Burnley F.C.

Beginnings and the first major honours (1882–1946)

The club was founded on 18 May 1882 by members of rugby team Burnley Rovers,^[c] who voted for a shift to association football as the sport was gaining prominence in the area.^[3] The suffix "Rovers" was dropped a few days later.^[3] The side won their first silverware in 1883: the Dr Dean's Cup, a knockout competition between amateur clubs in the Burnley area.^[4] By the end of the year, the club turned professional and signed many Scottish players, who were regarded as the best footballers by the Burnley committee. As a result, Burnley refused to join the Football Association (FA) and its FA Cup because the association barred professional players.^[5] In 1884, Burnley led a group of 35 other clubs in the formation of the breakaway British Football Association (BFA) to challenge the FA's supremacy. The FA changed its rule in 1885, allowing professionalism, and Burnley made their first appearance in the FA Cup in 1885–86.^[5][6] In October 1886, Burnley's Turf Moor became the first professional ground to be visited by a member of the royal family, when Prince Albert Victor attended a friendly between Burnley and Bolton Wanderers.^[4] The club was among the twelve founders of the Football League in 1888–89, the world's first league football competition, and one of the six based in Lancashire.^[7] In the second match, William Tait became the first player in history to score a league hat-trick, with his three goals against Bolton Wanderers securing Burnley's inaugural win in the competition.^[7] In 1889–90, they claimed their first Lancashire Cup, after beating local rivals Blackburn Rovers in the final.^[8]

Burnley were relegated to the Second Division for the first time in 1896–97.^[9] The team won the division the next season; they lost only two of thirty matches before gaining promotion through a four-team play-off series called test matches, although the last game against First Division club Stoke was controversial. It finished 0–0 as both needed only a draw for a top flight place, and it was later named "[t]he match without a shot at goal".^[10] Burnley were relegated again in 1899–1900 and became embroiled in controversy when goalkeeper Jack Hillman attempted to bribe opponents Nottingham Forest during the final match of the season, which resulted in his suspension for the entire following campaign.^[11] It is possibly the earliest recorded case of match fixing in football.^[12] The side continued to play in the Second Division and even finished in bottom place in 1902–03—but were re-elected—as the club got into financial difficulties.^[13][14]

Harry Windle was named chairman in 1909, after which the club's finances turned around.^[15] In 1910, the Burnley directors changed the club's colours from green to claret and blue, and appointed John Haworth as the team's new manager.^[16] In 1912–13, the side won promotion to the first tier, and the following season, Burnley won their first major honour, beating Liverpool in the 1914 FA Cup final.^[9] Bert Freeman scored the only goal as Burnley became the first club to defeat five top tier sides in one cup season. Tommy Boyle became the first captain to receive the trophy from a reigning monarch, King George V.^[17] The team finished second to West Bromwich Albion in 1919–20,^[18] before winning their first ever First Division championship in 1920–21.^[9] Burnley lost the opening three games but went unbeaten in the following 30 league matches, setting an English record.^[1] Nine seasons later, the team were relegated to the Second Division. They struggled in the second tier and avoided a further relegation in 1931–32 by two points.^[13][19] The years through to the outbreak of the Second World War were characterised by mid-table league finishes.^[13]

Progressive and golden era (1946–1976)

In 1946–47, the first season of post-war League football, Burnley won promotion to the First Division and reached the FA Cup final, in which they were defeated by Charlton Athletic after extra time. The team's defence was nicknamed "The Iron Curtain", since they conceded only 29 goals in 42 league matches.^[20] Alan Brown, captain of Burnley's 1946–47 side,^[21] was appointed the club's manager in 1954,^[22] with Bob Lord becoming chairman a year later.^[23] The club became one of the most progressive around under their tenures.^[24][25] Burnley were one of the first to set up a purpose-built training ground, at Gawthorpe,^[23][26] and they became renowned for their youth policy and scouting system, which yielded many young talents.^[24] In 1958, former Burnley player Harry Potts was appointed manager.^[27] His squad mainly revolved around the duo of captain Jimmy Adamson and Jimmy McIlroy, the team's playmaker.^[28] Potts often employed the then unfashionable 4–4–2 formation and he implemented a Total Football playing style.^[23][27]

