Junior years (1886–1924) The
Mid Ulster Football Association was established in 1887 and a series of meetings were held in the Young Men's Institute in Edward Street in
Portadown to create a club to compete in the
Mid-Ulster Cup. Early matches were played at Tavanagh, Ripley's Field, Armagh Road and Old Shamrock Park which was located close to the site of what is now Clounagh Junior High School. Among the early names to turn out for
The Ports were Val Wilson, who would later become High Sheriff for
County Armagh; and Harry Bell, whose father owned brickworks on the Armagh Road. The club won the Irish Junior Cup after defeating
Larne at
Grosvenor Park on 18 March 1899. That same season,
The Ports won their first ever cup double by winning the
Mid-Ulster Cup for the first time. Portadown retained the trophy the following season and the following next five seasons before the outbreak of
World War I. While the Irish Intermediate League was formed in 1916, and Portadown were selected as one of its inaugural clubs, they withdrew as a large number of the club's players left to fight in World War I. With the return of local men from the war, there was a demand for senior football in the region. A number of junior clubs in the area put aside their rivalries and backed Portadown's bid to join the
Irish League. In 1923, the Irish League was expanded from six to ten clubs with the introduction of
Newry Town,
Ards and
Barn. Subsequently, after a number of years of preparation, representatives of the club (including William Mullen, Tom Dawson and a committee) met the league chiefs in June 1924 and were able to present a case for joining the league. Portadown became a full member club of the Irish League together with the readmittance of
Belfast Celtic. Due to the drop from Northern Ireland's top domestic football league, the
IFA Premiership, Portadown took on intermediate status, due to the
IFA Championship, which was Northern Ireland's second tier of football, being an intermediate league at the time. McFall described the time as "the toughest point of his managerial career" but kept several star players and in their first season in the Championship. The club won promotion straight back into senior football, defeating their closest rivals
Donegal Celtic 2–0 in the last (and decisive) match of the season. Also, after beating
Newry City 1–0 at
Mourneview Park on 28 February 2009, Portadown became the first intermediate club to win the
Irish League Cup with Scotsman
Gary McCutcheon scoring the winning goal.
Top-flight Return, European Football and Cup finals (2009–15) Portadown qualified to play
UEFA Europa League football in the 2010–11 season on account of being runners-up in the
2009–10 Irish Cup to Linfield. They famously defeated professional side and Latvian champions
Skonto 2–1 on aggregate to advance to the second qualifying round. It was their first win in European competition since 1974. The second qualifying round first leg match was played at Shamrock Park on 15 July 2010, with Richard Lecky scoring the opening goal against Azerbaijani champions
FK Qarabağ, but two second-half goals from
Afran Ismayilov saw the away side take a 2–1 lead back home for the second leg on 22 July. The second leg in
Baku ended 1–1 with
The Ports taking the lead through a free-kick from
Kevin Braniff. Despite an effort against the Azerbaijani champions, it was not enough for
The Ports to progress to the next round and they were eliminated 3–2 on aggregate. The 2011–12 season saw
The Ports recover and mount a title challenge that was largely spearheaded by Welsh striker
Matthew Tipton, with themselves and Linfield the runaway leaders in the race. However,
The Ports' challenge began to fade following an injury to Tipton, and Linfield finished comfortably as champions. The 2012–13 season saw Matthew Tipton sign for champions
Linfield and another European win against Macedonian side
Shkëndija in the summertime. The Ports would take on
Slaven Belupo of
Croatia in the next round, with the promise of a mouth watering tie against
La Liga side
Athletic Bilbao should they progress. Any hopes of progression were quickly dashed when the Ports lost 6–0 at the
Gradski stadion Ivan Kušek-Apaš, being hampered by the unavailability of goalkeeper
David Miskelly, with a respectable 4–2 defeat at
Shamrock Park ending the clubs time in Europe, its last to date. The Ports would make waves in the transfer market in January when it was announced they had beaten strong competition from
The Blues for
Shamrock Rovers striker
Gary Twigg, who scored on his league debut against
Donegal Celtic, although
The Ports could only muster a seventh-place finish in quite a disappointing season. The 2013–14 season was a largely frustrating one of what might have been, with Gary Twigg playing a valuable part and scoring regularly, along with in-form young striker Darren Murray and some of
Kevin Braniff's moments of sheer class displayed at times and the skill of Peter McMahon. The club showed form at times capable of winning the league by beating rivals Glenavon comfortably and notably beating Ballinamallard United 11–0. However, poor results against teams lower in the table meant they finished only fourth, and a falling-out between striker Kevin Braniff and Ronnie McFall resulted in the former leaving the club and moving to Australian side
Port Melbourne. In the 2014–15 season,
The Ports signed Linfield playmaker
Robert Garrett,
Blues captain
Michael Gault and reliable
