Portsmouth Football Club is a professional association football club based in Portsmouth, England which was first founded in 1898. Football was first played in Portsmouth from at least the middle on the nineteenth century, having been brought to the Victorian era military town of Portsmouth by soldiers, sailors and dockers who had originated from other towns and cities in England, particularly from the north of England where the game and rules of association football were already well established. A series of part-time amateur teams and clubs were formed in Portsmouth during the latter half on the nineteenth century as football became more popular and widespread, but none were as successful as the professional Portsmouth F.C., which continues to the present day.