Portsmouth pencil in September friendly for historical fixture to mark 125th Anniversary

The Blues are currently celebrating their 125th anniversary, with a number of events having taken place since April to mark the feat.

They have been unable to finalise a showpiece pre-season game this summer, with a potential fixture against Rangers failing through.

Nonetheless, the club are seeking to arrange a Pompey XI match with the Royal Artillery on a date in September still to be fixed.

Pencilled in to take place at the HMS Temeraire’s Victory Stadium in Burnaby Road, the occasion will celebrate the influence of the Royal Artillery in the April 5, 1898 formation of Pompey.

The Army regiment are regarded as one of the forerunners to the club’s inception, with the 14th Regiment located at Larkhill Garrison in Wiltshire.

And Pompey will wear their first colours – salmon pink – for the fixture in another acknowledgement of their glorious past.

Colin Farmery, chairman of the 125 Anniversary Committee, told The News: ‘We want to set up a game between Portsmouth Football Club and the Royal Artillery Football Club, which is still in existence and one of the forerunners of Pompey.

‘It’s also an opportunity to celebrate the military links with the club and will be held at the Victory Stadium, which is just around the corner from 12 High Street, where the club was founded.

‘In the mid-1890s, the Royal Artillery established the principle that watching good, quality football was something people wanted to do, they were getting gates in the thousands in the Southern League and big cup games.

‘The team also provided two or three of the key players which featured in Pompey’s side when they started in 1898, while some of the people involved in the club ended up being part of the management team of the new Portsmouth Football Club.

‘They are one of the forerunners of Pompey and there are very strong links between both clubs.’

Pompey’s team for the match is expected to consist primarily of Academy players, rather than leading members of John Mousinho’s first-team squad.