Preston North End FC was a founder member of the English Football League in 1888 and were the first English football champions. The club traces its origins back to 1863 when cricket was regularly organised on “The Marsh,” a spit of land in the Ribble estuary. When the Preston Corporation opened a new public cricket ground at Moor Park in the northern part of the town, some members moved to the new facility and adopted the name “North End.” In 1875 the club took out a lease on a field at Deepdale, where the modern club still plays.Around this time association football was becoming increasingly popular as a spectator sport in the industrial towns of Lancashire. Members first played football in 1878 and two years later they voted to adopt association rules. In 1888-89 Preston became the only team to go throughout an entire season unbeaten in both the league and FA Cup — only Arsenal F.C., in 2003-04, have managed to have an unbeaten season in the top division since (although Arsenal played 38 games to Preston's 22).  Preston were league champions again the following season, and have not won the title since. 

Preston's last major trophy was an FA Cup triumph in 1938 against Huddersfield Town. Preston's team featured the legendary Bill Shankly, but the match was goalless until the final minute of extra time, when George Mutch scored to make Preston the winners. They were relegated to the Second Division (currently the Football League Championship) in 1961 and have not played in the top division since. They did reach the FA Cup final in 1964, but lost to West Ham United. Bobby Charlton, an England World Cup winner from 1966, was appointed Preston manager in 1973, but was unable to stop them from sliding into the Third Division in his first season and left after two years in charge. A brief respite in 1978 saw them win promotion back to the Second Division, but they went down after three seasons and in 1985 dropped into the Fourth Division for the first time in their history. Preston began the new millennium by winning promotion from the Second Division  in the 1999-2000 season as champions. Decline followed and they were relegated at the end of the 2010/11 season. Preston won promotion to the Championship after beating Swindon Town 4–0 in the League One play-off Final on 24 May 2015, having failed in their previous nine appearances in the play-offs. They remain in the Championship as one of the stronger sides.