Southport F.C.

53°38′18.62″N 2°58′45.06″W / 53.6385056°N 2.9791833°W / 53.6385056; -2.9791833

Southport

Full name	Southport Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Sandgrounders, The Port
Founded	1888; 136 years ago (1888)
Ground	Haig Avenue
Capacity	6,008
Chairman	Peter Mitchell
Manager	Jim Bentley
League	National League North
2023–24	National League North, 17th of 24
Website	Club website
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Southport Football Club is an association football club based in Southport, Merseyside.^[1] The club compete in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. They play their home matches at Haig Avenue, which has a capacity of 6,008. They are known by their nickname "the Sandgrounders".

Founded in 1888 as Southport Central, the club were members of regional leagues such as the Lancashire League, the Lancashire Combination and The Central League for many years until 1921 when they were invited to become a founding member of the newly formed Football League Third Division North. Southport held membership of The Football League from 1921 to 1978. The club's main honour whilst in the Football League was winning the 1972–73 Football League Fourth Division championship. They failed to gain re-election in 1978 and since then have been members of the Northern Premier League (1978 to 1993), the Football Conference (1993 to 2003) and then the Northern Premier League Premier Division (2003–04). Southport were transferred to the new National League North in 2004 and, since then, have played in either that division (tier 6) or the tier 5 National League. In 2017, Southport were relegated to their current division, the National League North.

Southport's best performance in the FA Cup came in the 1930–31 tournament when they reached the quarter-finals (last eight) but were then beaten 9–1 by Everton at Goodison Park. Southport had another good FA Cup run in 1965–66 when they reached the fifth round (last sixteen) and were beaten 2–0 by Hull City at Boothferry Park. Southport took part in the Football League Cup from 1960 to 1978 but never progressed beyond the first two rounds. The team reached the final of the FA Trophy in 1997–98, played at the old Wembley Stadium, but lost 1–0 to Cheltenham Town.