Oldest football clubs

An Australian rules football match between Melbourne and Geelong, 1881. Both clubs were founded in 1859 and currently compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), making them the world's oldest football clubs that are now professional.

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. The identity of the first or oldest football clubs in the world, or even in a particular country, is often disputed or claimed by several different clubs, across several different codes of football. 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 (commonly known as 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, almost all Australian rules football teams have also referred to themselves as football clubs as have Canadian football sides.

"Club" has always meant an independent entity and, during the historical period in question, very few high school or university teams were independent of the educational institutions concerned. Consequently, school and university football teams were seldom referred to as "clubs". That has always been the case, for example, in American football, which has always had ties to college sport in general. Conversely, however, the oldest still-existing "football club" with a well-documented, continuous history is Dublin University Football Club, a rugby union club founded in 1854 at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, although there exists some record of Guy's Hospital Football Club being founded in 1843.

British Isles

Defunct clubs

While the first clubs emerged in Britain, possibly, as early as the fifteenth century, these are poorly-documented and defunct. For example, the records of the Brewers' Company of London between 1421 and 1423 mention the hiring out of their hall "by the "football players" for "20 pence", under the heading "Trades and Fraternities".[1] 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.[2] Other early sporting bodies dedicated to playing football include "The Gymnastic Society" of London which met regularly during the second half of the eighteenth century to pursue two sports: football and wrestling[3] 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 Foot-Ball Club (active 1824–41) of Edinburgh, Scotland, is the first documented club dedicated to football, and the first to describe itself as a football club.[4] The only surviving club rules forbade tripping, but allowed pushing and holding and the picking up of the ball.[5] Other documents describe a game involving 39 players and "such kicking of shins and such tumbling".

Other early clubs include the Great Leicestershire Cricket and Football Club present in 1840.[6] 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"[7] A club for playing "cricket, quoits and football" was established in Newcastle on Tyne in or before 1848.[8] 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[9])

Continuous clubs

Cambridge University Association Football Club has been described by the university as the oldest club now playing association football.[10][11] 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".[12] According to Charles Astor Bristed, in the early 1840s at Cambridge, there were games played between clubs from different colleges and houses.[13] Cambridge rules dates from 1848 and football is documented as being played on the original club ground, Parkers Piece, as early as 1838.[14] 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.[11]

It is claimed that the Barnes Club (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.[15] However, this has not been conclusively documented. Hence it is 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 still disputed.[16]

The oldest football club with the best-documented, continuous history is the Dublin University Football Club, founded in 1854 at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. The club plays rugby union.

Sheffield F.C. in Sheffield, England, is the world's oldest independent football club – that is, the oldest club not associated with an institution such as a school, hospital or university. It was founded in 1857.[17] Sheffield F.C. initially played Sheffield rules, a code of its own devising, although the club's rules influenced the those of the England Football Association (FA (1863) including handball, free kicks, corners and throw ins. While the international governing body of association football, FIFA and the FA recognise Sheffield F.C. as the "world's oldest football club",[18] and the club joined the FA in 1863, it continued to use the Sheffield rules. Sheffield F.C. did not officially adopt association football until 1877.

The only survivor among the FA's founding clubs is Civil Service F.C.[19] Six of the 18 founding members later adopted rugby exclusively.[20] Cray Wanderers F.C. of St Mary Cray, London, founded in 1860, is the oldest club now playing association football in Greater London.[21] The code played by Cray wanderers in its earliest years is unknown.

Liverpool Football Club (not to be confused with Liverpool F.C. of the Premier League), later known as Liverpool St Helens F.C. were formed in 1857, which claims to be the oldest open rugby club in the world. The club adopted the Rugby Union rules in 1872, never playing association rules.

English club Notts County, which has existed informally from 1862, is the world's oldest fully professional association football club.[22]

Rest of the world

Australia

In 1858 in Melbourne, Victoria, members of the Melbourne Cricket Club formed a loosely organized football team, and played against other local football enthusiasts over the winter and spring of that year. The Melbourne Football Club was officially founded the following year on 17 May, and three days later, four members codified the first laws of Australian rules football. The Geelong Football Club was formed shortly afterwards, and over the next decade, many more Australian rules football clubs were formed in Victoria. Melbourne and Geelong were founding members of the Australian Football League (AFL), making them the world's oldest football clubs that are now professional.

