Reading

Full Name: Reading Football Club
City: Reading
Country: England
League: Football League Championship
Founded: 1871
Stadium: Madejski Stadium (24,225)
Colors: Blue, White
Nicknames: Royals
Rivals: Oxford United, Swindon Town, Aldershot

Official Website: readingfc.co.uk

Description:
Reading Football Club was founded at the Bridge Street Rooms pub in 1871. They absorbed  Reading Hornets in 1877 and Earley in 1879. Reading were 1894 founder members of the Southern League and also played in the Western League and United League before joining the Football League as founder members of Division Three (South) in 1920. The Royals nickname is a reference to Reading's location in the Royal County of Berkshire. Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British royal family, is located here. A previous nickname, the Biscuitmen, was based on the location of a major biscuit maker in the town. When the company closed down, a competition was held in a local newspaper to determine a new nickname. The Royals came out the winner. The club's emblem includes the hooped blue and white club colors plus red (used as the third color at the time of the current emblem's creation), a crown representing the Royal County of Berkshire and a lion. The lion is a tribute to the Maiwand Lion, a statue in central Reading built to commemorate the deaths of local soldiers in the 19th century Battle of Maiwand in Afghanistan. The stadium is named for the club's president John Madejski. Previous stadiums - Reading Recreation Ground (1871-78), Reading Cricket Ground (1878-82), Coley Park (1882-89), Caversham Cricket Ground (1889-96), Elm Park (1896-1998).