Relocation of professional sports teams in the United Kingdom is a practice that involves a sports team moving from one metropolitan area to another, although occasionally moves between municipalities in the same conurbation are also included. For relocations in other part of the world see Relocation of professional sports teams.

In British sport, the relocation of teams away from their traditional districts is unusual because of the nature of the relationship between clubs and their fans: the local football club is regarded by most English football supporters as part of the local identity and social fabric rather than as a business that can be transplanted by its owners at will. As a result, any relocation plan would be strongly opposed by fans in the club's original area, and unlikely to succeed in most new locations due to the existence of established teams in most towns and cities that would already have secured the loyalty of native supporters. John Bale, summarising a study published in 1974, writes that, in the view of most fans, "Chelsea would simply not be Chelsea" were that club to move a few miles within the same borough to Wormwood Scrubs.

However, there have been examples of club relocations, primarily motivated by difficult financial situations or problems with the home ground. So far, excluding association football teams, this article lists 48 relocated teams and 84 changes in identity in total.

Association Football

Association Football (men's)

Association Football (women's)

Basketball

England

Bolton & Bury Giants → Olympic City Giants Olympic City Giants were a professional basketball team based in Oldham. Previously based in Bolton and Bury, the team were known as Bolton & Bury Hawks and then Bolton & Bury Giants, the team were founder members of the British Basketball League in 1987. In 1989 after encountering several financial difficulties, Olympic City Giants formally merged with Manchester Eagles (formerly Manchester United) to become Manchester Giants, marking a return of the famous name after a three-year absence, following a merger between the original Manchester Giants and Manchester United in 1986.

Brighton Bears → Worthing Bears → Brighton Bears The Brighton Bears founded in 1973, were rocked by financial instability by the early 1980s. High rents at the Brighton Centre combined with dwindling crowds meant that it was no longer financially viable for the team to operate out of Brighton, and the search for a new home began. The second half of the season saw home games being played in arenas all over the south, including Bognor Regis, Eastleigh and Hastings.

The Bears' first game at Worthing was against the Birmingham Bullets in December 1983. A crowd of 400 curious onlookers turned up to watch the game, and the passion and excitement generated made the directors choose Worthing as the new permanent home for the Bears. The rent of the Leisure Centre was agreed with Worthing Borough Council and fans decided to stick with the Bears name. The club began the 1984–85 season as the Worthing Bears.

Several years later, after finishing rock-bottom of the league in the 1998–99 season, with only 4 wins out of 36 starts, late in the season Bob Wood sold his share of the club to Romek Kriwald, and as the season drew to a close the announcement was made that the Bears were to leave Worthing and head back to Brighton. The increased revenue and TV exposure that a venue such as the Brighton Centre could bring were seen as the only route back to success for the Bears. The club's first year back in Brighton was a marked improvement on the previous years' decline. The club returned to the Brighton Bears name in 1999 and home games were once again held at the Brighton Centre, as well as at the Burgess Hill Triangle, and attendances peaked at close to 3,000. The Worthing Rebels filled the void left by the Bears back in Worthing.

Brixton TopCats → Lambeth TopCats → Brixton TopCats The Brixton TopCats, based in Brixton, London, briefly relocated for one season, 1986–87 season, to nearby Lambeth changing their name accordingly.

Derbyshire Arrows → City of Sheffield Arrows → Derbyshire Arrows The Derbyshire Arrows water founded in Killamarsh, Derbyshire. In 2003 to allow the club to advance further, they moved to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, Yorkshire, changing their name to the City of Sheffield Arrows. The move proved successful trophy-wise, but since winning their last title in 2005, the club began a gradual decline. With the drop to a more modest league, the club returned to their original Killamarsh home and reclaimed their former name in 2011.

Ellesmere Port Jets → Chester Jets Founded in 1984 in Ellesmere Port as Ellesmere Port Jets, in the 1987–88 season, they changed their name to Cheshire Jets (a name which they returned to in 2007), though still continuing to play in Ellesmere Port. As the team gained promotion to the BBL, the arena in Ellesmere Port became unsuitable, and so in 1993 the Jets were forced to move to Chester, and into the Northgate Arena. The move was reflected in another name change to the Chester Jets.

EPAB Washington → Sunderland Scorpions → Newcastle Comets EPAB Washington founded in 1977 in Washington, moved to Sunderland after just one season to become Sunderland Saints. Renamed in 1993 to Sunderland Scorpions they moved to Newcastle in 1995, becoming the Newcastle Comets, which would later become the successful Newcastle Eagles.

Hemel Hempstead Lakers → Watford Royals → MK Lions → London Lions The London Lions currently play in the British Basketball League – the top level men's basketball league in the United Kingdom. The club had been based in Hemel Hempstead, Watford and Milton Keynes prior to its re-location to London for the 2012–13 season.

