[10] The start of World War II in 1939 resulted in the suspension of the FA Cup competition for the duration, so Portsmouth held the trophy until it resumed in 1945–46.

[citation needed] With players having to be sold to ease the club's financial situation, and no money available for replacements, Portsmouth were forced to rely on inexperienced young players and ended the 1976–77 season only one place and one point above the Third Division's relegation zone but were relegated at the end of the new 1977–78 season, finishing in bottom place.

Therefore, Portsmouth played in the new "First Division" but missed out on automatic promotion by virtue of scoring only one fewer goal than second-placed West Ham United.

Almost halfway through the following 2004–05 season in the Premiership, Harry Redknapp unexpectedly walked out on Portsmouth in November 2004 after a row with chairman Milan Mandarić.

During the 2005–06 season, Alain Perrin was sacked with Harry Redknapp then making a surprise return to manage Portsmouth again after leaving relegated Southampton.

With large amounts of money available for Redknapp to make record signings, the club finished the 2006–07 season in the top half of the table for the first time since their promotion, in ninth position.

[25] Despite being FA Cup finalists, the club were denied a licence to play European football the following season in the UEFA Europa League.

[27] On 1 June 2011, Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI) owned by Russian Vladimir Antonov completed its takeover of the club, although an arrest warrant would later be issued for him in November 2011 following allegations of asset stripping.

[40] On 19 April 2013, Portsmouth exited administration when the Pompey Supporters' Trust (PST) deal to buy the club was completed.

[45] Following an unsuccessful play-off attempt in the previous season,[46] Paul Cook's side secured promotion to League One in 2016–17 with a 3–1 win away at Notts County and were later confirmed as champions.

[49] In May 2017, the Pompey Supporters' Trust (PST) voted in favour of a proposed bid by The Tornante Company, headed by former Disney chief executive Michael Eisner, to take over the club which was completed on 3 August 2017.

[51][52] Portsmouth were due to return to Wembley to defend the EFL Trophy against Salford City on 5 April 2020 in the final, however, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the suspension of the season on 13 March.

[56] The delayed 2020 EFL Trophy final was eventually played behind closed doors at Wembley Stadium in March 2021, with Portsmouth losing on penalties to Salford City.

During 1989 and 1993, the sword and anchor badge was dropped replaced with a simpler eight pointed star and crescent moon on a long narrow shield.

[64][better source needed] On 15 March 2018, two newly redesigned club badges were finally revealed ahead of the 2018–19 season (one for players' shirts and the other for commercial purposes).

[65]In the 1899–1900 season, Portsmouth's first home colours were salmon pink shirts with maroon collars and cuffs, matched with white shorts and black socks.

For the start of the 1912–13 Southern League Division One season, Portsmouth changed their home colours to azure blue shirts, white shorts and black socks.

changed their colour combination several times during the 1966–1976 period, before reverting to the now tradition post-war blue shirts, white shorts and red stockings in 1976.

During the Second World War and post-war periods, the British Army's Field Marshal Sir Bernard 'Monty' Montgomery had been based at Southwick House, 5 miles to the north of Portsmouth.

[59] For the 2008 FA Cup final victory against Cardiff City, Portsmouth debuted an all blue home kit manufactured by Canterbury and sponsored by Oki Printing Solutions to commemorate the club's 110th Anniversary year.

Fratton Park was designed and completed during 1899 by Portsmouth director and architect Alfred Bone and was first opened to the public on 15 August 1899.

The first ever football match to take place at Fratton Park was a friendly against Southampton, played on 6 September 1899, with Portsmouth winning 2–0.

Fratton Park reached its current all-time ground attendance record of 51,385 supporters on 26 February 1949, for an FA Cup sixth-round match, a 2–1 win against Derby County.

Plans for relocation were first mooted in the early 1990s, but due to various objections and financial obstacles, the club has continued to play at Fratton Park.

The South Coast Derby is one of the less frequently played rivalries within English football due to the clubs being in different divisions; however this usually adds to the ferocity of the fixture.

[75][76] Meanwhile, Portsmouth supporters have had the equally derogatory nickname Skate bestowed upon them by Southampton fans as a rebuttal to Scummer since the 1987–88 Division One season.

This was unofficially chosen by Southampton fans from a list of insults compiled by a Southampton-based supporters fanzine called The Ugly Inside in 1988.

[citation needed] Just before 4 pm the crowd of supporters would sing in unison with the Town Hall's chimes on the hour to encourage the referee to blow the whistle to signify full-time.

after their expulsion from the 1898–99 FA Amateur Cup for alleged professionalism, many of Royal Artillery's supporters switched their allegiance in 1899 to Portsmouth F.C., taking the "Town Hall Chimes" chant and the "Pompey" nickname from Burnaby Road to Fratton Park, a distance of 1.8 miles (2.8 km).

On 5 June 2023, Portsmouth announced that their women's team would integrate under The Tornate Company, meaning the side would be turning semi-professional for the first time in the club's history.