Charlton Athletic FC (also known as The Addicks a corruption of the word 'haddocks', named after a local fish and chip shop) is based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the South-East London area, including both East Street Mission and Blundell Mission, combined to form Charlton Athletic Football Club. The club has played at  The Valley since 1919.  In the club's early years its progress was hampered by the nearby presence of Woolwich Arsenal F.C. (now Arsenal), which was one of the largest clubs in the country, and Charlton spent the years before the First World War playing in local leagues. Woolwich Arsenal's move to North London in 1913 gave Charlton an opportunity to develop, and they became a senior side by joining the Lewisham League. After the war, they joined the Kent League for one season (1919–20) before turning professional. They were accepted by the Southern League and played just a single season (1920–21) before being voted into the Football League. The club struggled to establish itself, having to apply for re-election in 1926, but the arrived of Jimmy Seeds as manager in 1933  inaugurated  Charlton's most successful period. During the 1930s the club finished runners up in the First Division in 1937, fourth in 1938 and third in 1939.  This success followed after the Second World War when the club reached the FA Cup final twice, winning in 1947 beating Burnley 1-0 in the final.  The clubs fortunes took a turn for the worst after Seeds departure in 1956 and they were relegated the followed year.  From the late 1950s until the early 1970s, Charlton remained in the Second Division before relegation to the Third Division in 1972 and further decline that was only partly halted by pomotion in 1975 back to the Second Division.  Financial problems brought the club to the edge of extinction when in 1985 Charlton went into administration to be reformed as Charlton Athletic (1984) Ltd.  But the club's finances were still far from secure, and they were forced to leave the Valley just after the start of the 1985–86 season, in the wake of the Bradford City stadium fire after its safety was criticised by Football League officials. 

The club began to groundshare with Crystal Palace (at Selhurst Park] and this arrangement looked to be for the long-term, as Charlton did not have enough funds to revamp the Valley to meet safety requirements. Despite these set backs, Charlton were promoted to the First Division as Second Division runners-up at the end of 1985–86 and remained at this level for four years. The arrival of Alan Curbishley in1991  brought about a change in fortunes. They gained promotion to the Premier League in 1998 with a dramatic penalty shootout against Sunderland at Wembly.  Charlton lasted only one season in the top tier but bounced back immediately this time winning the League One title.  By the time of Curbishley’s departure in 2006 they were established as a middle table team. However, one year later the club was relegated.  Worse was to follow with relegation to the First Divison (now the third tier of English football) in 2009.  They returned to the Championship as League One champions at the end of the 2011-12 season but dropped down again in 2016.