Luton Town Football Club, also known as the Hatters, are a professional football team based in Luton, England. Luton earned promotion to the English Premier League for the 2023-24 season. Their home venue is Kenilworth Road.
📜 Luton Town History
The club were founded in 1885. The idea to form the club to unite the various Luton teams that existed at the time, such as Luton Wanderers and Luton Excelsior, was pioneered by Wanderers player George Deacon. Wanderers secretary Herbert Spratley attempted to get ahead of the club's creation by simply renaming Wanderers as Luton Town, but his objections were voted down and Luton Town Football Club was formed.
Luton were fully professional by 1891, making them the first professional team in the south of England. They were founding members of the Southern League soon after in 1894, and after an early, unsuccessful foray into the Football League they joined the EFL in 1920.
The Hatters' first venture into the top-flight began in 1955; this 5-year period before suffering relegation also saw them reach the 1959 FA Cup final, where they were beaten 2-1 by Nottingham Forest.
Luton once again returned to Division One between 1982 and 1992, but further relegations – the final one brought on by a 30-point penalty for illegal agents' payments and administrations – saw the Hatters drop out of the Football League entirely in 2009.
After returning to the EFL in 2014, Luton steadily reestablished themselves as they climbed the ranks once again, culminating in their return to the Premier League in 2023. In doing so, they became the first club to return to English football's top tier after being relegated to the 5th tier.
