. In February 2023, the stadium received an award for being very good for people with disabilities.
Colours, Kit and Crest
Colours
When Riverside A.F.C. started in 1899, they wore chocolate-brown and amber checkered shirts. After changing to Cardiff City in 1908, they started wearing blue shirts with white or blue shorts and socks. For the first nine years, they wore black socks. Over the years, the kit has changed a bit. Sometimes it was all blue, or had a yellow stripe, or different blue stripes.
In 2012, owner Vincent Tan made a big change. He changed Cardiff's home kit colours from blue, white, and yellow to red and black. This was the first time since 1908 that blue was not the main colour. The club crest was also changed to show the Welsh Dragon more than the traditional bluebird. These changes were made to attract more fans from other countries. Many fans were very unhappy about these changes and protested. Even though Tan had said the club would only go back to blue if there was a new owner, on 9 January 2015, after three seasons in red, the club changed its home kit back to blue. The away kit became red. This was done to "unite" the club.
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| Original strip used as Riverside A.F.C. before 1908 |
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| Cardiff's original colours from 1908 until the 1920s |
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| Cardiff's lighter blue strip used between 1926 and 1930 |
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| Dark blue shirts returned between 1930 and 1992 |
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| All blue kits were used in 1992–1996 and 2000–2007 |
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| The 2009–10 strip with yellow being re-added |
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| Cardiff briefly wore red between 2012 and 2015 |
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| Cardiff reverted to blue during the 2014–15 season |
Crest History
Cardiff's shirts did not have a crest until 1959. Then, they used a simple crest with a bluebird. In 1969, a new crest, also with a bluebird, was introduced. Over the years, this crest changed a bit, with words and other designs added in the 1980s.
In 2012, owner Vincent Tan changed the crest a lot. The Welsh Dragon became much bigger, and the bluebird was made smaller. This was part of his plan to make the club more popular around the world. In March 2015, Cardiff announced a new crest. This one put the bluebird back as the main feature, and a Chinese dragon replaced the Welsh dragon. In 2024, for the club's 125th anniversary, the crest changed again. The bluebird from the previous crest became the main part, inside a white circle with a blue outline.
Kit Manufacturers and Shirt Sponsors
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1973–82 | Umbro | None |
| 1983 | Whitbread Wales | |
| 1984 | Superted
Camilleri Roofing |
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| 1984–85 | Merthyr Motor Auctions | |
| 1985–87 | Admiral | Airways Cymru |
| 1987–88 | Buckley's Brewery | |
| 1988–89 | Scoreline | |
| 1989–90 | Havelet | |
| 1990–91 | None | |
| 1991–92 | Influence | |
| 1992–94 | Bluebirds | South Wales Echo |
| 1994–95 | Strika | |
| 1995–96 | Influence | |
| 1996–97 | Lotto | |
| 1997–98 | Errea | Gilesports |
| 1998–99 | Xara | Sports Cafe |
| 1999–2000 | Modplan | |
| 2000–02 | Ken Thorne Group | |
| 2002–03 | Puma | Leekes |
| 2003–05 | Redrow Homes | |
| 2005–06 | Joma | |
| 2006–08 | Communications Direct | |
| 2008–09 | Vansdirect | |
| 2009–10 | Puma | 777.com |
| SBOBET | ||
| 2009–10 | ||
| 2010–11 | ||
| 2011–14 | Visit Malaysia | |
| 2014–15 | Cosway Sports | |
| 2015–22 | Adidas | |
| 2022– | New Balance |
Players
First-team Squad
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Players on Loan
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Retired Numbers
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Youth Academy
Cardiff City has a youth academy for young players from ages seven to eighteen. Many talented players have come from this system. Some famous players who came through the academy include Wales international players like Joe Ledley, Aaron Ramsey, and Rubin Colwill.
Notable Former Players
Backroom Staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Interim Manager | Omer Riza |
| Assistant Managers | Tom Ramasut |
| Interim Goalkeeping coach | Gavin Ward |
| Football Support Executive | Lee Southernwood |
| Head of physical performance | Johnny Northeast |
| Head of medical services | James Rowland |
| Senior physiotherapist | Chris Lewis |
| First Team physiotherapist | Liam Donovan |
| Head of first-team analysis | Jack Radusin |
| Head of recruitment | Patrick Deboys |
| Senior strength & conditioning | Mike Beere |
| First Team doctor | Dr. Matt Giles |
| Medical Director | Professor Len Noakes |
Source:
Manager History
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Records
The player with the most appearances for Cardiff City is Billy Hardy. He played 590 games for the club between 1911 and 1932. Phil Dwyer holds the record for most appearances in the Football League era, with 575 games. Len Davies is the club's top goalscorer, with 179 goals. Seven other players have scored 100 or more goals for the club.
Jack Evans was the first Cardiff City player to play for his country. He played for Wales on 13 April 1912. The player who earned the most international caps while playing for Cardiff is Aron Gunnarsson, who played 62 times for Iceland.
Cardiff's record for the highest transfer fee paid for a player is £15 million for Emiliano Sala from Nantes in January 2019. The most expensive player sold by the club was Gary Medel, who joined Inter Milan for £10 million in August 2014.
Cardiff's biggest win ever was 16–0 against Knighton Town in the Welsh Cup in 1962. Their biggest league win was 9–2 against Thames in 1932. Their biggest FA Cup win was 8–0 against Enfield in 1931.
Honours
Cardiff City has won many awards and titles, including:
League Titles
- First Division (top league)
- Runners-up: 1923–24
- Second Division / Championship (second league)
- Champions: 2012–13
- Runners-up: 1920–21, 1951–52, 1959–60, 2017–18
- Third Division South / Third Division / Second Division (third league)
- Champions: 1946–47
- Runners-up: 1975–76, 1982–83
- Play-off winners: 2003
- Fourth Division / Third Division (fourth league)
- Champions: 1992–93
- Runners-up: 1987–88, 2000–01
- Southern League Second Division
- Champions: 1912–13
Cup Wins
- FA Cup
- Winners: 1926–27
- Runners-up: 1924–25, 2007–08
- Football League Cup
- Runners-up: 2011–12
- FA Charity Shield
- Winners: 1927
- Welsh Cup
- Winners (22 times): 1911–12, 1919–20, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1929–30, 1955–56, 1958–59, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93
- FAW Premier Cup
- Winners: 2001–02
Images for kids
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Yearly table position since Cardiff City joined the Football League
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Cardiff City playing Oxford United at Ninian Park in 1983
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Manager Neil Warnock and players lift the 2017–18 EFL Championship runner-up trophy
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Cardiff City fans performing "the Ayatollah" in 2011
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Referee Mike Dean receiving treatment after being struck by a projectile in a South Wales derby in 2009
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The front of Ninian Park in 2005
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Cardiff City Stadium pitch in 2010
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Cardiff set club records when buying Gary Medel in 2013 and selling him a year later
See also
In Spanish: Cardiff City Football Club para niños
