Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. are an English football team based in Brighton. They are currently playing in the Football League Championship. The team are also known as 'the Seagulls' as a result of their seaside location. The team play in blue and white stripes.
Founded in 1900, Brighton were a founder member of the Southern League. They were elected to the Football League in 1920. Between 1979 and 1983 they were in the old First Division. In 1983 they reached the final of the FA Cup, which they lost 4-0 to Manchester United after replay. They were relegated from the First Division in the same season.
For many years they were based at the Goldstone Ground in Hove, until financial concerns drove them to sell their ground. For two years from 1997-99 they shared grounds with Gillingham, but have since returned to Brighton, where they now play at the Withdean Stadium. This is not predominantly a football ground, having been used for athletics throughout most of its history, and the club is trying to win planning permission for a new stadium outside Brighton. They recently received partial approval for their plans to build their stadium at Falmer but have to prove the absence of any alternative suitable location before the final go ahead is given by central government. In the meantime, the club has launched a fundraising drive to cover the costs of the public enquiry and the losses of playing at the temporary Withdean ground.
The sale of the ground, implemented by majority shareholder Bill Archer and his chief executive David Bellotti, proved controversial, and the move provoked widespread protests against the board.
In their last season at Goldstone, 1996-97, the Seagulls were in danger of relegation from the Football League. They won their final game at Goldstone over Doncaster Rovers, setting up a winner-take-all relegation game at Hereford United, who were level on points with the Seagulls. The Seagulls drew 1-1, and Hereford was consigned to the Football Conference on goals scored.
The Seagulls stayed in the Third Division until winning the division in 2001. The following season, they won the Second Division, becoming only the seventh club in the history of the Football League to win successive championships in different divisions. The Seagulls, however, could not repeat their success in the First Division, and were relegated at the end of the 2003 season. They won promotion to the League Championship as the 2004 Second Division playoff winners.
Famous Supporters include: Fatboy Slim, who owns a minority stake in the club, and whose record label Skint Records sponsors the club; comedian Norman Wisdom who was once a director of the club and wrote new words for the club's song "Sussex by the Sea" (which was composed by William Ward-Higgs in 1907); Jon Snow, Channel 4 news anchor, and Desmond Lynam, a leading British television sports presenter.
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