The oldest football clubs trace their origins to the mid-19th century, a period when football evolved from being a casual pastime to an organised mainstream sport.
The identity of the oldest football clubs in the world, or even in a particular country, is often disputed or claimed by several clubs, across several codes of football. The Foot-Ball Club of Edinburgh is thought to be the earliest recorded football club in the world, with records going back to 1824. Rugby clubs also referred to themselves, or continue to refer to themselves, as simply a "football club", or as a "rugby football club". "Club" has always meant an independent entity and, during the historical period in question, very few high school or university teams were independent of the educational institutions concerned. Consequently, school and university football teams were seldom referred to as "clubs". That has always been the case, for example, in American football, which has always had ties to college sport in general. Conversely, however, the oldest still-existing "football club" with a well-documented, continuous history is Dublin University Football Club, a rugby union club founded in 1854 at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. There exists some record of Guy's Hospital Football Club being founded in London in 1843, through an 1883 fixture card referring to Guy's 40th season.[1]
Britain and Ireland
Defunct clubs
Newspaper articles describing the game between the Body-guard Club and the Fear-nought Club, held on Christmas Day 1841
While the first clubs emerged in Britain, possibly as early as the fifteenth century, these are poorly-documented and defunct. For example, the records of the Brewers' Company of London between 1421 and 1423 mention the hiring out of their hall "by the "football players" for "20 pence", under the heading "Trades and Fraternities".[2] The listing of football players as a "fraternity" or a group of players meeting socially under this identity is the earliest allusion to what might be considered a football club.[3] Other early sporting bodies dedicated to playing football include "The Gymnastic Society" of London which met regularly during the second half of the eighteenth century to pursue two sports: football and wrestling.[4] The club played its matches – for example between London-based natives of Cumberland and Westmorland – at the Kennington Common from well before 1789 until about 1800.
The Foot-Ball Club (active 1824–41) of Edinburgh, Scotland, is the first documented club dedicated to football, and the first to describe itself as a football club.[5] The only surviving club rules forbade tripping, but allowed pushing and holding and the picking up of the ball.[6] Other documents describe a game involving 39 players and "such kicking of shins and such tumbling".
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Other early clubs include the Great Leicestershire Cricket and Football Club present in 1840.[7]
On Christmas Day 1841, an early documented match between two self-described "football clubs" took place. The Body-guard Club (of Rochdale) lost to the Fear-nought Club after using an ineligible player as a substitute.[8][9][10] The complete rules used in this game are unknown, but they specified twelve players on each side,[9] with each team providing its own umpire, and the game being started by the firing of a pistol.[10]
A club for playing "cricket, quoits and football" was established in Newcastle on Tyne in or before 1848.[11] The Surrey Football Club was established in 1849 and published the first non-school football list of rules (which were probably based upon the eighteenth century Gymnastic Society cited above[12]). Windsor Home Park F.C. was in existence as early as 1854,[13] and would go on to compete in early editions of the FA Cup.[14]
Continuous clubs
Supported by the Guinness Book of Records, and founded by staff at Guy's Hospital in London in 1843, the Guy's, Kings and St Thomas' RFC would be the oldest "football" club of any code. Nevertheless, the connection between the present club and the original "Guy's Hospital" formed in 1843 is still disputed,[15] alleging that the present club is a modern amalgam of three formerly distinct hospital rugby clubs, starting with the Guy's Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital teams which were the first to merge following the union of their respective Medical Departments. The last department to merge was the King's College Hospital in 1999, although its club (founded in 1869) remained as a separate institution.
It has been claimed that the present-day Barnes Rugby Football Club, from Barnes in London, is a continuation of the nineteenth-century Barnes Football Club, and moreover that the latter club was formed in 1839 and is thus the oldest club to have played football for its entire history.[18] However, as of 2018, Barnes RFC's website claims only that the club was established in the 1920s, while alluding to "possibilities" that its history stretches back to 1862.[19] In 2021, people with heritage and local enthusiasts revived the old Barnes Football Club, established in 1862.