Burnley clinched a second First Division title in 1959–60.^[9] They had not topped the table until the last match was played out.^[29][d] The squad cost only £13,000 (equivalent to £380,000 in 2025^[e]) in transfer fees—£8,000 on McIlroy in 1950 and £5,000 on left-back Alex Elder in 1959. The other Burnley players had progressed through the club's youth academy.^[24] With 80,000 inhabitants, the town of Burnley became one of the smallest to have an English first tier champion.^[24][b] The side travelled to the United States after the season ended to represent England in the International Soccer League, the first modern international American soccer tournament.^[31] The following season, Burnley played in European competition for the first time in the 1960–61 European Cup. They defeated former finalists Reims in the first round, but went out against Hamburger SV in the quarter-finals.^[32] The team finished the 1961–62 First Division as runners-up to newcomers Ipswich Town after winning only one of the last ten matches, and had a run to the 1962 FA Cup final but lost against Tottenham Hotspur. Adamson was named FWA Footballer of the Year, however, with McIlroy as runner-up.^[33]

The maximum wage in the Football League was abolished in 1961, which meant that clubs from small towns like Burnley could no longer compete financially with sides from larger settlements.^[23][34] The controversial departure of McIlroy to Stoke City in 1963^[f] and Adamson's retirement in 1964 also damaged the club's fortunes.^[35] Burnley retained their place in the First Division throughout the decade, however, finishing third in both the 1962–63 and 1965–66 seasons, and qualifying for the 1966–67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.^[9] Potts was replaced by Adamson as manager in 1970. Adamson hailed his squad as the "Team of the Seventies", but he was unable to halt the slide as relegation followed in 1970–71.^[37] Burnley won the Second Division title in 1972–73, and were invited to play in the 1973 FA Charity Shield,^[g] where they emerged as winners against Manchester City.^[39] In 1975, the team were victims of one of the great FA Cup shocks of all time when Wimbledon, then in the Southern League, won 1–0 at Turf Moor.^[40] Adamson left the club in January 1976, and relegation from the First Division followed later that year.^[41] During this period, a drop in home attendances combined with an enlarged debt forced Burnley to sell star players such as Martin Dobson and Leighton James, which caused a rapid decline.^[42]

Near oblivion and recovery (1976–2020)

The team were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in 1979–80.^[9] Under the management of former Burnley player Brian Miller,^[43] they returned to the second tier as champions in 1981–82. However, this return was short-lived and lasted only one year.^[9] Managerial changes continued to be made in a search for success; Miller was replaced by Frank Casper in early 1983, he by John Bond before the 1983–84 season and Bond himself by John Benson a season later.^[43] Bond was the first manager since Frank Hill (1948–1954) without a previous playing career at the club. He was criticised by the fans for signing expensive players increasing Burnley's debt, and for selling the young talents Lee Dixon, Brian Laws and Trevor Steven.^[44] Benson was in charge when Burnley were relegated to the Fourth Division for the first time at the end of the 1984–85 season.^[43] The team avoided relegation to the Football Conference, the highest level of non-League football, on the last day in 1986–87, after they won against Orient and their rivals drew or lost.^[45]

