Rochdale A.F.C. (1896)

Rochdale A.F.C., commonly known as Rochdale, is a professional association football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. Founded in 1907, though tracing its origins back to 1896 as Rochdale Hornets Rugby League Football Club, the club competes in the National League North as of the 2024-25 season, the sixth tier of English football.

Rochdale has played its home matches at Spotland Stadium, currently known as the Crown Oil Arena for sponsorship purposes, since 1920. The club's colours are blue and black. They are nicknamed "The Dale".

Historically, Rochdale spent a large portion of their history in the lower divisions of the Football League. Their most notable achievement was reaching the Football League Cup Final in 1962, where they lost to Norwich City. The club spent 41 consecutive seasons in the Football League's bottom division (the former Division Four and later League Two) between 1974 and 2010, a league record.

In the 2009–10 season, Rochdale achieved promotion to League One, ending their long spell in the bottom division. They reached the League One play-offs in 2014. They were relegated back to League Two at the end of the 2020-21 season and further relegated to the National League in 2023.