Stoke City FC
The Potters
Founded 1863, Stadium: Bet365 Stadium (Brittania Stadium) Stoke-on-Trent, Capacity: 30,089
A founding member of the Football League and the second oldest professional club in the world. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in the 1860s, the club changed its name to Stoke Football Club in 1870 and the to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke-on-Trent was granted city status. Stoke City had to wait until 2011 to contest an FA Cup final though they won the League Cup in 1972. Stoke’s home ground is the bet365 Stadium which opened in 1997. Before the club was based at the Victoria Ground which had been their home ground since 1878. The club’s nickname is “The Potters”, named after the pottery industry in Stoke-on-Trent. The official club anthem: We’ll Be With You was recorded by the players themselves. Stoke’s traditional rivals are Midlands clubs West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Derby County whilst their local rivals are Port Vales with whom they contest the Potteries derby. Stoke’s first club crest was a stylised “S” which was used by players in 1882 who would stitch the crest on to their shirts; however, this practice soon faded away. In the 1950s Stoke began using the shield from the Stoke-on-Trent coat-of-arms which was used infrequently until 1977. A new and simpler club crest was introduced a Stafford knot and pottery kiln represented local tradition while red and white stripes were also added. This lasted until 1992 when the club decided to use the entire Stoke-on-Trent coat-of-arms which included the club’s name at the top of the crest. They changed their crest in 2001 to the current version which includes their nickname “The Potters”. For the 2012–13 season, they used a special version to mark the club’s 150th anniversary which included the club’s Latin motto “Vis Unita Fortior” (“United Strength is Stronger”).
