List of unrelegated association football clubs

More often than not, football clubs have played in more than one top-tier competition. It is therefore possible that teams relegated at one point in their history, but have not done so in the competition in which they currently compete. This is the case for multiple teams in countries where football was played in regional leagues prior to the creation of a unified national league. In such countries, a national champion was previously declared by means of a play-off tournament between teams that qualified through their regional tournaments. In Germany, for instance, seven teams have never been relegated from the Bundesliga (some joining more recently), but three of them found themselves expelled from the older Oberligen. Hamburg played continuously in the top tier of the German football system from the end of World War I until 2018.[1][2] In the Netherlands, football used to be organised in regional competitions as well. The unified Eredivisie was born in 1956, and four teams have continuously played at this highest national level since then.[3]

Even before the establishment of regional competitions, football was played in league systems. The very first football championships in Europe were often organised on a local level. Taking these smaller competitions into account, Austria Wien and Rapid Wien can claim to have played at the highest possible level since competition began in Austria in 1911.[1] At that time however, the only organised football was played in the league of Lower Austria,[4] which was then located in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and only teams from Vienna took part.[5] Later, Austrian teams competed in the German football system for several years, which made it possible for Rapid Wien to become German champion in 1941.[6] The current Austrian Bundesliga was only established in 1974,[7] and to this point a total of five teams have never been relegated from that competition.[8]

In Greece and Turkey, competitive football was organised in even smaller leagues. In both countries, city-leagues were the highest level for quite some time.[9][10] In 1959, a unified Hellenic championship was founded, and Olympiacos, Panathinaikos and PAOK have played in every season of it.[1] However, these teams were already high-flyers in the preceding city-leagues. The same applies to Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray in Turkey.[1]

In Russia, football too was first played at city-level. The St. Petersburg Football League was established in 1901, and its Moscovite counterpart followed in 1909. Many years later, in 1936, the Soviet Top League was formed. This competition ceased to exist when the Soviet Union fell, and new leagues were formed in the fifteen successor states. As a result, many teams entered a top division for the first time in their history. In Estonia, for example, the new Meistriliiga was composed of clubs that never participated in the top flight before.[11][12] As these are relatively new competitions, many clubs can claim to have never been relegated from the top-level. But only Dynamo Kyiv and Dinamo Tbilisi have always played at the highest possible level.[1] On the other hand, Dynamo Moscow played in every season of the Soviet Top League but was relegated from the Russian Premier League in the 2015–16 season.

Timeline chart showing Yugoslav First League successors

Besides the Soviet, also the Czechoslovak and Yugoslav football leagues split into multiple competitions in the early 1990s. A total of eight teams have not been relegated from the national championships of the Czech Republic[13] and Slovakia,[14] but no team managed to achieve this in Czechoslovak times. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, football became divided alongside ethnic lines and competition was held in three different leagues, before the establishment of a national division in 2000. In Kosovo, a national league also exists, although not it was not recognised by UEFA or FIFA until 2016. In all, three clubs – Red Star Belgrade, Partizan Belgrade and Dinamo Zagreb – have played at the highest level since the creation of socialist Yugoslavia, whilst Hajduk Split have never been relegated since they first played in the championship of the now long gone Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.[1] However, many more teams have never been relegated from their current national championships.

In still many other instances, new top-tier leagues were created to replace existing national championships. In England, six teams have been present in every season of the Premier League, which was founded in 1992.[15] None of them however had an uninterrupted run in the preceding First Division.[16] Thus, a great number of teams can claim to have never been relegated from these newer competitions. In Scotland, Celtic and Aberdeen[17] have never been relegated. Rangers, the only Scottish club to never fall below 6th, share this distinction: They were demoted to the fourth tier of Scottish football in 2012, but have never been relegated.[1] Similarly, Cliftonville, Glentoran and Linfield have the unique distinction of having played at the top flight in Northern Ireland for 131 years,[1] but five more teams have been present in every season of the NIFL Premiership, which was only established in 2008.[18]

