Burnley are one of only five sides to have wonall four professional divisions of English football, and have twice been crownedchampions of England, in1920–21 and1959–60. They have won the FA Cup once, in1913–14, and have won theFA Charity Shield twice, in1960 and1973. The team have also finished as runners-up in both theFirst Division and FA Cup on two occasions. During the 1920–21 campaign, Burnley embarked on a 30-match unbeaten league run, setting an English record.[a] From the 1950s until the 1970s, under chairmanBob Lord, Burnley were renowned for their youth policy andscouting system, and were one of the first to set up a purpose-builttraining ground. The majority of the team that won the 1959–60 league title had progressed through theclub's youth academy. At the time, Burnley—with a population of 80,000—became one of the smallest towns to produce an English first-tier champion.[b]
The team have played home games atTurf Moor since 1883, after they had moved from their original premises at Calder Vale. Nicknamed "The Clarets", the club colours ofclaret and blue were adopted in 1910. The club's current emblem is based on the town of Burnley's coat of arms. The side have a long-standing rivalry with nearby clubBlackburn Rovers, with whom they contest theEast Lancashire Derby. Burnley's record appearance holder isJerry Dawson, who made 569 appearances in a 22-year playing spell with the team, and their record goalscorer isGeorge Beel with 188 goals.
One of the earliest photographed Burnley sides, with theLancashire Cup in the middle of the photo
The club was founded on 18 May 1882 by members ofrugby team Burnley Rovers,[c] who voted for a shift toassociation football as the sport was gaining prominence in the area.[3] The suffix "Rovers" was dropped a few days later.[3] The side won their first silverware in 1883: the Dr Dean's Cup, aknockout competition between amateur clubs in the Burnley area.[4] By the end of the year, the club turnedprofessional and signed many Scottish players, who were regarded as the best footballers by the Burnley committee. As a result, Burnley refused to join theFootball Association (FA) and itsFA Cup because the association barred professional players.[5] In 1884, Burnley led a group of 35 other clubs in the formation of the breakawayBritish Football Association (BFA) to challenge the FA's supremacy. The FA changed its rule in 1885, allowing professionalism, and Burnley made their first appearance in the FA Cup in1885–86.[5][6] In October 1886, Burnley'sTurf Moor became the first professional ground to be visited by a member of theroyal family, whenPrince Albert Victor attended afriendly between Burnley andBolton Wanderers.[4] The club was among the twelve founders of theFootball League in1888–89, the world's first league football competition, and one of the six based inLancashire.[7] In the second match,William Tait became the first player in history to score a leaguehat-trick, with his three goals against Bolton Wanderers securing Burnley's inaugural win in the competition.[7] In1889–90, they claimed their firstLancashire Cup, after beating local rivalsBlackburn Rovers in the final.[8]
Burnley wererelegated to theSecond Division for the first time in1896–97.[9] The team won the division thenext season; they lost only two of thirty matches before gaining promotion through a four-teamplay-off series calledtest matches, although the last game againstFirst Division clubStoke was controversial. It finished 0–0 as both needed only adraw for a top flight place, and it was later named "[t]he match without a shot at goal".[10] Burnley were relegated again in1899–1900 and became embroiled in controversy whengoalkeeperJack Hillman attempted to bribe opponentsNottingham Forest during the final match of the season, which resulted in his suspension for the entire following campaign.[11] It is possibly the earliest recorded case ofmatch fixing in football.[12] The side continued to play in the Second Division and even finished in bottom place in1902–03—but werere-elected—as the club got into financial difficulties.[13][14]
Team photograph of the Championship-winning side of the1920–21 season
Harry Windle was named chairman in 1909, after which the club's finances turned around.[15] In 1910, the Burnley directors changed the club's colours from green toclaret and blue, and appointedJohn Haworth as the team's newmanager.[16] In1912–13, the side won promotion to the first tier, and the following season, Burnley won their first major honour, beatingLiverpool in the1914 FA Cup final.[9]Bert Freeman scored the only goal as Burnley became the first club to defeat five top tier sides in one cup season.Tommy Boyle became the firstcaptain to receive the trophy from a reigning monarch, KingGeorge V.[17] The team finished second toWest Bromwich Albion in1919–20,[18] before winning their first ever First Division championship in1920–21.[9] Burnley lost the opening three games but went unbeaten in the following 30 league matches, setting an English record.[1] Nine seasons later, the team were relegated to the Second Division. They struggled in the second tier and avoided a further relegation in1931–32 by two points.[13][19] The years through to the outbreak of theSecond World War were characterised by mid-table league finishes.[13]