South America

Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club claims to be the oldest club still in existence in Argentina. According to the club's website, the club was founded before 8 December 1864.[23] This date has been recognized by the Buenos Aires Rugby Union.[24] It is however believed that the club was founded in 1831, with existing documentary evidence about a cricket match played by Buenos Aires that same year.[25][26]

Lima Cricket and Football Club claims to be the oldest football-practicing club in Peru and the Americas, having been founded in 1859 by the city's British community.[27][28] Montevideo Cricket Club, established in 1861 by English immigrants, has however been ranked as the oldest rugby union club outside Europe by the World Rugby Museum of Twickenham.[29][30]

São Paulo Athletic Club was founded on 15 May 1888 by English immigrants, and was the first football club in Brazil. Although association football is not practised anymore, SPAC still hosts rugby union.

North America

Although football variants have been played in North America since the 1820s, the claim of oldest continuous football club in North America is still a matter of debate. Oneida Football Club was founded in 1862, and played the "Boston game", the rules of which have been lost. The modern club, Oneida FC were refounded in 2011 and play rugby league football. The Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League are the longest-running team without having changed their name, being founded in 1873.

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.[31] The oldest independent (non-university) rugby club is the Westmount Rugby Club of Montreal, which formed in 1876.[32]

In the United States, 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, formed in Chicago in 1899, are the oldest club currently in the National Football League, although they relocated to St. Louis in 1960 and then to Arizona in 1988. The Green Bay Packers, founded in 1919, are the oldest NFL club still in their original city.

Continental Europe

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."[33]

Le Havre AC was founded originally as an athletics and rugby club in 1872, making it the oldest surviving football club registered in France and continental Europe.[34] They began playing association football on a regular basis in 1894. Technically AS Strasbourg could be considered the first French association football team, being established in 1890; they were however a German team at the time.

Dresden English Football Club was founded on 18 March 1874 and was the first association football club in Germany, and likely the first outside Great Britain. In 1874, over 70 members participated, primarily Englishmen working in Dresden, watched by hundreds of spectators. Another German club, 1860 Munich did not play football until 1899, although it has its origins in a gymnastics and fitness club formed in 1848 and reestablished in the year indicated by its name.

Having been founded on 19 April 1879, FC St. Gallen is the oldest existing association football club in mainland Europe.[35] Playing in the Swiss Super League, they are also the oldest club in continental professional football. The Danish Kjøbenhavns Boldklub was the oldest professional football team on continental Europe[36] until it was merged into F.C. Copenhagen in 1991. The club was formed in 1876 and association football was first played two years later.[37]

Pre 1860

Date Club Original code Current codes City/Suburb Country Status Notes
1843 Guy's Hospital Rugby football Rugby union Blackheath England BUCS Football League Oldest documented football club in the world and founding member of United Hospitals RFC Now known as Guy's, Kings and St Thomas' Rugby Football Club.
1854 Dublin University Rugby football Rugby union Trinity College Ireland AIB League Oldest documented football club in Ireland and the oldest to later play Rugby union. Now playing in AIL Division 2.
1857, October 24 Sheffield Sheffield Rules Association football Sheffield England Northern Premier League Division One South English FA and FIFA officially recognise this club as the oldest now playing association football.[38]
1857, November 10 Liverpool St Helens Rugby football Rugby union Liverpool 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 not part of an academic institution in the world.
1857, December 26 Edinburgh Academical Rugby football Rugby union Edinburgh Scotland Scottish National League Division One Oldest football club in Scotland. Oldest documented rugby club in the UK.
1857 Edinburgh University Rugby football Rugby union Edinburgh Scotland BUCS Rugby Union Premier North B Joined the RFU in 1871 but resigned to become a founder member of the Scottish Football Union in 1873. The Edinburgh University Association Football Club (AFC) was formed in 1878 and was a founder member of the Scottish Football League.
1858/59 [lower-alpha 1] Cambridge University Cambridge rules Association football Cambridge England BUSA 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.
1858 Blackheath Rugby football Rugby union Blackheath England National League 1 Foundation member of the FA.
1858 University of St Andrews Rugby football Rugby union St Andrews Scotland BUCS Scotland Div. 1 Founder member of the SRU.
1859, May 14 Melbourne Australian football Australian football Melbourne Australia Australian Football League A loosely organized side played as Melbourne on several occasions in 1858. The club was officially formed the following year on 14 May 1859. On 17 May 1859, members of the club codified Australian rules football. It is the world's oldest football club of any code that is now professional.
1859, June 14 [lower-alpha 1] Castlemaine Australian football Australian football Castlemaine Australia Bendigo Football League Foundation date recently rediscovered, but dormant for a period.[39]
1859 [lower-alpha 1] Melbourne University Australian football Australian football Melbourne University Australia Victorian Amateur Football Association 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, July 18 Geelong Australian football Australian football Geelong Australia Australian Football League The club's own code was played in the Geelong region and influenced the rewriting of the laws of Australian football in 1866.

