UK and SpainProviding information for the UK and Spain since 1998 |
Football teams in the UK and football teams in Spain |
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Professional football teams in Spain : Football has been played competitively in Spain for over 100 years, with many of the country's oldest clubs celebrating their centenary years in the last couple of seasons. Spain's Liga is one of the most competitive leagues in Europe and boasts some of the most flowing technical and stylish football played in the world; Real Madrid - the most successful club in history, FC Barcelona - more members than any club in the world and, of course, 'La Roja', the National Team - 2008 European Championship winners. Spanish football clubs feature very heavily in the Spanish culture, with the majority of the population of Spain always celebrating wildly when Spain has done well in one of the competitions. When Spain beat Germany in the European Football Cup in 2008, nearly all of Spain were celebrating into the early hours of the next day! The
football clubs in Spain are usually well attended, with very loyal supporters,
but ironically,
even though Spanish football teams usually do very well in European football competitions,
the Spanish national side have never won the World cup, in fact, if you look
through the list further down below for the World cup, you'll see that Spain hasn't even
reached the World cup final, but who knows, maybe it's their turn soon!
Alaves
The official name of the Alaves football club in Spain, is - Club Deportivo Alaves
Nearest Airport - Vitoria airport - served by Ryanair from Stansted.
Closest other airports with direct UK Flights – Bilbao Airport, Santander
Airport
Almería - UD Almería Almoradi
Granada Atlético Club de Fútbol is a football team based in Granada. it plays in the Tercera División - Group 9. The home ground for Granada Atletico is Los Cármenes with a capacity of 16,200 seats. In 2004, Granada Atlético was created and immediately bought the seat of Guadix CD and thus obtained a seat in Tercera División. Today Guadix CD, plays in Regional Preferente - Granada.
Malaga Airport is the nearest Airport to Malaga Football Club. However you could also fly to Granada Airport which is about 1 hour drive away or Gibraltar Airport about 1 hour 45 minutes away. The club plays it's home games in the 33,000 seater Estadio La Rosaleda in Málaga.
Osasuna
Pego - Pego CF
Pinoso
Polop
Rayo Vallecano
Real Betis
Real Madrid CF Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (also known as Real Madrid, Los Blancos, Los Merengues) is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. It holds the record as the most successful club in Spanish football and was voted by FIFA as the most successful football team of the 20th century, having won a record thirty-one La Liga titles, seventeen Spanish Cups, a record nine European Cups and two UEFA Cups. Real was a founding member of The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the now-defunct G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs as well as its replacement, the European Club Association. Founded in 1902, Real Madrid has since spent all of its history in the top flight of Spanish football. In the 1940s, the club, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and the Ciudad Deportiva were rebuilt following the Spanish Civil War. During the 1950s, Real Madrid established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football. During the second half of the 1980s, the club had one of the best teams in Spain and Europe (known as La Quinta del Buitre), winning two UEFA Cups, five Spanish championships in a row, one Spanish cup and three Spanish Super Cups. The club's traditional kit colours are all white. It has played its home professional games in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in downtown Madrid since 1947. Unlike most European football clubs, the club members (socios) have owned and operated Real Madrid since its foundation.
Sevilla is an unusual football club. The club is owned by the fans, with the stocks distributed across a few major holders and a large base of fans. The club supports one of the most renowned training academies in the country, which has produced many famous players. Sevilla FC has also promoted innovations such as a school of sport psychologists, who provide support for the younger as well as the professional players, and also more recently sports nutrition and medicine. Another recent success for Sevilla FC has been the establishment of its own radio station, "Sevilla FC Radio" (the first of its kind in Spain), their own local tv channel, "SFC TV", as well as other official media. The home ground for Sevilla FC is the Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, which is named after its former president Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán and has a spectator capacity of 45,500. The stadium is located in the neighborhood of Nervión. Sevilla's performance in La Liga in the last few seasons has led to an increase in the number of season ticket holders, making it necessary to create a waiting list for tickets. Seville Airport is the nearest airport. You could also fly into Jerez Airport which is about 1 hour drive away, Gibraltar Airport which is about 2 hours drive, Faro Airport which is about 1 hour 30 minutes away.
