Brentford Football Club is a professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club in
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
,
West London
West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary.
The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, which competes in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
, the highest tier of
English football
Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
, having gained promotion via the playoffs at the end of the
2020–21 Championship season. Nicknamed "The Bees", the club was founded in 1889 and played home matches at
Griffin Park from 1904 before moving to
Gtech Community Stadium in 2020. Their main rivals are fellow
West London
West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary.
The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...
-based clubs
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
and
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
.
Brentford initially played amateur football before they entered the
London League in 1896 and finished as runners-up of the Second Division and then the First Division to win election into the
Southern League in 1898. They won the Southern League Second Division in 1900–01 and were elected into the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
in 1920. Brentford won the
Third Division South
The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...
title in 1932–33 and the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
title in 1934–35. The club enjoyed a successful spell in the top flight of English football, reaching a peak of fifth in the
First Division, in 1935–36, their highest ever league finish, before three relegations left them in the
Fourth Division by 1962. They were crowned Fourth Division champions in 1962–63, but were relegated in 1966 and again in 1973 after gaining promotion in 1971–72. Brentford spent 14 seasons in the Third Division after gaining promotion in 1977–78 and went on to win the Third Division title in 1991–92, though were relegated again in 1993.
Brentford were relegated into the fourth tier in 1998 and won promotion as champions in the 1998–99 campaign. The club were relegated in 2007 and won promotion as champions of
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
in 2008–09 and then were promoted out of
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
in 2013–14. They had unsuccessful Championship play-off campaigns in 2015 and 2020. Brentford have a poor record in finals, finishing as runners-up in three
Associate Members' Cup / Football League Trophy finals (
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
,
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
and
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
) and losing four play-off finals (the
1997 Second Division final,
2002 Second Division final,
2013 League One final and
2020 Championship final). However, Brentford won the
2021 Championship final to be promoted to the highest level for the first time since the 1946–47 season.
History
Current and past grounds
![Brentford Community Stadium 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Brentford_Community_Stadium_2020.jpg)
* Clifden Road (1889–1891)
* Benn's Field (1891–1895)
* Shotter's Field (1895–1898)
* Cross Roads (1898–1900)
* York Road (1900–1904)
*
Griffin Park (1904–2020)
*
Gtech Community Stadium (2020–present)
Players
First team
Out on loan
Brentford B
Coaching staff
:''As of 5 December 2022''
First team
Brentford B
Management
:''As of 26 July 2022''
Nickname
Brentford's nickname is "The Bees". The nickname was unintentionally created by students of
Borough Road College
Borough Road is in Southwark, London SE1. It runs east–west between St George's Circus and Borough High Street.
History and location
The route was created as part of the planning and road improvements associated with the completion of We ...
in the 1890s, when they attended a match and shouted the college's chant "buck up Bs" in support of their friend and then-Brentford player
Joseph Gettins. Local newspapers misheard the chant as "Buck up Bees" and the nickname stuck.
Colours and badge
Brentford's predominant home colours are a red and white striped shirt, black shorts and red or black socks. These have been the club's predominant home colours since the
1925–26 season, bar one season –
1960–61 – when yellow (gold) and blue were used, unsuccessfully.
The colours on entering the Football League, in
1920–21, were white shirts, navy shorts and navy socks. Away kits have varied over the years, with the current colours being a yellow shirt with yellow shorts, both with black detailing, along with yellow socks.
Brentford have had several badges on their shirts since it was formed in 1889.
The first one, in 1893, was a white shield, with 'BFC' in blue and a wavy line in blue, which is thought to represent the river and the rowing club, who founded the football club.
The next known badge, the Middlesex County Arms, was on shirts donated by a club supporter in 1909.
The Brentford and Chiswick arms, as a badge, was used just for the one season, in
1938–39.
The next badge was in
1971–72 when a shield, formed into quadrants, which had a hive and bees in one, 3 seaxes in another and the other two with red and white stripes.
In 1972, the club organised a competition to design a new crest, which was won by Mr B.G. Spencer's design, a circle with a bee and stripes and the founding date of 1888. This was introduced in 1973 and used until May 1975, when it was brought to the club's attention, via Graham Haynes, that the club was formed in 1889 and not in 1888. Therefore a new badge, reputedly designed by
Dan Tana – the club's chairman at the time – was introduced for the
1975–76 season and continued until 1994 when the current badge was introduced.
In 2011
Russell Grant
Russell John Dammerall Grant (born 5 February 1951) is a British astrologer and media personality. He has written several books on astrology, provides syndicated newspaper horoscopes and operates premium rate astrology phone lines. In March 20 ...
claimed to have designed the badge in a BBC interview, however it was in fact designed in 1993 for two season tickets by supporter Andrew Henning, following a request from Keith Loring the then chief executive.
In 2017, the club redesigned its crest to a more modern, uncluttered, design with the flexibility for use in two tone colour print.
The design is a double roundel with the club name and year founded in white on a red background and a large central bee.
Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors
Honours and best performances
League
*
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
/
First Division /
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
(Tier 2)
** Champions (1):
1934–35
** Play-off winners (1):
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
*
Third Division / Second Division /
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
(Tier 3)
** Champions (2):
1932–33 (
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
),
1991–92
**Promoted (1):
2013–14
*
Fourth Division / Third Division /
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
(Tier 4)
** Champions (3):
1962–63,
1998–99,
2008–09
*
Southern League Second Division
**Champions (1):
1900–01
*
London League First Division: 1
**Promoted (1):
1897–98[Elected into Southern League Second Division London.]