Sheffield F.C. (similar Sheffield representative side here pictured in 1875) is the oldest independent (that is, not related with a school or university) association football club in the world
Sheffield F.C. in England, is the world's oldest surviving independent open football club: that is, the oldest club not associated with an institution such as a school, hospital or university; and which was open to all to play. It was founded in 1857.[20] Sheffield F.C. initially played Sheffield rules, a code of its own devising, although the club's rules influenced those of the England Football Association (FA) (1863) including handball, free kicks, corners and throw ins. While the international governing body of association football FIFA and the FA recognise Sheffield F.C. as the "world's oldest football club",[21] and the club joined the FA in 1863, it continued to use the Sheffield rules. Sheffield F.C. did not officially adopt association football until 1877.[citation needed]
Setting its birth date in 1856, Cambridge University A.F.C. has been described by the university as the oldest club now playing association football,[22][23][24] being recognised by the FA.[25] For example, : "Salopians formed a club of their own in the late 1830s/early 1840s but that was presumably absorbed by the Cambridge University Football Club that they were so influential in creating in 1846".[26] According to Charles Astor Bristed, in the early 1840s at Cambridge, there were games played between clubs from colleges and houses.[27] Football is documented as being played on the original club ground, Parker's Piece, as early as 1838.[28] The earliest existing evidence of the Cambridge University Football Club comes from "The Laws of the University Football Club" dated 1856, and held at Shrewsbury School.[24] The Cambridge rules of 1863 would provide the basis for the FA's original rules.
The only survivor among the FA's founding clubs still playing association football is Civil Service F.C.[29] Six of the 18 founding members later adopted rugby exclusively.[30]Cray Wanderers F.C., originally of St Mary Cray and currently playing in Bromley, founded in 1860, is the oldest club now playing association football in Greater London.[31] The code played by Cray Wanderers in its earliest years is unknown.
Liverpool Football Club (not to be confused with Liverpool F.C. of the Premier League), later known as Liverpool St Helens F.C., were formed in 1857, which claims to be the oldest open rugby club in the world. The club adopted the Rugby Union rules in 1872, never playing association rules.
The first known record of the Club appears under the heading 'Trinity College' in the Daily Express of 1 December 1855 and is taken to show that it had then been in existence for at least a year:
FOOTBALL. - A match will be played in the College Park today (Saturday) between original and new members of the club. Play to commence at two o'clock College time.[32]
Dublin University team of the 1870s
The club had thus been founded by about 1854, and it has a well-documented, continuous history since then, which gives it a strong claim to be considered the world's oldest extant football club of any code.
Rest of the world
Continental Europe
Albania
The first football club to be founded in Albania was the Vllaznia Sport Club on 16 February 1919.
Football Club Spa was founded by the Hunter-Blair family of Blairquhan, Ayrshire, Scotland, and was in operation in 1863. The fourth Baronet took his family there in order to economise.[34] The oldest club still in existence today in Belgium is Royal Antwerp FC, founded in 1880.[citation needed]
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The oldest football club in Bosnia and Herzegovina is FK Sloboda founded in Novi Grad in 1910. The first club to be ever founded was Zrinjski Mostar in 1905, but it was inactive between 1945 and 1992.
Bulgaria
Botev Plovdiv is one of the oldest football club in Bulgaria founded in 1912.
Czech Republic
Oldest and most successful Czech football club is Sparta Prague founded in 1893. The club still exists and plays Chance Liga, first division of Czech football.
Croatia
The oldest still active football club in Croatia is NK Rijeka, formed in 1904 and playing association football at the latest in 1906,[35] currently competing in the first Croatian league. HNK Segesta, that plays in the third division, was possibly founded in 1906, but its first recorded match was held in 1909.[36]
Cyprus
Anorthosis Famagusta FC founded in 1911 is the oldest club with a football team, however it was a reading club and the football division of the club started in 1929, the same year Omonia Aradippou was founded. The now defunct football division of Enosis Neon Trust founded in 1924 is therefore the oldest football club, however the club closed its football division in 1938. The oldest surviving football club is therefore APOEL founded in 1926. The same year the now defunct Keravnos Strovolou FC was founded. The now defunct Pezoporikos Larnaca FC was founded in 1927 first merging to form EPA Larnaca FC in 1930. AEL Limassol and Aris Limassol both founded in 1930 and one year after the Anorthosis football division are therefore old clubs as well. Olympiakos Nicosia and Digenis Akritas Morphou FC were both subsequently founded in 1931.
Denmark
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub is the oldest football club in Denmark and the oldest active club in continental Europe.[37] The sports club was formed in 1876 and association football was first played two years later.[38]
In nowadays Estonian state was the oldest formed club Tallinna Jalgpalliselts Meteor in 1908. It's defunct since 1911, but restored after First World War and Estonian War of Independence in 1926 under the name Tallinna SK Meteor which took action until 1937.
Finland
Helsingin Ponnistus is one of the oldest continuously active sports clubs and the oldest football club in Finland. It was founded in 1887. It started as a gymnastic club but got its football program in 1903.
