Oldest football club
Encyclopedia
The history of the formation of the oldest football clubs is of interest to sport historians in tracing the origins of the modern codes of football
from casual pastime to early organised competition
and mainstream sport. Many early clubs did not use the word "football" in their name. Although the terms "football club" and "FC" are now strongly associated with association football
(aka soccer in some countries), early rugby
clubs also referred to themselves, or continue to refer to themselves, as simply a "football club", or as a "rugby football club". Similarly, most Australian rules football
teams also refer to themselves as football clubs. The title of the world's oldest football club, or the oldest club in a particular country, is often disputed, or is claimed by several different clubs, across several different codes of football. The oldest football clubs with a well-documented, continuous history are Durham School Football Club, 1850 and the Dublin University Football Club
, a rugby club founded in 1854 at Trinity College, Dublin
, Ireland. The Football Association and FIFA
, the English and international governing bodies of association football, both officially recognise Sheffield F.C.
to be the world's oldest association football club.
" of London which met regularly during the second half of the eighteenth century to pursue two sports: football and wrestling
The club played its matches – for example between London-based natives of Cumberland
and Westmoreland
– at the Kennington
Common from well before 1789 until about 1800.
The first documented club to bear the title "football club" is one in Edinburgh
, Scotland, during the period 1824–41, and associated with a man named John Hope. Several documents relating to this "Foot Ball Club" exist. The only surviving club rules forbade tripping, but allowed pushing and holding and the picking up of the ball. Other documents describe a game involving 39 players and "such kicking of shins and such tumbling".This Club was rejuvenated in 2007 and currently playing in the Edinburgh and Districts Fair play League. The Football Club of Edinburgh
Other early clubs include the Great Leicestershire Cricket and Football Club present in 1840 In 1841 two clubs are documented in a contemporary challenge to play "foot-ball" in Lancashire: "The Body-Guard club" (Rochdale) and the "Fear-noughts Club" A club for playing "cricket, quoits and football" was established in Newcastle on Tyne in or before 1848. 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)
(later Barnes Rugby Football Club), from Barnes in London, was formed in 1839 and is the oldest club to have played football for its entire history. However, this has not been conclusively documented. It is also argued, and supported by the Guinness Book of Records, that Guy's Hospital Football Club, founded by staff at Guy's Hospital
in London in 1843, is the oldest club. While a rugby club still exists at Guy's Hospital, the connection between the present club and the one formed in 1843 is poorly-documented.
Another of the oldest football clubs with a well-documented, continuous history is the Dublin University Football Club
, founded in 1854 at Trinity College, Dublin
, Ireland. The club plays rugby union
.
Sheffield Football Club
, in Sheffield, England is the oldest documented non-university club, and was founded in 1857. It initially played a code of its own devising. The club joined the English Football Association
(FA) in 1863 and is recognised by both the FA and FIFA
as the world's oldest club now playing association football. The club's rules influenced the FA including handball, free kicks, corners and throw ins; it did not adopt the Association's code in full until 1877.
Liverpool Football Club
, later known as Liverpool St Helens F.C. were formed in 1857, who claim to be the oldest open rugby club in the world. The club only ever played the Rugby School rules.
Cambridge University Association Football Club has been described by the university as the oldest club now playing association football. Other sources take the foundation date back earlier. 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" According to Charles Astor Bristed
, in the early 1840s at Cambridge, there were games played between clubs from different colleges and houses. Cambridge rules dates from 1848 and football is documented as being played on the original club ground, Parkers Piece, as early as 1838. 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.
German side 1860 Munich
(formed in 1848) was reestablished as a gymnastic and fitness club in the year indicated by its name. But it did not play football until 1899.
English club Notts County
, formed in 1862, is the world's oldest fully professional Association Football club.
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.
The claim of oldest continuous football club in North America is still a matter of much debate. 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 north, the Toronto Argonauts
, were founded four years later in 1873 and boast a mostly unchanged franchise history. It should be noted, however, that 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. The oldest independent (non-university) rugby club is the Westmount Rugby Club
of Montreal, which formed in 1876.
Though football variants have been played in the United States since the 1820s, gridiron
-based variants of the game did not distinguish themselves from existing codes until 1871, when Harvard University
began playing a variation known as the "Boston Game." This 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
were formed in Chicago
in 1899.
* = disputed, poorly documented or dormant for a period.
Football
Football may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...
from casual pastime to early organised competition
Oldest football competitions
The world's oldest football competition is a title claimed by many.Many early football fixtures before the 1850s did not have set rules, clubs or trophies and are poorly documented.Some competitions were semi-organised fixtures, others offered trophies....
and mainstream sport. Many early clubs did not use the word "football" in their name. Although the terms "football club" and "FC" are now strongly associated with association 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...
(aka soccer in some countries), early rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
clubs also referred to themselves, or continue to refer to themselves, as simply a "football club", or as a "rugby football club". Similarly, most Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
teams also refer to themselves as football clubs. The title of the world's oldest football club, or the oldest club in a particular country, is often disputed, or is claimed by several different clubs, across several different codes of football. The oldest football clubs with a well-documented, continuous history are Durham School Football Club, 1850 and the Dublin University Football Club
Dublin University Football Club
Dublin University Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Dublin, Trinity College, in Dublin, Ireland.-History:...
, a rugby club founded in 1854 at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, Ireland. The Football Association and FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
, the English and international governing bodies of association football, both officially recognise Sheffield F.C.
Sheffield F.C.
