Middlesbrough F.C.

Middlesbrough Football Club (/ˈmɪdəlzbrə/ ^ⓘ MID-əlz-brə) is a professional association football club based in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.

Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since 1995. The club played at Ayresome Park for 92 years, from 1903 to 1995. Middlesbrough were one of the founding members of the Premier League in 1992 and, with Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, were the first clubs to be relegated from it following the 1992–93 season. The club came close to folding in 1986 after experiencing severe financial difficulties before they were saved by a consortium led by then board member and later chairman Steve Gibson. During the early Gibson years in the Premier League the club signed several high-profile players, although this did not translate into success and in 1997 the club suffered two lost cup finals and a relegation in the same year. The club's main rivals are Leeds United.

The club's achievements include winning the League Cup in 2004, their first and to date only major trophy, and reaching the 2006 UEFA Cup final, losing to Spanish club Sevilla. Their highest league finish to date was third place in the top flight in the 1913–14 season, whilst the club have only spent two seasons outside the top two divisions of English football. The League Cup win and the UEFA Cup run was part of an 11-year consecutive stay in the Premier League, before a relegation in 2009. Although the club returned in 2016, instant relegation followed, and the club has not returned to the Premier League since.

The club's traditional kit is red with white detailing. The home shorts and sock colours have interchangeably been shifted between red and white, complementing the red shirt that was adopted in 1899. The various crests throughout the club's history, the most recent of which was adopted in 2007, incorporate a lion rampant.