In Torrevieja, football started to become popular during the time of the First World War. Although there were no official clubs, local men would clear a field, set up goalposts and play a match. The first official ground was inaugurated in 1920 on a field in what is today called colonia de San Esteban very near to what is now the town’s bus station. In the small plaza behind the station we can see a statue of a footballer to commemorate this fact. The first reference to Torrevieja Club de Futbol is in 1923 and although there was no official league for them to play in, friendlies and summer cup competitions were arranged against other teams in the Vega Baja region. During the Spanish Civil War (1936 - 1939) football, like most things, came to a standstill. It was not until the mid 1950’s that Torrevieja again had an official team, or teams, as two sides – Espanol Frente de Juventudes (known as el Hueso) and Club Deportivo Torrevejense (known as el Remiendo) were formed. Both the Torrevieja sides continued to play only in friendlies and cup matches and participated in competitions like the “San Pedro Cup” and the “Vega Baja Cup” without any success to mention. Matches from this period are still remembered with affection in the town with the likes of Murcia, Hercules and Orihuela visiting Torrevieja. Another peculiarity of the times was that there was no admission charged for the match, instead “the hat” was passed round the ground for fans to make whatever contribution they could. Over the next 15 years both of the Torrevejense clubs folded, leaving a void which was filled in 1971 with the foundation of Torrevieja Club de Futbol. This came about after an appeal by the local press for the formation of a new club as well as a new ground. Football fever was now sweeping the town and the Mayor at the time, Sr. Vicente Garcia Garcia and his administration took on the task to build the football ground we have today. The ground was named (and is still named) the Estadio Municipal Vicente Garcia (to give the ground it’s full title) and was inaugurated with a match against Hercules Alicante in 1971. Torrevieja CF made their league debut in 1971/72 season, playing in the Valencian second regional division (two below their current level) and reached Regional Preferente (the level they are currently playing) in 1976. In 1978 the Club achieved promotion to the 3rd. Division. The whole town threw a massive fiesta as the local club, founded 7 seasons previously had reached the national level within Spanish football. Nearest airport to Torrevieja - Alicante airport and Murcia airport Utiel
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Professional football teams in the UK : English football clubs generally do quite well in the European football championships, with English football teams featuring quite heavily in the football contests mentioned below and so do some of the Scottish football teams! However, the England football team themselves, usually don't do so well in the world cup, (apart from winning the World cup in 1966!!). English football teams Accrington Stanley Telephone +44 (0) 1254 356 950 The name of Accrington Stanley was made famous by a milk advert involving Ian Rush in the 1980's, which played on the obscurity of the club. In fact Accrington Stanley is a name that goes back a long way in connection with Association Football. The current Accrington Stanley team is, however, not connected with previous Football League clubs with the same or similar names. When the league founded in 1888, one of the founding members was Accrington F.C. They withdrew from the league and another team in the town Stanley F.C. took on the Accrington name to become Accrington Stanley. This version of Accrington Stanley played in the Football League from 1921 to 1962, with the club folding due to financial problems in 1966. Whilst not connected with these two clubs, the new Accrington Stanley team feels it is built on the legacy of the former clubs. They were formed at a meeting at the town library in 1968 and having played in non-league football for 44 years, finally gave Accrington a Football League club again after winning the Conference championship in 2006. Ironically they replaced Oxford United, the team that replaced the older Accrington Stanley team in 1962.
Telephone +44 (0) 1252 320 211 Aldershot Town Football Club is a Football League club based in Aldershot, England, founded in the spring of 1992 just after the closure of debt-ridden Fourth Division Aldershot F.C.. The latter, founded in 1926, had been a League member since 1932 and a founder member of the fourth division. Aldershot Town plays at The Recreation Ground in Aldershot, which for sponsorship reasons is now called 'The EBB Stadium at The Recreation Ground'. The team competes in Football League Two after winning promotion back to the Football League on 15 April 2008 by winning the Conference National. Aldershot Town is also the current holder of the Conference League Cup.
Telephone +44 (0) 2077 044 000 Formed 1886.
Telephone +44 (0) 1213 272 299 Formed 1874.
Telephone +44 (0) 2084 416 932 Barnet F.C. was formed in 1888, although the club existed from 1882 under two previous names, Woodville F.C. and New Barnet F.C. They played their early football in the London leagues and entered cup competitions where they would regularly face the more well known London teams. They once beat Tottenham Hotspur 5-0 and Thames Ironworks, better known as West Ham United, were another loval team they lined up against in those early days. Barnet F.C. has played most of its football outside of the Football League, being members of the Athenian League from 1965 to 1991. The club enjoyed a lot of success as amateurs and won the Athenian League Championship and FA Amateur Cup during this time. In the early 1970's the club enjoyed some good FA Cup runs. They beat the then Fourth Division side Newport County 6-1, equalling the record victory margin for a non-league side over a Football League side in the FA Cup. In 1991 the team won the Conference championship and were promoted to the Football League.
