Early history (1905–1946) Charlton Athletic was formed on 9 June 1905 it was not founded by a church, school, employer or as a franchise for an existing ground. Charlton spent most of the years before the
First World War playing in local leagues but progressing rapidly, winning successive leagues promotions eight years in a row. In 1905–06 the team played only friendly games but joined, and won, the Lewisham League Division III for the 1906–07 season. For the 1907–08 season the team contested the Lewisham League, Woolwich League and entered the Woolwich Cup. It was also around this time the Addicks nickname was first used in the local press although it may have been in use before then. In the 1908–09 season Charlton Athletic were playing in the Blackheath and District League and by 1910–11 had progressed to the Southern Suburban League. During this period Charlton Athletic won the Woolwich Cup four times, the championship of the Woolwich League three times, won the Blackheath League twice and the Southern Suburban League three times. They became a senior side in 1913, the same year that nearby
Woolwich Arsenal relocated to North London. At the outbreak of World War I, Charlton were one of the first clubs to close down to take part in the "Greater Game" overseas. The club was reformed in 1917, playing mainly friendlies to raise funds for charities connected to the war and for the Woolwich Memorial Hospital Cup, the trophy for which Charlton donated. It had previously been the Woolwich Cup that the team had won outright following three consecutive victories. After the war, they joined the Kent League for one season (1919–20) before becoming professional, appointing
Walter Rayner as the first full-time manager. They were accepted by the Southern League and played just a single season (1920–21) before being voted into the
Football League along with
Aberdare Athletic. Charlton's first Football League match was against
Exeter City in August 1921, which they won 1–0. In 1923, Charlton became "giant killers" in the
FA Cup beating top flight sides
Manchester City,
West Bromwich Albion, and
Preston North End before losing to eventual winners
Bolton Wanderers in the Quarter-Finals. Later that year, it was proposed that Charlton merge with
Catford Southend to create a larger team with bigger support. In the 1923–24 season Charlton played in Catford at
The Mount stadium and wore the colours of "The Enders", light and dark blue vertical stripes. However, the move fell through and the Addicks returned to the Charlton area in 1924, returning to the traditional red and white colours in the process. Charlton finished second bottom in the Football League in 1926 and were forced to apply for
re-election which was successful. Three years later the Addicks won the
Division Three championship in 1929 and they remained at the
Division Two level for four years. Seed was an innovative thinker about the game at a time when tactical formations were still relatively unsophisticated. He later recalled "a simple scheme that enabled us to pull several matches out of the fire" during the 1934–35 season: when the team was in trouble "the centre-half was to forsake his defensive role and go up into the attack to add weight to the five forwards." In 1937, Charlton finished runners up in the First Division, in 1938 finished fourth and 1939 finished third. They were the most consistent team in the top flight of English football over the three seasons immediately before World War II. When the full league programme resumed in 1946–47 Charlton could finish only 19th in the First Division, just above the relegation spots, but they made amends with their performance in the FA Cup, reaching the
1947 FA Cup final. This time they were successful, beating
Burnley 1–0, with
Chris Duffy scoring the only goal of the day. In this period of renewed football attendances, Charlton became one of only 13 English football teams to average over 40,000 as their attendance during a full season. It caused the team's support to drop, and even a promotion in 1975 back to the second division did little to re-invigorate the team's support and finances. In 1979–80 Charlton were relegated again to the Third Division, but won immediate promotion back to the Second Division in 1980–81. This was a turning point in the club's history leading to a period of turbulence and change including further promotion and exile. A change in management and shortly after a change in club ownership led to severe problems, such as the reckless signing of former
European Footballer of the Year Allan Simonsen, and the club looked like it would go out of business.
The "exiled" years (1985–1992) In 1984 financial matters came to a head and the club went into administration, to be reformed as Charlton Athletic (1984) Ltd. and remained at this level for four years (achieving a highest league finish of 14th) often with late escapes, most notably against
Leeds in 1987, where the Addicks triumphed in extra-time of the
play-off final replay to secure their top flight place. with the match described as "arguably the most dramatic game of football in Wembley's history", and were promoted to the
Premier League. Charlton's first Premier League campaign began promisingly (they went top after two games) but they were unable to maintain their good form and were soon battling relegation. The battle was lost on the final day of the season but the club's board kept faith in Curbishley, confident that they could bounce back. Curbishley rewarded the chairman's loyalty with the Division One title in 2000 which signalled a return to the Premier League. After the club's Premier League comeback, Curbishley proved an astute spender, guiding the Addicks to a ninth place finish in the season after promotion and they were soon established as a mid table side who at times were in contention for a European place. Charlton spent much of the
2003–04 Premier League season challenging for a
Champions League place, but a late-season slump in form and the sale of star player
Scott Parker to
Chelsea, left Charlton in seventh place, which was still the club's highest finish since the 1950s. Charlton were unable to build on this level of achievement and Curbishley departed in 2006, with the club still established as a solid mid-table side. In May 2006,
Iain Dowie was named as Curbishley's successor, but was sacked after 12 league matches in November 2006, with only two wins.
