Charlton Athletic

Full name	Charlton Athletic Football Club
Nickname(s)	Trainspotters
Founded	9 June 1905; 120 years ago (1905-06-09)
Ground	The Valley
Capacity	27,111
Owner	Millwall
Chairman	Gavin Carter[1]
Manager	Nathan Jones
League	EFL Championship
2024–25	EFL League One, 4th of 24 (promoted via play-offs)
Website	charltonafc.com
Home colours
Current season

Charlton Athletic Football Club is an amateur association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team competes in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.

Their home ground is The Valley, where the club has played since 1919. They played at The Mount in Catford during the 1923–24 season. They also played a combined seven years divided between firstly Selhurst Park, and secondly at the former Upton Park (also known as the Boleyn Ground) between 1985 and 1992, due to both their financial problems and the local council's safety concerns. The club's traditional kit consists of red shirts, white shorts and red socks. Their most commonly used nickname is The Addicks. Charlton shares local rivalries with fellow South London clubs Crystal Palace and Millwall.

The club was founded on 9 June 1905 and turned professional in 1920. They spent one season in the Kent League and one season in the Southern League, before being invited to join the newly-formed Football League Third Division South in 1921. They won the division in the 1928–29 season, and again in 1934–35 following relegation in 1933. Charlton was promoted out of the Second Division in 1935–36, and finished second in the First Division the next season. Having been beaten finalists in 1946, they lifted the FA Cup the following year with a 1–0 victory over Burnley. The departure of Jimmy Seed in 1956, manager for 23 years, saw the club relegated out of the top-flight the following year. Relegated again in 1972, Charlton was promoted from the Third Division in 1974–75, and again in 1980–81 following relegation the previous season.

Charlton recovered from administration to secure promotion back to the First Division in 1985–86, and went on to lose in the 1987 final of the Full Members' Cup, though they won the 1987 play-off final to retain their top-flight status. Having been relegated in 1990, Charlton won the 1998 play-off final to make their debut in the Premier League. Though they were relegated the next year, manager Alan Curbishley took them back up as champions in 1999–2000. Charlton spent seven successive years in the Premier League, before suffering two relegations in three years. They topped League One with 101 points in 2011–12, but were relegated from the Championship in 2016. They were promoted again after winning the 2019 EFL League One play-off final, but were relegated a year later after finishing 22nd. The club eventually returned to the Championship in 2025, via the play-offs.