Telephone +44 (0) 1226 211 211 Barnsley F.C., also known as 'The Tykes', were first formed as Barnsley St Peters in 1887. They were founder members of the Sheffield and District League in 1890, before moving to the Midland League from 1895. They were subsequently elected to the Football League in 1898. The first ten years in the Football League Second Division were a struggle, mostly due to financial difficulties. In 1910, however, things began to improve with the team reaching the FA Cup finals, only to lose in a replay to Newcastle United.
Telephone +44 (0) 121 772 0101 Bimingham City formed in 1875 under the name Small Heath Alliance. In 1888 they became Small Heath, in 1905 Birmingham F.C. and finally in 1943 Birmingham City F.C. In the 1892-1893 season they were founder members and inaugural champions of the Football League Second Division. Unfortunately, promotion was not automatic and a test match system was used, resulting in Small Heath failing to gain promotion until the following year. The club originally played its home fixtures on waste ground, eventually moving to a fenced off field in Ladypool Road, Sparbrook so that they could charge for admission. A year later they moved again to Muntz Street, Small Heath. The new ground had a capacity for about 10,000 spectators, which was eventually raised to 30,000. When thousands of fans scaled the walls for a game against arch rivals Aston Villa, plans for a new stadium were drawn up. In 1906 the club moved to its current stadium at St Andrews, reputed to have originally held 75,000 spectators.
Telephone +44 (0) 1254 698 888 Formed 1875. Blackburn Rovers was formed in 1875 during a meeting in a hotel in Blackburn. John Lewis, one of the founder members and also a player, later refereed the Gold Medal match in the 1920 Olympics. Blackburn is one of only three clubs to be founder members of both the football league in 1888 and the Premier League in 1992. Blackburn had no ground until they rented a piece of farmland at Oozehead in 1876, eventually moving to Ewood Park in 1890.
Telephone +44 (0) 1253 404 331 Blackpool Football Club history began in 1877 when the Victoria Football Club was founded. Victoria was disbanded during the next decade to be replaced by Blackpool St Johns. A dispute between players led to a meeting on the 26th July 1887 at the Stanley Arms Hotel. At this meeting it was resolved 'that a club be formed to be known as Blackpool Football Club'. The following year Blackpool joined the Lancashire League as founder members, winning the championship in 1893-94. In 1896 the club became a limited company and made a successful application to join the Football League Second Division.
Telephone +44 (0) 1204 673 673 Formed 1874. Originally formed in 1874 as Christ Church FC, the club later changed its name to Bolton Wanderers. They were one of the founder members of The Football League in 1888. The club reached the FA Cup Final in 1894 and again in 1904, but were beaten on both occasions. In 1923 they finally won 2-0 over West Ham in what was the first ever Wembley Cup Final, in front of 127,000 fans. The nickname for Bolton Wanderers is usually The Trotters and their home ground is The Reebok Stadium, with a capacity of 28,101.
Telephone +44 (0) 1202 726 300 A.F.C. Bournemouth was formed in 1899 as Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic. It should not be confused with Bournemouth F.C., who were formed earlier in 1875, but have never been members of the Football League. The club became A.F.C. Bournemouth in 1972, which for many years made them notable as the club with the longest name in the Football League. The club made their initial steps to professionalism in 1910, signing their first paid player from Southampton for £10. They joined the Southern League in 1920 and joined the Third Division (South) of the Football League for the 1923-24 season.
Telephone +44 (0) 1254 773 355 Bradford City was formed in 1903. However, to find the true beginnings of the club, one has to look at Manningham Rugby Club, established in 1880. In 1895 Manningham became one of the leading founders of the new breakaway code Rugby League, winning the first championship played under the new code. After this, however, the club's fortunes went into a decline. With finances in a precarious situation, the club began to look at the idea of housing a football team on the Valley Parade ground. The idea attracted a lot of interest and support from other Football League teams in the area, and in 1903 Bradford City was born. Amazingly they signed a completely new team and were admitted to the Football League without playing a match. The team could still have been wound up by members of the Rugby team, who voted instead to continue with the new sport. Bradford found their feet quickly in the Football League Second Division, winning the division and gaining promotion to Division One in 1908. In 1911 the team tasted FA Cup glory, beating Newcastle in the final, following a replay.
