Port Vale Football Club is a professional football club based in Burslem , Stoke-on-Trent , England, which compete in EFL League Two , the fourth tier of the English football league system . Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal . They have never played top-flight football, and hold the record for the most seasons in the English Football League (114) without reaching the first tier. [ 8 ] After playing at the Athletic Ground in Cobridge and the Old Recreation Ground in Hanley , the club returned to Burslem when Vale Park was opened in 1950. Outside the ground is a statue of Roy Sproson , who played 842 competitive games for the club. The club's traditional rivals are Stoke City , and games between the two are known as the Potteries derby .
