The Swans were formed in 1912 and despite their Welsh status, were entitled to join the English Southern League. They became founder members of the Third Division of the Football League in 1920.

Swansea rose to the second tier in 1925 and remained there fairly consistently until 1965 when a chaotic period began.  Within a matter of seasons, Swansea found themselves in the Fourth Division and enjoyed very few good times bar a couple of decent cup runs. A lot of blame was placed on the board, for selling a lot of the promising Welsh talent too early on.

A dramatic turnaround for the club began in 1978 with the appointment of John Toshack, then the youngest Football League manager ever. Toshack took the club from the Fourth Division to the top tier of English football with three promotions in four years; even topping the table at times during their first season in the big time before his small squad broke down and finished sixth due to injuries and fatigue. 

Bizarrely, this was followed by two consecutive relegations and by 1986, Swansea were back in the Fourth Division. The Jacks struggled throughout the nineties and the early 21st century but were revitalized by moving to the brand new Liberty stadium in 2005. In the space of 6 years, the Swans had completed the historic feat of becoming the first Welsh team to play in the Premier League under the management of Brendan Rogers.

Having moved on to Liverpool, Swansea seek to continue their tradition of possession football under the stewardship of Danish football legend Michael Laudrup.