The original amateur club: 1881–1886 Although association football was played in the town's private schools in the late 1870s, the first association club was not formed in the town until November 1881. Bearing the name of Southport Football club, the club originally began as a rugby club, the 'handling code' having been played competitively since 1872. The man responsible for the decision to switch to association football was a former
Welsh international,
Thomas Blundell Burnett. He was the instigator of the switch, he was the Secretary of the new club, and he was also the Captain. The club played its games on a field on a large plot of land opposite to the entrance of Chambres Road on the corner Scarisbrick New Road and Ash Street backing onto Trap Lane (today's Southbank Road), roughly where Westmoreland Road lies today. There was space enough for multiple pitches, one of which was used by Southport Olympic rugby club. Encouraged by their first year, Southport joined both the Lancashire and
English Football Associations and entered the English, Lancashire and Liverpool and District Challenge Cups. The competitive element of the cup-ties aroused most interest. On 7 October, Southport entertained
Liverpool Ramblers in their first ever F.A., or English Challenge Cup tie as the competition was called for years. This game was watched by 300 spectators including many women supporters and resulted in a 1–1 draw, Ambler scoring for Southport following a neat pass from Arthur Dalby. In the 1884–85 season the club merged with the Southport Athletic Society. The team moved to the Sports Ground, on Sussex Road. It was unanimously decided to change their red jerseys for red and white striped flannel shirts. The Reds were thereby now known as “The Stripes”. As football grew in popularity other clubs sprang up in the town. Southport Wanderers, High Park, Churchtown and Southport Old Boys were amongst the most prominent. However Southport Football Club was considered to be the town's premier side. Off the field the club was not in a healthy state and in the 1885/86 season they were facing stiff competition from twenty six other clubs in the town. Southport reduced their annual subscriptions to five shillings to try and compete but were later forced to sever their connections with the Athletic Society and in the Athletic Society's Annual report the Committee regretted ‘their unfortunate connection with the Football Club which resulted in the Society incurring an expenditure on their account of £88-3 shillings. After five years existence Southport's first football club folded.
Southport Wanderers: 1884–1888 Southport Wanderers formed as an amateur outfit in 1884 by members of the Southport Olympic rugby club. By the summer of 1886 Wanderers had grown into one of the most popular clubs in the town. In fact, by the time of the demise of the original Southport Football Club they were able to field a first and second eleven on a regular basis, something the original club struggled to do for much of the 1885/1886 season. At the Wanderers AGM in June 1886, at which a representative of the original Southport association club was present, they invited Southport Football Club to amalgamate At least six former Southport players and many of their supporters transferred their affiliations to Southport Wanderers. Southport Wanderers moved to a new ground in Scarisbrick New Road for the 1886-87 season. It was a large field, enclosed to a height of 7 foot 6 inches and big enough to accommodate three matches at once. A covered grandstand, to seat 140 spectators, and a dressing tent were provided. Three cows which grazed on the field withdrew behind the grandstand during matches. At a General Meeting held in the Mather's Saleroom on Chapel Street, it was unanimously resolved that in future the club be called ‘Southport Football Club’ Thus imparting to it a representative character which it had not hitherto enjoyed.