There are however leagues that have been running for a long time. Not surprising, fewer clubs manage to stay on top the longer a competition runs. The Spanish Primera División was born in 1929, and only Athletic Bilbao, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have been present ever since. The same year the Italian Serie A became a round-robin tournament, and only Inter Milan has continuously played at the highest level from that moment forward – even doing so since 1909. And finally, no team that plays in the Swiss Super League – established in 1897 – has not been relegated at one point in their history.[1]

This table lists all clubs that have continuously played at the highest level for 75 years or more until their first relegation. Taken into account are all the leagues that formed the highest level at the time each club played in them. Competitions that were organised on sub-regional levels are excluded though. This is the reason no clubs from Greece or Turkey are listed, as in those countries football was played in city-level competitions up until 1959.

The large number of Brazilian football clubs on this list can be explained by the fact that these clubs were dominant in the relatively small state leagues, which formed the highest tier of competition in Brazil for more than half a century. The Taça Brasil, which existed between 1959 and 1968, is not considered a top-tier tournament for the purpose of this list, as it was a knockout competition between the different state champions, and no team took part in every edition.

As of 2021, the majority of the teams listed below continue to play at the top, although a few have ended their uninterrupted spell. Some teams had been relegated (and promoted back) before the start of their record spell.

The squads on bold letter have on-going spells playing at their respective top flight divisions.