[39]
France
The first football club in France was established in Paris in 1863 by English expatriates, as the following excerpt from a contemporary newspaper shows: "A number of English gentlemen living in Paris have lately organised a football club.... The football contests take place in the Bois de Boulogne, by permission of the authorities and surprise the French amazingly".[40]
Le Havre AC was founded as an athletics and rugby club in 1872, making it the oldest surviving football club registered in France and continental Europe.[41] They began playing association football on a regular basis in 1894. Technically AS Strasbourg could be considered the first French association football team, being established in 1890; they were however a German team at the time.
Germany
The oldest surviving rugby football club is Heidelberger RK, which was founded on 9 May 1872 as a rowing and rugby club. The HRK has won 14 national titles 1927, 1928, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1986, 2010–2015, 2017 and 2018. The biggest success of the club was the qualification for the Rugby European Challenge Cup 2018/19 - only to be denied participation, because their main sponsor owns Stade Français. The second oldest still surviving rugby club is Hannover 1878 founded 1878 and winning 9 German championships. Both clubs still play in the 1. Bundesliga.[citation needed]
The first association football in Germany (and likely the first outside Great Britain) was Dresden English, founded on 18 March 1874. The club had over 70 members by then, primarily Englishmen working in Dresden, with its matches being attended by hundreds of spectators. Nevertheless, Dresden English was dissolved in 1898.[citation needed]
The oldest still active association football club is BFC Germania 1888 founded on 15 April 1888. They play in the 10th division as of season 2020/21 and never managed to win any national titles.[citation needed]
The oldest still active football club in Hungary is Újpest Torna Egylet, founded in 1885. There are other old teams like Műegyetemi AFC founded in autumn 1897 as a proper football club and III. Kerületi TVE, which whose football section was founded officially in 1899 but stemmed from the 1897-founded Budai Football Csapat. The first ever football club to be founded in Hungary was Budapesti Torna Club having founded its football section in February 1897, dissolved in 1945–46.[citation needed]
Italy
In Italy, Genoa C.F.C. is the oldest active football club: it was founded by Charles De Grave Sells, S. Green, George Blake, W. Rilley, George Dormer Fawcus, H.M. Sandys, E. De Thierry, Johnathan Summerhill Sr., Johnathan Summerhill Jr. and Sir Charles Alfred Payton in Genoa on 7 September 1893. However, Genoa C.F.C. was not the first Italian football club, being Torino Football & Cricket Club (1887)[42] but its history lasted only for 4 years. Founded by Edoardo Bosio (owner of Bosio & Caratsch, the earliest brewery in Italy), the team broke up in 1891. Older than Genoa and Torino is Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Fanfulla, a sports club founded in Lodi in 1873, but its football section was established thirty-five years later in 1908.
Latvia
Workers at the (British-owned) Salamandra metal factory in Riga founded the first football team in 1907: the British Football Club (later named Britannia).
Lithuania
The first inter-city football games are dating back to 1911. Shortly after gaining the independence in 1918, a Kybartai local of a German descent has purchased a ball, leveled out a football pitch, and gathered a team together. The team formed into a football club FK Sveikata in 1919. For the next three years the team was traveling to cities in East Prussia and Klaipėda Region to play games, as there were no other teams in Lithuania just yet.[43]FK Sveikata is still a functioning club in Lithuania today.
Malta
The oldest football club in Malta is St.George's FC. Founded in 1890 in the city of Cospicua also known as Bormla.
Montenegro
The oldest football club in Montenegro is FK Lovćen founded in the town of Cetinje in 1913.
Netherlands
The oldest football (and oldest cricket) club in the Netherlands is Koninklijke UD from Deventer, founded in 1875 as a cricket club.[44] In 1894, the club founded an association football section.[45]
Koninklijke HFC was the first Dutch rugby club, established on 15 September 1879 by the 14-year-old Pim Mulier, who first encountered the sport in 1870. However, HFC switched to association football in 1883.
Utrechtse Sportvereniging Hercules (Utrecht Sports Association Hercules), also known as USV Hercules or Hercules Utrecht, is an amateur football club in Utrecht, established on 22 April 1882.
North Macedonia
The oldest football club in North Macedonia is founded in 1919 and it's FK Ljuboten.
Norway
The first football team in Norway was probably started by a buekorps in Bergen, Nygaards Bataljon, in 1883. In 1885 the first Norwegian club however, Idrætsforeningen Odd, was founded in Skien. The footballing interest was very low, and was put on ice after a few months. However, the club Odd Grenland started up with football again in 1894, and are now Norway's oldest football club.
Czarni Lwów. This club is also believed to have been founded in 1903, but historical records are unclear as to the exact date of foundation.