In1946–47, the first season of post-war League football, Burnley won promotion to the First Division and reached theFA Cup final, in which they were defeated byCharlton Athletic afterextra time. The team's defence was nicknamed "The Iron Curtain", since they conceded only 29 goals in 42 league matches.[20]Alan Brown, captain of Burnley's 1946–47 side,[21] was appointed the club's manager in 1954,[22] withBob Lord becoming chairman a year later.[23] The club became one of the most progressive around under their tenures.[24][25] Burnley were one of the first to set up a purpose-builttraining ground, atGawthorpe,[23][26] and they became renowned for their youth policy andscouting system, which yielded many young talents.[24] In 1958, former Burnley playerHarry Potts was appointed manager.[27] His squad mainly revolved around the duo of captainJimmy Adamson andJimmy McIlroy, the team'splaymaker.[28] Potts often employed the then unfashionable4–4–2 formation and he implemented aTotal Football playing style.[23][27]
Burnley clinched a second First Division title in1959–60.[9] They had not topped the table until the last match was played out.[29][d] The squad cost only£13,000 (equivalent to £380,000 in 2023[e]) intransfer fees—£8,000 on McIlroy in 1950 and £5,000 onleft-backAlex Elder in 1959. The other Burnley players had progressed through theclub's youth academy.[24] With 80,000 inhabitants, the town of Burnley became one of the smallest to have an English first tier champion.[24][b] The side travelled to the United States after the season ended to represent England in theInternational Soccer League, the first modern international American soccer tournament.[31] The following season, Burnley played inEuropean competition for the first time in the1960–61 European Cup. They defeated formerfinalistsReims in the first round, but went out againstHamburger SV in the quarter-finals.[32] The team finished the1961–62 First Division as runners-up to newcomersIpswich Town after winning only one of the last ten matches, and had a run to the1962 FA Cup final but lost againstTottenham Hotspur. Adamson was namedFWA Footballer of the Year, however, with McIlroy as runner-up.[33]
Themaximum wage in the Football League was abolished in 1961, which meant that clubs from small towns like Burnley could no longer compete financially with sides from larger settlements.[23][34] The controversial departure of McIlroy to Stoke City in 1963[f] and Adamson's retirement in 1964 also damaged the club's fortunes.[35] Burnley retained their place in the First Division throughout the decade, however, finishing third in both the1962–63 and1965–66 seasons, and qualifying for the1966–67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.[9] Potts was replaced by Adamson as manager in 1970. Adamson hailed his squad as the "Team of the Seventies", but he was unable to halt the slide as relegation followed in1970–71.[37] Burnley won the Second Division title in1972–73, and were invited to play in the1973 FA Charity Shield,[g] where they emerged as winners againstManchester City.[39] In 1975, the team were victims of one of the great FA Cup shocks of all time whenWimbledon, then in theSouthern League, won 1–0 at Turf Moor.[40] Adamson left the club in January 1976, and relegation from the First Division followed later that year.[41] During this period, a drop in home attendances combined with an enlarged debt forced Burnley to sell star players such asMartin Dobson andLeighton James, which caused a rapid decline.[42]
Graph showing Burnley's performance from the inaugural season of theFootball League in1888–89 to the present
The team were relegated to theThird Division for the first time in1979–80.[9] Under the management of former Burnley playerBrian Miller,[43] they returned to the second tier as champions in1981–82. However, this return was short-lived and lasted only one year.[9] Managerial changes continued to be made in a search for success; Miller was replaced byFrank Casper in early 1983, he byJohn Bond before the1983–84 season and Bond himself byJohn Benson a season later.[43] Bond was the first manager sinceFrank Hill (1948–1954) without a previous playing career at the club. He was criticised by the fans for signing expensive players increasing Burnley's debt, and for selling the young talentsLee Dixon,Brian Laws andTrevor Steven.[44] Benson was in charge when Burnley were relegated to theFourth Division for the first time at the end of the1984–85 season.[43] The team avoided relegation to theFootball Conference, the highest level ofnon-League football, on the last day in1986–87, after they won againstOrient and their rivals drew or lost.[45]
