When Was Portsmouth Football Club Formed?

Portsmouth Football Club was formed in 1898. There had previously been an amateur Portsmouth side, named Portsmouth AFC which featured Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (the author of the famous Sherlock Holmes novels) in it's side, but it should be pointed out that this is not the same team as the professional Portsmouth Football Club that still plays today.

The club's first chairman was John Brickwood, who was head of the local brewery. Their first manager was Frank Brettell, who was also associated with Liverpool, Bolton, Tottenham and Plymouth Argyle.

Portsmouth's biggest rivals are neighbours Southampton FC. Although the two sides have not spent a great deal of time playing in the same division, the rivalry between the two sets of fans is extremely fierce.
This has been made worse of late, due to the manager Harry Redknapp. Redknapp was manager of Portsmouth between 2001 and 2004. When he left Portsmouth for a 'break from the game', he almost immediately took up a position with Southampton. After a year at Southampton, he returned to Portsmouth in December 2005.