In 1988, Burnley played Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final of the Associate Members' Cup but lost 2–0. The match was attended by 80,000 people, a record for a match between two sides from the fourth tier.^[46] The team won the Fourth Division in 1991–92 under manager Jimmy Mullen. He had succeeded Casper in October 1991 and won his first nine league matches as manager.^[47] By winning the fourth tier, Burnley became only the second club to win all four professional divisions of English football, after Wolverhampton Wanderers.^[48][49] Burnley won the Second Division play-offs in 1993–94 and gained promotion to the second tier.^[9] Relegation followed after one season,^[9] and in 1997–98 only a last-day victory over Plymouth Argyle prevented relegation back into the fourth tier.^[50] Under manager Stan Ternent, Burnley finished second in 1999–2000 and won promotion to the second tier.^[51] In early 2002, financial problems caused by the collapse of ITV Digital brought the club close to administration.^[52] Ternent was sacked in 2004, after he avoided relegation with a squad composed of several loaned players and some players who were not entirely fit.^[53] The 2008–09 campaign, with Owen Coyle in charge, ended with promotion to the Premier League. Sheffield United were defeated in the Championship play-off final, which meant a return to the top flight after 33 years.^[54] Burnley also reached the semi-final of the League Cup for the first time in over 25 years but were beaten on aggregate by Tottenham in the last minutes of the second leg.^[9][55]

Promotion made the town of Burnley one of the smallest to host a Premier League club.^[56][57] The team started the season well and became the first newly promoted side in the competition to win their first four home games.^[58] However, Coyle left the club in January 2010 to manage local rivals Bolton Wanderers. He was replaced by former Burnley player Brian Laws, but the team's form plummeted and they were relegated after a single season.^[59] Sean Dyche was appointed manager in October 2012.^[60] In his first full season in charge, Dyche guided Burnley back to the Premier League in 2013–14 on a tight budget and with a small squad.^[61] The team went down after one season but won the Championship title on their return in 2015–16, ending the season with a run of 23 league games undefeated.^[9][62] In 2017, the club completed construction of Barnfield Training Centre—the replacement of Gawthorpe—with Dyche being involved in the training ground's design.^[26] Burnley finished seventh in the 2017–18 Premier League, which meant qualification for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League and a return to European football after 51 years.^[63] The team failed to reach the group stage, as they were eliminated in the play-off round by Greek club Olympiacos.^[64]

Foreign owners (2020–present)

In December 2020, American investment company ALK Capital acquired an 84% stake in Burnley for £170 million.^[65] It was the first time the club was run by anyone other than local businessmen and Burnley supporters.^[66] In 2021–22, Burnley were relegated back to the Championship after they lost on the final matchday and finished in 18th place.^[67] In June 2022, the Belgian Vincent Kompany was appointed Burnley's manager, becoming the first person from outside the British Isles to manage the club.^[68] During his first months in charge, he rebuilt the squad on a budget, signing mostly young and foreign players. Kompany also implemented a possession-based, attacking style of play.^[69] Burnley secured promotion back to the Premier League in 2022–23 with seven matches remaining—a Championship record—before winning the Championship title following a 1–0 victory at local rivals Blackburn Rovers.^[70][71] The following season, Burnley were relegated again from the Premier League, finishing 19th with a club record low tally of 24 points.^[72][73] Shortly afterwards, however, Kompany went to Bayern Munich for a fee of £10.2 million, which made him one of the most expensive managers in history.^[74][75]

Burnley won promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt under Scott Parker, ending the 2024–25 season with a club record 33-match unbeaten run.^[76][77] The team conceded just 16 goals in 46 matches—an average of 0.35 per game—setting the best defensive record in English league history.^[77][78] They also kept a record 30 clean sheets, never conceded more than one goal in any fixture, and became the first side to reach a three-figure points total in the same division on two occasions (101 points in 2022–23 and 100 in 2024–25).^[79][80] Despite these accomplishments, they finished second behind Leeds United on goal difference, becoming the first team in English football history to earn 100 points without winning the title.^[77][81]

Supporters

Burnley's supporters are mainly drawn from East Lancashire and West Yorkshire.^[108] The club is one of the best supported in English football per capita,^[109] with average attendances of around 21,000 in the Premier League in a town of approximately 78,000 inhabitants.^[110][111] Burnley's first supporters' club was formed in early 1932,^[112] and since then, numerous supporters' groups have been established across the United Kingdom and overseas.^[113] The club's fans have had a long-standing friendship with supporters of the Dutch team Helmond Sport since the 1990s, and several Burnley and Helmond fans regularly make an overseas journey to visit each other's matches.^[114] For 2022–23 and 2023–24, Helmond Sport adopted a claret and blue away kit in tribute to Burnley.^[115][116]

