The Carabao Cup draw has given Fleetwood Town a place in the national spotlight. After beating Sheffield United 1–0, the League Two club will welcome Arsenal to Highbury in the fourth round, reaching this stage of the competition for the first time. For anyone discovering Fleetwood through that draw, there is quite a story behind the name.
Based on Lancashire’s Fylde Coast, Fleetwood play in red shirts with white sleeves and are backed by supporters known as the Cod Army. Their home has been Highbury since 1939, a familiar name for Arsenal fans, but a ground with a history of its own.
Fleetwood’s footballing roots stretch back beyond the club’s traditional founding date of 1908. Local sides represented the town in the late nineteenth century, and the generations that followed enjoyed success in Lancashire football. One young goalkeeper who played for Fleetwood in the early 1930s was Frank Swift, later an England international. In 1968, Fleetwood became founding members of the Northern Premier League.
There were difficult years, too. The club folded in 1976, returned as Fleetwood Town in 1977 and eventually folded again in 1996. Between those setbacks came a day still remembered with pride: the 1985 FA Vase final at Wembley. Town lost 3–1 to Halesowen Town, but taking the club to the national stadium was an achievement worth celebrating.
The modern club began in 1997, rebuilding in the North West Counties League. From those modest beginnings, Fleetwood made an extraordinary climb: six promotions in ten seasons, culminating in a place in League One in 2014. Along the way came the 2012 Conference Premier title and entry into the Football League for the first time.
For many football fans, that 2012 team brings one name to mind: Jamie Vardy. Before becoming a Premier League champion with Leicester City and playing for England, Vardy scored 31 league goals in Fleetwood’s promotion season. His performances earned him a move to Leicester that summer, making Highbury an important stop in one of English football’s best-known careers
Yet Fleetwood’s rise also has a remarkable story of loyalty. Nathan Pond played for the club across seven different divisions, from the North West Counties League to League One. That achievement earned him a Guinness World Record and gives some sense of just how far Town travelled during his time there.
The promotion that took Fleetwood into the third tier came at Wembley in May 2014. Antoni Sarcevic’s free-kick secured a 1–0 win over Burton Albion in the League Two play-off final, providing a winning Wembley memory almost three decades after the FA Vase defeat.
Fleetwood then spent ten seasons in League One before relegation in 2024. Their return to League Two was a reminder that progress in football rarely runs in one direction.
Now comes the prospect of Arsenal at Highbury. For visiting supporters, it is a chance to discover a club whose journey has included regional football, financial setbacks, fresh starts and a rapid rise through the leagues.
For the Cod Army, it is another occasion to add to the memories, and an opportunity for a much wider audience to get to know Fleetwood Town.