Nicknamed "The Bees", the club was founded in 1889 and played home matches at Griffin Park from 1904 before moving to the Brentford Community Stadium in 2020.

[2] Attempts to form football and rugby clubs in the town fell by the wayside until a new recreation ground was opened on 17 October 1889.

[2] Seven days earlier, a meeting had taken place at the Oxford & Cambridge pub near Kew Bridge, during which it had been endeavoured between the rowing and cricket club members to decide how best to use the recreation ground.

A group of people from Borough Road College had come to a match to support their friend Joseph Gettins who was playing for Brentford at the time.

[citation needed] Brentford continued to largely play cup and friendly matches until 1896, when the club was elected into the Second Division of the London League.

[7] The club became a professional outfit in the 1899–1900 season[8] and won a place in the top-flight in July 1901 after Gravesend United dropped out of the Southern League.

[11] Despite an initial upturn in form, 9 defeats in the final 11 matches of 1912–13 led to Brentford's relegation after an 11-season stay in the First Division.

[16] 11 new players were signed and the Bees' first-ever Football League match took place on 28 August 1920 at Exeter City's St James Park,[17] which resulted in a 3–0 defeat.

The 1929–30 Third Division South season provided the foundation for the Bees' future success, however, the club missed out on promotion to Plymouth Argyle.

[28] Brentford again performed above expectations during the 1936–37 and 1937–38 seasons, finishing 6th in each campaign and reaching the FA Cup sixth round for the first time in the latter.

[29] The club reached its zenith between October 1937 and February 1938, holding onto top spot in the First Division for 17 consecutive matches.

[34] After narrowly avoiding a second successive relegation in 1947–48, manager Harry Curtis announced that the 1948–49 season would be his last in the job after nearly 23 years.

[21][35] The season ended with a poor 18th-place finish,[35] though notably the FA Cup sixth round fixture at home to Leicester City set a new club-record attendance of 38,678.

[36] In 1953–54 Brentford's relegation to the Third Division South was confirmed on the final day of the season after a 3–1 defeat to Leicester City at Griffin Park.

[38] After three consecutive top-six finishes,[38] the rot set in during the 1960–61 season, with the poor form on the field mirrored by the news from the boardroom of debts of £50,000 (equivalent to £1,405,800 in 2025).

[43] After a tense month of fan protests, negotiations and donations amounting to £8,500 (equivalent to £194,900 in 2025),[45][46] a six-man syndicate headed by former Plymouth Argyle chairman Ron Blindell took over Dunnett's shares on 23 February 1967 and guaranteed a 12-month bridging loan of £104,000.

[43] It transpired that QPR chairman Jim Gregory had resurrected his interest in Griffin Park and offered £250,000 for the use of the ground, a fee that would wipe out Brentford's £135,000 debt instantly, if the club moved to Hillingdon.

[51] In the 1988–89 season, the Bees' reached the sixth round of the FA Cup, which ended after a 4–0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.

[55] In June 1998, former Crystal Palace chairman Ron Noades assumed ownership of Brentford and made wholesale changes throughout the club, installing himself as chairman-manager.

[56] The Bees won the 1998–99 Third Division championship on the final day, after beating Cambridge United 1–0 in a "winner takes all" match at the Abbey Stadium.

[58][59] In the wake of the ITV Digital collapse, the financial restraints placed on the club by Noades left new manager Wally Downes with an inexperienced squad and administration was narrowly avoided in August 2002.

[66] Despite a good start to the 2006–07 season, Brentford's relegation was confirmed on 9 April 2007, eventually finishing bottom of the league.

[77] Smith's successor, Thomas Frank, took Brentford to the 2020 Championship play-off final after finishing third in the league, but lost 2–1 to West London rivals Fulham.

[29] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

[94] The design is a double roundel with the club name and year founded in white on a red background and a large central bee.

[99][44] As with the Fulham and Chelsea rivalries, this fixture sees passions run high amongst both sets of supporters with local pride at stake.

[101] The partnership also sees the two clubs exchanging coaching philosophies and allows Brentford to utilise UMF Selfoss' scouting network.

[103] In 2023, Benham sold FC Midtjylland to Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, therefore, they are now no longer sister clubs.