Sheffield Football Club is an English football club from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The club is most noted for the fact that they are the world's oldest club now playing Association football, founded in 1857...
to be the world's oldest association football club.
Defunct clubs
It is possible that football organisations existed in London as early as the fifteenth century. 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". 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. Other early sporting bodies dedicated to playing football include "The Gymnastic SocietyThe Gymnastic Society
The Gymnastic Society was an eighteenth-century London sports club for the pursuit of football and wrestling. It is arguably the first football club.-Background:...
" of London which met regularly during the second half of the eighteenth century to pursue two sports: football and wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
The club played its matches – for example between London-based natives of Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
and Westmoreland
Westmoreland
Westmoreland is a historic county in England. It may also refer to:-Places:Australia*Westmoreland County, New South WalesCanada*Westmorland County, New BrunswickJamaica*Westmoreland, Jamaica, a parishNew Zealand...
– at the Kennington
Kennington
Kennington is a district of South London, England, mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, although part of the area is within the London Borough of Southwark....
Common from well before 1789 until about 1800.
The first documented club to bear the title "football club" is one in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland, during the period 1824–41, and associated with a man named John Hope. Several documents relating to this "Foot Ball Club" exist. The only surviving club rules forbade tripping, but allowed pushing and holding and the picking up of the ball. Other documents describe a game involving 39 players and "such kicking of shins and such tumbling".This Club was rejuvenated in 2007 and currently playing in the Edinburgh and Districts Fair play League. The Football Club of Edinburgh
The Football Club of Edinburgh
The Foot Ball Club of Edinburgh is a Scottish Amateur football club currently playing in the second division of the , based in Edinburgh Scotland...
Other early clubs include the Great Leicestershire Cricket and Football Club present in 1840 In 1841 two clubs are documented in a contemporary challenge to play "foot-ball" in Lancashire: "The Body-Guard club" (Rochdale) and the "Fear-noughts Club" A club for playing "cricket, quoits and football" was established in Newcastle on Tyne in or before 1848. 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)
Continuous clubs
It is claimed that the Barnes ClubBarnes R.F.C.
Barnes Rugby Football Club, formerly known simply as the Barnes Club, is a rugby union club which is claimed by some sources to be the world's first and oldest club in any code of football...
(later Barnes Rugby Football Club), from Barnes in London, was formed in 1839 and is the oldest club to have played football for its entire history. However, this has not been conclusively documented. It is also argued, and supported by the Guinness Book of Records, that Guy's Hospital Football Club, founded by staff at Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...
in London in 1843, is the oldest club. While a rugby club still exists at Guy's Hospital, the connection between the present club and the one formed in 1843 is poorly-documented.
Another of the oldest football clubs with a well-documented, continuous history is the Dublin University Football Club
Dublin University Football Club
Dublin University Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Dublin, Trinity College, in Dublin, Ireland.-History:...
, founded in 1854 at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, Ireland. The club plays rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
.
Sheffield Football Club
Sheffield F.C.
Sheffield Football Club is an English football club from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The club is most noted for the fact that they are the world's oldest club now playing Association football, founded in 1857...
, in Sheffield, England is the oldest documented non-university club, and was founded in 1857. It initially played a code of its own devising. The club joined the English Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
(FA) in 1863 and is recognised by both the FA and FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
as the world's oldest club now playing association football. The club's rules influenced the FA including handball, free kicks, corners and throw ins; it did not adopt the Association's code in full until 1877.
Liverpool Football Club
Liverpool St Helens F.C.
Liverpool St Helens Football Club are a rugby union team formed from the merger of Liverpool Football Club and St. Helens RUFC. The club currently plays in North 1 West....
, later known as Liverpool St Helens F.C. were formed in 1857, who claim to be the oldest open rugby club in the world. The club only ever played the Rugby School rules.
Cambridge University Association Football Club has been described by the university as the oldest club now playing association football. Other sources take the foundation date back earlier. 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" According to Charles Astor Bristed
Charles Astor Bristed
Charles Astor Bristed was an American scholar and author, sometimes writing under the nom de plume Carl Benson. He was the first American to write a full-length defense of Americanisms.-Biography:...
, in the early 1840s at Cambridge, there were games played between clubs from different colleges and houses. Cambridge rules dates from 1848 and football is documented as being played on the original club ground, Parkers Piece, as early as 1838. 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.
German side 1860 Munich
TSV 1860 München
Turn- und Sportverein München von 1860, commonly known as TSV 1860 München or 1860 Munich, is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. The club's football team plays in the Second Bundesliga, after relegation from the Bundesliga following the 2003–04 season...
(formed in 1848) was reestablished as a gymnastic and fitness club in the year indicated by its name. But it did not play football until 1899.
English club Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
, formed in 1862, is the world's oldest fully professional Association Football club.
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.
The claim of oldest continuous football club in North America is still a matter of much debate. In terms of gridiron football
Gridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
can trace their roots back to the Hamilton Football Club
Hamilton Tigers (football)
The Hamilton Tigers were a Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario that played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union from 1883 to 1906 and 1948 to 1949 and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union from 1907 to 1947. The club was a founding member of both the ORFU in 1883 and the IRFU in...