Blues striker Mark McAilaster. This had meant a lot was expected of the club to challenge for the title and they started the season with an impressive 3–0 win over
Warren Feeney's Linfield and several wins over Glenavon and eventual champions
Crusaders They also showed the capability of being champions when in a match against basement side
Institute; with the match leveled at 1–1 in the dying minutes,
Michael Gault scored a late, long distance effort to secure the three points. However, a shock 2–1 defeat away to
Warrenpoint Town saw
The Ports miss out on the chance to go seven points clear in the NIFL Premiership, and the club lost 3–2 to Linfield, with Ross Redman missing a penalty in the final minute of the match. This saw
The Ports fall away in the league, but in the Irish Cup quarter-final, they took on Linfield once again at Shamrock Park. Portadown were 3–0 up after about 30 minutes. They went on to win the match 3–2. Portadown took on
Ballymena United in the Irish Cup semi-final at The Oval. Portadown sealed their place in the final by winning 3–1. With the Kop Stand at
Windsor Park collapsing, the final was forced to be moved to The Oval, where they would take on Glentoran. In the league, Portadown played Glenavon at
Mourneview Park with the winner being guaranteed third place and a lucrative UEFA Europa League qualifying round spot. Glenavon raced into a two-goal lead before James Singleton was sent off for clashing with
Ken Oman. Portadown had levelled it 2–2 through Peter McMahon and Gary Twigg goals, before
Eoin Bradley was hauled down by Ross Redman and a last-minute penalty was dispatched by Andy McGory to give the Lurgan Blues European football. The Irish Cup final at
The Oval saw the Ports go into the game as favourites, in what was initially quite a cagey affair on an incredibly wet day in East Belfast. In the second half,
David Scullion scored to give
The Glens the lead and what would prove to be the only goal of the game after an incredibly controversial moment, when Ports midfielder
Michael Gault was fouled clean through on goal, and Glens keeper
Elliott Morris picked up the resulting pass, with the referee, linesman and goal line official unbelievably letting play continue. Goal line official, Raymond Crangle would state in the aftermath his apology to Portadown officials, stating his belief that he thought it was a clear foul, but due to a technical glitch with his headset, was unable to attract the referees attention. Ports boss Ronnie McFall was quoted in saying the following: "It was a trip and straight red card, the television pictures clearly show that," he blasted. "Gary Twigg was also pulled down in the box in the first half and there was a blatant handball in the second half but the referee and officials just weren't up to it. "They keep making major mistakes and they are never downgraded. Things carry on as if nothing happened. "It's a straight red card and free-kick for us. And it's not one person making a decision, you have the assistant and man behind the goals and they missed these incidents? "I'm looking at the standard of refereeing and some of them should still be in junior football, learning the game."
2015–16 season-End of McFall Era The club suffered greatly financially from the result in the final meaning their transfer activity was limited in the summer of 2015. However, they started the season by beating the champions Crusaders 2–1 and
Warrenpoint Town by the same scoreline three days later. Results declined rapidly thereafter, and the fans began to pressure the board to consider McFall's position as manager. The manager and staff were barracked by the support, and during a 3–1 defeat to Crusaders at Shamrock Park, supporters protested with a banner asking for the sacking of the manager, which was removed by the chairman, who argued with supporters. After the game assistant manager Kieran Harding, accusing Portadown fans protesting as being "...not real supporters," called them "Imposters". In January the club signed former Linfield midfielder Philip Lowry in the hope that fortunes would improve. Lowry created a reasonable impact, scoring from outside the box in a win over
Coleraine in the Irish Cup, and again in a 2–1 win over Linfield. Things were slowly improving until Portadown were beaten 4–1 by rivals
Glenavon at
Mourneview Park. The club took on
NIFL Championship 1 side
Lurgan Celtic in the Irish Cup Quarter Final, with the Lurgan side scoring twice in quick succession to go into a 2–0 lead at halftime. Portadown piled on the pressure in the second half to level the score at 2–2 with goals from Marcio Soares and Sean Mackle, before conceding a penalty in the closing minutes which Lurgan Celtic defender Raymond Fitzpatrick converted to send the Lurgan side through to their first-ever Irish Cup Semi Final against
Linfield. The result that afternoon marked
Ronnie McFall's last game as Portadown boss. He resigned following the defeat, marking an end to his 29 years at the club. The following day, it was announced former defender
Pat McGibbon, who had come in earlier that season as the club's physiotherapist, would take over as interim manager until the end of the season, with club legend
Vinny Arkins coming on board as his assistant coach. Despite only winning once in ten games as caretaker manager, McGibbon was appointed as manager on a two-year contract and helped the club successfully avoid relegation. They finished the season ninth in the league.