A new professional club - Southport Central: 1888-1921 On 2 June 1888 the Southport Guardian newspaper revealed that there was a scheme in the town to provide a football club of ‘Mighty proportions’..by raising an importation team’ Professional football was about to be launched in Southport. In the summer of 1888, the year the Football League was founded, with the game increasing in popularity, It was felt that a team of stronger calibre should be formed to represent the district The idea met with favour and the initial meeting called to form such a club took place on 12 June at Victoria Galleries, Chapel Street. At a second meeting, held at the Railway Hotel a week later, Mr. Robert McGown (erroneously reported in the Guardian as “McGowan”), once secretary of the High Park club, successfully proposed that the name of the club should be “Southport Central Association Football Club”. When the proposition to form a committee was put eleven voted in favour, none against and nineteen abstained. Mr James of Hoghton Street was appointed Honorary Treasurer, Edwin Ramsbottom Secretary and an executive committee was formed. At a meeting held on 29 August, Mr. J. B. Watson explaining the objects of the club said it was likely to place Southport in the front rank of football with the certain result of bringing increased crowds of visitors to the town and it was confirmed that “Foreign talent” would be introduced by paying players. The club's record for their initial season was Played 40 Won 21 Drawn 6 Lost 13. The event which caused the most excitement in the town was the visit of
Preston North End who had just carried off the League and Cup double. They came to Southport on 13 May and were given a rapturous welcome on arrival at the railway station. They were driven to the ground behind a marching band. There was a record gate of 3,500 and North End won 4-2 even though Central were re-inforced for the occasion by Forbes, Townley and Southworth of
Blackburn Rovers. The club joined the newly formed Lancashire League. Following the success of the Football League, there was a demand for a County Competition in Lancashire At a meeting organized by the Secretary of the Earlestown club the Lancashire League became a reality. Isaac Smith, Central's Chairman, became the league's first treasurer. At the start of the 1905–06 season Central moved to its present home,
Haig Avenue, which was then known as Ash Lane. In 1911, the club became founder members of the
Central League. In 1918, the club was renamed as
Southport Vulcan – having been bought by the
Vulcan Motor Company – becoming the first club to take a sponsor's name.
Football League: 1921–1978 In 1921 the club, now named simply
Southport, joined
the Football League and became a founder member of the
Third Division North. In 1931, Southport became the first club from the Third Division North to reach the sixth round (quarter-finals) of the
FA Cup, where they lost 9–1 to
Everton. A year later the club recorded its record attendance, when 20,010 watched them play
Newcastle United in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Having finished in the bottom half of the table at the end of the 1957–58 season, the club dropped into the
Fourth Division following the reorganisation of the Third Division North and
Third Division South into Third and Fourth Divisions. The club's first promotion came at the end of the 1966–67 season, when they finished as runners-up in the Fourth Division behind
Stockport County under the guidance of
Billy Bingham, who later went on to manage the
Northern Irish national team. They were relegated back to the Fourth Division in 1970, but won promotion again in 1973 when they finished as Fourth Division Champions. Relegation back to the Fourth Division followed the very next season. This heralded a period of decline as crowds dropped – on some occasions into just three figures – and the ground fell into disrepair. Disaster struck in 1978, when the club was
voted out of the Football League following three consecutive 23rd (out of 24) placed finishes, and was replaced by
Wigan Athletic. The clubs drew on the first ballot (when many had expected
Rochdale to be voted out), but won the second ballot. Southport was the last club to leave the Football League through the re-election process. Automatic relegation from the Fourth Division was introduced in
1986–87.
Non-League football: from 1978 After several seasons with South Liverpool,
Brian Kettle was appointed manager and was instrumental in one of the most successful periods. Kettle had a difficult task from the off, his first season in charge saw him start with only three players Andy Johnston, Stuart Bimson and club captain Rob Sturgeon. After a poor start to the season which saw the club in the relegation places until mid-October after bringing in several new players such as Ossie Smith, Bob Howard,
Steve Whitehall, Steve Holden, Peter Wright, Alan McDonald, the returning Ian Baines and for the third time
Tony Quinn they finished the season in a seventh place in the
Northern Premier League, albeit 38 points off the champions
Colne Dynamoes who were not accepted for promotion and ultimately folded. In the 1990–91 season, the club reached 100 league goals in March and four semi-final appearances, losing only one. Ultimately due to the cup runs, the league performance suffered and they finished 5th in the league. The 1991–92 season started dreadfully for the club due to the loss of key personnel in the summer. Holden and Whitehall both left within weeks, the latter going for a club record £25,000 to
Rochdale. Kettle had to rebuild once again, but it didn't go to plan straightaway. The club only managed to win their first game at the start of October. After a series of good runs, they managed to once again finish seventh.
