Sheffield United, based in the Yorkshire city of Sheffield, were founded in 1889. The club's nickname is 'The Blades', a moniker it owes to Sheffield's successful steel industry. The club's badge, said to have been designed by former player Jimmy Hagan, features two blades and the white rose of Yorkshire. The club's traditional home colours are red and white, arranged in vertical stripes on the home kit.

The club's first and, to date, only football league win came in 1898. They were runners up twice more in the same decade. They have four FA Cup wins to their name, the last of which came in 1925, but have never progressed further than the semi finals (having reached them in 2003) in the League Cup. The club's fiercest rivalry is with fellow Sheffield team Sheffield Wednesday, with whom they contest what has come to be known as the Steel City Derby. The club also enjoy rivalries with other Yorkshire clubs, such as Leeds United, Barnsley and Doncaster Rovers.