1860–1869

Date Club Original code Current codes City/Suburb Country Status Notes
1860, May 20 Ballarat Australian football Australian football Ballarat Australia Ballarat Football League Formed as a junior club; senior club established in 1862.[40]
1860 Cray Wanderers (Unknown) Association Football Bromley England Isthmian League Premier Division The early years of Cray Wanderers are poorly documented with its early history based on oral recollections later in the 19th century.[41] Based on the frequently stated year of 1860, it is the oldest club now playing association football in Greater London.,[21] preceding Civil Service F.C., the only surviving foundation member of the FA,[19] by three years.
1860 Hallam Sheffield Rules Association football Sheffield England Northern Counties East League Premier Division Took part in first ever football tournament.
1860 Manchester Rugby football Rugby union Manchester England South Lancs/Cheshire 1 No connection to association football clubs Manchester United F.C. or Manchester City F.C..
1861, July 18 Montevideo CC Rugby football Rugby union Montevideo Uruguay Campeonato Uruguayo de Rugby Recognised as the oldest Latin American club by the World Rugby Museum of Twickenham.[29][30] Founded as a cricket club, it was playing in rugby matches by 1880.
1861 Sandhurst Australian football Australian football Bendigo Australia Bendigo Football League Founded by J. B. Thompson, one of the inventors of Australian rules football.
1861 Richmond Rugby football Rugby union Richmond England National League 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 Sharks Rugby football Rugby union Manchester England Guinness Premiership Currently in the peak domestic competition for rugby union in England.
1861, July 18 Modbury Australian football Australian football Modbury Australia South Australian Amateur Football League
1862 [lower-alpha 1] Barnes Rugby football Rugby union Barnes England National League 3 London & SE It is claimed that Barnes RFC was founded in 1862 but there is no actual evidence, so the club itself states to have clear documents about its activities from the 1920s.[42] A founding member of the FA in 1863 and one of the first two clubs (the other being Richmond) to play a game of association football.
1862 Notts County Own code Association football Nottingham England Football League One NCFC official site history.[43] Oldest of all the association football clubs in the world that are now professional. Club officially founded December 1864
1863 St. George's Hospital Medical School Rugby football Rugby union Hyde Park Corner England BUCS league, South Eastern Conference, League 2A Founding member of United Hospitals RFC, and the only one of the original United Hospitals members that is in the same form as at inception. The team moved to Tooting, South West London, in the 1970s.
1863 [lower-alpha 1] Bradford Park Avenue Rugby football Association football Bradford England Conference North Folded in 1974. Reformed in 1988 as Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C. Founding member of rugby league in 1895. Entered top soccer league in 1907 in what was known as the great betrayal.
1863 Stoke City Charterhouse rules Association football Stoke-on-Trent England Premier League While there are claims of a football club in Stoke formed by old boys of Charterhouse School in 1863 and this is the date given by the current club, little evidence exists of this entity, however there are contemporaneous reports in 1868 of Stoke Ramblers being formed which was the basis of the club known as Stoke City. This club did not contest the FA Cup until 1883–84. Continuous history from reformation in 1908 following the wind up of the original club. It changed its name to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke-on-Trent was granted city status.
1863 Christchurch Own code Rugby union Christchurch New Zealand Division One - Telecom Cup Oldest club now playing rugby union in New Zealand.[44]
1863 [lower-alpha 1] Sydney University Rugby football,
Australian football[45]		 Rugby union University of Sydney Australia New South Wales Rugby Union Foundation date disputed by historican Tom Hickie who argues that it was actually 1865.[46] The oldest Australian rugby union club; according to fullpointsfooty.net, it "flirted with 'Victorian Rules' [Australian rules] in its formative stages."[45] 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 (Unknown) Association football London England British Army competition Won the FA Cup in 1875.