When Lviv became a part of Ukraine (then part of the USSR) the clubs ceased to exist.[46]
The oldest currently existing football club within Poland's current borders is widely considered to be Cracovia, but this is disputed by their Krakówarch-rivalsWisła Kraków; both clubs were founded in 1906,[47] however there are multiple proofs that Wisła is younger.[48]Resovia also lay claim to this distinction; the disputes centre around registration, continuity of a given team, and sources.[49]
The first football club was founded in 1900 by the German minority in Ljubljana, the Laibacher Sportverein and got discontinued in 1909,[51] followed by the Hungarian minority Lendevai FE in 1903, and the German minority in Celje (Athletik SK in 1906). In 1911, the first Slovenian football club of the Slovenian minority opened in Ljubljana, Ilirija, followed by Slovan two years later. Ilirija is nowadays considered by the Slovenian FA as the oldest running football club in the country, because the Lendava-based club went bankrupt in 2012, although it got recreated right away.[52]
Spain
Founded on 23 December 1889, Recreativo de Huelva is the oldest football club in Spain. Two Scots, Alexander Mackay and Robert Russell Ross, overseas workers at the Rio Tinto mines, founded Huelva Recreation Club to provide their employees with physical recreation. Recreativo de Huelva predates Sevilla Foot-ball Club, which was founded a month later and it is related with Sevilla FC, according to recent studies presented by the Club and approved by UEFA and RFEF.
Sweden
The oldest active football club in Sweden is Gefle IF, founded on 5 December 1882.
Switzerland
FC St. Gallen 1879 is the oldest active football club in Switzerland and the second oldest in continental Europe, founded on 19 April 1879 as FC St. Gallen.[53]
Turkey
The first club founded within the present-day borders of Turkey was Panionios, founded in the city of Izmir in 1890. Being the club of the Greek community, it relocated to modern day Greece in 1922 after the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. The first Turkish sports club ever is Besiktas J.K. founded in 1903. Besiktas established their football branch in 1911. The first registered football club in the country was Galatasaray, founded in 1905.
Africa
Algeria
MC Algiers was founded in 1921. It is the oldest club in Algeria, and referred to as Le Doyen des clubs algerien (The Dean of Algerian Teams).
Olympic Club Safi was founded in 1921. It is the oldest club in Morocco. Olympic Club Safi Winner of the Moroccan Cup in 1950, the club has currently been playing in Botola since the 2004-05 season.
Al-Merrikh Sporting Club, based in Omdurman, is the oldest football in Sudan. It was established in 1908 as Al-Masalma Sporting Club, before changing its name to Al-Merrikh in 1927.[54]
In India, some of the oldest clubs are Calcutta Football Club (founded in 1872, later merged with Calcutta Cricket Club founded in 1792 to form Calcutta Cricket and Football Club), Sarada FC, Aryan FC (1884), Sovabazar FC (1886), Mohun Bagan (1889), Mohammedan SC (1891), and East Bengal (1920). All of these clubs are from Kolkata.[57]
Indonesia
The oldest football club in Indonesia is Gymnastiek Vereeniging, founded in the City of Medan in 1887.[58]
The oldest still active football club in Indonesia is UMS 1905, founded in 1905, currently competing in Liga 3 Jakarta. Several local clubs in the 1900s during the Dutch East Indies era that entered into internal teams such as Hercules, Vios Batavia (Persija internal); Sidolig, UNI Bandung (Persib internal) and others.
Al-Tilal Sports Club (Arabic: نادي التلال) is a Yemeni multi-sports club based in Aden, Yemen. The club was founded in 1905, making it one of the oldest football clubs in the Middle East and the oldest in the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Tilal Sports Club is a Yemeni football team that plays in the Yemeni League, the country's top football league.
Although football variants have been played in North America since the 1820s, the claim of oldest continuous football club in North America is still a matter of debate.
