page_title: Southampton F.C.
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Southampton F.C. / History
context_page_description: Southampton Football Club is an English professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, England, which plays in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.
  Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, prior to which they were based at The Dell. The club has been nicknamed "The Saints" since its inception in 1885 due to its history as a church football team, founded as St. Mary's Church of England Young Men's Association, and play in red and white shirts. Southampton have a long-standing rivalry with Portsmouth, due in part to geographic proximity and both cities' respective maritime histories. Matches between the two clubs are known as the South Coast derby.
caption: Chart of yearly table positions of Southampton in the Football League.