When the Southern League was formed in England at the end of the 19th century, it was comprised largely of English clubs, but a handful of Welsh clubs were also involved. These included Newport County, Cardiff City and Merthyr Town FC. Unlike England, Wales did not have an established league at the time, and so the Welsh clubs joined the English Football League, and have stayed there ever since.
In 1912, the Southern League wrote a letter of invitation to Swansea, suggesting that they might like to submit a football team to represent their town. Swansea responded by founding Swansea Town (later to become Swansea City).
Swansea City AFC play their home games at the Liberty Stadium which they share with the Ospreys rugby team. The ground has the capacity for 20,000 people.
The club currently plays in the Premier League, becoming the first Welsh club to do so since the Premiership's inception, and finishing 11th in the 2011-12 season. Swansea's main rivals are Cardiff City, and matches between these two clubs are known as the South Wales Derbies.
