Oldest football club

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 codes of football.

Related Topics:
Football club - Football

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Many early Rugby football clubs are included as they initially referred to themselves, or continue to refer to themselves, as simply a "football club", or as a "Rugby football club". Other early clubs did not use the word football in their name at all.

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The first football club in the world was Guy's Hospital Football Club, founded by staff at Guy's Hospital in London in 1843, to play Rugby football, a game which was played previously only by school teams. 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.http://www.gktgazette.com/2004/mar/features.asp#2 The oldest football club with a well-documented, continuous history is Dublin University Football Club founded in 1854 at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, which is also a Rugby club.

Related Topics:
Guy's Hospital Football Club - Guy's Hospital - London - 1843 - Dublin University Football Club - 1854 - Trinity College, Dublin - Ireland

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Sheffield Football Club, in Sheffield, England is the oldest non-university club, and was founded in 1857. It initially played a code of its own devising and later switched to Association football (soccer).

Related Topics:
Sheffield Football Club - Sheffield - 1857 - Association football

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The oldest known football clubs (excluding school teams), and the codes they initially played, are:

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• 1843: Guy's Hospital Football Club*, Rugby football, London, England.
• 1854: Dublin University Football Club, Rugby football, Trinity College, Dublin Ireland.
• 1856: Cambridge University Football Club*, Cambridge rules, later Association football (soccer), Cambridge, England.
• 1857: Sheffield Football Club, Sheffield rules (later Association football), Sheffield, England.
• 1857-58: Edinburgh Academical Football Club, Rugby football, Edinburgh, Scotland.
• 1858: Melbourne Football Club, Australian rules football, Melbourne, Australia.
• 1858: Blackheath Football Club, Rugby football, Blackheath, London, England. Foundation member of the Football Association.
• 1858 Liverpool Football Club, Rugby football, Liverpool, England. Later known as Liverpool St Helens F.C.
• 1859: Geelong Football Club, unknown, (later Australian rules football), Geelong, Australia.
• 1859: Melbourne University Football Club, unknown, (later Australian rules football), Melbourne, Australia.
• 1860: Cray Wanderers Football Club, unknown (later Association football) Bromley, Kent, England.
• 1860: Hallam Football Club, Sheffield rules, (later Association football), Sheffield, England.
• 1860: Forest Football Club (later Wanderers F.C.), unknown (later Association football), Leytonstone, London, England.
• 1860: Manchester Football Club, Rugby football, Manchester, England. No connection to Manchester United or Manchester City FC.
• 1861?: Crystal Palace Football Club* (no connection to the later Crystal Palace F.C.), unknown (later Association football), London, England. Foundation member of F.A.
• 1861: Barnes Club, Rugby football, London, England. Foundation member of F.A.
• 1861: Oneida Football Club*, unknown (possibly the Boston Game), Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
• 1861: Richmond Football Club, Rugby football, London, England.
• 1861: Sale Football Club, Rugby football, Manchester, England.
• 1862-63: Nottinghamshire County Football Club, own rules, later Association football, Nottingham, England.
• 1863: Christchurch Football Club, Rugby football, New Zealand. Oldest NZ Rugby club.
• 1863: Sydney University Football Club, Rugby football, Sydney, Australia. Oldest Australian Rugby club.
• 1863: Civil Service Football Club, Association football, London, England.
• 1863: Royal Engineers Football Club, Association football, London, England
• 1863?: N.N. Club*, unknown (later Association football), Kilburn, London, England. N.N. stood for "No Names". Foundation member of F.A.
• 1863?: War Office Club*, unknown (later Association football), London, England. Foundation member of F.A.
• 1863?: Crusaders Football Club*, unknown (later Association football), London, England. Foundation member of F.A.
• 1863?: Percival House Football Club*, Rugby football, London, England. Foundation member of F.A.
• 1863?: Surbiton Football Club*, Rugby football, Surbiton, London, England. Foundation member of F.A.
• 1864: Montreal Football Club*, Rugby football, Montreal, Canada.
• 1865: Hull Football Club, Rugby football, Hull, England. The oldest club to subsequently play rugby league.

*= defunct, disputed, poorly documented or dormant for a period.

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