A reasonably interesting English association football league club, Brighton and Hove Albion FC has been the leading soccer team in south Sussex for nearly a century.

After enjoying success in the Southern League (champions 1909-10), Brighton joined the Football League in the inaugural Division 3 in 1920. Currently just promoted to the first division (second best out of four), the club enjoyed its greatest period of success when they appeared in the top division (old division 1) for the first time in the 1979/80 season before being relegated in the '82/3 season. 1982/3 was also an important year for the club as it included their only involvement in the FA Cup final at Wembley. After drawing 2-2 against Mancester United (including the mother of all misses from Gordon Smith of brighton in the dying seconds) the Seagulls lost the replay comfortably 0-4.

The club reached its lowest ebb in the 1996/7 season - no ground (as the Goldstone Ground had been sold by hated chairman Bill Archer to be replaced with a DIY Superstore) or money, Brighton just kept their football league status due to a last game draw against hereford - a loss would have resulted in relegation and possibly the club being wound up.

Since then the clubs fortunes have improved dramatically - two successive divisional titles, before yo-yoing between the "Championship" and "League One" (or divisions 1 and 2, as they were known pre-2004/05 season).