Oneida Football Club of Boston, Massachusetts, established in 1862, was the first organised team to play any kind of football in the United States. The game played by the club, known as the "Boston game", was an informal local variant that predated the codification of rules for either association or American football. The team, which consisted of graduates of Boston's elite preparatory schools, played on Boston Common from 1862 to 1865, during which time they reportedly never lost a game or even gave up a single point.[61][62]
In terms of gridiron football, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League can trace their roots back to the Hamilton Football Club (nicknamed the Tigers) which formed in 1869, then later merged with the Hamilton Wildcats in 1950 to form the current franchise. Their rivals to the east, the Toronto Argonauts, were founded four years later, in 1873, and have a mostly unchanged franchise history. Both clubs began as rugby football clubs and only later adapted to the gridiron-style of play which would become known as Canadian football. The oldest continuous rugby club in North America which still plays rugby is the McGill University Rugby Football Club, which was established in 1863, although their first recorded game was not until 1865.[63] The oldest independent (non-university) rugby club is the Westmount Rugby Club of Montreal, which formed in 1876.[64]
In the United States, gridiron-based variants of the game did not distinguish themselves from existing codes until 1871, when Harvard University began playing the Boston Game invented by Oneida. Its rules allowed a player to pick up the ball and run with it if he were chased and it quickly spread, with innovations added by Yale University student Walter Camp. The oldest existing non-university semiprofessional football club is the Watertown Red & Black, which was founded in 1896. The Arizona Cardinals, founded as the Morgan Athletic Club in Chicago in 1898, are the oldest team in the National Football League.
One of the first teams to have played football under the association rules in the US was Fall River Rovers, founded in 1884.[66] The club existed intermittently until 1921. The Milwaukee Wave of the American Indoor Soccer Association, a professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was founded in 1984, and is the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team of any kind in the United States.[67] Founded in 1993, both Charleston Battery and Richmond Kickers are considered the oldest continuously operating professional soccer clubs in the United States to date. The ten charter members of Major League Soccer were all new clubs created shortly before the league began play in 1996. Nine of those ten clubs are still in existence. In 2011, the league admitted the Vancouver Whitecaps, who had existed continuously since 1986, and who were a phoenix club of the North American Soccer League side of the same name who were founded in 1974. Aside from the arguable exception of the Whitecaps, all of the other NASL clubs folded when the league folded in 1984. There is one American soccer club from an earlier first-division league still in existence: the Kearny Scots of the semi-pro Eastern Premier Soccer League have been around since the 1930s, when they were a longtime member of the American Soccer League. They won the ASL league championship five years in a row from 1937 through 1941.
Argentine Rosario A.C. rugby union squad in 1884. This is supposed to be the oldest photo of a rugby team in the country
Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club claims to be the oldest club still in existence in Argentina. According to the club's website, the club was founded before 8 December 1864 as a cricket institution.[68] The date of foundation has been recognised by the Buenos Aires Rugby Union.[69] It is however believed that the club was founded in 1831, with existing documentary evidence about a cricket match played by Buenos Aires that same year.[70][71] Nevertheless, the practise of any "football" code did not start until 1951 when the BACC merged with the Buenos Aires F.C. and rugby union was added.[68]
Club Atlético del Rosario was officially established in 1867 as a cricket institution. The club soon added association football, being the first club from Rosario playing in the Primera División, the top division of Argentina.[72] In rugby union, Rosario AC played the first inter-clubs match in the country on 28 June 1886, when the team faced Buenos Aires Football Club.[73][74]
Oruro Royal was founded on 26 May 1896 by the English workers hired by the Bolivian Government to build the national railways, becoming the first Bolivian football squad.[citation needed]
Brazil
São Paulo Athletic Club, founded on 13 May 1888 by English immigrants as a cricket club, could be considered the oldest Brazilian club to have played any code of "football", starting to play association football in 1898.[78] After football retired from competitions in 1912, rugby union became the main sport of SPAC.
The oldest club to have been in continuous activity in association football is S.C. Rio Grande, founded in July 1900.
Clube Náutico Capibaribe, founded in April 1901, is the oldest in northeast region, and Fluminense Football Club, founded on 21 July 1902, is the oldest football club of Brazil with the word "football" in its name. It is also the first of the Brazilian big clubs and the cradle of the national team of Brazil.[79]
São Paulo Railway Company and São Paulo Gaz Company, both established in 1895 (and then defunct) played the first football match in Brazil that same year.[80]
The defunct Barranquilla Football Club founded by British railway workers in 1908 was the first football club in Colombia.[citation needed]
Cali Football Club was formed in 1908 by students under the leadership of Nazario Lalinde, Juan Pablo Lalinde and Fidel Lalinde, who came back from Europe bringing football to the city of Cali, but in 1912 the students under the leadership of the three Lalinde brothers organized the team and renamed it as Deportivo Cali
Peru
Lima Cricket and Football Club claims to be the oldest football-practising club in Peru and the Americas,[81] having been founded in 1859 by the city's British community.[82][83]
Australian rules football club Melbourne of 1879. The club (established in 1859) is the oldest in its country and has competed in the AFL since its inception in 1897
In 1858, in Melbourne, Victoria, members of the Melbourne Cricket Club formed a loosely organised football team, and played against other local football enthusiasts over the winter and spring of that year. The Melbourne Football Club was officially founded the following year on 14 May, and three days later (17 May), four members codified the first laws of Australian rules football. In June 1859, the Castlemaine Football Club and Melbourne University Football Club were formed, and the Geelong Football Club was formed shortly afterwards, in July. Over the next decade, many more Australian rules football clubs were formed in Victoria. Melbourne and Geelong were founding members of the Victorian Football League (VFL), now known as the Australian Football League, making them the world's oldest football clubs that are now professional.[89][90]
New Zealand
Christchurch Football Club, established in 1863, is the oldest football club of any code in New Zealand. The club initially played using its own rules, before converting to rugby football. Wellington Football Club, based in Hataitai, was established in 1870 and is the oldest continuous rugby football club in New Zealand. The honour of being the country's first organised association football club is likely to belong to Auckland's North Shore United, which was founded as North Shore in 1886. Two Dunedin-based clubs, Northern and Wakari, were officially founded in 1888, although it is possible that Northern had been playing as a team prior to this time.[91]: 17
Oldest school football clubs
These are the earliest schools to have evidence of regular, organised football. Each school would originally have played its own code.
