Crystal Palace Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Selhurst, South London, England. Although formally created as a professional outfit in 1905 at the site of the famous Crystal Palace Exhibition building, the club's origins can be traced as far back as 1861.Palace at the Palace. Peter Manning 2018.The Origin of Crystal Palace FC, Volume I. Steve Martyniuk 2016. In recognition of this, the club's official crest features that date. The club played their home games inside the grounds of the Palace at the FA Cup Final stadium from 1905 until 1915, when they were forced to leave due to the outbreak of the First World War. They moved to their current home at Selhurst Park in 1924.
Shortly after the professional club was created in 1905, Crystal Palace applied for election to the Football League, but were rejected and forced to settle for a place in the Southern League Second Division. The club were finally admitted to the Football League in 1920 and have overall mostly played in the top two tiers of English football. Their best ever top-flight season came in 1990–91, when they challenged for the English league title, but fell just short, finishing in third place behind champions Arsenal and runners-up Liverpool, to achieve the club's highest league finish to date. Palace were unfortunate to be denied a place in Europe, because although the ban on English clubs after the Heysel Stadium disaster had now been lifted, it meant England were unranked in European competitions which resulted in only one place being available in the UEFA Cup and this went to Liverpool rather than Palace. It was around this time that the club also reached the 1990 FA Cup final and became founding members of the Premier League in 1992–93.
Following their relegation from the Premier League in 1998, Palace went into decline after suffering financial problems which saw the club go into administration twice, in 1999 and 2010. But they recovered and returned to the Premier League in 2013, where the club have remained ever since. During this period, Palace also reached another two FA Cup finals, finishing runners-up in 2016, but winning the coveted trophy at the third attempt in 2025. The club followed this up by winning the 2025 FA Community Shield and their first European trophy, the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League.
Origins and formation (1854–1905)
Between 1852 and 1854, the glass exhibition building known as The Crystal Palace was relocated from Hyde Park, London and rebuilt in an area of South London next to Sydenham Hill. This area was renamed Crystal Palace - including the Crystal Palace Park surrounding the site where various sports facilities were built. The Crystal Palace Cricket Club was established here in 1857 and played at the cricket ground situated inside the park, before turning their attention to football after its members had lobbied to provide a continuation of sporting activities during the winter months. An amateur Crystal Palace football club was formed in 1861, with a number of its first players coming from the cricket club,Palace at the Palace. Peter Manning 2018, p38 and they initially shared the cricket ground.Palace at the Palace. Peter Manning 2018The Origin of Crystal Palace FC, Volume I. Steve Martyniuk 2016. The football club went on to become one of the original founding members of the Football Association in 1863,Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle, 12 December 1863, p. 3 and competed in the first ever FA Cup competition in 1871–72, reaching the semi-finals, but were eliminated by the Royal Engineers in a replay after the first game ended goalless.Bell's Life in London and Sporting Chronicle, 24 February 1872, p. 5 They also played in the FA Cup over the next four seasons before disappearing from historical records after a match against Barnes F.C. on 18 December 1875.Palace at the Palace. Peter Manning 2018
In 1895, the Football Association found a new permanent venue for the FA Cup final at the sports stadium situated inside the Palace grounds. The Crystal Palace Company, who owned the Palace building, were reliant on tourist activity for their income and sought fresh attractions for the venue. They founded the London County Cricket Club of W. G. Grace before deciding to form a new professional football club to play at the stadium.Matthews, p. 11–13
The professional Crystal Palace Football Club was formed on 10 September 1905, under the chairmanship of Sydney BourneMatthews, p. 13 and were assisted by Edmund Goodman, an Aston Villa employee who was recommended to Palace by the Villa chairman, William McGregor. Goodman organised the business side of the club and appointed John Robson to be the team's manager. Robson had transformed his previous club Middlesbrough from an amateur outfit to an established Football League First Division team. Goodman, a former amateur player with Villa, had his playing career cut short by an injury which led to the amputation of his right leg.Matthews, p. 13–14 He later went on to become Palace's longest ever serving manager.