1863 [lower-alpha 1] Civil Service Association football Association football London England Southern Amateur League The only founding member of the FA that still plays association football.[19] The other founding clubs now play rugby or are defunct. Also known as the War Office Club.
1864 Carlton Australian football Australian football Carlton Australia Australian Football League Source: Carlton Football Club.[47] Carlton has participated at the highest level of its code longer than any other club.
1864 Williamstown Australian football Australian football Williamstown Australia Victorian Football League The second club from Williamstown which exists to this day.
1864 Brigg Town Association football Association football Brigg England Northern Premier League Division One South Traditional date.
1865 West of Scotland Rugby football Rugby union Glasgow Scotland Scottish National League Division Three One of the founder members of the SRU.
1865 Bath Rugby football Rugby union Bath England Aviva Premiership Currently in the peak domestic competition for rugby union in England.
1865 Hull Rugby football Rugby league Kingston upon Hull England Super League
1865 Nottingham Forest (Unknown) (possibly Bandy) Association football Nottingham England Football League Championship
1865 London Rugby football Rugby union London England BUCS (rugby union) Merged with St.Bartholomew's RFC in 1995 and now play as The Royal Hospitals RFC.
1866 Harlequins Rugby football Rugby union Twickenham England Aviva Premiership Originally called Hampstead Football Club, the Club was renamed Harlequin Football Club in 1870 as the membership had ceased to be mainly Hampstead based. As the Club's equipment and stationery was all monogrammed HFC, a dictionary was used to find an acceptable alternative name to Hampstead beginning with an H and all members agreed on Harlequin.
1866 Glasgow Academicals Rugby football Rugby union Glasgow Scotland West Regional League Division 1 One of the founder members of the SRU.
1866 Kapunda Australian football Australian football Kapunda Australia Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association
1866 Rochdale Hornets Rugby football Rugby league Rochdale England Championship 1
1866, October 20 Swinton and Pendlebury Rugby football Rugby league Swinton England RFL Championship Won three rugby league Challenge Cups and six championships
1867, July 9 Queen's Park Own code Association football Glasgow Scotland Scottish League Two
1867, September 4 Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Rules Association football Sheffield England Football League Championship The Wednesday Cricket Club formed 1820 in Darnall, Sheffield. Sometimes known as Darnall Wednesday C.C or Sheffield Wednesday C.C. In 1867 a football section was formed known as The Wednesday Football Club. In 1929 the football club officially changed its name to Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.
1868 Tiverton Rugby football Rugby union Tiverton England Tribute Cornwall/Devon League Tiverton Rugby Club is known as Devon's oldest club.
1868 Fordingbridge Turks (Unknown) Association football Fordingbridge England Bournemouth Saturday Football League
1868 Perthshire Rugby football Rugby union Perth Scotland Scottish National League Division Three
1868 York Rugby football Rugby league York England National League Two 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 Rugby union Glasgow Scotland Scottish University competitions
1869 Queen's University Rugby Football Rugby Union Queen's University Belfast Northern Ireland All-Ireland League AIB League, Ulster Senior League Second oldest club in Northern Ireland.
1869, November 3 Hamilton Rugby football Canadian football Hamilton Canada Canadian Football League The HFBC were nicknamed the "Tigers" in 1873. Merged with the Hamilton Flying Wildcats in 1950 to form the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.[48][49][50][51] Oldest current professional gridiron football team.
1869 North Melbourne Australian football Australian football North Melbourne Australia Australian Football League Was briefly known as the 'Hotham Football Club' between 1877 and 1888, due to a change in the town's name.
1869 Kilmarnock Rugby football Association football Kilmarnock Scotland Scottish Premiership Scotland's oldest professional club.
1869 Clapham Rovers Association football Association football London England Sportsman Senior Amateur Division Won the FA Cup in 1880