Aldenham School F.C. was reported in The Football Annual 1873 (Charles Alcock) to have been founded in 1825 but there are no primary sources to support this and it is disputed.
Official university publications have claimed that the club was formed in 1856, being also recognised as such by The Football Association. The FA awarded Cambridge a plaque in 2006 in honour of its "150th anniversary", giving its foundation date official recognition. Nevertheless, other sources state that the date of establisnment of the Cambridge AFC is not clear enough, setting it between 1856 and 1866, but ranking it 2nd after Sheffield.[120][121][25][122]
The club's first match took place in 1857 when old boys from Rugby school challenged local boys to a game under the Rugby school rules. Liverpool Football Club were then formed. The oldest open rugby club, not part of an institution, in the world.
A loosely organised side played as Melbourne on several occasions in 1858. The club was officially formed the following year on 14 May 1859. On 17 May 1859, members of the club codified Australian rules football. It is the world's oldest football club of any code that is now professional.
Records of its formation are lost, however there are references of the club dating back to June 1859 and its first match was also in June 1859. Won Australian rules first ever trophy in 1861 by defeating Melbourne. Disbanded during World War I, but later reformed.
Early years are poorly documented with its early history based on oral recollections later in the 19th century.[126] Based on the frequently stated year of 1860, it is the oldest club now playing association football in Greater London.,[31] preceding Civil Service F.C., the only surviving foundation member of the FA,[29] by three years.
NCFC official site history:[127] Oldest of all the association football clubs in the world that are now professional. Club officially founded December 1864, prior to this only existed informally.
Founding member of United Hospitals RFC, and the only one of the original United Hospitals members that is in the same form as at inception. The team moved to Tooting, South West London, in the 1970s.
Founding member of Northern Union (RFL) in 1895. Changed codes in 1907 and renamed Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C., which folded in 1974 and reformed in 1988.
Club uses founding date of 1863, because of claims of a Charterhouse School old boys' team in Stoke in that year. First verified existence in 1868 as Stoke Ramblers, which was soon renamed Stoke Football Club. First contested FA Cup in 1883–84. Continuous history from reformation in 1908 following the wind up of the original club. Renamed Stoke City in 1928 after Stoke-on-Trent was granted city status.
Foundation date disputed by historian Tom Hickie who argues that it was actually 1865.[130] The oldest Australian rugby union club; according to fullpointsfooty.net, it "flirted with 'Victorian Rules' [Australian rules] in its formative stages."[129] The current Australian rules club at the university, Sydney University Australian National Football Club, claims to be a spin-off of SUFC, although the university did not play an inter-club Australian rules game until 1887.
The only founding member of the FA that still plays association football.[29] The other founding clubs now play rugby or are defunct. Also known as the War Office Club.
When the National Library of Wales digitised its Newspaper Archive in 2012, new evidence was discovered that proved Wrexham AFC were formed in 1864 rather than 1872, which was previously accepted as the foundation date.[131] Founded by members of Wrexham Cricket Club. The oldest football club in Wales of any code.
Although BACRC's itself sets the date of foundation "before 8 December 1864".,[134] some historians claim that there is documentary evidence about a cricket match played by the club in 1831.[70][71]
The EFL confirmed that Nottingham Forest are now the current oldest member club due to the lack of evidence to support Stoke City's claim of having formed in 1863.[136]
Claims that the club was founded in 1865. Meeting held on 25 July 1868.[137] Confirmed to have been challenged by the Mount Gambier Football Club in 1869.[138]
Founded as Hampstead Football Club, the club was renamed Harlequin Football Club in 1870 as the membership had ceased to be mainly Hampstead based. As the club's equipment and stationery was all monogrammed HFC, a dictionary was used to find an acceptable alternative name to Hampstead beginning with an H and all members agreed on Harlequin.