In 1988, Burnley playedWolverhampton Wanderers in thefinal of theAssociate Members' Cup but lost 2–0. The match was attended by 80,000 people, a record for a match between two sides from the fourth tier.[46] The team won the Fourth Division in1991–92 under managerJimmy Mullen. He had succeeded Casper in October 1991 and won his first nine league matches as manager.[47] By winning the fourth tier, Burnley became only the second club to winall four professional divisions of English football, after Wolverhampton Wanderers.[48][49] Burnley won theSecond Division play-offs in1993–94 and gained promotion to the second tier.[9] Relegation followed after one season,[9] and in1997–98 only a last-day victory overPlymouth Argyle prevented relegation back into the fourth tier.[50] Under managerStan Ternent, Burnley finished second in1999–2000 and won promotion to the second tier.[51] In early 2002, financial problems caused by the collapse ofITV Digital brought the club close toadministration.[52] Ternent was sacked in 2004, after he avoided relegation with a squad composed of severalloaned players and some players who were not entirely fit.[53] The2008–09 campaign, withOwen Coyle in charge, ended with promotion to thePremier League.Sheffield United were defeated in theChampionship play-off final, which meant a return to the top flight after 33 years.[54] Burnley also reached the semi-final of theLeague Cup for the first time in over 25 years but were beaten onaggregate by Tottenham in the last minutes of the second leg.[9][55]
Promotion made the town of Burnley one of the smallest to host a Premier League club.[56][57] The team started the season well and became the first newly promoted side in the competition to win their first four home games.[58] However, Coyle left the club in January 2010 to manage local rivals Bolton Wanderers. He was replaced by former Burnley player Brian Laws, but the team's form plummeted and they were relegated after a single season.[59]Sean Dyche was appointed manager in October 2012.[60] In his first full season in charge, Dyche guided Burnley back to the Premier League in2013–14 on a tight budget and with a small squad.[61] The team went down after one season but won theChampionship title on their return in2015–16, ending the season with a run of 23 league games undefeated.[9][62] In 2017, the club completed construction of Barnfield Training Centre—the replacement of Gawthorpe—with Dyche being involved in the training ground's design.[26] Burnley finished seventh in the2017–18 Premier League, which meant qualification for the2018–19 UEFA Europa League and a return to European football after 51 years.[63] The team failed to reach the group stage, as they were eliminated in the play-off round by Greek clubOlympiacos.[64]
In December 2020, American investment company ALK Capital acquired an 84% stake in Burnley for £170 million.[65] It was the first time the club was run by anyone other than local businessmen and Burnley supporters.[66] In2021–22, Burnley were relegated back to the Championship after they lost on the final matchday and finished in 18th place.[67] In June 2022, the BelgianVincent Kompany was appointed Burnley's manager, becoming the first person from outside theBritish Isles to manage the club.[68] During his first months in charge, he rebuilt the squad on a budget, signing mostly young and foreign players. Kompany also implemented a possession-based, attacking style of play.[69] Burnley secured promotion back to the Premier League in2022–23 with seven matches remaining—a Championship record—before winning the Championship title following a 1–0 victory at local rivals Blackburn Rovers.[70][71] Thefollowing season, Burnley were relegated again from the Premier League, finishing 19th with a club record low tally of 24 points.[72][73] Shortly afterwards, however, Kompany went toBayern Munich for a fee of £10.2 million, which made himone of the most expensive managers in history.[74][75]
Burnley won promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt underScott Parker, ending the2024–25 season with a club record 33-match unbeaten run.[76][77] The team conceded just 16 goals in 46 matches—an average of 0.35 per game—setting the best defensive record in English league history.[77][78] They also kept a record 30clean sheets, never conceded more than one goal in any fixture, and became the first side to reach a three-figure points total in the same division on two occasions (101 points in 2022–23 and 100 in 2024–25).[79][80] Despite these accomplishments, they finished second behindLeeds United ongoal difference, becoming the first team in English football history to earn 100 points without winning the title.[77][81]
Burnley's strip in the inaugural season of the Football League (1888–89). The actual kit had long sleeves.