(nicknamed the "Tigers") which formed in 1869, then later merged with the Hamilton Wildcats
Hamilton Wildcats (Canadian football)
The Hamilton Wildcats were a Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario that played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union from 1941 to 1947, and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union from 1948 to 1949. The team was formed to play in the ORFU in 1941 to fill the void left by the Hamilton...
in 1950 to form the current franchise. Their rivals to the north, the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
, were founded four years later in 1873 and boast a mostly unchanged franchise history. It should be noted, however, that both clubs began as rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
clubs and only later adapted to the gridiron-style
Gridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
of play which would become known as Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
. The oldest continuous rugby club in North America which still plays rugby is the McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
Rugby Football Club which was established in 1863, although their first recorded game was not until 1865. The oldest independent (non-university) rugby club is the Westmount Rugby Club
Westmount Rugby Club
The Westmount Rugby Club is a rugby club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the oldest active rugby club in North America. The club was founded in 1876 under the title of Montreal Football Club, and played its matches at the McGill University grounds...
of Montreal, which formed in 1876.
Though football variants have been played in the United States since the 1820s, gridiron
Gridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
-based variants of the game did not distinguish themselves from existing codes until 1871, when Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
began playing a variation known as the "Boston Game." This 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
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
student Walter Camp
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". With John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most accomplished persons in the early history of American football...
. The oldest existing non-university semiprofessional football club is the Watertown Red & Black
Watertown Red & Black
The Watertown Red & Black is a semi-professional American football team based in Watertown, New York. Founded in 1896, the team is the oldest semi-pro football team in the United States...
, which was founded in 1896. The Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
were formed in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1899.
Timeline, 1839–78
| Year | Date | Club | Original code | Current code | Location | Current status/league | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1839* | Barnes Club Barnes R.F.C. Barnes Rugby Football Club, formerly known simply as the Barnes Club, is a rugby union club which is claimed by some sources to be the world's first and oldest club in any code of football... |
Rugby | Rugby Union Rugby union Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand... |
Barnes, London, England | London Division 1 |
The club claims formation in 1839, while other sources say 1858 or 1862. Its first recorded result was in 1862. A founding member of the Football Association The Football Association The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association... (F.A.) in 1863 and one of the first two clubs (the other being Richmond Richmond F.C. Richmond Football Club is a rugby union club from Richmond, London. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union, and is one of the oldest football clubs... ) to play a game of Association football. |
|
| 1843* | Guy's Hospital Football Club Guy's, Kings and St. Thomas' Rugby Football Club Guy's, Kings and St. Thomas' Rugby Football Club is the name given to the modern amalgam of three formerly distinct hospital rugby clubs each with a long history, having all been founded in the nineteenth century. The teams from Guy's Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital were the first to merge... |
Rugby football Rugby football Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:... |
Rugby union | Southwark Southwark Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north... , London, England |
RFU London and South East – Kent Division 1 | See above. There is no documentation for the claim to continuous existence since 1843 and the club may have been inactive for one or more seasons. | |
| 1863 | St. George's Hospital Medical School RFC | Rugby football | Rugby union | Hyde Park Corner Hyde Park Corner Hyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge... , London, England, but moved to Tooting Tooting Tooting is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:... , South West London in 1970s |
BUCS league, South Eastern Conference, League 2A | Founding member of United Hospitals RFC United Hospitals RFC The United Hospitals Rugby Football Club represents the six medical schools in London, each of whom have their own distinct rugby clubs but from whom are picked a select fifteen to compete for UHRFC. The club exists to encourage and facilitate rugby at these institutions... , and the only one of the original United Hospitals members that is in the same form as at inception |
|
| 1848* | 15 July | TSV 1860 München | Gymnastics | Association football | Munich Munich Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... , Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
2. Fußball-Bundesliga | Born as Gymnastics Association (15 July 1848),banned in 1849,reestablished on 17 May 1860.A football department was created on 6 March 1899 and played its first matches against other squads three years later. |
| 1850 | Durham School Durham School Durham School, headmaster Martin George , is an independent British day and boarding school for boys and girls in Durham.... Football Club |
Rugby football | Rugby union | Durham Durham Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county... , England |
Fourth oldest recorded Rugby Club. | ||
| 1850* | Now Trinity Saint David: Lampeter RFC | Rugby football | Rugby union | Lampeter Lampeter Lampeter is a town in Ceredigion, South West Wales, lying at the confluence of the River Teifi and the Afon Dulas.-Demographics:At the 2001 National Census, the population was 2894. Lampeter is therefore the smallest university town in both Wales and the United Kingdom... , Ceredigion, Wales |
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. | ||
| 1854 | Dublin University Football Club Dublin University Football Club Dublin University Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Dublin, Trinity College, in Dublin, Ireland.-History:... |
Rugby football | Rugby union | Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and... , Ireland |
AIB League AIB League The Ulster Bank All-Ireland League is the national league system for the 48 senior rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is not, however, the highest level of rugby union in Ireland, as teams representing the four provinces of Ireland play... |
Oldest documented football club and the oldest to later play Rugby union Rugby union Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand... . Now playing in AIL Division 2. |
|
| 1857 | Liverpool Football Club Liverpool St Helens F.C. Liverpool St Helens Football Club are a rugby union team formed from the merger of Liverpool Football Club and St. Helens RUFC. The club currently plays in North 1 West.... (later known as Liverpool St Helens F.C.) |
Rugby football | Rugby union | Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880... , England |