1870–1879

Date Club Original code Current codes City/Suburb Country Status Notes
1870 Maidenhead United Association football Association football Maidenhead England Conference South
1870 Southend Rugby football Rugby union Southend England National League 2 South
1870, May 12 Port Adelaide Australian football Australian football Port Adelaide Australia Australian Football League Played in the SANFL until 1997 when it entered the AFL.[52] Only pre-existing non-Victorian club to be competing in the league.
1870 Stranraer Association football Association football Stranraer Scotland Scottish League One
1870 Abingdon Town Association football Abingdon England Hellenic Football League
1870 Darwen Rugby football Association football Darwen England West Lancashire Football League The club was wound up in 2009 and later reformed as AFC Darwen.
1870 Burton Rugby football Rugby union Burton upon Trent England Midlands 1 West The club has since changed its name to Burton Rugby Football Club
1870, November 22 Marlow Association football Association football Marlow England Southern Football League
1870 Reigate Priory Association football Association football Reigate England Surrey Elite Intermediate Football League Participated in the first ever FA Cup draw. Believed to be the oldest club in Surrey. Still playing on their original ground.
1871 Ararat Football Club Australian football Australian football Ararat Australia Wimmera Football League
1871 Streatham-Croydon RFC Rugby Football Rugby Union Thornton Heath England Surrey 2 Founded as Streatham Rugby Club but later incorporated Croydon following a move from Streatham Common to Thornton Heath.
1871 Uxbridge Association Football Association Football Uxbridge England Southern Football League Division One Central
1871 Birkenhead Park Rugby Football Rugby union Birkenhead England National League 3 North
1871, December 25 Reading Association football Association football Reading England Football League Championship
1872 Lutterworth Rugby Union Rugby Union Lutterworth England Midlands 2 East (South)
1872 Dumbarton Association football Association football Dumbarton Scotland Scottish Championship Founder member of the Scottish Football League, and joint winners of the first Scottish Football League title in 1890-1.
1872 Rangers Association football Association football Glasgow Scotland Scottish Championship Founder member of the Scottish Football League, and joint winners of the first Scottish Football League title in 1890-1.
1872 Clifton Rugby union Rugby union Clifton England National League 2 South
1872 Havre Athletic Club Rugby football Association football Le Havre France Ligue 2 Founded originally as Rugby and Athletics Club in 1872 by English expats. Oldest football and rugby club in France.
1872, October 5 Wrexham (Unknown) Association football Wrexham Wales Conference National Local reports of a football club of a similar name date back to 1864. Club reformed in 1884, assuming continuity from 1872 or earlier, the oldest football club in Wales of any code
1873 Chippenham Town Association football Association football Chippenham England Southern Football League
1873 Exmouth Rugby football Rugby union Exmouth England National League 2 South
1873 Halifax Rugby football Rugby League Halifax England Championship Founding members of the Northern Rugby Union.
1873, June 7 Essendon Australian football Australian football Essendon Australia Australian Football League
1873 Toronto Argonauts Rugby football Canadian football Toronto Canada Canadian Football League Founded as a rugby team by the Toronto Argonaut Rowing Club, itself founded the year previous in 1872.
1874, June 8 Rochester Football Club Australian football Australian football Rochester Australia Goulburn Valley Football League
1874, June 19 Sydney Swans Australian football Australian football Sydney Australia Australian Football League Previously located and known as South Melbourne. Relocated to Sydney in 1981.
1874 Port Melbourne Australian football Australian football Port Melbourne Australia Victorian Football League
1874 Invercargill Blues Rugby Union Rugby Union Invercargill New Zealand Southland Premier Division Reputedly the oldest rugby club still in existence in New Zealand.
1874 Bolton Wanderers Association Football Association Football Bolton England Football League One The club was originally known as Christ Church and was one of the founder members of the Football League in 1888.
1874 Greenock Morton Association Football Association Football Greenock Scotland Scottish League One
1874 Arthurlie Association Football Association Football Barrhead Scotland Scottish Junior Football West Premier League
1874 Heart of Midlothian Association football Association football Edinburgh Scotland Scottish Premiership
1874 Hamilton Accies Association football Association football Hamilton Scotland Scottish Premiership
1874 Aston Villa Association football Association football Perry Barr England Football League Championship Founded in 1874,[53] also founder member of the Football League.[54]
1874 Northwich Victoria Association football Association football Northwich England Northern Premier League Premier Division The foundation date of Northwich Victoria was at least as early as 1874. Founding member of the Cheshire FA, the Football League Second Division, The Combination and Cheshire County League. Their home ground Drill Field, at the time of its demolition in 2002, it was believed to be the oldest football ground in the world.[55]
1874 Macclesfield Town Association football Association football Macclesfield England National League
1875 [lower-alpha 1] Lampeter Town Rugby football Rugby union Lampeter Wales WRU Division Four West 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.
1875 Birmingham City Association football Association football Small Heath England Football League Championship
1875 Blackburn Rovers Association football Association football Blackburn England Football League Championship

Founder members of both the Football League and the Premier League.[56]