In the early years, Burnley used variouskit designs and colours. Throughout the first eight years, there were various permutations of blue and white, the colours of the club's forerunners Burnley Rovers.[82] Before the start of the1890–91 season, the club adopted an all-blue shirt, but changed it to all-white mid-season.[82] After spells inamber and black, and amber andclaret, Burnley wore pink and white striped shirts during 1894–95, before reverting to amber and black.[82][83] In the late 1890s, the club used an all-red shirt and from 1900 until 1910 it wore an all-green jersey.[82] In 1910, Burnley changed their colours to claret and blue, which they have had for most of their history, save for a spell in white shirts during the second half of the 1930s and the Second World War.[82] The club re-registered its colours as claret and blue in 1946, following a successful appeal in theBurnley Express that brought in enoughdonated coupons from supporters to obtain a new kit.[84] The change in colours also contributed to the emergence of Burnley's nickname, "The Clarets".[82] In earlier decades, the side had been referred to by monikers such as "The Turfites", "The Moorites", "The Royalites" and "The Brunsiders".[85][86]
Burnley's kits have been supplied by various manufacturers since 1975, whenUmbro produced the club's jerseys, and have featuredshirt sponsors since 1982.[83][h] The first sponsor's name to appear on Burnley shirts was that of Poco Homes, aManchester-based building firm, which featured from 1982 to 1983.[83][88] The club's longest-running shirt sponsorship was withEndsleigh Insurance, lasting from 1988 to 1998.[83] In 2017, the club secured its first sleeve sponsorship deal, with the logo of the mobile gameGolf Clash—a title developed byPlaydemic—appearing on the left sleeve of the Burnley shirts.[89]
The town of Burnley's coat of arms formed the foundation for the club's current crest.
Burnley's jerseys first sported acrest in December 1887, when the team wore white shirts with a blue sash featuring thecoat of arms of the Prince of Wales, commemorating Prince Albert Victor's visit to Turf Moor the previous year—the first by a member of the royal family to a professional football ground.[4][83] The royal arms were worn regularly until the 1894–95 season, but reappeared for the 1914 FA Cup final, attended by King George V.[17][83] During the1934–35 FA Cup semi-final, the town of Burnley's coat of arms featured on the club's shirts for the first time.[83] It returned for the 1947 FA Cup final,[90] and the town's arms became a permanent feature on Burnley's jerseys for nearly a decade following their 1959–60 First Division title win. From 1969 to 1979 on home kits, and until 1976 onaway shirts, the team wore a stylised "BFC"cypher.[83]
In 1972, Burnley's commercial managerJack Butterfield announced the club's intention to introduce a badge that could becopyrighted, prompting a publicdesign competition, which was won by Mr Jolleys ofAshton-on-Ribble. His design featured two lions, twored roses, a bee, ashuttle, a knight's helmet and a hand.[91] The resulting crest was officially adopted by the club in 1973, and first appeared on Burnley's away kits at the start of the1976–77 season, before being introduced on the home shirts in 1979.[83] It was replaced on the jerseys in 1983 by a simple white "B.F.C." cypher, but reinstated in 1987.[83]
The club's current badge is based on the town of Burnley's coat of arms.[95] The stork at the top of the crest refers to the Starkie family, who were prominent in the Burnley area. In its mouth it holds aLacy knot of thede Lacy family, who held Burnley in the Middle Ages. The stork stands on a hill and cotton plants, which represents the town's cotton heritage. The hand below symbolises the town's motto "Hold to the Truth", derived from theTowneley family. The two bees reflect the town's hard work ethic, the lion represents royalty, and thechevron symbolises theRiver Brun, which runs through Burnley.[92][95]