North 1 West | The club's first match took place in 1857 when old boys from Rugby school challenged local boys to a game under their school rules. Liverpool Football Club were then formed. The oldest open rugby club in the World. | |
| 1857 | 24 October | Sheffield Football Club Sheffield F.C. Sheffield Football Club is an English football club from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The club is most noted for the fact that they are the world's oldest club now playing Association football, founded in 1857... |
Sheffield Rules Sheffield Rules The Sheffield Rules were a code of football devised and played in the English city of Sheffield between 1857 and 1877. They were devised by Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest for use by the newly founded Sheffield Football Club. The rules were subsequently adopted as the official rules of... |
Association football | Sheffield Sheffield Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely... , England |
Northern Premier League Division One South Northern Premier League Division One South Division One South is one of the two second-tier divisions of the Northern Premier League. It is at Step 4 of the National League System, placing it seven divisions below the Premier League... |
English FA and FIFA FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth... officially recognise this club as the oldest now playing Association football, although some sources say Cambridge University is the oldest (see below). |
| 1858/59* | Cambridge University Football Club | Cambridge rules | Association football | Cambridge, Cambridge, England | BUSA BUSA Football League The BUSA Men's Football League system is a football league system set up for Universities and Colleges in the United Kingdom to compete on an amateur and professional level of higher education association football.-Competition format:... Midlands Division 2A |
See above. The 1856/57 foundation date has been claimed by the university, which would make it the 2nd oldest club now playing Association football. | |
| 1857 | 26 December | Edinburgh Academical Football Club | Rugby football | Rugby union | Edinburgh, Scotland | Scottish Premiership Division 1 | Oldest football club in Scotland. Oldest documented rugby club in the UK. |
| 1858 | Blackheath Football Club Blackheath R.C. Blackheath Football Club is a rugby football club based in Blackheath in south-east London, now playing at the Rectory Field . It was founded in 1858 and is the oldest open rugby club in the world... |
Rugby football | Rugby union | Blackheath Blackheath, London Blackheath is a district of South London, England. It is named from the large open public grassland which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west... , London, England |
National Division Two | Foundation member of the F.A. | |
| 1858 | University of St Andrews Rugby Football Club University of St Andrews Rugby Football Club The University of St Andrews Rugby Football Club is an affiliated member of the University of St Andrews Athletic Union in Fife, Scotland. It was founded in 1858, making it one of the oldest football clubs in the world. In 2008, the club celebrated its sesquicentennial year, marking its 150th... |
Rugby football | Rugby union | St Andrews St Andrews St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife.... , Scotland |
BUCS Scotland Div. 1, Caledonia Two Midlands Caledonia Regional Leagues (Rugby Union) The Caledonia Regional League structure is one of three Regional Leagues operated by the Scottish Rugby Union , which play at a level below that of the National League structure. Winners of the league may progress to the National League... |
Founder member of the SRU. | |
| 1859 | 14 May | Melbourne Football Club Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria.... |
Australian rules | Australian rules | Melbourne, Australia | Australian Football League Australian Football League The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football... |
The club was officially formed on 14 May 1859. On 17 May 1859, members of the club codified Australian rules football. |
| 1859* | 15 June | Castlemaine Football Club Castlemaine Football Club Castlemaine Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia and is currently a member of the Bendigo Football League.The club is notable for several reasons... |
Australian rules | Australian rules | Castlemaine, Victoria Castlemaine, Victoria Castlemaine is a city in Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria about 120 kilometres northwest by road from Melbourne, and about 40 kilometres from the major provincial centre of Bendigo. It is the administrative and economic centre of the Shire of Mount Alexander. The... , Australia |
Bendigo Football League Bendigo Football League The Bendigo Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Bendigo region of Victoria, Australia.Formed in 1880, it is one of the oldest football leagues in Australia, and among its members are some of the oldest football clubs in Australia, including the Castlemaine... |
Foundation date recently rediscovered, but dormant for a period. |
| 1859* | * | Lima Cricket and Football Club Lima Cricket and Football Club Lima Cricket and Football Club is the oldest sports club in Peru, and one of the oldest in South America. Lima Cricket is possibly the oldest football club in the Americas. Currently, it participates in the district league of San Isidro.... |
Cricket | Association football | Lima Lima Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima... , Peru Peru Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.... |
Copa Peru Copa Perú The Copa Perú is a football tournament in Peru. Despite its name, it is not entirely an elimination-cup competition, but rather a series of league tournaments done within a year whose ultimate level is an elimination round... |
Is the oldest club in The Americas and one of the oldest in the world. |
| 1859* | * | Melbourne University Football Club Melbourne University Football Club Melbourne University Football Club, often known simply as University is an Australian rules football club.The club achieved prominence by being a member of the game's most elite competition in the early 20th century, the Victorian Football League between 1908 and 1914.Although there are no records... |
Australian rules | Australian rules | Melbourne University, Australia | Victorian Amateur Football Association Victorian Amateur Football Association The Victorian Amateur Football Association is an Australian rules football league in Victoria, Australia consisting purely of amateur players. Unlike the Victorian Football League and the VFL/AFL, the VAFA has always been strictly a purely amateur league and has affiliations with both AFL Victoria... Section A |
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. |
| 1859 | 18 July | Geelong Football Club Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also... |
Australian rules | Australian rules | Geelong, Australia | Australian Football League Australian Football League The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football... |
The club's own code was played in the Geelong region and influenced the rewriting of the laws of Australian football Laws of Australian football The laws of Australian football describe the rules of the game of Australian rules football as they have evolved and adapted, with the same underlying core rules, since 1859.... in 1866. |
| 1860 | 20 May | Ballarat Football Club Ballarat Football Club The Ballarat Football Club competes in the Ballarat Football League in the Ballarat region of Victoria, Australia. The club, nicknamed the Swans, has a history dating back to 1860. Ballarat once competed in the Victorian Football Association.... |
Australian rules | Australian rules | Ballarat, Australia | Ballarat Football League Ballarat Football League The Ballarat Football League is an Australian rules football competition that operates in the Ballarat region of Victoria, Australia.The competition formed in 1893 as the Ballarat Football Association and was renamed Ballarat Football League in 1908 and was briefly known as the Ballarat-Wimmera... |