A frequently sung chant since the early 1970s is "No Nay Never", an adaptation of the song "The Wild Rover", which has lyrics to offend main rivals Blackburn Rovers.^[117] In the early 1980s, a hooligan firm known as the Suicide Squad emerged from within Burnley's fanbase.^[118] The group later featured on the 2006 hooligan documentary series The Real Football Factories.^[119] In 2011, 12 members were sentenced to jail for a total of 32 years, after a high-profile incident with Blackburn Rovers supporters in 2009.^[120] The firm disbanded after the verdict.^[121]

Notable Burnley fans have included football pioneer Jimmy Hogan, who was a regular attendee at Turf Moor;^[122] journalist Alastair Campbell, who has been regularly involved in events with the club;^[123] and cricketer James Anderson, who also worked in Burnley's ticket office on a part-time basis.^[124] King Charles III is also a supporter of the club,^[125] as is the South African cardinal Wilfrid Napier.^[126] In 2019, Burnley fan Scott Cunliffe was honoured by the UEFA with the #EqualGame award "for his work as a role model highlighting diversity, inclusion and accessibility in football"; he ran to every away Premier League ground during Burnley's 2018–19 campaign and raised more than £55,000 for Premier League clubs' community trusts and community projects in Burnley.^[127][128]

A popular drink served at home matches since the First World War is "Béné & Hot"—the French liqueur Bénédictine topped up with hot water. The East Lancashire Regiment soldiers acquired a taste for the drink while stationed at the birthplace of the beverage in Fécamp, Normandy, during the war. They drank it with hot water to keep warm in the trenches, and the surviving soldiers later returned to the East Lancashire area with the liqueur. In excess of 30 bottles are sold at each home game, which makes the club one of the world's biggest sellers of Bénédictine; Turf Moor is the only British football ground to sell it.^[129][130]

Rivalries

Association football was first played in Burnley in the early 1880s,^[131] and by 1883 the town already had more than 20 teams.^[132] One of Burnley's earliest rivals were Burnley Union Star,^[97] based in the north of the town.^[131] While Burnley drew support from across the area and were described as the town's "premier club",^{[5][133][134]} Union Star were regarded as one of the most prominent local teams.^[135] Their rivalry peaked during the 1886–87 Lancashire Cup, when a first-round fixture between the two sides ended 2–2.^[136] Before a replay could be arranged, the Stars were expelled from the competition for fielding an unregistered player, and were suspended for a month.^[137][138] The incident deepened tensions, with Union Star supporters occasionally causing disturbances during Burnley games.^[139][140] Union Star disbanded in 1891, and Burnley soon bought the "Stars Stand" from their ground, relocating it to Turf Moor.^[97] Burnley remained unbeaten in ten meetings with the side, winning eight.^[141] Another early rival were Padiham, with one fixture in 1884 attracting a then record crowd of 12,000 at Turf Moor.^[5][97]

Burnley's main rivals are Blackburn Rovers, with whom they contest the East Lancashire derby, named after the region both clubs hail from. Games between these sides from mill towns are also known under the name "Cotton Mills derby".^[142][143] Both are founder members of the Football League and have won the First Division and the FA Cup.^[142] The two clubs are separated by only 14 miles (23 km) and besides the geographical proximity,^[143] they also have a long-standing history of rivalry; the earliest competitive clash was a Football League match in 1888.^[144] Four years earlier, however, they had met for the first time in a friendly,^[5] "with considerable pride at stake".^[145] Burnley hold the better head-to-head record, as the side have won 45 games to Blackburn's 41.^[144] Burnley's closest geographic rivals are actually Accrington Stanley, but as they have never competed at the same level—although defunct club Accrington did—there is no significant rivalry between them.^[146]