2016–17 season Before the start of 2016–17 season, the club was fined £10,000 which was halved on appeal to £5,000 and received a one-year ban on signing professional contracts until June 2017 for not declaring extra payments made to striker Gary Twigg for performing coaching work over the summer. The club also received a 12-point deduction in the league for 2016–17 season for an administrative error made in relation to the contract of exiled midfielder Peter McMahon, who later left the club in July 2016. Despite starting the season with a major disadvantage, McGibbons side produced victories over
Carrick Rangers and
Ballinamallard United and were narrowly beaten by many of the teams higher up in the table. However, after a series of poor results in October 2016, Pat McGibbon resigned as manager. Both Arkins and long serving coach Trevor Williamson remained at the club with Arkins taking over as caretaker manager. Arkins took charge for the match against
Coleraine at Shamrock Park, where they lost 1–0. Arkins won his first official match in charge as interim manager in a 2–1 win against
Ballinamallard United with goals from Stephen Hughes and a penalty from
Niall Henderson. It was followed up with a 3–1 win over Ards with goals from
Robert Garrett, Stephen Hughes and Brendan Shannon scoring his first goal for the club from the penalty spot. However, it was later found that the club had fielded midfielder
Robert Garrett, who was supposed to be serving a one-game ban with Ards officials informing the club that they believed that Garrett was suspended.
Ards were subsequently awarded a 3–0 win with the Ports being fined £500. Arkins left the club following a 0–5 defeat to
Linfield. On 5 December 2016, Portadown-born Niall Currie was appointed as manager after successfully agreeing his release from
Ards with him and his loyal assistant Jay Willis joining the club. Upon his first match against
Cliftonville at
Solitude, they were defeated 1–0. Prior to the match, it was announced that longtime goalkeeper
David Miskelly would be retiring immediately due to a shoulder injury sustained the previous season after serving 12 years and making over 400 appearances with the club. Currie's first win as Portadown manager came in a 2–0 win over
Dungannon Swifts at
Shamrock Park. The Ports approached the annual Boxing Day derby with rivals
Glenavon not being in great form with the Ports racing into a surprise two-goal lead with goals from Mark Carson and Aaron Haire. However, the Lurgan Blues had seemingly grabbed a point with them pulling a goal back within the last ten minutes and Sykes scoring a long distance free kick in the dying seconds of the game amid wild scenes of celebration from the
Glenavon supporters. Portadown's luck had finally changed, however, with it later being found that
Glenavon had fielded defender
David Elebert, who was due to serve a suspension through yellow cards picked up in reserve league fixtures with the Lurgan side, receiving a fine, and the Ports being awarded a 3–0 win and a valuable 3 three points. The club earned a 1–1 draw with title chasing Linfield at
Windsor Park. This was followed up with another credible 1–1 draw with champions Crusaders. The club went into a game against relegation rivals
Carrick Rangers with the knowledge that a defeat would all but condemn them to relegation to which they lost the game 3–2.
The Ports' relegation was officially confirmed following a 3–2 defeat to Ards on Easter Tuesday fixture.
Championship spell 2017–20 The summer following Portadown's relegation saw significant changes in the playing line up. The club opened their Championship campaign with a 3–0 win over
Larne and a 2–1 win over
Limavady United at
Shamrock Park before dropping their first points in a 1–1 draw away to
PSNI. The following fixture was the first defeat for the Ports in the Championship, losing 2–1 at home to
Institute. The response that followed was a 4–1 win away to Newry City. However the response was short lived and saw four consecutive league defeats to
Dergview,
Knockbreda,
H&W Welders and
Ballyclare Comrades with mounting pressure on Ports boss Niall Currie who had built a team which very quickly had not lived up to expectations. A 3–0 win over
Loughgall served to paper over the cracks for a Saturday, before a 1–4 home defeat to
Newry drew heavy criticism from the home support who made their feelings well known throughout the game and at full time. At this point the club, who had expected winning the league and promotion as a certainty was languishing closer to the bottom of the league than the top with the thoughts of potentially another relegation entering the minds of many. The winter period however saw a slightly better improvement with the Ports picking up 15 points from the next eight games which included a 1–1 draw and a 6–0 win over
Lurgan Celtic and a 7–0 win over
Dergview having lost to the Castlederg side earlier in the season. Furthermore, the Boxing Day fixture saw a 4–1 win away to
Loughgall which featured a hat trick from Gary Warwick. The January period saw the Ports sitting in 6th place with the split looming and picking up 5 points from 3 games to secure a top six with a late equalizer against Larne (Sitting in 7th) scored by Chris Lavery sealing it. Furthermore, however The Ports lost out in the
Irish Cup in extra time to league rivals to
Ballyclare Comrades. What followed was a run of fixtures that was of huge importance which started with a 2–1 win over