Return to part-time: from 2008 On 30 June 2008 the club's official website confirmed that
Liam Watson had rejoined Southport as first team manager following his resignation from Burscough. This change saw the arrival of numerous part-time players, following Watson from Burscough including Conference North top scorer Ciaran Kilheeney, Watson's co-Players of the Year – Adam Flynn and Anthony McMillan, as well former Southport players, Matty McGinn, Earl Davis, Robbie Booth and Steve Daly. Retained players, Michael Powell and Neil Robinson, chose to return to part-time football, whilst Matt Hocking, Neil Prince and club captain, Chris Holland left the club. Kevin Lee and Tony Gray signed new part-time contracts at the start of the season, and thus Southport practically returned fully to a part-time club. During that season Tony Gray and
John Doolan departed the club, as well as
Craig Noone, who moved to Championship side
Plymouth Argyle. The 2008–09 season saw Southport reach the Conference North play-offs, having finished in fifth place. However, a home defeat, followed by an away draw against Gateshead left Southport to battle for a further season in the Conference North. Only four defeats during 2009–10 saw Southport finally secure the League title following a 3–0 away victory at
Eastwood Town on the final Saturday of the season, spurred on by over 700 travelling Sandgrounders. They finished just one point ahead of near neighbours
Fleetwood Town. The success of the first team, who also lifted the
Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy following victory against
Clitheroe at the
Reebok Stadium, was mirrored by the club's youth team who won both the
Lancashire League and Conference North Youth League.
Non-League top flight (2010 to 2017) In
2010–11, the first season back in the Conference, Southport finished in the relegation zone of the
Conference National, but were reprieved after
Rushden & Diamonds were expelled from the league. The 2011–12 season saw a change of fortune for the club, with the implementation of a new, extended training schedule seeing an upturn in performances and results. On 26 November 2011, a club record of consecutive away victories was broken with the Sandgrounder's 1–0 win at Stockport County, their 8th in succession. Although narrowly missing out on a play off spot, having occupied one of the top five positions for long periods of the season, the 2011–12 season saw the 'Port finish in a very impressive 7th place, the club's highest league finish in 10 years. During the 2012–13 season Southport failed to repeat its successful performance in the prior season and finished 5th from bottom, just one place above the relegation zone. On 17 April 2013 it was announced that Watson would be leaving Southport once again, but on more amiable terms resigning, ostensibly, in order to 'take a break from the game'. Soon after, he was appointed manager of AFC Telford who he led to promotion in his first season. On 15 May 2013,
Alan Wright was appointed Southport manager, along with
John Hills as his assistant manager. Southport kicked off the 2013–14 season with a 1–0 home win over Luton Town, just the beginning of a good start to the season, Wright managed the team to four straight home wins. However the good form didn't last long, a run of 8 straight defeats away from home saw Wright's side drop to the lower half of the table. A 2–2 draw to Macclesfield ended the losing away run, followed by a 6–2 victory over Marske United in the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round and a 1–0 win against previously unbeaten table toppers Cambridge United. This looked like a catalyst for a turnaround in fortunes, however Southport lost their next six games, eliminated from both the FA Cup and FA Trophy, and sat in 18th place in the table, Alan Wright left the club on Friday 7 December 2013. His replacement was named just a day later on Saturday 8 December 2013, as
John Coleman, former
Accrington Stanley manager, who had previously played for Southport over 25 years earlier. Under Coleman the club escaped relegation, finishing the season in fine form. This spell also led to a change in the club's training schedule, with sessions during the day, rather than evening, unlike a majority of part-time clubs. To the consternation of the fans, Coleman was not retained as manager; instead the Board appointed
Martin Foyle formerly the manager of Hereford United. A number of first team players left the club at the end of the season (including several who had been on loan) leaving Foyle with a major rebuilding task for the 2014–15 season. Foyle was dismissed in October 2014 and replaced by
Gary Brabin who returned to the club for his second spell as manager. Despite a run in the FA Cup culminating in a spirited third round defeat to
Championship side
Derby County, Brabin's spell was short lived, accepting an academy role with
Everton.