Telephone +44 (0) 208 847 2511 Many of the older teams in the Football League were formed to provide a winter sport for established cricket teams. Brentford F.C. has a similar story, the team was founded in 1889 to provide a winter pursuit for an established sports club. The sport on this occasion sport wasn't the usual cricket but instead rowing. At the crucial meeting, it was decided to start a football team and call the new club 'Brentford Football Club'. There was one small matter to be decided, however, which had been put on the agenda for the next meeting a week later. This was the question 'Association Football or Rugby Football?' Association Football got the vote. The team has played since 1904 at Griffin Park, which has the unique feature of having a pub in every corner of the ground. One of the pubs is owned by the team. Since 2002, however, moves have been afoot to relocate the team to a new state of the art complex in Lionel Road. After mixed fortunes in the Southern League the team joined the Football League as founder members of the new Third Division (South) in 1920.
Telephone +44 (0) 1273 778 855 Brighton and Hove Albion F.C. were founded in 1901 and joined the Football League in 1920. Prior to this they had played in the Southern League. During this time they won the FA Charity Shield in 1910 by defeating Football League champions Aston Villa in the final. The club had to wait until 1979 before reaching the top tier of the League. A 4-0 home defeat by Arsenal provided a rather unpleasant welcome to the top flight for Brighton but they managed to rally the season later on and finished safely. They hung on for four years before finally succumbing to relegation. Much of the clubs recent history has been dogged by Stadium troubles. With the club struggling to stay on in the Football League in 1996-97, a 1-1 draw against Hereford was just enough to consign Hereford to relegation instead of Brighton on goals scored. This was the last season at the Goldstone Ground. The Directors made the decision to sell the ground, leaving the club homeless and forcing them to ground share with Gillingham in Kent. This lasted for two years, before the team moved to Withdean Stadium. A major campaign continues with the fans to provide a new purpose built stadium at Falmer.
Telephone +44 (0) 1179 630 630 In 1897 the amateur team Bristol South End turned professional and changed their name to Bristol City. In 1900 the team merged with another local team Bedminster F.C. They joined the Football League Second Division in 1901 and were promoted to the First Division as Champions in 1906. In 1909 they reached the cup final, losing to Manchester United.
Telephone +44 (0) 1179 096 648 Bristol Rovers F.C. was formed in 1883 as Black Arabs F.C. This name came from the Arabs Rugby team and the predominantly Black kit the team wore in its early years. The name only lasted one season and was changed to Eastville Rovers F.C. in a bid to attract more fans from the local area. The club is nicknamed the Pirates due to their maritime connections. In 1897 the team then turned professional and became Bristol Eastville Rovers. This was shortened in 1899 to Bristol Rovers. Later that year the team joined the Southern League, where they remained until joining the Football League in 1920 when many of the Southern League teams joined the newly formed Division Three (South). This was after the team were crowned Southern League Champions in 1905.
Telephone +44 (0) 1282 700 000 Burnley Football Club was founded in 1882 after Burnley Rovers Football Club decided to switch from Rugby Union to Association Football. In 1888 they were amongst the founder members of the Football League. The early years saw the team hovering between the First and Second Division. The team was the centre of a scandal when their goalkeeper attempted to bribe members of the opposition team on the last day of the 1899-00 season, which saw Burnley relegated for the second time to the Second Division. 1911-12 marked the beginnings of an upturn in the clubs fortunes. By now the club had changed to their now familiar Claret and Blue colours giving them the nickname 'The Clarets'.
Telephone +44 (0) 161 764 4881 Bury F.C. was founded in 1885 when the club took on the lease at Gigg Lane, still the club's home today. They were founder members of the Lancashire League in 1889, before joining the Football League Division Two in 1894. They won the Second Division title at the first attempt, gaining promotion to the top flight, where they remained until 1912. Whilst in the First Division, they tasted FA Cup glory twice, in 1900 and 1903, on one occasion beating Southampton 4-0 in the final. Amazingly the 1903 cup success was achieved without having conceded a goal in the entire competition. There was a brief return to the top flight in the 1920's, with the team recording its highest ever Football League finish of fourth in 1926.
Telephone +44 (0) 2920 221 001 Cardiff City Football Club, or 'Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd' in their native Welsh tongue, were founded in 1899. Cardiff were admitted to the Football League in 1920 and the newcomers showed they were more than ready, winning promotion to the First Division in their first year. The Cardiff fans responded too, 25,000 turned up to watch their first league match at Ninian Park, with a season average gate of over 29,000.