The team have played their home games at Turf Moor since February 1883, which replaced their original premises at Calder Vale.[96] The Turf Moor site has been used for sport since at least 1843, whenBurnley Cricket Club moved to the area.[97][98] In 1883, they invited Burnley to a field adjacent to the cricket pitch.[96] Both clubs have remained there since, and only Lancashire rivalsPreston North End have continuously occupied their stadium—Deepdale—for longer.[96]
The ground originally consisted of only a pitch and the initial grandstand was not built until 1885.[97] In 1888, the first league match at Turf Moor saw Burnley emerge as 4–1 winners over Bolton Wanderers,Fred Poland netting the first league goal at the stadium.[7] Turf Moor's capacity was increased to 50,000 under the chairman Harry Windle during the 1910s.[17] The ground hosted its onlyFA Cup semi-final in 1922, betweenHuddersfield Town andNotts County, and five years later it hosted its only full international match, betweenEngland andWales for theBritish Home Championship.[99] From the mid-1940s until the mid-1960s, crowds in the stadium averaged in the 20,000–35,000 range, and Burnley averaged a club-record attendance of 33,621 in the 1947–48 First Division.[100] The attendance record for a single match was already set in 1924 against Huddersfield Town in an FA Cup third round tie, when 54,775 spectators attended.[101] In 1960, in an FA Cup fifth roundreplay game againstBradford City, there was an official attendance of 52,850. Some of the gates were broken down, however, and many uncounted fans poured into the ground.[102]
Turf Moor's field had a slope until 1974, when the pitch was raised to minimise it.[96] During the mid-1990s, the ground underwent further refurbishment when the Longside and Bee Hole End terraces were replaced byall-seater stands following the recommendations of theTaylor Report.[103] In 2019, the club built two corner stands for disabled home supporters between the Jimmy McIlroy and both the North and Bob Lord Stands to meet the Accessible Stadium Guide regulations.[104][105] Turf Moor currently has a capacity of 21,944 and consists of four stands: the North Stand (formerly the Longside), the Jimmy McIlroy Stand (formerly the Bee Hole End), the Bob Lord Stand, and the Cricket Field Stand for home and away fans.[96][106][107]
Panorama of Turf Moor (2011), looking north from the Bob Lord Stand, with the Cricket Field Stand to the left, the North Stand opposite and the Jimmy McIlroy Stand to the right
Burnley's supporters are mainly drawn from East Lancashire andWest Yorkshire.[110] The club is one of the best supported in English footballper capita,[111] with average attendances of around 21,000 in the Premier League in a town of approximately 78,000 inhabitants.[112][113] Burnley's firstsupporters' club was formed in early 1932,[114] and since then, numerous supporters' groups have been established across the United Kingdom and overseas.[115] The club's fans have had a long-standing friendship with supporters of the Dutch teamHelmond Sport since the 1990s, and several Burnley and Helmond fans regularly make an overseas journey to visit each other's matches.[116] For 2022–23 and 2023–24, Helmond Sport adopted a claret and blue away kit in tribute to Burnley.[117][118]
A frequently sungchant since the early 1970s is "No Nay Never", an adaptation of the song "The Wild Rover", which has lyrics to offend main rivals Blackburn Rovers.[119] In the early 1980s, ahooligan firm known as theSuicide Squad emerged from within Burnley's fanbase.[120] The group later featured on the 2006 hooligan documentary seriesThe Real Football Factories.[121] In 2011, 12 members were sentenced to jail for a total of 32 years, after a high-profile incident with Blackburn Rovers supporters in 2009.[122] The firm disbanded after the verdict.[123]
Notable Burnley fans have included football pioneerJimmy Hogan, who was a regular attendee at Turf Moor;[124] journalistAlastair Campbell, who has been regularly involved in events with the club;[125] and cricketerJames Anderson, who also worked in Burnley's ticket office on a part-time basis.[126]King Charles III is also a supporter of the club,[127] as is the South AfricancardinalWilfrid Napier.[128] In 2019, Burnley fan Scott Cunliffe was honoured by theUEFA with the #EqualGame award "for his work as a role model highlighting diversity, inclusion and accessibility in football"; he ran to every away Premier League ground during Burnley's2018–19 campaign and raised more than £55,000 for Premier League clubs' community trusts and community projects in Burnley.[129][130]