1875, September 11 Bournemouth Association football Association football Bournemouth England Wessex League Known as Bournemouth Poppies to avoid confusion with the League Club AFC Bournemouth Founder Member of the Football Association, the Hampshire F.A. and the Bournemouth F.A. [57]
1875 Dewsbury Rams Rugby Football Rugby League Dewsbury England Championship (rugby league) Won 2 Challenge Cups (1911–12, 1942–43) and 1 Championship (1972–73).
1875 Hibernian Association football Association football Edinburgh Scotland Scottish Championship The Edinburgh derby match between Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian is the oldest regularly played derby match in the world.
1875[58] Club Mercedes Association football Association football Mercedes Argentina Torneo Argentino C The oldest club currently competing in any Argentine association football league.
1875 Redruth Rugby football Rugby union Cornwall England National League 2 South
1875 Taunton Rugby union Rugby union Taunton England National League 2 South
1876 Old Foresters Association football Association football London England Arthurian League Forest School, Walthamstow, started playing football c.1857. The Old Foresters played from shortly after this year, the earliest recorded match versus Forest School in September 1864, but the club was not officially formed until 1876.[59]
1876 South Adelaide Australian football Australian football Adelaide Australia SANFL South Adelaide is the 2nd oldest football club in South Australia.
1876 Bangor City Association Football Association Football Bangor Wales League of Wales
1876 Westmount 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 Port Vale Association Football Association Football Burslem England Football League One The club claim to have been founded in 1876, though contemporary research suggests the club was probably founded in 1879.[60]
1876 Falkirk Association football Association football Falkirk Scotland Scottish Championship
1876 Stafford Rangers Association football Association football Stafford England EVO-STIK Premier, England
1876 Middlesbrough Association football Association football Middlesbrough England Premier League
1876 Partick Thistle Association football Association football Glasgow Scotland Scottish Premiership
1876 Kjøbenhavns Boldklub Danish longball Association football Copenhagen Denmark Danish Superliga Formed in 1876, but association football was only added in 1878. The club itself claims to be the oldest football club in continental Europe. In 1991, Kjøbenhavns Boldklub and B 1903 merged their professional football teams and formed F.C. Copenhagen.
1876 Tynedale Rugby football Rugby union Corbridge England National League 1
1877 Clyde Association football Association football Glasgow Scotland Scottish League Two Moved to Cumbernauld
1877 Crewe Alexandra Association football Association football Crewe England Football League One
1877 St Mirren Association football Association football Paisley Scotland Scottish Championship
1877 Wolverhampton Wanderers Association football Association football Wolverhampton England Football League Championship Formed as St. Lukes, before merging with The Wanderers two years later.[61] Founding member of the Football League.
1878 Norwood Football Club Australian football Australian football Adelaide Australia SANFL One of the oldest football clubs in South Australia
1878 West Bromwich Albion Association football Association football West Bromwich England Premier League Founded as West Bromwich Strollers, before adopting the Albion suffix two years later.[62] Founding member of the Football League.
1878 Everton Association football Association football Liverpool England Premier League Also a founding member of the Football League. The club played cricket for two years before adopting association football, so could be said to have been formed in 1876.
1878 Manchester United Association football Association football Manchester England 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.
1878 Kirkintilloch Rob Roy Association football Association football Kirkintilloch Scotland Scottish Junior Football West Premier League
1878 Lugar Boswell Thistle Association football Association football Lugar Scotland Scottish Junior Football Ayrshire Division One Founded as Lugar Boswell and played until 1939 and reformed 1945 as Lugar Boswell Thistle.
1879 Fulham Association football Association football London England Football League Championship
1879 Brora Rangers Association football Association football Brora Scotland Highland Football League
1879 Sunderland Association football Association football Sunderland England Premier League
1879 Koninklijke HFC Association football Association football Haarlem Netherlands topdivision sunday Oldest Dutch club
1879 Doncaster Rovers Association football Association football Doncaster England Football League One
1879, April 19 St. Gallen Association football Association football St. Gallen Switzerland Swiss Super League Oldest association football club in continental Europe still in existence.
1879 Canterbury Rugby union Rugby union Christchurch New Zealand ITM Cup Oldest provincial rugby team in New Zealand.