Les Reed replaced Dowie as manager, however he too failed to improve Charlton's position in the league table and on Christmas Eve 2006, Reed was replaced by former player
Alan Pardew. Although results did improve, Pardew was unable to keep Charlton up and relegation was confirmed in the penultimate match of the season.
Relegation from the Premier League (2007–2014) Charlton's return to
the second tier of English football was a disappointment, with their promotion campaign tailing off to an 11th-place finish. Early in the following season the Addicks were linked with a foreign takeover, but this was swiftly denied by the club. On 10 October 2008, Charlton received an indicative offer for the club from a
Dubai-based diversified investment company. However, the deal later fell through. The full significance of this soon became apparent as the club recorded net losses of over £13 million for that financial year. Pardew left on 22 November after a 2–5 home loss to
Sheffield United that saw the team fall into the relegation places. Matters did not improve under caretaker manager
Phil Parkinson, and the team went a club record 18 games without a win, a new club record, before finally achieving a 1–0 away victory over
Norwich City in an FA Cup third round replay; Parkinson was hired on a permanent basis. The team were relegated to League One after a 2–2 draw against
Blackpool on 18 April 2009. The
2009–10 season, Charlton's first third-tier league campaign in 29 years, saw them occupy the top six for almost its entirety; they were defeated in the
Football League One play-offs semi-final second leg on penalties against
Swindon Town. returned to the club as manager between 2011 and 2014 After a change in ownership, Parkinson and Charlton legend
Mark Kinsella left after a poor run of results. Another Charlton legend,
Chris Powell, was appointed manager of the club in January 2011, winning his first game in charge 2–0 over
Plymouth at The Valley. This was Charlton's first league win since November. Powell's bright start continued with a further three victories, before running into a downturn which saw the club go 11 games in succession without a win. Yet the fans' respect for Powell saw him come under remarkably little criticism. The club's fortunes picked up towards the end of the season, but leaving them far short of the play-offs. In a busy summer, Powell brought in 19 new players and after a successful season, on 14 April 2012, Charlton Athletic won promotion back to the Championship with a 1–0 away win at
Carlisle United. A week later, on 21 April 2012, they were confirmed as champions after a 2–1 home win over
Wycombe Wanderers. Charlton then lifted the League One trophy on 5 May 2012, having been in the top position since 15 September 2011, and after recording a 3–2 victory over
Hartlepool United, recorded their highest ever league points score of 101, the highest in any professional European league that year. In the first season back in the Championship, the
2012–13 season saw Charlton finish ninth place with 65 points, just three points short of the play-off places to the Premier League.
Duchâtelet's ownership (2014–2019) In early January 2014 during the
2013–14 season, Belgian businessman
Roland Duchâtelet took over Charlton as owner in a deal worth £14million. This made Charlton a part of a network of football clubs owned by Duchâtelet. On 11 March 2014, two days after an FA Cup quarter-final loss to Sheffield United, and with Charlton sitting bottom of the table, Powell was sacked, private emails suggesting a rift with the owner. New manager
Jose Riga, despite having to join Charlton long after the transfer window had closed, was able to improve Charlton's form and eventually guide them to 18th place, successfully avoiding relegation. After Riga's departure to manage Blackpool, former Millwall player
Bob Peeters was appointed as manager in May 2014 on a 12-month contract. Charlton started strong, but a long run of draws meant that after only 25 games in charge Peeters was dismissed with the team in 14th place. His replacement,
Guy Luzon, ensured there was no relegation battle by winning most of the remaining matches, resulting in a 12th-place finish. The
2015–16 season began promisingly but results under Luzon deteriorated and on 24 October 2015 after a 3–0 defeat at home to
Brentford he was sacked. Luzon said in a
News Shopper interview that he "was not the one who chose how to do the recruitment" as the reason why he failed as manager.
Karel Fraeye was appointed "interim head coach", but was sacked after 14 games and just two wins, with the club then second from bottom in the Championship. On 14 January 2016, Jose Riga was appointed head coach for a second spell, but could not prevent Charlton from being relegated to
League One for the
2016–17 season. Riga resigned at the end of the season. To many fans, the managerial changes and subsequent relegation to League One were symptomatic of the mismanagement of the club under Duchâtelet's ownership and several protests began. After a slow start to the new season, with the club in 15th place of League One, the club announced that it had "parted company" with
Russell Slade in November 2016.