The club was formed as the Hemel Hempstead Lakers in 1977 before being renamed Hemel Royals in 1985. The lack of fortunes and an ageing venue prompted the franchise to look at relocating and found a suitable, yet temporary solution in the neighbouring town of Watford. In preparation for the move, the franchise was rebranded as Hemel & Watford Royals in 1996 and made the move from the Dacorum Centre to Watford Leisure Centre in 1997. The move had little luck on the team's playing performance and they finished 13th out of 13 in the 1997–98 season (3–33). Royals' stay in Watford lasted just one season and, in 1998, with the promise of a future purpose-built arena being offered in the town of Milton Keynes, the team packed up, moved and renamed themselves as the Milton Keynes Lions.

The move to Milton Keynes was a great success, winning the franchise's only trophy success to-date is the BBL Cup title, won in 2008 as the Milton Keynes Lions.

Following the conclusion of the 2011–12 season, the owners of Prestige Homes Arena triggered an opt-out clause in the lease to let the building as a retail outlet. A planning application to change the building from a sporting facility to retail unit was approved by Milton Keynes Council, thus leaving the club without a home venue for the third time in as many seasons. Owner Vince Macaulay searched during the summer of 2012 to secure a new base for Lions home games, which included public pleas to local businesses for help in finding a new home as offers from cities around the UK poured in to relocate the team. On 30 July, it was announced that the search for a home venue had been unsuccessful and the club would be forced to leave Milton Keynes.

The move in 2012 to London was fiercely criticised by fans and the general local population. The club still operate the Milton Keynes College Lions Basketball Academy in partnership with Milton Keynes College, which was established in 2007 and remains running despite the professional team's departure from Milton Keynes in the summer of 2012.

London YMCA Metros → Kingston Kings → Glasgow Rangers → Kingston Kings → Guildford Kings The franchise's origins date back to the London YMCA Metros who entered the National Basketball League in 1973. In 1979, owner Malcolm Chamberlain uprooted the team and relocated them from London to the suburbs of Kingston upon Thames and to the Tolworth Recreation Centre, and rebranding as Kingston Kings.

In 1988, the franchise was bought out by Rangers F.C., and became the Glasgow Rangers, although the team played in Falkirk. Rangers were League Champions in 1988–89, but were sold after just one year and returned to Kingston, where the franchise enjoyed their most glorious period. In 1992 the franchise was moved yet again to the brand new Spectrum Arena in Guildford to become the Guildford Kings. The Kings competed for two more years in the British Basketball League and even European competitions, until 1994, when the franchise folded completely due to financial difficulties. The league sold Kings' licence to a group headed by Robert Earl, Ed Simons and Harvey Goldsmith, who went on to establish the equally successful Greater London Leopards franchise.

Loughborough All-Stars → Leicester All-Stars Founded as the Loughborough All-Stars in 1967, making it the oldest operating basketball team in the UK, the club moved from Loughborough to Leicester in 1981, backed by Leicester City Council and Leicester City Bus, hence the change in nickname to "Riders" in 1986, becoming the Leicester Riders. They briefly moving back to play at Loughborough University in 2000, following the closure of Granby Halls, at a new venue barely a stone's throw from Victory Hall where the club played its first game, but the club did not change its name. In 2004 the Riders agreed a sponsorship deal with De Montfort University and moved back to Leicester, where they played their games at De Monfort's John Sandford Sports Centre.

Rossendale Raptors → Lancashire Spinners The Rossendale Raptors, based in Rossendale, with the goal of establishing themselves at national level complete, the club relocated to the Castle Leisure Centre in Bury and re-branded themselves as the Lancashire Spinners in 2014 to attract a wider audience and to prepare for a future push towards the professional leagues.

Sportsworld Market Harborough → Corby Flyers → Coventry Flyers Founded as Sportsworld Market Harborough in 1987, the club were nomadic during their formative years, only remaining in their original venue for a year before relocating to Corby, where they adopted the name Corby Flyers, and then moving to Coventry after a further two years. Stability started to come to the club in the 1992–93 season when they re-branded as the Coventry Crusaders.

Stockport Belgrade → Warrington Vikings → Manchester United Stockport Belgrade were a successful club created in 1975, based at Peel Moat in Heaton Moor. But by the 1981–82 season, the Stockport club took the decision to move away from their fan base to the new Spectrum Arena in Warrington, adopting the name Warrington Vikings. Halfway through the 1998–99 season, another major turning point occurred in the Viking's eventful history when Manchester United bought the team. Two barren seasons followed the United title win and the United experiment having failed, the franchise was bought by a group of local businessmen in 1988, who changed the team name to the Manchester Eagles. The club suffered a complicated intertwining with the other Manchester club, the original Manchester Giants with several mergers taking place.

Southampton Trailblazers In 2007, the Trailblazers became the leading club in Southampton, and were permitted to move from their St. Mary's home venue to Fleming Park Leisure Centre in Eastleigh.

Southern Pirates → Guildford Pirates → Bracknell Pirates