The Foxes

Lore & Background

The club was founded in 1884 as Leicester Fosse F.C., before becoming Leicester City in 1919, coinciding with Leicester gaining city status. They moved to Filbert Street in 1891, were elected to the Football League in 1894, and moved to the Walkers Stadium in 2002, renamed King Power Stadium in 2011. Leicester have won six major trophies: one Premier League, one FA Cup, three League Cups, and one FA Community Shield. Their 2015–16 Premier League title win attracted global attention. The club's longest top-level spell was 1957–1969, during which they reached three FA Cup finals and competed in Europe for the first time. They have since participated in six more European campaigns and two FA Cup finals, reaching the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in 2016–17, winning the FA Cup in 2021, and reaching the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-finals in 2021–22.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights hum to life over the King Power on a cold February evening. A young lad in a sky-blue scarf, his father's old one frayed at the edges, presses his face against the railing of the West Stand. Across the pitch, the keeper — a local lad, son of a bus driver on the A6 — catches a high ball and roars into the crowd. The Fox End erupts. Somewhere in the terraces, an old man who has been coming to these matches since the days of Filbert Park, since the days when the stands were closer to the touchline and the smell of chips hung in the air, claps his hands and mutters, "That's a Foxes save, that is." The chant rolls out, low at first, then building: the words are simple, the rhythm is unbreakable, and for ninety minutes this city is not a footnote in the league table. It is the fox in the den, ears up, watching the hunters come.

Reader's Guide

Leicester City are known as the Foxes. Their home ground is the King Power Stadium. The club's most famous achievement is winning the Premier League in 2015–16. Key historical figures include managers Peter Hodge, Willie Orr, Matt Gillies, and Martin O'Neill, and players such as Arthur Rowley, Gary Lineker, and Steve Whitworth.

Did You Know?

• Leicester City were originally called Leicester Fosse when founded in 1884.
• The club's record win is 13–0 against Notts Olympic in an FA Cup qualifying match.
• Their record defeat is 12–0 against Nottingham Forest.
• Leicester won the FA Charity Shield in 1971 as Second Division champions, but this is not counted as a major trophy.
• The club's first black player was Winston White, who debuted in 1977.