Swansea City

Swansea City are one of the most successful and best-known football clubs in Wales, enjoying a rich history and a strong reputation for their attacking style of play.

The club is owned by a consortium led by American businessmen Andy Coleman, Nigel Morris, Brett Cravatt, and others who purchased the club from previous owners Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan.

The club currently compete in the English Football League (EFL) Championship, the second tier of English football. 

Swansea have also played in the Premier League, spending seven consecutive seasons at the top level between 2011 and 2018 – more than any other Welsh club.

The Swans, as they are known, play their home matches at the Swansea.com Stadium, which has been their base since 2005 after moving from their former home, Vetch Field.

Swansea City's greatest one-off achievement came in 2013 when they won the English League Cup, becoming only the second Welsh club to win a major English trophy after Cardiff City.

They defeated Bradford City 5-0 in the final at Wembley, securing a place in the UEFA Europa League, where they reached the knockout stages.

Swansea also famously finished 11th in their debut Premier League season in 2011-12 under Brendan Rodgers, a campaign that saw them earn widespread praise for their possession-based playing style. 

Their highest-ever league finish came in 2014-15, when they finished eighth in the Premier League under manager Garry Monk.

The club has experienced several highs and lows throughout their history. 

Established as Swansea Town in 1912, the club began in the old Southern League before entering Division Three of the Football League in 1920.

They won promotion to the Second Division in 1925 and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1926 and again in 1964.

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Swansea first reached the old First Division in 1981 under John Toshack, a former player who became one of their most influential managers and guided them from the fourth tier to the top division.

However, financial difficulties and relegation saw the club drop back down to the fourth tier by the mid-1980s.

The early 2000s marked their next turning point. After narrowly avoiding relegation from the Football League in 2003, the Swans embarked on another remarkable rise through the divisions. 

Under Roberto Martínez, they won promotion to the Championship in 2008, and three years later, Brendan Rodgers guided them to the Premier League via the play-offs.

During their time in the Premier League, Swansea became known for their attractive passing football, inspired by Spanish influences under Martínez, Rodgers, Michael Laudrup, and later, Francesco Guidolin.

The club has been home to many legendary players, including Ivor Allchurch, Roger Freestone, Alan Curtis, Robbie James, Leon Britton, Ashley Williams, Michu, and Gylfi Sigurðsson. 

Michu, in particular, was instrumental in Swansea’s successful 2012-13 campaign - arguably the greatest in their history - scoring 22 goals in all competitions and helping lift the League Cup under the management of Laudrup.

But recent years have seen Swansea struggle to reclaim their former heights, facing managerial changes and financial challenges following their relegation from the Premier League in 2018. 

Despite making several play-off appearances in the Championship, they have fallen short of securing a return to the top tier.

In recent times, their highlights have been dominant periods in their ongoing rivalry with Cardiff City.

Former manager Steve Cooper twice took them to the Championship promotion play-offs, losing one final against Brentford in 2021.

Cooper left and since then Russell Martin, Michael Duff and Luke Williams have all fallen short of promotion-contending campaigns, with Williams sacked on February 18, 2025.