Hampstead Football Club was founded in 1866. A split in the membership resulted in the formation of two different clubs: Harlequin F.C. and Wasps. Wasps Football Club was itself formed in 1867 at the now-defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London. names of insects, birds, and other animals were considered fashionable in the Victorian period.
The Wednesday Cricket Club formed 1820 in Darnall, Sheffield. Sometimes known as Darnall Wednesday C.C or Sheffield Wednesday C.C. In 1867 a football section was formed known as The Wednesday Football Club. In 1929 the football club officially changed its name to Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.
The HFBC were nicknamed the "Tigers" in 1873. Merged with the Hamilton Flying Wildcats in 1950 to form the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.[139][140][141][142] Oldest current professional gridiron football team.
Worcester Rugby Football Club dates back to 1871 and owes its foundations to the cleric Rev Francis John Eld. The playing side made their first outing on 8 November 1871 against the Worcester Artillery at Somerset Place.
Year of 1872 claimed in club's official history.[147] Druids merged with Acrefair United in August 1927 to form Druids United. Druids United merged with Cefn Albion in 1992 to form Cefn Druids. There are many discrepancies in club's official history when compared to primary historical sources. Newspaper Archives show club was formed as Ruabon Rovers in October 1872.[148][149] Newspaper Archives also state club was formed as Plasmadoc in 1874.[150]Druids name does not appear anywhere until 1876.
Founded by Mr. Wyndham Burrell and Mr. G.T. Bunting in 1872 as claimed in club's official history.[151] and founder members of the Mid Sussex League in 1900.
Yale started practising association football, then switching to rugby in 1876, and finally to "American" football after the rule changes introduced by Walter Camp.[144][158][159]
The club was formed in 1873 after a meeting at the Spread Eagle Hotel with the announcement in the Gloucester Journal: "A football club (as rugby was then called) has been formed in this city – the season's operations begin at the Spa on the first Tuesday in next month." a team was then organized to play the college school, which was actually played on the current Kingsholm ground.
In 1874 a group, including members of Stoke Cricket Club, took part in what could be described as the first organised game of rugby football played in Coventry.
Officially recognised by the Welsh Rugby Union as the oldest Rugby Club in Wales, when the Reverend Rowland Williams brought the game with him to the college in 1850. The club currently plays within the British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) league system.
Known as Bournemouth Poppies to avoid confusion with the Football League Club AFC Bournemouth Founder Member of the Football Association, the Hampshire F.A. and the Bournemouth F.A. [166]
Formed late 1875 as Farnworth & Appleton FC, becoming Widnes FC in May 1876 playing rugby rules although two games were played under Association rules versus Northwich Victoria in the first two seasons.
Year of 1875 claimed in club's official history as this is the foundation date of Newtown White Stars. Newtown AFC formed in 1885 when Newtown White Stars merged with Newtown Excelsior.[167]
The first sport practised was cricket, then adding association football and rugby. 1875 indicates the first registered rugby game by MVCC, although the sport had been introduced before.[87][88]
Forest School, Walthamstow, started playing football c.1857. The Old Foresters played from shortly after this year, the earliest recorded match versus Forest School in September 1864, but the club was not officially formed until 1876.[169]
Formed in 1876, but association football was only added in 1878. The club itself claims to be the oldest football club in continental Europe. In 1991, Kjøbenhavns Boldklub and B 1903 merged their professional football teams and formed F.C. Copenhagen.
Also a founding member of the Football League. The club played cricket for two years before adopting association football, so could be said to have been formed in 1876 as a sports club.
Founding member of the Football Alliance. The club joined the Football League as part of the merger between the two leagues in 1892. The club was formed as Grimsby Pelham but changed its name to Grimsby Town in 1878.
Leicester Football Club was formed on 3 August 1880 by the merger of three smaller teams: Leicester Athletic Society, Leicester Amateurs, and Leicester Alert.
Like the homonymous club from La Plata, Gimnasia y Esgrima was established as a gymnastics and fencing institution, then adding other sports. After GyE disaffiliated from AFA in the later 1910s, association football has remanined but only at amateur level. Rugby union would emerge as the predominant "football" code, competing in URBA leagues up to present
Northampton R.F.C was founded by the clergy of St.James' Church in 1880. The Club have been Champions of England, Second Tier Champions, and Champions of Europe in recent times
Preston North End was a founder member of the Football League in 1888. In the 1888–89 season, the team won both the inaugural league championship and the FA Cup, the latter without conceding a goal. They were the first team to achieve the "Double" in English football and, as they were unbeaten in all matches, are remembered as "The Invincibles".
