Formation

Formation

Brighton and Hove are twin towns, now combined as one city, on the South Coast of England in the county of Sussex, and are well known as tourist destinations.

Professional football in the area was the brainchild of Edgar Everest, a Sussex Football Association official who founded Brighton United in 1897. Playing at the Sussex County Cricket Ground, the club collapsed in 1900. A high-class amateur side, Brighton & Hove Rangers, was formed in its wake but also folded after just one year.

But the will to provide the towns with a successful club was already strong. The former manager of Brighton United, John Jackson, was the driving-force behind a third club, Brighton & Hove United, which was formed as a semi-professional outfit on 24 June 1901 at the Seven Stars, a pub in Ship Street. The new concern changed its name to Brighton & Hove Albion before a ball was kicked because of objections from Hove FC.

Quite why “Albion” was chosen as the new suffix is not known. West Bromwich Albion certainly set a good precedent, but there are no known connections between the two clubs at the time.