Reading FC

Reading Football Club is an English football team from the town of Reading. It was founded on 25 December 1871 and since 2023 has played in the English Football League One, the third tier of English football.

Reading Football Club was created in 1871, and in 1990 it was acquired by John Madejski. From that point the team began to gain strength. In 1998 the club moved to its new stadium with a capacity of 24,200, the Madejski Stadium, named after the club's owner.

In the 1997–98 season of the Football League Division One, now the Football League Championship, the team was relegated to Football League Division Two.

In the 2001–02 season it returned to Football League Division One after finishing second with 84 points, 6 points behind the champion Brighton & Hove Albion.

In the 2005–06 Championship season, with Steve Coppell as manager, the team was promoted to the Premier League for the first time in its history after winning the title with a record 106 points, with 31 wins, 13 draws and only 2 defeats, with 99 goals for and 32 against. The league's top scorers were Kevin Doyle and Dave Kitson with 18 goals each.

In the 2006–07 season it played in the Premier League for the first time in its history, where it was the revelation of the season, finishing in 8th place with 55 points, surprising many, and qualifying for the UEFA Intertoto Cup. However, the following season was a bad one. After a run of poor results in the last 10 matches, despite thrashing the already relegated Derby County 4–0 away, Reading lost its place in the division on goal difference to Fulham FC, a team that made a miraculous comeback.

Back in the Championship, the club finished in 4th place, entering the play-off positions to try to win promotion to the Premier League. Its opponent was Burnley FC. In the first leg it lost 1–0 away, while in the second leg it lost 2–0 at home, missing the opportunity to return to the top division. Finally, at the end of that season a cycle came to a close: the manager who was the hero of the promotion, Steve Coppell, decided to step aside, Kevin Doyle signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers, who won promotion, and Stephen Hunt left to play for Hull City, also of the Premier League.

The 2009–10 season was modest; at the start the club set out to seek promotion, but it went through a bad run and in mid-season found itself in the relegation places. In the end it finished very well, ending in 9th place with 63 points, 7 behind the last team to qualify for the play-offs for promotion to the Premier League. The best match of the season was the FA Cup replay, knocking out Liverpool FC at Anfield with a 2–1 result. It finally fell in the sixth round after losing at home to Aston Villa 4–2.

In the FA Cup it again reached the sixth round, losing 1–0 to Manchester City, who would go on to be the champion, while in the league it finished in 5th place, so it had to play the play-offs; in the first round it was drawn against Cardiff City, drawing 0–0 at home in the first leg, while in Cardiff, Reading thrashed them 3–0; finally, in the final it would lose 4–2 to Swansea City at Wembley Stadium.

The 2011–12 season was spectacular. After defeating Nottingham Forest at home, the long-awaited return to the Premier League was finally achieved after 4 years of absence. In the penultimate round it was crowned Championship champion after drawing 2–2 at home with Crystal Palace. The team finished the season as champions with 89 points.

The 2012–13 season was modest, with the club losing its place in the division (19th), while in the FA Cup it lost in the round of 16, 2–1 to Manchester United, and in the English League Cup it lost in the round of 16 at home 7–5 to Arsenal, thus closing the 2012–13 season.

To date it has won five titles in the English football system, counting one second division title, three third division titles and one fourth division title.

From the 2023–24 season it will play in the English Football League One, the third tier of English football.