Telephone +44 (0) 1228 526 237 Carlisle United was founded in 1903 from the merger of two local clubs, Carlisle Red Rose and Shaddongate United. The name was actually changed following the Annual General Meeting of Shaddongate United in 1904. Carlisle joined the Lancashire Combination League in 1905 having previously achieved a league and cup double in the Cumberland League. They entered the North Eastern League in 1910, following restructuring of the Lancashire league. At first this had a negative effect, with the locals showing less interest until after the end of World War One when interest in football began to increase. In 1921-22 they won the North Eastern League championship for the first time. In 1928 they were elected to the Football League Third North.
Telephone +44 (0) 208 333 4000 Formed 1905. Charlton Athletic F.C., known as 'The Addicks' were first formed in 1905 by a group of local 15-17 year olds. The early development of the club was overshadowed by the presence of near neighbours Woolwich Arsenal. This hampered the growth of the club until Arsenal moved to North London in 1913. Charlton turned professional in 1920, joining the Southern League for just one season before being elected to the Football League.
Telephone +44 2078 356 000 Formed 1905. In 1896, Henry Augustus "Gus" Mears, football enthusiast and businessman, along with his brother, Joseph Mears, purchased the Stamford Bridge Athletics Ground in Fulham, West London, with the intention of staging first-class football matches there, though they had to wait until 1904 to buy the freehold, when the previous owner died. They failed to persuade Fulham Football Club to adopt the ground as their home after a dispute over the rent, so Mears considered selling to the Great Western Railway Company, who wanted to use the land as a coal-dumping yard. There is an unconfirmed story regarding the incident that claims Mears was on the verge of selling, and was being persuaded by his colleague Fred Parker not to, when Mears' scotch terrier bit Parker on the leg. Parker took the incident in good spirit so Mears, impressed by this, decided to take his colleague's advice and found a new football club to play at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea F.C. was founded on March 14, 1905 at The Rising Sun pub (now The Butcher's Hook) opposite today's main entrance to the ground on the Fulham Road. Since there was already a team named Fulham in the borough, the name of the adjacent borough, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, was settled on after London FC, Kensington FC and Stamford Bridge FC had been rejected. Chelsea were denied entry to the Southern League following objections from Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur, so instead, applied for admission to the Football League. Their candidacy was endorsed at the Football League AGM on May 29, 1905, with a speech by Parker, which emphasised the new club's financial stability and its impressive new stadium and team playing an important part. Blue shirts were adopted by Mears, after the racing colors of Lord Chelsea, along with white shorts and dark blue socks. The club's first league match took place away at Stockport County on September 2, 1905. They lost the game 1-0. Their first home match was against Liverpool in a friendly. They won 4-0. Chelsea Football Club, as one of the most famous Association Football clubs in England, has a long, unique and idiosyncratic history, and has experienced both the highs and the lows of the game. From its early days as the butt of a music hall jokes for their lack of success, to being 1954-55 Champions following a revamp. From the glamorous, talented and flamboyant team which emerged in swinging London in the mid-1960s to put the club on the footballing map for the first time, to the financial and on-pitch woes that almost forced its extinction in the early 1980s. From the rejuvenated side of the mid-1980s that returned it to stability, to the cosmopolitan renaissance of the late-1990s, which saw it challenge for honours again, to a takeover in June 2003 which contributed to its current status as one of the dominant teams in the country.
Telephone +44 (0) 1242 573558 There are reports of football going on in Cheltenham from as early as the first half of the 19th century. The first known instance of using three officials (albeit two in the field of play and one off field official) was recorded in Cheltenham in 1849. The modern club dates back to 1887, when Albert Close White returned from his studies in London. He had discovered Association Football whilst at college and decided to start a team in his native Cheltenham. The team is nicknamed 'The Robins' due to the read and white shirts they wear. Cheltenham turned professional in 1932 and joined the Southern League in 1935.
Telephone +44 (0) 1244 371 376 Chester City F.C. was founded in 1885 when Chester Rovers and Old King's Scholars decided to amalgamate. Originally the team was just known as Chester F.C., but changed its name to Chester City F.C. in 1983. The team played only friendlies in its early years, joining the Combination League in 1890. Problems with their home ground caused a temporary halt to operations in 1899-1900, but in 1901 the club relocated to Whipcord Lane. This was the start of a successful period for the club, culminating in the Combination League Championship in 1909, following five consecutive years as runners-up. Chester joined the Football League in 1931 and enjoyed moderate success, finishing in the top ten of Division Three (North) throughout the thirties.