Club	First year of spell	Last year of spell	Duration (years)	Competition(s)
Celtic F.C.	1890	–	131	Football League, Premier League & Premiership (124 seasons in total)
Cliftonville F.C.	1890	–	131	Football League, Premier League & NIFL Premiership (120 seasons in total)
Glentoran F.C.
Linfield F.C.
Rangers F.C.	1890	2012	122	Football League & Premier League (115 seasons in total)
Lisburn Distillery F.C.	1890	1995	105	Football League (94 seasons in total)
Heart of Midlothian F.C.	1890	1977	87	Football League (80 seasons in total)
Sparta Rotterdam	1893	2002	109	Eerste Klasse West & Eredivisie (108 seasons in total)
Eintracht Frankfurt	1899	1996	97	Kreisliga Nordmain, Bezirksliga Main, Bezirksliga Main-Hessen, Gauliga Südwest/Mainhessen, Oberliga Süd & Bundesliga (95 seasons in total)
Werder Bremen	1899	1980	81	Verband Bremer Fussballveriene, Bezirk Bremen, Northern German football championship, Gauliga Niedersachsen, Oberliga Nord & Bundesliga
Peñarol	1900	–	121	Primera División (116 seasons in total)
Juventus F.C.	1900	2006	106	Italian Football Championship (101 seasons in total)[19]
A.C. Milan*	1900	1980	80	Italian Football Championship (75 seasons in total)[19]
Club Nacional de Football	1901	–	120	Primera División (116 seasons in total)
Ferencvárosi TC	1901	2006	105	Nemzeti Bajnokság (102 seasons in total)
Aberdeen F.C.	1905	–	116	Football League, Premier League & Premiership (107 seasons in total)[17][20]
Club Guaraní	1906	–	115	Primera División (110 seasons in total)
Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas	1906	2002	96	Campeonato Carioca, Taça de Prata & Série A
Club Libertad	1906	1998	92	Primera División (87 seasons in total)
Fluminense FC	1906	1996	90	Campeonato Carioca, Taça de Prata & Série A
Clube Atlético Mineiro	1908	2005	97	Campeonato Mineiro, Taça de Prata & Série A
Inter Milan	1909	–	112	Italian Football Championship[19] (107 seasons in total)
Sport Club Internacional	1909	2016	107	Campeonato Gaúcho, Taça de Prata & Série A
Club Atlético River Plate	1909	2011	102	Primera División (102 seasons in total)
FK Austria Wien	1911	–	110	1. Klasse, Gauliga Ostmark, Staatsliga, Nationalliga & Bundesliga (109 seasons in total)
SK Rapid Wien
Glenavon F.C.	1911	2004	93	Football League & Premier League (82 seasons in total)
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo	1912	–	109	Campeonato Carioca, Taça de Prata & Série A
Újpest FC	1912	–	109	Nemzeti Bajnokság (105 seasons in total)
Club Atlético Independiente	1912	2013	101	Primera División (101 seasons in total)
Boca Juniors	1913	–	108	Primera División (108 seasons in total)
Cerro Porteño	1913	–	108	Primera División (108 seasons in total)
Sport Club Corinthians Paulista****	1913	2007	94	Campeonato Paulista, Taça de Prata & Série A
Santos FC***	1916	–	105	Campeonato Paulista, Taça de Prata & Série A
Budapest Honvéd FC	1916	2003	87	Nemzeti Bajnokság (84 seasons in total)
Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras	1916	2002	86	Campeonato Paulista, Taça de Prata & Série A
AFC Ajax	1917	–	104	Eerste Klasse West & Eredivisie (103 seasons in total)
Arsenal F.C.	1919	–	102	Football League First Division, Premier League (95 seasons in total)
Hamburger SV	1919	2018	99	Norddeutsche Fußballmeisterschaft, Gauliga Nordmark, Oberliga Nord & Bundesliga (96 seasons in total)
Standard Liège	1921	–	100	Pro League (97 seasons in total)
Bohemian F.C.**	1921	–	100	League of Ireland
Feyenoord	1921	–	100	Eerste Klasse West & Eredivisie (98 seasons in total)
Cruzeiro Esporte Clube	1921	2019	98	Campeonato Mineiro, Taça de Prata & Série A
CR Vasco da Gama	1921	2008	87	Campeonato Carioca, Taça de Prata & Série A
Al Ahly SC	1922	–	99	Cairo League, Egyptian Premier League
Shamrock Rovers F.C.	1922	2005	83	League of Ireland
HNK Hajduk Split	1923	–	97	Yugoslav First League & Prva HNL (86 seasons in total)
Valur	1923	1999	76	Úrvalsdeild
Ards F.C.	1923	1998	75	Football League (68 seasons in total – only became champions once)
Portadown F.C.	1924	2008	84	Football League & Premier League (77 seasons in total)
PSV Eindhoven	1926	–	95	Eerste Klasse Zuid & Eredivisie (94 seasons in total)
Club Universitario de Deportes	1928	–	93	Primera División
Athletic Bilbao	1929	–	92	Primera División (90 seasons in total)
FC Barcelona
Real Madrid CF
KF Tirana	1929	2017	88	Kategoria Superiore
São Paulo FC***	1930	–	91	Campeonato Paulista, Taça de Prata & Série A
Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C.	1931	–	90	Palestine League, Israeli League, Liga Alef, Liga Leumit & Premier League
Colo-Colo	1933	–	88	Campeonato Nacional
S.L. Benfica	1934	–	87	Primeira Liga (87 seasons in total)
FC Porto
Sporting CP
APOEL FC	1934	–	87	First Division
Anderlecht	1935	–	86	Pro League (83 seasons in total)
FC Dinamo Tbilisi	1936	–	85	Soviet Top League & Umaglesi Liga
FC Dynamo Kyiv	1936	–	85	Soviet Top League & Premier League
FC Dynamo Moscow	1936	2016	80	Soviet Top League & Football Championship
PFC Levski Sofia	1937	–	84	State Football Championship & A Group
Hibernians F.C.	1937	–	84	Premier League
Club América	1943	–	78	Liga MX
C.D. Guadalajara

^{*AC Milan withdrew from the 1908 Italian Championship.
**Bohemians were relegated in 1911 from the (now Northern) Irish League, but returned in 1912 and stayed there until 1920 to form the Irish Free State (now Republic of Ireland) League, from which they have never been relegated.
***Santos withdrew from the 1920 Paulistão, São Paulo withdrew from the 1935 Paulistão and both from the 1979 Brasileirão.
****Corinthians withdrew from the 1979 Brasileirão.}
Source: RSSSF and RSSSF Brasil

• Promotion and relegation