Luton Town Football Club

Location: Luton, England
Stadium: Kenilworth Road
Founded: 1894

Luton Town Football Club comes with a long history of ups and downs in their 113 years of play. Considered the first professional team in the south of England, they are nicknamed “The Hatters” due to the historical association of Luton with the hat making industry.

The Hatters are one of the few clubs in professional English football who have played in all four divisions. After the Second World War, the Third Divisions were combined to create the four tiers of English football, and Luton remained there (Third Division) for seventeen years. They were promoted to the Second Division in 1954 and played in the only FA Cup in their history, losing a disappointing match to Nottingham Forest. A year later, they were relegated to the Third Division and eventually found themselves demoted further to the Fourth Division. They eventually pulled themselves out of Fourth Division and triumphed in the Second Division for the majority of the 1970's.

Luton's history continued with an infamous “no away fans” ban in the 80's after hooligans ransacked their stadium. The club fought hard to make it to the First Division – which they did in 1982- and remained there successfully until the 1990's. This period proved to be one of turmoil and turnover, resulting in the sale of many of their top players.

Today, Luton is a strong side, but continues to struggle with consistency, especially evident in their 2006/2007 campaign. Originally thought to push into the First Division, Luton is fighting to avoid relegation. However the Luton loyal remain hopeful that their newly appointed coach will bring the success that they are all too used to enjoying.