Formed as a junior club; senior club established in 1862. |
| 1860 | Cray Wanderers Football Club Cray Wanderers F.C. Cray Wanderers F.C. is an English semi-professional football club based in Bromley, London. It is one of the oldest football clubs in the world. The club was established in 1860 in the twin villages of St. Mary Cray and St Paul's Cray, near Orpington, then in the county of Kent.They currently play... |
Unknown | Association Football | Bromley Bromley Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley... , London, England |
Isthmian League Premier Division | Oldest existing association football club in Greater London | |
| 1860 | Hallam Football Club Hallam F.C. Hallam Football Club are a football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who currently play in the Northern Counties East League Division One... |
Sheffield Rules | Association football | Sheffield, England | Northern Counties East League Premier Division | Took part in first ever football tournament Youdan Cup The Youdan Cup was an association football competition played in Sheffield, England. A local theatre owner Thomas Youdan sponsored the competition and provided the trophy... . |
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| 1860 | Manchester Football Club Manchester Rugby Club Manchester Rugby Club, formerly known as Manchester Football Club, are one of the oldest rugby union clubs in existence, having been founded in 1860, 11 years before the RFU.... (now known as Manchester Rugby Club) |
Rugby football | Rugby union | Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater... , England |
National Division Two | No connection to Manchester United F.C. 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... or Manchester City F.C. Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894... . |
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| 1861 | Worksop Town Football Club Worksop Town F.C. Worksop Town Football Club are a semi-professional English football club from Worksop, Nottinghamshire who play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division... |
Sheffield Rules | Association football | Worksop, England | Northern Premier League Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one... |
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| 1861 | Sandhurst Football Club Sandhurst Football Club The Sandhurst Football Club are an Australian rules football club which compete in the Bendigo Football League . Sandhurst is the former name of the city of Bendigo.-History:... |
Australian rules | Australian rules | Bendigo, Australia | Bendigo Football League Bendigo Football League The Bendigo Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Bendigo region of Victoria, Australia.Formed in 1880, it is one of the oldest football leagues in Australia, and among its members are some of the oldest football clubs in Australia, including the Castlemaine... |
Founded by J. B. Thompson J. B. Thompson James Bogne "J. B." Thompson was one of the creators of the original laws of Australian rules football, one of the founders and the inaugural secretary of the Melbourne Football Club, a cricketer for both Victoria and the Melbourne Cricket Club , and a journalist for Melbourne newspaper, The... , one of the inventors of Australian rules football. |
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| 1861 | Richmond Football Club Richmond F.C. Richmond Football Club is a rugby union club from Richmond, London. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union, and is one of the oldest football clubs... |
Rugby football | Rugby union | Richmond, London, England | London Division 1 | One of the first two clubs (with Barnes) to play a game of Association football, despite not being a member of the FA. | |
| 1861 | Sale Football Club Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the... |
Rugby football | Rugby union | Manchester, England. | Guinness Premiership Guinness Premiership The English Premiership, also currently known as the Aviva Premiership because of the league's sponsorship by Aviva, is a professional league competition for rugby union football clubs in the top division of the English rugby system. There are twelve clubs in the Premiership... |
Currently in the peak domestic competition for rugby union in England. | |
| 1862 | Nottingham Football Club Notts County F.C. Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system... (later Notts County F.C.), |
Own code | Association football | Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group... , England |
Football League One Football League One Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system.... |
NCFC official site history. Oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional. | |
| 1863* | Bradford Football Club Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C. Bradford Association Football Club, previously also known as Bradford and since its reformation in the 1970s now referred to as Bradford Park Avenue, is a football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England... |
Rugby football | Association football | Bradford Bradford Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897... , England |
Northern Premier League Division One North Northern Premier League Division One North Division One North is one of the two second-tier divisions of the Northern Premier League. It is at tier 4 of the National League System, tier 8 of the English football league system... |
Now known as Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C. Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C. Bradford Association Football Club, previously also known as Bradford and since its reformation in the 1970s now referred to as Bradford Park Avenue, is a football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England... Founding member of rugby league in 1895. Entered top soccer league in 1907 in what was known as the "great betrayal". |
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| 1863 | Christchurch Football Club | Own code | Rugby union | Christchurch Christchurch Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of... , New Zealand |
Division One — Telecom Cup | Oldest club now playing rugby union in NZ. | |
| 1863* | Sydney University Football Club Sydney University Football Club Sydney University Football Club, founded in 1863 , is the oldest club now playing rugby union in Australia, and as such is nicknamed "The Birthplace of Australian Rugby" or simply "The Birthplace".The club are the current NSWRU Premiers.The club was a member of the inaugural Sydney club competition... |
Rugby football/ Australian rules football |
Rugby union | University of Sydney University of Sydney The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania... , Australia |
New South Wales Rugby Union New South Wales Rugby Union The New South Wales Rugby Union is the organisation responsible for the sport of rugby union in most of the state of New South Wales, Australia... |
>Foundation date disputed by historican Tom Hickie who argues that it was actually 1865. The oldest Australian rugby union club; according to fullpointsfooty.net, it "flirted with 'Victorian Rules' [Australian rules] in its formative stages." 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. | |
| 1863 | Royal Engineers Football Club Royal Engineers A.F.C. The Royal Engineers Association Football Club is an association football team representing the Corps of Royal Engineers, the "Sappers", of the British Army. In the 1870s it was one of the strongest sides in English football, winning the FA Cup in 1875 and being Cup Finalists in four of the first... |