A popular drink served at home matches since the First World War is "Béné & Hot"—the French liqueurBénédictine topped up with hot water. TheEast Lancashire Regiment soldiers acquired a taste for the drink while stationed at the birthplace of the beverage inFécamp,Normandy, during the war. They drank it with hot water to keep warm in the trenches, and the surviving soldiers later returned to the East Lancashire area with the liqueur. In excess of 30 bottles are sold at each home game, which makes the club one of the world's biggest sellers of Bénédictine; Turf Moor is the only British football ground to sell it.[131][132]
Association football was first played in Burnley in the early 1880s,[133] and by 1883 the town already had more than 20 teams.[134] One of Burnley's earliest rivals wereBurnley Union Star,[97] based in the north of the town.[133] While Burnley drew support from across the area and were described as the town's "premier club",[5][135][136] Union Star were regarded as one of the most prominent local teams.[137] Their rivalry peaked during the 1886–87 Lancashire Cup, when a first-round fixture between the two sides ended 2–2.[138] Before a replay could be arranged, the Stars were expelled from the competition for fielding an unregistered player, and were suspended for a month.[139][140] The incident deepened tensions, with Union Star supporters occasionally causing disturbances during Burnley games.[141][142] Union Star disbanded in 1891, and Burnley soon bought the "Stars Stand" from their ground, relocating it to Turf Moor.[97] Burnley remained unbeaten in ten meetings with the side, winning eight.[143] Another early rival werePadiham, with one fixture in 1884 attracting a then record crowd of 12,000 at Turf Moor.[5][97]
Burnley's main rivals are Blackburn Rovers, with whom they contest theEast Lancashire derby, named after the region both clubs hail from. Games between these sides frommill towns are also known under the name "Cotton Mills derby".[144][145] Both are founder members of the Football League and have won the First Division and the FA Cup.[144] The two clubs are separated by only 14 miles (23 km) and besides the geographical proximity,[145] they also have a long-standing history of rivalry; the earliest competitive clash was a Football League match in 1888.[146] Four years earlier, however, they had met for the first time in a friendly,[5] "with considerable pride at stake".[147] Burnley hold the better head-to-head record, as the side have won 45 games to Blackburn's 41.[146] Burnley's closest geographic rivals are actuallyAccrington Stanley, but as they have never competed at the same level—although defunct clubAccrington did—there is no significant rivalry between them.[148]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
In 1897, the club incorporated as alimited company.[155] From their establishment until 2020, Burnley were run by local businessmen and supporters.[66] In December 2020, Velocity Sports Partners, the sports investment arm of American management firm ALK Capital, acquired an 84% stake in Burnley for £170 million.[65][66]Alan Pace,managing partner of ALK Capital, subsequently replaced Mike Garlick as the club's chairman.[66] ALK borrowed much of the takeover money, and the loan debts were transferred to the club. As a result of thisleveraged takeover, Burnley went from being debt-free to being saddled with debts of around £100 million, atinterest rates of about eight per cent.[156][157]
Burnley were the second, and are one of only five teams to have won all four professional divisions of English football, along with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Preston North End, Sheffield United andPortsmouth.[48][49] The club's honours include the following:[9][165]
Jerry Dawson holds the record for most Burnley appearances, with 569.
