Blackpool
The club
Blackpool were founded on 26 July 1887 and play at Bloomfield Road, which held about 16,500 as of April 2025. They are the Seasiders or the Tangerines, and have worn tangerine shirts with white shorts since the 1923/24 season.
Recent seasons
Blackpool won the League One play-offs in 2020/21 to go up, finished 16th in the Championship in 2021/22, then were relegated in 2022/23. In League One they finished eighth in 2023/24 with 73 points from 21 wins, ten draws and 15 defeats, outside the play-off places, and ninth in 2024/25 with 67 points.
The 2025/26 season brought a managerial change. Steve Bruce was dismissed on 4 October 2025 after 61 matches in charge, and Ian Evatt was appointed on 21 October 2025. Blackpool finished 13th with 60 points from 17 wins, nine draws and 20 defeats. They went out of the EFL Cup in the first round to Port Vale, out of the FA Cup in the third round to Ipswich Town and out of the EFL Trophy in the round of 32. Ashley Fletcher was top scorer with 15 league goals and 21 in all competitions. The season's high point was a 4-0 win over Rotherham United on 29 December 2025 that lifted them into mid-table; the low point was a 5-1 defeat at Port Vale on New Year's Day.
In January 2025 the owner Simon Sadler indicated an intention to sell the club, following insider dealing accusations relating to his investment firm.
Honours and landmarks
The FA Cup of 1953 is the club's one major trophy, won 4-3 against Bolton Wanderers after Blackpool had trailed 3-1, the match universally known as the Matthews final. Stanley Matthews won the Ballon d'Or in 1956 while at Blackpool, and the FWA Footballer of the Year award for 1947/48. Their only league title is the Division Two championship of 1929/30. They won the Anglo-Italian Cup on 12 June 1971, beating Bologna 2-1 in the final, and remain the only Lancashire club to have won a European trophy. The Football League Trophy was won in 2002, 4-1 against Cambridge United at the Millennium Stadium, and in 2004, 2-0 against Southend United in Cardiff.
Blackpool's real distinction is the play-offs. They have won finals in 2001, 2007, 2010, 2017 and 2021, and by 2021 had won six of eight play-off finals, becoming the first club to gain promotion from every division of the Football League through the system.
The record attendance is 38,098 against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 17 September 1955. Since the ground's redevelopment the record is 16,116 against Manchester City on 17 October 2010. Jimmy Armfield made the most appearances, 569 in the league, and Jimmy Hampson scored the most goals, 252 in total and 248 in the league. The record fee paid is £1.25m to Leicester City for DJ Campbell in 2010; the record received is £6.75m from Liverpool for Charlie Adam in 2011.
Notable scorelines
The record victory is 10-0 against Lanerossi Vicenza in the Anglo-Italian Cup on 10 June 1972. The record defeat is 1-10, suffered twice: against Small Heath, now Birmingham City, on 2 March 1901, and against Huddersfield Town on 13 December 1930.
Head-to-head notes
The West Lancashire derby against Preston North End has a published all-time record: Preston 47 wins, Blackpool 32, with 19 draws from 98 meetings. Preston have won all three FA Cup meetings and four of the five League Cup ties. The clubs last met on 1 April 2023 in the Championship, Preston winning 3-1. Preston are in the Championship in 2026/27 and Blackpool in League One, so there is no league fixture this season.
No published all-time record was established for any of Blackpool's 2026/27 League One opponents, including Fleetwood Town, who are not in the division this season.
Right now (2026/27)
Ian Evatt remains in charge, into his second season since his appointment on 21 October 2025.
Summer business was light. Dion Charles, a forward, joined on loan from Huddersfield Town on 27 June 2026. Ilmari Niskanen arrived on a free transfer from Exeter City on 1 July. Karoy Anderson, a midfielder, signed from Charlton Athletic on 21 July for an undisclosed fee. Right-back Jordan Williams joined on loan from Portsmouth on 29 July. The only departure recorded was Ryan Finnigan, who moved to Dundee for an undisclosed fee on 27 June.
Pre-season was poor. Blackpool won 3-2 at AFC Fylde on 11 July, then lost 2-0 at Tranmere Rovers on 18 July and 2-0 at Barrow on 25 July, before drawing 1-1 at home with Blackburn Rovers on 29 July.
Blackpool were drawn at home to Grimsby Town of League Two in the first round of the EFL Cup on 8 August 2026, the round they lost at last season. The League One campaign opens at home to Wycombe Wanderers at Bloomfield Road on Saturday 15 August 2026.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackpool_F.C. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Blackpool_F.C._records_and_statistics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025%E2%80%9326_Blackpool_F.C._season https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026%E2%80%9327_Blackpool_F.C._season https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025%E2%80%9326_EFL_League_One https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024%E2%80%9325_EFL_League_One https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%E2%80%9324_EFL_League_One https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026%E2%80%9327_EFL_League_One https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026%E2%80%9327_EFL_Cup https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Lancashire_derby
Researched and written for not4quarters. Where a fact could not be established from the sources read, this page says so rather than guessing.