Unknown | Association football | London, England. | British Army British Army The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England... competition |
Won 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... in 1875. |
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| 1863 or 1868 | Stoke Ramblers Football Club Stoke City F.C. Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts... |
Unknown | Association football | Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area... , England. |
Premier League | Some accounts say the club was founded in 1868. | |
| 1863* | Civil Service Football Club Civil Service F.C. Civil Service F.C. is an English football club based in the city of London. The club originally played both association football and rugby football and the Civil Service, along with Blackheath F.C., is one of the two clubs that can claim to be a founder member of both the Football Association and... |
Association football | Association football | London, England. | Southern Amateur League Southern Amateur Football League The Southern Amateur League is an association football league affiliated to the Amateur Football Alliance . It is based in and around Greater London and caters for 11–a–side men's adult teams from clubs including former pupils' associations from schools and colleges, business house sports clubs... |
Foundation member of F.A. Sometimes referred to as the "War Office Club". | |
| 1864 | July | Carlton Football Club Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897... |
Australian rules | Australian rules | Carlton, Melbourne Carlton, Victoria Carlton is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne... , Australia |
Australian Football League Australian Football League The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football... |
Source: Carlton Football Club. Carlton has participated at the highest level of its code longer than any other club. |
| 1864 | Huddersfield Athletic Club Huddersfield Giants Huddersfield Giants are a professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire who play in the European Super League competition. They play their home games at the Galpharm Stadium which is shared with Huddersfield Town F.C.... |
Various sports | Rugby league | Huddersfield Huddersfield Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city.... , England |
Super League Super League Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from... |
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| 1864 | Williamstown Football Club Williamstown Football Club The Williamstown Football Club, nicknamed The Seagulls, is an Australian rules football club based in Melbourne and are currently playing in the Victorian Football League... |
Australian rules | Australian rules | Williamstown, Victoria Williamstown, Victoria Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hobsons Bay. At the 2006 Census, Williamstown had a population of 12,733.... , Australia. |
Victorian Football League Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association... |
The second club from Williamstown which exists to this day. | |
| 1864 | Montevideo Cricket Club Montevideo Cricket Club The Montevideo Cricket Club is a multisport club based in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay in South America. It was founded in the nineteenth century by English immigrants. Its predecessor was the Victoria Cricket Club which was founded in 1842... |
Cricket, Rugby football | Cricket, Rugby union, Association football et al. | Montevideo Montevideo Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento... , Uruguay. |
Club Championship Club Championship (Uruguay) The Club Championship , is the top level of rugby union in Uruguay.-History:Rugby was introduced to Uruguay as early as the late 19th century, but did not really take off in formal terms until the mid-20th. The spur for this was Carlos E. Cat, who helped establish the Club Championship in 1950,... |
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| 1864 | Brigg Town F.C. Brigg Town F.C. Brigg Town Football Club, formed in 1864, are a football team from Brigg, North Lincolnshire. They are the oldest football team in the county and one of the oldest in the world... |
Association football | Association football | Brigg, Lincolnshire, England. | Northern Premier League Division One South Northern Premier League Division One South Division One South is one of the two second-tier divisions of the Northern Premier League. It is at Step 4 of the National League System, placing it seven divisions below the Premier League... |
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| 1865 | West of Scotland F.C. | Rugby football | Rugby union | Glasgow, Scotland. | Scottish Premiership Division 2 | One of the founder members of the SRU. | |
| 1865 | Bath Football Club Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league... |
Rugby football | Rugby union | Bath, England. | Guinness Premiership Guinness Premiership The English Premiership, also currently known as the Aviva Premiership because of the league's sponsorship by Aviva, is a professional league competition for rugby union football clubs in the top division of the English rugby system. There are twelve clubs in the Premiership... |
Currently in the peak domestic competition for rugby union in England. | |
| 1865 | Hull | Rugby football | Rugby league | Hull Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of... , England. |
Super League Super League Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from... |
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| 1865 | Nottingham Forest Football Club Nottingham Forest F.C. Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship... |
Unknown (possibly Bandy Bandy Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,... ) |
Association football | Nottingham, England | Football League Championship Football League Championship The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League... |
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| 1865* | Sydney Football Club | Rugby football | Defunct | Sydney, Australia | Defunct | No connection to Sydney FC Sydney FC Sydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League... , the Sydney Roosters Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League... , or Sydney Swans Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney... . |
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| 1866 | Glasgow Academical Football Club Glasgow Academicals RFC The Glasgow Academical Football Club is one of the oldest rugby football clubs in Scotland. This history is notable for a number of reasons, including the clubs longevity, its early foundation in the timeline of rugby, and the fact that the club produced many internationals... |
Rugby football | Rugby union | Glasgow, Scotland. | West Regional League division 1 West Regional Leagues (Rugby Union) The West Regional League structure is one of three Scottish Regional Leagues operated by the Scottish Rugby Union, which play at a level below that of the Scottish National Leagues structure... |
One of the founder members of the SRU. | |
| 1866 | Kapunda Football Club Kapunda Football Club Kapunda Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers is an Australian rules football club based in Kapunda, South Australia that competes in the Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association.... |
Australian rules | Australian rules | Kapunda, South Australia | Barossa, Light and Gawler Football Association | ||
| 1866 | Rochdale Football Club Rochdale Hornets Rochdale Hornets RLFC is an English professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. They currently play in Championship One... |
Rugby football | Rugby league | Rochdale Rochdale Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan... , England |
Lower League | ||
