Stoke City

Stoke City date their founding to 1863, although the first documented match of the original Stoke Ramblers was played in 1868. Based in Stoke-on-Trent, the club are known as the Potters after the city's pottery industry and play in red-and-white striped shirts. Their home is the bet365 Stadium, opened in 1997 as the Britannia Stadium, after 119 years at the Victoria Ground.

Stoke were one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888. Their first major trophy came in 1972, when they beat Chelsea 2-1 in the League Cup final in front of 97,852 spectators at Wembley. The club have been second-tier champions in 1932-33 and 1962-63 and third-tier champions in 1926-27 and 1992-93, and won the Football League Trophy in 1992 and 2000. Reaching the 2011 FA Cup final earned Stoke a place in the following season's Europa League.