The Dubonnet Cup was an invitational English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 exhibition cup game held between 1910 and 1912 held in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

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The game was an annual event the aim of which was to generate interest in the French amateur football leagues and helped lead to the establishment of the French Football Federation

French Football Federation

The French Football Federation is the governing body of association football in France, as well as the overseas departments and territories . It was formed in 1919 and is based in the capital Paris...

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The cup is a large vase trophy which weighs in at approximately 112lbs or 50kg.

"It is of massive design, weighing nearly a cwt

Hundredweight

The hundredweight or centum weight is a unit of mass defined in terms of the pound . The definition used in Britain differs from that used in North America. The two are distinguished by the terms long hundredweight and short hundredweight:* The long hundredweight is defined as 112 lb, which...

., and its style is distinctly French. It is not, perhaps, so attractive and polished a trophy as one might have expected, and when the players themselves first saw it displayed on the Paris ground, and guarded by a Gendarme

Gendarmerie

A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...

 with drawn sword! they did not (in the words of the popular Secretary) think much of it. But a close inspection is sufficient to show that it is a beautiful work of art. It is a facsimile of an historic cup which is now in the British Museum."

Finals

Swindon Town and Barnsley were invited to compete for the cup following both teams' performances in the FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 of 1910. Swindon and Barnsley both lost to the eventual winners Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

, Swindon in the Semi-final and Barnsley being Runners-up.

Both clubs sent full-strength teams to Paris for the competition, and played with the cup being guarded at the pitch side.

Harold Fleming

Harold John Fleming

Harold John Fleming was a footballer for St. Marks F.C. and Swindon Town.-Football career:Fleming was an Inside Forward and began his career at St. Marks before being invited for a trial at Swindon Town by manager, Sam Allen. Fleming scored a brace in a 4-0 win over Salisbury City F.C...

 scored both of Swindon's goals with Lilycroft scoring for Barnsley.

"The Frenchmen seem to have been highly delighted with the match, which was not in any sense a 'holiday game.' Barnsley played vigorous football, but completely lost their heads towards the finish, when the Town led by 2-1, especially after Boyle had missed a penalty. The kick was given against Tout for handling, but Boyle shot straight into Skiller's hands."

"The five thousand spectators who, in spite of the rain, witnessed the Swindon-Barnsley match were able to say that they had seen a really good game of Association football. For an hour and a half it was a typical representation of the English national game. It was not an exhibition of football; it was a well-fought game. If it was possible to describe such an encounter, we should do it, because it was an admirable education for our players, who have seen how far one is able to go in the art of playing football. It gave great satisfaction to the French amateurs"

"Mr Allen, the Swindon secretary, did not hide from me, after the match, the pleasure it gave him to take this magnificent Cup back to Swindon. Boyle, the efficient Barnsley captain, could not conceal his disappointment of not winning the Cup."

Swindon went on to become Runners-up in the following season's Charity Shield match versus Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

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Swindon and Barnsley met again in the FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 Semi-final of 1911-12 with Barnsley winning the replay match 1-0. Barnsley went on to win the competition.