The Scottish Junior Football Association was founded in 1886. East Craigie pre-date this and are one of the oldest Junior (i.e., non-SFA) clubs still in existence.
Antwerp was founded in 1880 by English students as Antwerp Athletic Club. A football division named Antwerp Football Club was formed in 1887. It was the first club to register to the Belgian Football Association in 1895 and they later received the matriculate number one.
Formed in 1881 as Devonshire Park, they played at the venue of the same name which is now the home of the Eastbourne International tennis tournament. Moved to their current ground of the Saffrons in 1886. Became Eastbourne F.C. in 1889 and Eastbourne Town F.C. in 1971.
A number of teams formed in the Richmond area during Australian rules football's rapid expansion of the 1870s, and early 1880s. However, all played at a junior level and it was considered an anomaly that Richmond, one of Melbourne's biggest locales, did not boast a senior team. The wait ended when the Richmond Football Club was officially formed on 20 February 1885.
Founded by a group of English students led by Tom E. Griffith. The club remains the most successful club in terms of trophies in Swiss football history.
Glossop is one of the smallest towns in England to have had a Football League club, and it remains the smallest town whose team has played in the English top flight.
The club claims to be established on 5 November 1887,[180] although some local historians stated that the original "Quilmes" club founded that year was later dissolved and the "Quilmes Cricket Club" was in fact a completely new institution, not related with other clubs previously founded in the city of Quilmes.[181][182][183]
Founded as Wakari AFC. Name changed to Roslyn AFC in 1890. Team split into Roslyn AFC and Wakari AFC in 1895 before re-amalgamating under its current name in 1904.
The peculiarity is that this club was explicitly founded for the practice of football, unlike other Argentine clubs of the 1880s that incorporated it later.
^Magoun, Francis Peabody (1929) "Football in Medieval England and Middle-English Literature." The American Historical Review, v.35, no. 1
^M. Marples, 1954, A History of Football, Secker & Warburg, London, p. 36
^Football The First Hundred Years: The Untold Story by Adrian Harvey, Routledge 2005, page 54
^John Hope, Accounts and papers of the football club kept by John Hope, WS, and some Hope Correspondence 1787–1886 (National Archives of Scotland, GD253/183)
^Football The First Hundred Years: The Untold Story by Adrian Harvey, Routledge (2005), pages 78-79
^"W. Runicles: Carver, Gilder and Picture Frame Maker [advertisement]". Windsor and Eton Express. 7 October 1854. p. 1.. A newspaper advertisement for W. Runicles, of Eton High Street, boasts of patronage by "H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, the Young Gentlemen of Eton College, and the Members of the Home Park Football Club".
^Giuseppe, Garlando Luigi, Schianchi Andrea, Castelnovi. "Cent' anni prima di Ronaldo". archiviostorico.gazzetta.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abHarms, John (14 March 2008). "1 – 1... after three days". Supplement. Melbourne, Vic.: The Age. p. 21. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
^"PENOLA". The Border Watch. Vol. 8, no. 496. South Australia. 29 July 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 11 October 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"LOCAL INTELLIGENCE". The Border Watch. Vol. 9, no. 599. South Australia. 24 July 1869. p. 2. Retrieved 11 October 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"History of the club". ccfc1792.com. Calcutta Cricket and Football Club. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
^Wadwha, Arjun (19 May 2008). "History of Football in India". thesportscampus.com. TheSportsCampus. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
^The Valiants' Years: The Story of Port Vale,ISBN0-9508981-4-7, pages 4–13, 1990, The Port Vale Record, ISBN0-9508981-9-8, page 4, 1993, and What If There Had Been No Port in the Vale?: Startling Port Vale Stories,ISBN978-0-9529152-8-7, pages 18–33, 2011, all by Kent, Jeff.
^Matthews, Tony (2008). Wolverhampton Wanderers: The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN978-1-85983-632-3.
^"Historia". Associação Académica de Coimbra - Organismo Autónomo de Futebol (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
^Sharma, Sukalp (31 May 2010). "Indias biggest league". financialexpress.com. The Financial Express. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
Sources
1824: The World's First Foot-Ball Club, John Hutchinson and Andy Mitchell. Andy Mitchell Media, 2018. ISBN978-1-9866-1244-9.
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