Karl Robinson was appointed on a permanent basis soon after. He led the Addicks to an uneventful 13th-place finish. The following season Robinson had the team challenging for the play-offs, but a drop in form in March led him to resign by mutual consent. He was replaced by former player
Lee Bowyer as caretaker manager who guided them to a 6th-place finish, but lost in the play-off semi-final. Bowyer was appointed permanently in September on a one-year contract and managed Charlton to third place in the
2018–19 EFL League One season, qualifying for the
play-offs. In their first visit to the
New Wembley Stadium and a repeat of their famous match in 1998, Charlton beat
Sunderland 2–1 in the League One play-off final to earn promotion back to the
EFL Championship after a three-season absence. Bowyer later signed a new one-year contract following promotion, which was later extended to three years in January 2020.
Multiple changes of ownership (2019–present) East Street Investments (2019–2020) On 29 November 2019, Charlton Athletic was acquired by East Street Investments (ESI) from
Abu Dhabi, subject to EFL approval. Approval was reportedly granted on 2 January 2020. However, on 10 March 2020, a public disagreement between the new owners erupted along with reports that the main investor was pulling out, and the EFL said the takeover had not been approved. The Valley and Charlton's training ground were still owned by Duchâtelet, and a transfer embargo was in place as the new owners had not provided evidence of funding through to June 2021. On 20 April 2020, the EFL said the club was being investigated for misconduct regarding the takeover. In June 2020, Charlton confirmed that ESI had been taken over by a consortium led by businessman Paul Elliott, and said it had contacted the EFL to finalise the ownership change. However, a legal dispute involving former ESI director Matt Southall continued. He attempted to regain control of the club to prevent Elliott's takeover from going ahead, but failed and was subsequently fined and dismissed for challenging the club's directors. On 7 August 2020, the EFL said three individuals, including ESI owner Elliott and lawyer
Chris Farnell, had failed its Owners' and Directors' Test, leaving the club's ownership unclear; Charlton appealed against the decision. Meanwhile, Charlton were relegated to League One at the end of the
2019–20 season after finishing 22nd. Because of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the final games of the season were played behind closed doors, which remained the case for the majority of the following season. Later in August,
Thomas Sandgaard, a Danish businessman based in
Colorado, was reported to be negotiating to buy the club. After further court hearings, Elliott was granted an injunction blocking the sale of ESI until a hearing in November 2020.
Thomas Sandgaard (2020–2023) On 25 September 2020, Thomas Sandgaard acquired the club itself from ESI, and was reported to have passed the EFL's Owners' and Directors' Tests; the EFL noted the change in control, but said the club's sale was now "a matter for the interested parties". On 15 March 2021, with the club lying in eighth place, Bowyer resigned as club manager and was appointed manager of
Birmingham City. His successor,
Nigel Adkins, was appointed three days later. The club finished the
2020–21 season in seventh place, but started the following season by winning only two out of 13 League One matches and were in the relegation zone when Adkins was sacked on 21 October 2021. After a successful spell as caretaker manager,
Johnnie Jackson was appointed manager in December 2021, but, after Charlton finished the season in 13th place, he was also sacked. Swindon Town manager
Ben Garner was appointed as his replacement in June 2022, but was sacked on 5 December 2022 with the team in 17th place. After the club was knocked out of the FA Cup by League Two side
Stockport County on 7 December, supporters said Charlton was at its "lowest ebb in living memory", with fans "losing confidence" in owner Thomas Sandgaard.
Dean Holden was appointed manager on 20 December 2022, and Charlton improved to finish the
2022–23 season in 10th place.
SE7 Partners (2023–present) On 5 June 2023, the club announced that SE7 Partners, comprising former Sunderland director
Charlie Methven and Edward Warrick, had agreed a takeover of Charlton Athletic, becoming the club's fourth set of owners in under four years. On 19 July, the EFL and FA cleared SE7 Partners to take over the club, and the deal was completed on 21 July 2023. On 27 August 2023, after one win in the opening six games of the
2023–24 season, Holden was sacked as manager, and succeeded by
Michael Appleton. On 23 January 2024, following a 3–2 defeat at The Valley against
Northampton Town and no wins in 10 League One games, Appleton was sacked. He was replaced on 4 February 2024 by
Nathan Jones, under whom Charlton lost one and drew three of their next four games as they matched the club's longest winless streak of 18 games. The winless run ended with a 2–1 win away to
Derby County on 27 February 2024, extending what became a 14-match unbeaten run, Charlton's longest in 24 years. However, Charlton finished the season in 16th place, which was their worst finishing league position in 98 years. Despite a disappointing season, Charlton striker
Alfie May won the League One Golden Boot award for the
2023–24 EFL League One season with his tally of 23 goals. The
following season, Charlton won promotion back to the
Championship with a 1–0 victory over
Leyton Orient in the
League One play-off final at Wembley on 25 May 2025, thanks to a
Macauley Gillesphey free-kick. On 6 December 2025, Charlton's Championship match against
Portsmouth at The Valley was abandoned after Charlton Athletic supporter of the year Norman Barker (known as "Headphones Norm") collapsed and later died in hospital. Charlton secured Championship safety with a 2–1 home win over
Hull City on 25 April 2026. ==Club identity==