Other rivalries include those with nearby clubs Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End.^[147] Burnley also share a Roses rivalry with West Yorkshire sides Bradford City and Leeds United.^[148][149] The team contested heated matches with Halifax Town, Plymouth Argyle, Rochdale and Stockport County in the 1980s and 1990s during their time in the lower leagues, although feelings of animosity were mainly one-sided; according to the 2003 Football Fans Census, both Halifax and Stockport supporters regarded Burnley as their main rival, whereas Burnley fans did not include either club among their top three rivals.^[147][148]

First-team squad

As of 15 July 2025^[150]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ENG James Trafford 2 DF  PER Oliver Sonne 3 DF  NED Shurandy Sambo 4 DF  ENG Joe Worrall 5 DF  FRA Maxime Estève 6 DF  COD Axel Tuanzebe 10 FW  ANG Manuel Benson 11 FW  ENG Jaidon Anthony 12 DF  ENG Bashir Humphreys 14 DF  WAL Connor Roberts 17 FW  RSA Lyle Foster 18 DF  SWE Hjalmar Ekdal 19 FW  NED Zian Flemming 20 GK  ENG Etienne Green 21 MF  ENG Aaron Ramsey 22 FW  ENG Marcus Edwards 23 DF  BRA Lucas Pires 24 MF  IRL Josh Cullen 25 FW  SUI Zeki Amdouni

No. Pos. Nation Player 26 DF  NED Quilindschy Hartman 27 FW  MKD Darko Churlinov 28 MF  TUN Hannibal Mejbri 29 MF  ENG Josh Laurent 30 FW  ITA Luca Koleosho 31 MF  BEL Mike Trésor 32 GK  CZE Václav Hladký 34 FW  NED Jaydon Banel 35 FW  ENG Ashley Barnes 36 DF  GER Jordan Beyer 39 DF  ENG Owen Dodgson 44 DF  BEL Hannes Delcroix 45 FW  IRL Michael Obafemi 48 FW  BEL Enock Agyei — GK  GER Max Weiß — DF  ENG Kyle Walker — FW  DEN Jacob Bruun Larsen — FW  FRA Loum Tchaouna

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Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 37 FW  BEN Andréas Hountondji (at St. Pauli until 30 June 2026)

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Academy

Football management

Source:^[150]

Managers

Burnley-born Harry Bradshaw was Burnley's first manager—he was appointed in August 1894—and was the first to win a league title with the club, taking them to the top of the Second Division at the end of the 1897–98 season.^[16] John Haworth was the first manager in the club's history to win a major honour, the FA Cup in 1914; under Haworth, Burnley also became champions of England for the first time in 1920–21.^[16] Harry Potts led the club to its second First Division title during the 1959–60 campaign.^[23] Jimmy Adamson (1972–73 Second Division), Brian Miller (1981–82 Third Division), Jimmy Mullen (1991–92 Fourth Division), Sean Dyche (2015–16 Championship), and Vincent Kompany (2022–23 Championship) also led Burnley to league titles.^{[62][71][151]}

Owners

In 1897, the club incorporated as a limited company.^[152] From their establishment until 2020, Burnley were run by local businessmen and supporters.^[66] In December 2020, Velocity Sports Partners, the sports investment arm of American management firm ALK Capital, acquired an 84% stake in Burnley for £170 million.^[65][66] Alan Pace, managing partner of ALK Capital, subsequently replaced Mike Garlick as the club's chairman.^[66] ALK borrowed much of the takeover money, and the loan debts were transferred to the club. As a result of this leveraged takeover, Burnley went from being debt-free to being saddled with debts of around £100 million, at interest rates of about eight per cent.^[153][154]

In May 2023, J. J. Watt, a retired defensive end in American football's National Football League, and his wife, former United States women's national soccer team international Kealia Watt, were announced as new minority investors.^[155] YouTube group Dude Perfect also became minority investors in the club later that year.^[156] In July 2025, ALK Capital, through investment arm Velocity Sport Limited, acquired a majority stake in Spanish side Espanyol, bringing Burnley into a multi-club ownership model.^[157]

Board of directors

Source:^[158]

Chairmen

The following have been chairman of the club's board of directors:^[159]