1880–1889

Year Club Original code Current codes City/Suburb Country Status Notes
1880 East Craigie Association football Association football Dundee Scotland Scottish Junior Football East Region North Division The Scottish Junior Football Association was founded in 1886. East Craigie pre-date this and are one of the oldest Junior (i.e., non-SFA) clubs still in existence.
1880 Antwerp Association football Association football Antwerp Belgium Belgian Second Division Antwerp was founded in 1880 by English students as Antwerp Athletic Club. A football division named Antwerp Football Club was formed in 1887. It was the first club to register to the Belgian Football Association in 1895 and they later received the matriculate number one.
1880 Manchester City Association football Association football Manchester England Premier League Formed in 1880 as St. Marks Gorton. Became Ardwick A.F.C in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894
1881 Watford Rovers Association football Association football Watford England Premier League One of the oldest clubs to never have won a major trophy.
1882 Tottenham Hotspur Association football Association football Tottenham England Premier League
1882 Burgess Hill Town Association football Association football Burgess Hill England Isthmian League Division One
1883 Balgownie Rangers Association football Association football Balgownie Australia Illawarra District League Oldest currently active association football club in Australia
1883 Bristol Rovers Association football Association football Bristol England League Two
1884 Kiveton Park Association football Association football Sheffield England Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League
1884 Derby County Association football Association football Derby England Football League Championship One of twelve founders of the Football League.[63]
1884 Leicester City Association football Association football Leicester England Premier League Originally known as Leicester Fosse between 1884 and 1919.[64]
1885, February 20 Richmond Australian football Australian football Richmond Australia Australian Football League A number of teams formed in the Richmond area during Australian rules football's rapid expansion of the 1870s and early 1880s. However, all played at a junior level and it was considered an anomaly that Richmond, one of Melbourne's biggest locales, did not boast a senior team. The wait ended when the Richmond Football Club was officially formed on 20 February 1885.
1885 Bury Association football Association football Bury England Football League Two Bury were Second Division Champions in their inaugural season.
1886 Motherwell Association football Association football Motherwell Scotland Scottish Premiership
1886 Arsenal Association football Association football South London England Premier League
1886 North Shore United Association football Association football Auckland New Zealand Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1 Founded as North Shore, NSU are reputedly the oldest extant football club in Oceania.
1887 Académica de Coimbra Association football Association football Coimbra Portugal Primeira Liga The oldest football club in Portugal and the Iberic Peninsula.
1887 Wallsend Association football Association football Wallsend Australia Northern NSW State League Division 1
1888, May 13 SPAC Association football Rugby union São Paulo Brazil Brazilian Rugby Championship First Brazilian football association and rugby union team.
1888 Celtic Association football Association football Glasgow Scotland Scottish Premiership
1888 Northern Association football Association football Dunedin New Zealand FootballSouth Premier League Founded under its current name. Briefly renamed as Dunedin North End (1972–74) and North End United (1974–90).
1888 Roslyn-Wakari Association football Association football Dunedin New Zealand FootballSouth Premier League Founded as Wakari AFC. Name changed to Roslyn AFC in 1890. Team split into Roslyn AFC and Wakari AFC in 1895 before re-amalgamating under its current name in 1904.
1889, March 22 Sheffield United Association football Association football Sheffield England Football League One The oldest football team called United.
1889 Mohun Bagan Association football Association football Kolkata India I-League Calcutta Football League (CFL) It has been dubbed as the National Club of India and has the distinction of being one of the oldest football clubs in Asia, having been established in 1889.
1889, July 12 Adamstown Rosebud Association football Association football Adamstown Australia National Premier Leagues
1889, December 23 Recreativo de Huelva Association football Association football Huelva Spain Segunda División The oldest football club in Spain.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Disputed, poorly documented or dormant for a period.