| 1866 | Swinton and Pendlebury Football Club Swinton Lions Swinton Lions is an English professional rugby league club from Swinton, Greater Manchester. The club has won the Championship six times and three Challenge Cups. They currently play in the Championship.-Early years:... |
Rugby football | Rugby league | Swinton Swinton, Greater Manchester Swinton is a town within the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. Located on the A6 road it stands on gently sloping ground on the southwest side of the River Irwell, and within the bounds of the orbital M60 motorway. It is west-northwest of Salford, and west-northwest of Manchester... , England |
Lower League | Won three Rugby League Challenge Cup Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part.... s and six championships |
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| 1867 | 4 September | Sheffield Wednesday Football Club Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the... |
Sheffield Rules | Association football | Sheffield, England | Football League Championship Football League Championship The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League... |
The Wednesday Cricket Club formed in 1820. |
| 1867 | 19 October | Chesterfield Football Club Chesterfield F.C. Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower... |
Cricket | Association football | Chesterfield Chesterfield Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town... , England |
Football League Two Football League Two Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system.... |
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| 1867 | 9 July | Queen's Park Football Club Queen's Park F.C. Queen's Park Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland. The club are currently the only amateur club in the Scottish League; their amateur status is reflected by their motto, Ludere Causa Ludendi – to play for the sake of playing.Queen's Park are the oldest... |
Own code | Association football | Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... , Scotland. |
Scottish Football League Second Division Scottish Football League Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division is the second highest division of the Scottish Football League and the third highest overall in the Scottish football league system.... |
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| 1868 | Fordingbridge Turks Football Club | Unknown | Association football | Fordingbridge Fordingbridge Fordingbridge is a town and civil parish with a population of 5,700 on the River Avon in the New Forest District of Hampshire, England, near to the Dorset and Wiltshire borders and on the edge of the New Forest. It is south west of London, and south of the city of Salisbury. Fordingbridge is a... , England. |
Bournemouth Saturday Football League Bournemouth Saturday Football League The Bournemouth Saturday Football League is a football competition based in the area around Bournemouth, England. It has a total of seven divisions. The top division, the Premier Division sits at level 13 of the English football league system... |
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| 1868 | Perthshire Rugby Football Club Perthshire RFC Perthshire Rugby Football Club, formerly known as Perthshire Academicals, is a rugby union club located in the town of Perth, Scotland. Founded in 1868, it is one of the oldest rugby clubs in Scotland. Perthshire was a consistently successful club in the 3rd Division of the old National League in... |
Rugby football | Rugby union Rugby union Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand... |
Perth Perth, Scotland Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire... , Scotland |
Scottish Premiership division 3 | ||
| 1868 | York Football Club York City Knights York City Knights Rugby League Club is a British professional rugby league club hailing from York. They play at the Huntington Stadium, situated to the north of York city centre... |
Rugby football | Rugby league Rugby league Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players... |
York York York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence... , England |
National League Two Rugby League National Leagues The Championship, known as Co-operative Championship due to sponsorship by The Co-operative Group, is a professional rugby league competition based in the United Kingdom. It is currently contested by ten teams from England. It acts as Europe's second-tier competition below the Super League, and has... |
York FC was formed in 1868 and joined rugby league in 1901. They went bankrupt in 2002. A new club, York City Knights, was formed in 2003. | |
| 1869 | Glasgow University Rugby Football Club Glasgow University Rugby Football Club Glasgow University Rugby Football Club is a rugby team at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.GURFC was formed in 1869 and is one of the University's oldest student groups, predating the Glasgow University Sports Association, to which it is now affiliated. The Club is a founding member of the... |
Rugby football | Rugby union | Glasgow, Scotland | Scottish University competitions | ||
| 1869 | 3 November | Hamilton Foot Ball Club Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium... (later Hamilton Tiger-Cats) |
Rugby football | Canadian football Canadian football Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area... |
Hamilton Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe... , Canada |
Canadian Football League Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football.... |
The HFBC were nicknamed the "Tigers" in 1873. Merged with the Hamilton Flying Wildcats in 1950 to form the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Oldest current professional gridiron football Gridiron football Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football... team. |
| 1869 | North Melbourne Football Club North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world... |
Australian rules | Australian rules | North Melbourne North Melbourne, Victoria North Melbourne is a large inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. It is bounded by the CityLink freeway to the west, Victoria Street to the south, O'Connell and Peel Streets to the east and Flemington Road to the north. Its... , Australia |
Australian Football League Australian Football League The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football... |
Was briefly known as the 'Hotham Football Club' between 1877 and 1888, due to a change in the town's name. | |
| 1869 | Kilmarnock Football Club Kilmarnock F.C. Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park... |
Rugby football | Association football | Kilmarnock Kilmarnock Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'... , Scotland |
Scottish Premier League Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland... |
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| 1870 | late April or early May | Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League... |
Australian rules | Australian rules | Port Adelaide, Australia | Australian Football League Australian Football League The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football... |
Formerly played in the SANFL as the Port Adelaide Magpies until 1997 before awarded a licence to enter the AFL in 1996. Entered AFL in 1997 as the "Power". A new club known as the Port Adelaide Magpies Football Club was formed in 1997 to fill its void in the SANFL |
| 1870 | Abingdon Town F.C. Abingdon Town F.C. Abingdon Town F.C. is an English football club who currently play in the Hellenic Football League Premier Division.The club is located in Abingdon in Oxfordshire, England. They are rivals with Abingdon United. The club was formed in 1870. The ground at Abingdon Town holds 2,000 and the highest ever... |
Abingdon, Oxfordshire Abingdon, Oxfordshire Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with... |
