Which is the biggest football club in London? Did you know Tottenham Hotspur were the first ever British club to win a European trophy? A lot of the football clubs in the city of London compete in the Premier League, with Chelsea and Arsenal being the most successful of the bunch. The fascinating fact about the clubs is that most of them were founded in the late 1800s.
According to sources, the city has the highest number of football teams in the world. The capital city also has the most modern stadiums in the league. Most of its clubs play in the first and second tiers of English football.
The biggest football clubs in London
Which are the biggest soccer clubs in London? Much discussion has been between the best three in the city, bearing in mind that Chelsea has been the most successful team in the last two decades. Here, we rate the clubs according to their achievements since their inception.
10. Charlton Athletic
The team is based in Charlton, south-east London, and is currently playing in the third tier, League 1. Nicknamed the Addicks, they started hosting their home games at The Valley in 1919, 16 years after the club's formation. Their main rivals are Millwall and Crystal Palace.
Charlton has won a number of titles in different divisions, with the 2011/12 league 1 cup being the latest. Reports show that their 1947 FA Cup victory at Wembley remains their greatest achievement.
9. Brentford
The club is located in Brentford, west London. In 2021, the team was promoted to the first tier of English football, the Premier League. The club started in 1889 and initially hosted its home games at Griffin Park before shifting to Brentford Community Stadium in 2020.
Brentford has never won a major title. Their most significant achievement was being in the semi-final of the EFL Cup in the 2020/21 season and the quarter-finals of the FA Cup (1937/38, 1945/46, 1948/49, 1988/89).
8. Millwall
They are based in Bermondsey, South East London, competing in the Championship. The club was founded in 1885. Their long-time rivalry has always been against West Ham.
Millwall reached the 2004 FA Cup final but lost to Manchester United. They qualified for Europe for the first time in their history in the same year, playing in the UEFA Cup, currently the Europa league.
7. QPR
The football club is located in Shepherd's Bush, West London, and competes in the Championship, just like Millwall. QPR was founded in 1886.
The club's greatest achievement was in the 1975/76 season when they became number two in the Premier League and qualified for the European Leagues for the first time. QPR also won a league cup in 1967 and became FA cup finalists in 1982. Their rivals are always Fulham and Chelsea.
6. Fulham
As the name states, they are located in Fulham, London. They compete in the Championship, and are among the best teams in the league. The club has spent 27 years in the premier league, with their longest stints being in the 1960s and 2000s.
They adopted a white shirt and black shorts as their kit in 1903, which has been used ever since. Their greatest achievement was in 2010 when they reached the Europa League Final and lost to Atletico Madrid after extra time.
5. Crystal Palace
The Eagles are located in Selhurst in South London. Their biggest achievement in the premier league was in the 1990/91 season when they finished at number three.
However, the Eagles were unlucky not to join the European competition due to the UEFA ban that had been brought by the Heysel Stadium disaster. The club has lost in two FA finals, and all being against Manchester United; in 1990 and 2016. It is the biggest football club in south London.
4. West Ham United
West Ham is located in Stratford, East London and was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks, before reforming in 1900 as West Ham United. They have been three times FA Cup winners; 1964, 1975 and 1980. They also lost in two finals of the same tournament, in 1923 and 2006. They won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1965.
As of the 2021/ 22 season, the club has spent 64 of 96 league seasons in the top flight. Some of the West Ham United's legends include Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. The club hosts its home matches at the London stadium.
3. Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs are located in Tottenham and the club was founded in 1882. After successfully defending the FA Cup in 1962 and 1963, they became the first British club to win a UEFA club competition – the European Cup Winners' Cup.
They were also the inaugural winners of the UEFA Cup in 1972, becoming the first British club to win two different major European trophies. They collected at least one major trophy in each of the six decades from the 1950s to the 2000s – an achievement only matched by Manchester United.
Spurs have won two league titles in domestic football, eight FA Cups, four League Cups, and seven FA Community Shields. In European football, they have won one European Cup Winners' Cup and two UEFA Cups.
The north Londoners completed construction of their state-of-the-art stadium in 2019 and named it the Tottenham Hotspur stadium. It is the second biggest football club in north London, after Arsenal.
2. Chelsea
These are London's undisputed European champions, no wonder their motto is the 'pride of London'. Most football fans refer to Chelsea as the biggest football club in London; from their great success and the recent humiliation they have been offering Arsenal in the European Cups.
Since 2003, the club has been owned by Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch who the UK government sanctioned on March 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The last 2 and half decades have been one of the most successful ones for the club. In total, the club has 34 trophies, 21 having been won in the Abramovich era (2003-2022).
1. Arsenal
Arsenal is located in Islington and has the highest number of trophies in London, 47, and the third in England, after Liverpool and Manchester United.
The team was first founded in 1886, and holds the record of completing the league unbeaten, a record they set in the 2003/2004 Premier League season. They also hold the record of the most FA Cup titles (14), two ahead of Manchester United. So, undoubtedly, Arsenal football club is the best club in London as of 2022, followed closely by Chelsea.
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