The record for the most first team appearances in all competitions for Burnley is held by goalkeeperJerry Dawson, who played 569 games between 1907 and 1929.[174] The club's top goal scorer isGeorge Beel, who scored 188 goals from 1923 to 1932.[174] In 1962, Jimmy Adamson won theFWA Footballer of the Year award, the first and to date only time a Burnley player achieved this.[175]Willie Irvine becametop goal scorer in the first tier in1965–66 with 29 goals, also a unique feat in the club's history.[176]
Jimmy McIlroy is the mostcapped player while at the club, making 51 appearances forNorthern Ireland between 1951 and 1962.[177] The first Burnley player to play in a full international match wasJohn Yates, who took to the field for England againstIreland in March 1889. He scored a hat-trick but was never called up again.[178] In January 1957, 17-year-oldIan Lawson netted a record four goals on his debut for Burnley againstChesterfield in the FA Cup third round.[179] The youngest player to play for the club isTommy Lawton, who was aged 16 years and 174 days on his debut againstDoncaster Rovers in the Second Division on 28 March 1936.[180] His debut made him the then youngestcentre-forward ever to play in the Football League.[181] The oldest player isLen Smelt, who played his last match aged 41 years and 132 days againstArsenal in the First Division on 18 April 1925.[182]
The team's longest unbeaten run in the top tier was between 6 September 1920 and 25 March 1921, to which they remained unbeaten for 30 games on their way to the First Division title. It stood as the longest stretch without defeat in a single English professional league season until Arsenal bettered it in2003–04.[1][183] Burnley set their longest unbeaten run in any division during the2024–25 Championship season,[76] going without defeat in the final 33 matches.[77] They also matched or broke severalEnglish league records that season, including the lowest goals conceded-per-game average (0.35; 16 goals in 46 matches),[77][78] the joint-most clean sheets (30, equallingPort Vale's 1953–54 side),[79] becoming the first team to avoid conceding more than one goal in any league fixture, and the first to gain at least 100 points in a specific division (Championship) on two separate occasions (101 in 2022–23 and 100 in 2024–25).[80]
The club's highest home attendance is 54,775, for an FA Cup third round match against Huddersfield Town on 23 February 1924; Burnley's record home attendance in the league is 52,869, for a First Division game against Blackpool on 11 October 1947.[101] The highest transfer fee received is the £31 million (plus add-ons and a sell-on clause) paid by Manchester City forJames Trafford in 2025, which also made him the most expensive British goalkeeper in history.[184] The highest transfer fee paid by Burnley is the circa £23 million paid toChelsea for midfielderLesley Ugochukwu in 2025.[185][186]Bob Kelly broke theworld transfer record in 1925, when he moved for a fee of £6,500 (equivalent to £470,000 in 2023[e]) from Burnley toSunderland.[187]
^TheBurnley Advertiser reported on 26 September 1874 that arugby football team named "The Burnley Rovers Football Club" had "just been formed", already having 35 members.[2]
^Burnley topped the league table between 25 and 26 August 1959 after their second game but fell down to third place after the other teams completed their second fixtures.[30]
^McIlroy was sold toStoke City during the1962–63 campaign for a fee of £25,000, after he was placed on the transfer list. This caused outrage among the Burnley fans, and some never returned to Turf Moor.[35] In 1999, McIlroy stated that his friendship with Reg Cooke, a director at Burnley and rival of chairmanBob Lord, might have led to his sale by Lord.[36]
^At the start of the2000–01 season, a planned sponsorship deal withTime Computers fell through, leaving Burnley without a shirt sponsor for the entire campaign. During the final few matches of the season, the team wore shirts displaying the club's website address.[87]
^The broadcast, developed by club partner Rezzil, offered viewers a virtual seat inside the ground with apanoramic view of the pitch, live commentary, ambient crowd noise, and real-time visuals including club branding and player kits.[108][109]
^Until 1993, in the event of adraw, theFA Charity Shield would be shared between the two competing teams, with each side having possession of the trophy for six months. Burnley andWolverhampton Wanderers drew 2–2.[32][169]
^The club has fielded itsreserve team in the competition since the mid-1990s.[173]
^Professionals could only play in theFA Cup andCounty FA competitions if they had been born or had resided within six miles (9.7 km) of their club's ground for a minimum of two years.[5]
^The winning years are sourced from Ray Simpson's bookThe Clarets Chronicles (2007). Winning years from 2007 onwards are sourced from other references.
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