Swansea City
Swansea City Association Football Club are based in the city of Swansea in South Wales, and currently compete in the Premier League. Despite being from Wales, Swansea City represent England when playing in European competitions. They are currently one of four Welsh clubs competing in the English Football League.
The club was founded in 1912 as Swansea Town and joined the Football League in 1921, changing their name to Swansea City in 1969 following Swansea's change in status from a town to a city.
Following a 93-year residency at Vetch Field, The Swans moved to the Liberty Stadium in 2005. They currently share the 20,750 capacity stadium with rugby union side The Ospreys.
Swansea reached the English top flight in 1981, going on to almost win the division title during their first season in the First Division, only to slip down to sixth following a dismal end to the season. The year after, however, it was a different story for the club, suffering relegation down to the Second Division in 1983. It wasn't long before Swansea were back in the Fourth Division, from where they nearly dropped out of the Football League in 2003 when the Welsh side narrowly avoided relegation to the Conference.
After working their way back into League One under Kenny Jackett, it was Spaniard Roberto Martinez who really brought the good times back to Swansea when he took the manager's job in 2007. Martinez led the club to the League One title in his first year in charge, securing promotion back to the second tier following a season that had included an 18-match unbeaten run.
In 2011, Brendan Rodgers led Swansea through the play-offs and into the English Premier League, ensuring the club became the first Welsh team to play in the top division since its inception in 1992. With former Real Madrid and Barcelona star Michael Laudrup the current Swansea manager, the club have wasted little time in becoming one of the Premier League's most stylish and entertaining sides to watch, establishing themselves as a genuine Premier League force in the process.
On 24th February 2013, Swansea lifted their first ever major piece of silverware after beating Bradford City 5-0 to win the Football League Cup, resulting in the club qualifying for the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history and highlighting just how far the Welsh club have come over the past few years.
With a squad packed with previously underrated talent, Swansea fans are rightly confident about their future.
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