Loughgall with many thinking that the team had hit form at just the right time. The positivity quickly disappeared however following a 1–0 defeat away to
Ballyclare Comrades in the first of nine crucial fixtures and what was the 4th defeat that season to Ballyclare. The following fixture saw a 0–0 draw with the Welders, the game saw the end of Niall Curries tenure as Portadown manager who was relieved of his duties following the result. In February 2018 it was confirmed that Portadown had made an approach and had been successful in appointing ex striker and
Warrenpoint Town boss
Matthew Tipton with
David Miskelly joining as his assistant. In Tiptons first game in charge the Ports secured a 1–1 draw with league leaders
Institute and 4 consecutive wins followed against
Loughgall,
Newry City and
Harland and Wolff Welders with anticipation building that a play off spot would have been very much possible. The team were positioned in 4th place needing 3rd to secure a play off place. A huge game away to
Newry City followed with three points for the men in red securing a pre play off spot against Newry. The game ultimately ended 0–0 with a red card for
Jamie Douglas and the visitors ultimately coming up short. The following season, Tipton would seek to shape the Portadown squad to his liking, making a total of 16 signings notably
Kevin Braniff and
Johnny Flynn on free transfers from
Ballymena United, former players Darren Murray and Sean Mackle returned to the club from
Crusaders and
Warrenpoint Town respectively. That particular season the Ports were challenged in a big way by
Larne F.C., who were now subject to significant investment and were favourites to win the
NIFL Championship in 2019. The first ten games of the season would see the Ports pick up 5 wins, 4 draws and 1 defeat in what was a fairly respectable return from the opening part of the season that saw them score 19 points out of a possible 30. As the season progressed, they often failed to pick up points away from home that saw them ultimately finish in third place behind
Larne and
Carrick Rangers with the latter overcoming the men in red in a promotion playoff which the Gers won 2–0.
Promotion and Premiership spells 2020- The club achieved promotion in the 2020-21 NIFL Championship season, having fought
Ballinamallard United down to the wire, in a season that was curtailed by the
COVID-19 pandemic. The following season, the Ports finished 9th, with wins over
Glenavon and
Larne to secure
NIFL Premiership safety. Striker
Lee Bonis contributed 14 goals throughout the season. The following season proved to be a more difficult one, which saw the departure of manager
Matthew Tipton with the club languishing in the relegation play-off place, under threat from the chasing
Warrenpoint Town. Former midfielder
Paul Doolin was appointed as Tiptons replacement, and his initial appointment saw Ports defeat
Warrenpoint Town,
Ballymena United and
Coleraine to secure safety from automatic relegation and set up a play-off with neighbors
Annagh United. A standout performance from
Billy Stedman saw the Ports come from 2–1 down to win 3–2 in the 1st leg, and a 1–0 win in the 2nd leg securing safety for the 2021–22 season. The following season the Ports would struggle for form, picking up just 1 point from 11 games, with heavy criticism from supporters following a 3–1 home defeat to newly promoted
Newry City, in what many considered a must win game, and a worrying sign of what was to come. Doolin would depart the club after a 4–0 defeat away to
Crusaders the following game. The club would move fairly quickly to appoint
Dundela manager Niall Currie, who previously managed the Ports from 2016 to 2018. Currie would bring in former
Glenavon striker and free agent Greg Moorhouse, who would prove a needed addition to address the Ports lack of goals. The Ports would continue to struggle before Christmas, picking up their first win of the season at home to
Ballymena United on 10 December. Currie would sign heavily in the January transfer window, bringing in players from former club
Dundela, as well as notably Cathair Friel and Alan O'Sullivan, on loan from
Coleraine and
Warrenpoint Town respectively, and Paul McElroy from
Ballymena United. O'Sullivan would star with two goals in a 3–1 win over Mid Ulster rivals
Glenavon in February, with the Ports picking up a further 10 points from the next 5 games, including a 4–3 win away to
Newry City, having been 3–2 down in stoppage time, with some heralding 'The Great Escape' for a side whose survival hopes appeared to be gone at Christmas. However, the great escape wasn't to be, and the Ports 3–2 defeat away to relegation rivals
Dungannon Swifts sealed their relegation after a spirited survival attempt under Currie. The Ports would have a relatively difficult start to life in the Championship, which saw defeats to
Bangor,
H&W Welders and
Ballyclare Comrades, however would remain in promotion contention. The Ports would also defeat
Dungannon Swifts in the final of the
Mid-Ulster Cup, their first win and appearance in the final of the competition since 2003, and would also reach the final of the
League Cup for the first time since 2011, following wins over
Coagh United,
Crusaders,
Loughgall and
Glenavon to set up a final against
Linfield. The Ports would seal their return to the NIFL Premiership following a draw with table rivals
Dundela, lifting the trophy the following week against
Institute. ==Average attendance==