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| 1870 | Darwen Football Club | Rugby football (and cricket) | Association football | Darwen, Lancashire, England | West Lancashire Football League West Lancashire Football League The West Lancashire Football League is a football competition based in northern England, consisting of five divisions - three for first teams , and two for reserve teams... |
The club was wound up in 2009 and later reformed as AFC Darwen. | |
| 1870 | 22 November | Marlow Football Club Marlow F.C. Marlow F.C. is an English football club based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. The club are currently members of Division One Central of the Southern League and play at the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground... |
Association football | Association football | Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England | Southern Football League Southern Football League The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales... |
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| 1871 | 25 December | Reading Football Club Reading F.C. Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship... |
Association football | Association football | Reading, Berkshire, England | English Football League Championship | |
| 1872 | 28 September | Wrexham Football Club | Association football | Association football | Wrexham, Wales | Conference National Conference National Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system... |
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| 1872 | Rangers Football Club Rangers F.C. Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses... |
Association football | Association football | Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland | Scottish Premier League Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland... |
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| 1873 | Toronto Argonauts Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta... |
Rugby football | Canadian football Canadian football Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area... |
Toronto, Canada | Canadian Football League Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football.... |
Founded as a rugby team by the Toronto Argonaut Rowing Club Argonaut Rowing Club The Argonaut Rowing Club is an amateur rowing club in Toronto, Ontario. It is located on Lake Ontario at the foot of Dowling Avenue, south of Lake Shore Boulevard West, west of Exhibition Place. The club was founded in 1872... , itself founded the year previous in 1872. |
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| 1874 | Bolton Wanderers F.C | Association Football | Association Football | Bolton Bolton Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the... , England |
Premier League | The club was originally known as Christ Church and was one of the founder members of the Football League in 1888 | |
| 1874 | Heart of Midlothian F.C. Heart of Midlothian F.C. Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian... |
Association football | Association football | Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... , Scotland |
Scottish Premier League Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland... |
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| 1874 | Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder... |
Association football | Association football | Perry Barr Perry Barr Perry Barr is an inner-city area in north Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Perry Barr ward and the wards of Handsworth Wood, Lozells and East Handsworth, and Oscott, which elect three councillors to... , Birmingham, England |
Premier League | Founded in 1874, also founder member of the Football League. | |
| 1874 | Northwich Victoria F.C. Northwich Victoria F.C. Northwich Victoria Football Club are an English football club who play at the Victoria Stadium in Wincham, Northwich, Cheshire in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of the English football league system.Northwich are an old club, founded in 1874 and named in honour of... |
Association football | Association football | Northwich Northwich Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane... , Cheshire Cheshire Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow... England |
Northern Premier League Premier Division Northern Premier League Premier Division The Premier Division is the top division of the Northern Premier League. It is at Step 3 of the National League System, placing it six divisions below the Premier League... |
Their foundation date is given as at least 1874. Founding member of the Cheshire FA, the Football League Second Division Football League Second Division From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams... , The Combination The Combination The Combination was a minor league during the early days of English football. It had two incarnations; the first ran only for the 1888–89 season for teams across the Northern England and the Midlands, and was wound up before completion. The second was created for the 1890–91 season, but disbanded... and Cheshire County League Cheshire County League The Cheshire County League was a football league founded in the north west of England in 1919, drawing its teams largely from Cheshire, surrounding English counties and North Wales.... . Their home ground Drill Field Drill Field The Drill Field was a football stadium in Northwich, Cheshire, which was the home ground of Northwich Victoria Football Club between 1875 and 3 May 2002... , at the time of its demolition in 2002, it was believed to be the oldest football ground in the world. |
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| 1875 | Birmingham City F.C. Birmingham City F.C. Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the... |
Association football | Association football | Small Heath Small Heath Small Heath can refer to:* Small Heath, Birmingham, an area of Birmingham, England** Birmingham Small Heath ** Small Heath or Small Heath Alliance, former names of Birmingham City F.C.... , Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... England |
Championship Championship Championship is a term used in sport to refer to various forms of competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.- Title match system :... |
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| 1875 | Dewsbury Athletic and Football Club | Rugby Football | Rugby Football | Dewsbury, England | Lower League | Won 2 Challenge Cups (1911/12, 1942/43) and 1 Championship (1972/73). | |
| 1876 | Westmount Rugby Club Westmount Rugby Club The Westmount Rugby Club is a rugby club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the oldest active rugby club in North America. The club was founded in 1876 under the title of Montreal Football Club, and played its matches at the McGill University grounds... |
Rugby football | Rugby union | Montreal, Canada | 2nd Division of Quebec Rugby Federation | Oldest active rugby club (excluding university teams) in North America. Founded as Montreal Football Club. | |
| 1876 | Falkirk F.C. Falkirk F.C. Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire... |
Association football | Association football | Falkirk Falkirk Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow.... , Scotland |
Scottish Football League First Division Scottish Football League First Division The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system.... |
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| 1878 | Everton F.C. Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football... |
Association football | Association football | Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880... , England |
Premier League | The club played cricket for two years before adopting Association Football, so could be said to have been formed in 1876. Founder member of the Football League. |
See also
- Sports clubs by year of establishment