Southern League (1905–20)
The newly-formed professional club applied to join the Second Division of the Football League, but were rejected and forced to settle for a place in the Southern League Second Division. To increase the number of club fixtures, Palace also joined the mid-week United League, where they won their first recorded match as a professional club, 3–0 away at New Brompton. The team's manager John Robson established a squad of sixteen professionals, most of them signed from clubs in the North East area of England, where he came from. Palace's inaugural campaign in the Southern League Second Division consisted mainly of matches against other clubs' reserve sides, alongside the first teams of Wycombe Wanderers, Leyton, Southern United, St. Leonards United and Grays United. The club's opening fixture was at home against Southampton Reserves, and approximately 3,000 spectators paid 6d to stand or a shilling to be seated. Palace led 3–0 after 30 minutes, before fading and losing 3–4. However, that was the club's only defeat in the league all season, and Palace were crowned champions. The season included a run of seventeen straight victories, one of them being a 9–1 win over Grays United. The club's home attendances in the league for that season were regularly between 2,000 and 3,000 spectators.Matthews, p.14
Following their promotion, Palace started their second season as a professional club competing in the Southern League First Division, finishing in nineteenth-place, but having enjoyed better form in the FA Cup. After beating Rotherham County in a qualifying tie, Palace were drawn away to Newcastle United in the first round proper. Newcastle were one of the biggest and most successful clubs in the top-flight of English football at that time. They had played in the previous two FA Cup finals, were Football League First Division champions in 1905, and this season were on their way to another title. In what still stands as one of the club's greatest ever wins, Palace scored through Horace Astley against the run of play and then held off Newcastle to come away with a shock 1–0 win. The second and third rounds saw the club dispose of Fulham and Brentford respectively after both ties went to replays. In the quarter-finals, Palace were drawn at home to the cup holders Everton, who had been challenging Newcastle for the First Division title throughout that season. In front of a then record crowd of 35,000, Palace took the lead, but their opponents equalised taking the tie to a replay, where Everton proved too strong, running out 4–0 winners.Matthews, pp.15–16
John Robson left Palace to manage neighbours Croydon Common F.C. for the 1907–08 season, and Edmund Goodman took over as manager and club secretary. Palace had a good season, finishing fourth. Billy Davies became the first professional Palace player to be capped at international level when he was called up for Wales. The club could not sustain their league form the following season, finishing in a disappointing sixteenth-place. In the FA Cup, Palace lost 0–9 to Burnley in a second round replay, which is to date, a record defeat for the club in this competition. Palace finished seventh in the league the following season and fourth the season after, with league attendances as high as 12,000. The club recorded seventh and fifth-place finishes over the next couple of seasons and won the London Challenge Cup in 1913, overcoming West Ham United 1–0 in a replay. Palace enjoyed good form in the 1913–14 season, with the club putting together some long unbeaten runs and finishing the season runners-up to Swindon Town on goal average. They also retained the London Challenge Cup, defeating Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 in the final at Highbury, and defender Horace Colclough was called up by England to play in the team that beat Wales in Cardiff on 16 March 1914.Matthews, pp.16–19
Following the outbreak of the First World War on 4 August 1914, the club had three players called up as Reservists before the 1914–15 season had started. Former Palace players Ginger Williams and Joe Bulcock were amongst those killed in the conflict. In March 1915, The Admiralty, who had taken over the Crystal Palace and its grounds at the start of the war, ordered the club to leave and they chose to move to nearby Herne Hill Velodrome. The club finished that season in fifteenth place. When Croydon Common F.C. failed to return to business after the war, Palace moved into their ground known as The Nest which was situated opposite Selhurst railway station. In the first full season after the war, Palace finished in third-place in 1919–20.Matthews, pp.19, 23–26
The Football League (1920–58) Crystal Palace became a Football League club in 1920 when the Southern League First Division clubs were admitted en bloc as founder members of a newly formed Football League Third Division. In their first season as a Football League club, Palace lost their opening game at Merthyr Town 1–2 with George Milligan scoring the club's first ever league goal. Milligan's Palace career was short-lived however, and he made just one more appearance for the club. Palace's first ever home Football League match was a disappointing 0–0 draw against Plymouth Argyle, but the club then went on a run of six consecutive wins. Goalkeeper Jack Alderson, who had been signed in 1918, kept a clean sheet in five of those wins and they lost just six more league games all season. Palace were unbeaten in the final sixteen games of the season which included an eight-game winning streak and went on to win the championship by five points from runners-up Southampton and gain promotion to the Second Division. The club conceded just 34 goals over the season, a record that stood until 1979,Matthews, p.26, 28 and joined Preston North End, Small Heath, Liverpool and Bury as the only clubs at that time to have won a championship in their first season as a league club. Palace also won their third London Challenge Cup, beating Clapton Orient 1–0 at White Hart Lane with a goal from forward John Conner.Matthews, p.29