Paul Carden, previously assistant to Brabin, became manager and was joined by
Alex Russell as assistant manager, son of the
club legend of the same name. The club secured Conference survival yet again in 2015, finishing 19th in the league. Carden's team started the 2015–16 season in poor form, leading to his departure from the club in November 2015,
Dino Maamria became Southport's seventh manager since April 2013 shortly after. On 19 March 2016
Andy Bishop was appointed caretaker player/manager of the club after Dino Maamria left the club for family reasons. On 6 September 2016, Liam Watson was announced as returning to Southport for the third time but in a new capacity. Watson joined the board of directors along with local businessmen Nigel Allen and David Barron. He will take up the newly created role as Operations Director. Steve Burr was announced as the manager of Southport on 8 September 2016 following the departure of Andy Bishop 5 days earlier. On 30 January 2017 Steve Burr was sacked after a poor run of form and being one point above the drop zone.
Andy Preece was appointed Manager on 8 February, their eleventh since April 2013 but another poor run of form saw them slip to the foot of the table in March. On Friday 14 April 2017, Southport relegation to the
National League North was confirmed after a 3–0 loss to
Dover Athletic. Following confirmation of relegation, long term chairman Charlie Clapham announced he would be stepping from the board of directors on 21 April 2017, along with vice-chairman Sam Shrouder. Southport then parted ways with Manager Andy Preece on 5 May 2017.
National League North and new board On 15 May 2017 it was announced that local accountant and supporter James Treadwell would become the club's new chairman, his first appointment was to welcome back former manager
Mark Wright as Head of Development. Southport appointed Alan Lewer as manager on 30 May 2017. The 2017–18 season started well for the new management team, winning the five of their first eight league games. Following supporter's campaigning since May, law firm director Phil Hodgkinson joined the board of directors on 5 September 2017. Having lost their next six games after this date, Wright and Lewer were dismissed on 26 September 2017.
Kevin Davies was appointed manager on 18 October 2017 on a two-and-a-half-year contract. Southport secured survival on 21 April 2018 despite losing 1–0 to
Brackley Town. Despite this, Davies was dismissed as manager on 30 April 2018. After a spell
scouting for
Scunthorpe United, Liam Watson was reappointed manager of Southport on 7 May 2018. It was confirmed during the summer of 2019 that Phil Hodgkinson would step down as Southport's owner and director so that he could replace
Dean Hoyle as majority shareholder and chairman of
Championship club
Huddersfield Town. On his departure from Southport, Hodgkinson sold his shares to Ian Kyle, Steve Porter and manager, Liam Watson, to create a new-look boardroom. Long serving manager Liam Watson stepped back from this role after a poor start to the 2023/34 season, to focus on his position as Club Director.
Jim Bentley was appointed the club's new manager on 29 August 2023.
New ownership (2023) On 27 October 2023, it was announced that Big Help Group had acquired Southport FC and become the majority shareholder following the purchase of Ian Kyle's shares. The former chairman has subsequently been succeeded by Big Help Group's CEO, Peter Mitchell. On 10 November, 2023, Southport FC, under the new ownership of the Big Help Group, held its first Fan Forum since the takeover. This significant event featured Assistant Manager
Andy Burgess announcing the introduction of GPS vests in player training, signifying a step towards modernizing training methods and enhancing player performance analytics. At the forum, Peter Mitchell shared his vision for the club, stating, "We aspire to be a full-time football club, I don't know when we're going to be able to reach that aspiration, but absolutely we aspire to be in full-time football."
Further takeover (2025) On 14 May 2025, David Cunningham released a statement confirming that the Big Help Group, along with Peter Mitchell and the rest of the board, were no longer involved with the club, with ownership being transferred to Cunningham and Kieran Malone. On 6 June, it was announced that the takeover of the club had been officially completed. ==Summary of recent seasons==