*London League Second Division: 1
**Promoted (1):
1896–97
* West London Alliance: 1
**Champions (1): 1892–93
[No system of promotion in place.]
Cups
*Middlesex Junior Cup: 1
**1893–94
*West Middlesex Cup: 1
** 1894–95
*
London Senior Cup
The London Senior Cup is the County Senior Cup of the London FA. The London Senior Cup was first won by Upton Park in 1882. Although the leading professional sides in London no longer compete, the Cup has been won in the past by the likes of Ar ...
: 1
**1897–98
*
Middlesex Senior Cup
The Middlesex Senior Cup is the most prestigious football cup competition in the historic county of Middlesex, England. The competition is run mainly for non-League clubs in the region, although league clubs have been known to enter the compe ...
: 1
** 1897–98
*Southern Professional Charity Cup: 1
**
1908–09
*Ealing Hospital Cup: 1
**
1910–11
*
London Challenge Cup
The London Challenge Cup was a football tournament formerly organised by the London FA. It was first contested in 1908, and other than during the World Wars, was contested every season until 1974, when the tournament was disbanded.
After a 16- ...
: 3
** 1934–35,
1964–65,
1966–67
*London Charity Fund: 1
**1928
Wartime honours
*
London Combination
The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is n ...
: 1
**
1918–19
*
London War Cup: 1
**
1941–42
Best performances
League
* First Division /
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
(Tier 1)
** 5th:
1935–36
*
Western League
** 2nd:
1904–05
* Southern League First Division
** 9th:
1905–06
Cups
*
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
** Sixth round/Quarter-finals:
1937–38,
1945–46,
1948–49,
1988–89
*
Football League Cup
The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...
** Semi-finals:
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
*
Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...
** Runners-up:
1984–85,
2000–01,
2010–11
*
Empire Exhibition Trophy
The Empire Exhibition Trophy was a football competition held in 1938 in conjunction with the Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938 in Glasgow. It was held to commemorate the Exhibition, then underway in Bellahouston Park, and the prize was a solid si ...
** First round: 1938
* Southern Professional Floodlit Cup
** Semi-finals:
1955–56,
1956–57
* First Alliance Cup
** First round: 1988
Awards
*
Football League Awards
The EFL Awards is an annual awards ceremony commemorating association football players, clubs and associated individuals involved in the three divisions of the English Football League (EFL).
The event was established in 2006 and is usually hel ...
** Community Club of the Year (2):
2005–06,
2013–14
** League Two Community Club of the Year (1):
2008–09
** Best Club Sponsorship (1):
2006–07
** Family Excellence Award (8):
2007–08,
2009–10,
2010–11,
2011–12,
2012–13, 2013–14,
2014–15,
2015–16
*Stadium Business Awards
** Sponsorship, Sales and Marketing (1): 2013
*
Littlewoods Giant Killers Award
**2–1 vs
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
,
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
third round, 6 January 1996
Rivalries
Brentford's main rivals are
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
and
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
. The club have a long standing rivalry with Fulham.
In the past this fixture has been marred by crowd violence.
Brentford's rivalry with Queens Park Rangers intensified in 1967, when Rangers failed in an attempted takeover of the Bees, a move which, had it succeeded, would have seen Rangers move into Griffin Park and Brentford quit the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
. As with the Fulham rivalry, this fixture sees passions run high amongst both sets of supporters with local pride at stake.
International links
In February 2013, it was announced that Brentford had entered into partnership with Icelandic
1. deild karla club
UMF Selfoss
Ungmennafélag Selfoss, commonly known as Selfoss or UMF Selfoss, is an Icelandic multisport club, located in the town of Selfoss in the Southern Region. In May 2019, the Selfoss men's handball team won the national handball championship for ...
, which would enable Brentford to send youth and development squad players to
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
to gain experience.
The partnership also sees the two clubs exchanging coaching philosophies and allows Brentford to utilise UMF Selfoss' scouting network.
In May 2013, the Brentford staff forged links with
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
n lower league club
Gulu United as part of the "United for United" project, aimed at forming the region's first youth training camp and identifying talented players.
Brentford owner Matthew Benham became majority shareholder in
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
club
FC Midtjylland
FC Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast in the western part of Jutland. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Su ...
in 2014 and the staff of both clubs share ideas.
Affiliated clubs
*
FC Midtjylland
FC Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast in the western part of Jutland. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Su ...
− Sister club
*
London Tigers
The London Tigers were a professional Double-A Minor League Baseball team that played in the Eastern League from 1989 to 1993. They played at Labatt Memorial Park in London, Ontario, and were affiliated with the Detroit Tigers. At the time i ...
*
UMF Selfoss
Ungmennafélag Selfoss, commonly known as Selfoss or UMF Selfoss, is an Icelandic multisport club, located in the town of Selfoss in the Southern Region. In May 2019, the Selfoss men's handball team won the national handball championship for ...
*
Gulu United
Celebrity connections
* Brentford FC is mentioned often on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''. DJ Beats often wears a Brentford jacket, and Angel's room is full of Brentford memorabilia.
* Actor and comedian
was a professional at the club in the late 1970s, but never made the first team squad.
*
, Hollywood actor and restaurateur, served on the club's board and was chairman.
* Model
prior to his release in 2008.
served as the club's vice-president in the early 1950s and was later president of the Brentford Supporters' Club.
* Politician
* of Brentford F.C.
* of Bees United – The Brentford Supporters' Trust (owners of the majority of shares in the club)
* of BIAS – Brentford Independent Association of Supporters
{{Authority control