Fulham

Founded as a church boys’ team in 1879, Fulham moved into Craven Cottage in 1896. They never made the top division until 1949, and then they bounced up and down through the 1950s and had their glory days in the 1960s. They spent nine of those years  in the top flight, led by the great Johnny Haynes, who was on England’s 1966 World Cup winners and whose statue is outside the stand named for him.

They lost the 1975 FA Cup final—their only time in the final and their only trip to Wembley until 2018—then they went off the deep end, down to Division Three, and almost out of business in 1987.

They were saved by a very wealthy, eccentric Egyptian named Mohamed Al-Fayed, the owner of Harrods; it was his son who died with Princess Diana. (He’s also the one who installed a statue of Michael Jackson at the ground; it’s now in the National Football Museum in Manchester.) In 2001 they made the top division (by then the Premier League) for the first time in 33 years. They staged a great escape to stay up in 2008, with several Americans involved—foremost among them Brian McBride, for whom a bar in the stadium is named.

Fulham surged to the 2010 final of the Europa League, which they also lost, 2–1 in extra time to Atletico Madrid. American Clint Dempsey was a star on that team and scored one of the club’s most famous goals to beat Italian giants Juventus. That turned out to be a high-water mark, as in 2014 Fulham was relegated to the Championship. They went back up in 2017–18 via the playoff, but went right back down in 2019. They were back in the Premier League for 2020-21, then were relegated again. But in 2022 they barnstormed to the Championship title, so the yo-yo club is back on the up. They have since become mid-table Premier League dependables.

2024–25 SEASON: 11th in Premier League, Quarterfinals FA Cup, 2nd Round League Cup

2024–25 SEASON: Premier League (promoted in 2022)

Fulham really hate neighbors Chelsea (who doesn’t?), but they only beat the Blues about one in 10 tries, so it isn’t much of a rivalry. Still, it’s only two miles to Stamford Bridge, and Fulham has a fun song about where to “stick the blue flag.” The real bitterness is with Queens Park Rangers, 3.4 miles away, though QPR are once again a division below. Brentford are also a major rival, and they are also Premier League. Any of these games would be called a West London derby.

Fulham FC Women play in the London and South East Regional Women’s League at tier 5. Games are at Fulham’s training ground, Motspur Park, southwest of London near Wimbledon. See fulhamfc.com/women for more.

• A long, looping chant of “Come…on…you…Whites!”
• A taunt at Chelsea: “One team in Fulham, there’s only one team in Fulham…”
• Another one for Chelsea: “Stick the Blue Flag Up Your Arse”
• To Volari: “Al-Fayed…oh oh oh oh. He wants to be a Brit. And QPR are shit.”
• “We are Fulham, we are Fulham, we are Fulham, FFC! We are Fulham, super Fulham, we are Fulham, fuck Chelsea!”

Much of Craven Cottage is the absolute epitome of an old-fashioned football ground. In fact, the Haynes Stand is a historically protected building and has some of the original wooden seats! It’s all impossibly charming and old-fashioned. Best of luck with the restrooms in that stand, though!

The exception is the Riverside Stand, right on the Thames and now completely rebuilt. It will eventually include a hotel (with a swimming pool!) and add about 4,000 seats to bring the capacity to just under 30,000. If you want some entertainment, ask some old-timer what he thinks about a stadium with a swimming pool in it.

The Fulham rowdies sit in the Hammersmith End, and away fans are on the river side of the Putney End. Bigger clubs fill the whole thing, especially for Cup games, and even for regular games there always seem to be some away fans mixed throughout the Putney End.

The most famous thing about the ground is the cottage itself, which was built with the Haynes Stand in 1904. The designer forgot to include dressing rooms, so they added the cabin! It still hosts the tiny dressing rooms and manager’s office. There are three rows of wood seats on the balcony where the players’ wives and girlfriends sit during the game.

TOURS: Tours are offered several days a week for £25 for adults and £20 for kids. Book on the club’s website.

Touring Craven Cottage at Fulham FC

Seeing a Premier League game at Fulham FC in London is, for Paul, the epitome of what Americans will love about watching soccer in England. Among the perks are small stadiums in the middle of big cities, local rivalries, and...

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GETTING THERE: The Tube stop you want is Putney Bridge on the District line, about a 15-minute walk away. From there, turn right and walk along Fulham High Street, which becomes Fulham Palace Road. Or go left, through a tunnel, and into Bishop’s Park. Yes, you can walk through a park along the River Thames to get to Craven Cottage! However, for some bigger games, the police may only let visiting fans through the park to avoid trouble. They’ll probably let a neutral go through if you’re nice.

Other options are Hammersmith station on the Piccadilly line or the Putney National Rail station, each about a 20-minute walk. You can also catch a few bus lines down Fulham Palace Road and get off two blocks away at a stop called Kingwood Road.

PUBS: There are pubs all along Fulham High Street between Putney Bridge and the ground. Away fans tend to drink at Eight Bells near the Putney Bridge Tube. The Temperance and the slightly more traditional Golden Lion along Fulham Palace Road seem good choices. A fine option is to walk along the river a few minutes west of the ground on the Thames Path until you reach The Crabtree, a pleasant pub with good food and a fantastic, sprawling outdoor seating area. The club also has some hospitality packages with private dining upstairs in the Crabtree.

GRUB: Food at the ground is slightly above-average fare, including the Craven Cottage Pie—a traditional meat pie with a crust of mashed potatoes. Otherwise, all the restaurants are along Fulham High Street.