Photo via BBC Sport

From near oblivion to Europe - Brighton celebrate 125th anniversary

Brighton & Hove Albion marked their 125th anniversary around a home match against Arsenal, reflecting on a dramatic history that culminated in a historic 2-0 Europa League victory over Ajax in November 2023. Head coach Roberto de Zerbi urged his squad in the Amsterdam Arena dressing room to honor the 3,000 traveling supporters present and the thousands more in the Dutch capital, capping the team's maiden continental tour.

Established in 1901, the Sussex outfit spent nearly two decades in the Southern League before gaining entry to the Football League, ultimately securing top-flight promotion in 1979 following just seven campaigns in the second division. Outside their region, they were famously remembered for Gordon Smith's missed late chance against Gary Bailey in the drawn 1983 FA Cup final versus Manchester United, which United won in a replay.

The club's existence was later jeopardized when chairman Bill Archer sold the Goldstone Ground in 1995 to handle unpaid liabilities, providing no successor venue and sparking intense protests that halted the final 1995-96 fixture with broken crossbars. Following two campaigns based 70 miles away in Gillingham after a proposed site at Toad's Hole Valley failed, Brighton moved back to Sussex at Withdean Stadium in 1999.