References

  1. ↑ Magoun, Francis Peabody (1929) "Football in Medieval England and Middle-English Literature." The American Historical Review, v.35, no. 1
  2. ↑ M. Marples, 1954, A History of Football, Secker & Warburg, London, p. 36
  3. ↑ Football The First Hundred Years: The Untold Story by Adrian Harvey, Routledge 2005, page 54
  4. ↑ John Hope, Accounts and papers of the football club kept by John Hope, WS, and some Hope Correspondence 1787–1886 (National Archives of Scotland, GD253/183)
  5. ↑ The Foot-Ball Club in Edinburgh, 1824–1841 – The National Archives of Scotland
  6. ↑ Football The First Hundred Years: The Untold Story by Adrian Harvey, Routledge 2005, page 60
  7. ↑ Football The First Hundred Years: The Untold Story by Adrian Harvey, Routledge 2005, page 85
  8. ↑ The Guardian, 10 June 1848.
  9. ↑ Football The First Hundred Years: The Untold Story by Adrian Harvey, Routledge (2005), pages 78-79
  10. ↑ "Cambridge University Newsletter July/August 2006" (PDF). University of Cambridge. July 2006. p. 4. Retrieved 11 July 2007.
  11. 1 2 "Cambridge... the birthplace of football?!". BBC Cambridgeshire. 13 June 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2007.
  12. ↑ Harvey, Adrian (2005). Football: The first hundred years. Routledge. p. 251.
  13. ↑ Bristed, Charles Astor (1852). Five Years in an English University. p. 365.
  14. ↑ History of the Cambridge University AFC on official website
  15. ↑ Inverdale, John (2 November 2005). "My assumptions about 'oldest' were confounded by Barnes". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  16. ↑ "GKT Gazette – March 2004 – A history of rugby". Guy's, King's & St.Thomas's Hospitals Medical & Dental Schools Gazette.
  17. ↑ "Club history" on Notts County official site
  18. ↑ "Sheffield FC: 150 years of history" at FIFA, 24 October 2007
  19. 1 2 3 London24, 2013, "The FA at 150: A look at the founder clubs". (24 March 2015).
  20. ↑ Tony Collins, 2009, A Social History of English Rugby Union, Routledge, Abingdon, p. 14.
  21. 1 2 Joshua Barrie, "London's oldest football club, Cray Wanderers, could soon have a new home", This is Local London . (24 March 2015).
  22. ↑ The five oldest association football clubs in the world are: 1.Sheffield F.C. (1857), members of the Northern Premier League Division One South; 2. Hallam F.C. (1860) also a Sheffield football club, playing two division below the oldest club (Northern Counties East League Division One) 3. Cray Wanderers F.C. (1861) 4. Worksop Town F.C. (1861); 5. Notts County(1862). Notts County – A Pictorial History ISBN 0-9547830-3-4, p.8
  23. ↑ "Historia del Club" at BACRC official website
  24. ↑ Buenos Aires CRC on "Guía de Clubes", URBA website
  25. ↑ Historia de Fútbol de AFA: Orígenes 1891/1899, by Carlos Yametti. Published by Edición del Autor (2011) - ISBN 978-987-05-9773-5
  26. ↑ El Origen Británico del Deporte Argentino by Víctor Raffo, Gráfica MPS (2004) - ISBN 978-987-43-8107-1
  27. ↑ Higgins 2005, p. 130.
  28. ↑ Eli Schmerler and Carlos Manuel Nieto Tarazona (14 March 2013). "Peru - Foundation Dates of Clubs". RSSSF. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  29. 1 2 World Rugby 1820-1870 at RFU.com
  30. 1 2 "Decano entre decanos" by Claudio Barragán & Gustavo Castro at El Area website
  31. ↑ "Team history" on McGill RFC website
  32. ↑ History of Westmount RC
  33. ↑ The Scotsman Newspaper, 22 December 1863, page 8
  34. ↑ Hernandez, Anthony (15 May 2009). "Avec Louvel, "Le Havre est devenu un club de Ligue 2" selon les supporters". Le Monde.fr. Groupe Le Monde. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  35. ↑ "Geschichte des FC St.Gallen" [History of FC St. Gallen]. FC St. Gallen (in German). fcsg.ch. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  36. ↑ "En kort version af vores klubs historie". kb-boldklub.dk. Kjøbenhavns Boldklub. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  37. ↑ Hammer, Marie-Louise. "Kjøbenhavns Boldklub". Denstoredanske.dk. Gyldendal. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  38. ↑ "Famous Sons". Sheffield F.C.
  39. ↑ "Goldfields club endures". The Age. Melbourne. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007.
  40. ↑ Ballarat Football Netball Club – Club History
  41. ↑ Morris, Terry. Vain Games of No Value?: A Social History of Association Football in Britain During Its Long First Century.
  42. ↑ History of the club at Barnes RFC website
  43. ↑ "The History Of Notts County". Notts County F.C.
  44. ↑ "Rugby Union Football – History". The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  45. 1 2 "Sydney University".
  46. ↑ Hickie, T. A Sense of Union
  47. ↑ "History of the Blues". Carlton Football Club.
  48. ↑ "Canadian Football Timelines (1860 – Present)".
  49. ↑ "Tiger-Cats History".
  50. ↑ "Grey Cup 06 Newsletter".
  51. ↑ "Here's hoping the Ticats turn it around".
  52. ↑ South Australian Register, 13 May 1870.
  53. ↑ "History Timeline, avfc.co.uk".
  54. ↑ "History McGregor, avfc.co.uk".
  55. ↑ "Time called on Drill Field". BBC News. 19 October 2000.
  56. ↑ History of the Football League, 22 September 2010
  57. ↑ The history of Bournemouth FC, 13 June 2009
  58. ↑ Historia del Club Mercedes at official website
  59. ↑ P.C. Adams: "From Little Acorns", 1976
  60. ↑ The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale, ISBN 0-9508981-4-7, pages 4–13, 1990, The Port Vale Record, ISBN 0-9508981-9-8, page 4, 1993, and What If There Had Been No Port In The Vale?: Startling Port Vale Stories, ISBN 978-0-9529152-8-7, pages 18–33, 2011, all by Kent, Jeff.
  61. ↑ Matthews, Tony (2008). Wolverhampton Wanderers: The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-632-3.
  62. ↑ McOwan pp. 7–10.
  63. ↑ "League to honour Founder Clubs". Football League 125. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  64. ↑ "Leicester Fosse 1884-1919". Leicester City F.C. Retrieved 13 May 2016.

External links

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