Telephone +44 (0) 1246 209 765 Chesterfield F.C. is the fourth oldest Football League club in England, having been founded in 1867. There is some evidence of a notion being presented but rejected, by Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, for creating a football team in Chesterfield way back in 1435. The team plays football at the 8,500 capacity Recreation Ground though the stadium is often known as Saltergate, after the road it is situated in. It is one the oldest football grounds in England that is still in use today. Despite their long history, Chesterfield has never been in the top flight of the Football League. The team joined the Football League Division Two in 1899, but failed to gain re-election and had to rejoin the Midland League in 1909. After becoming Midland League champions on two occasions, they rejoined the Football League as founder members of Division Three (North) in 1921.
Telephone +44 (0) 1206 508 800 Colchester United F.C. was formed in 1937, the same year that the local amateur club Colchester Town F.C. folded. The club briefly shared the ground Layer Road with the amateur club, but were never actually affiliated. The team count Ipswich Town and Southend United as their biggest rivals, although a rivalry with Wycombe Wanderers grew for a while following some crowd trouble at a match between the two in the 1985-86 season. The club played in various leagues, such as the Eastern Counties League and the Southern League before joining the Football League in 1950.
Telephone +44 (0) 2476 234 000 Coventry City F.C. was formed in 1883 by employees of local cycle manufacturer Singers, which became the team name. In 1893 the club turned professional after winning three cups, the Walsall Cup, the Wednesbury Cup and the Birmingham Cup in the previous year. They changed the name to Coventry City F.C. and moved to Highfield Road in 1898. The club originally picked up the nickname 'The Bantams' as they were considered lightweights of the Southern League. In 1962 the club adopted the sky blue colours and were renamed 'The Sky Blues' by Jimmy Hill. The club were elected to the Football League after the First World War.
Telephone +44 (0) 1270 213014 Crewe Alexandra F.C. was formed in 1877. They played in the Football Alliance (a rival to the Football League) briefly, before joining the Football League Division Two as founder members in 1892. They only stayed there for five years, however, before being relegated to non-league football. Crewe then proceeded to sign its players as professionals and finally returned to the football league in the 1920's. They won the Welsh cup in 1936 and 1937 before being barred from entering the competition, mostly for not being Welsh. The team struggled in the lower reaches of the league from the 1950's to the 1980's leading to Michael Palin's 1979 comment in a railway documentary, "like those other railway towns … perpetually propping up the bottom of the Fourth Division".
Telephone +44 (0) 208 768 6000 Crystal Palace F.C. was founded in 1905 by workers at Crystal Palace (formerly the site of The Great Exhibition in the time of Queen Victoria). The team played on the Cup Final ground at Crystal Palace. After a brief stay at 'The Nest' in Selhurst, they moved into Selhurst Park in 1924. Palace joined the Football League Division Three in 1921 and finished as champions.
Telephone +44 (0) 2085 927 194 Dagenham and Redbridge F.C. is a very new club, having formed in 1992 out of a merger of Dagenham F.C. and Redbridge Forest F.C. However, the club can trace its roots back to four, much older, amateur clubs; Ilford (1881), Leytonstone (1886), Walthamstow Avenue (1900) and Dagenham (1949). All four clubs achieved success as amateur teams, particularly Leytonstone, who won the FA Amateur Cup three times and the Isthmian League nine times. In 1979, Ilford and Leytonstone merged and in 1988 struggling Walthamstow was amalgamated with the club to form Redbridge Forest. In 1992 Redbridge merged with Dagenham. The club was initially in the Conference but was relegated in 1996 to the Isthmian League. They won promotion again in 2000 and for the next three years challenged for promotion to the Football League.
Telephone +44 (0) 1325 240 240 Darlington F.C. was founded in 1883 at Darlington Grammar School. The club are nicknamed 'Darlo' or 'The Quakers', the latter due to the town's connections with the religious movement. The club badge features a Quaker style hat. They joined the Northern League in 1886 and won the league on two occasions before turning professional and joining the North Eastern League in 1908. In 1920 they finished as runner-up and won the championship the next year. This coincided with the formation of the new Football League Third Division (North) and they were elected as founder members. Since joining the league in 1921, Darlington has spent all of its time in the lower divisions of the Football League, apart from two seasons spent in Division Two in the 1920's.
Telephone +44 (0) 1332 202 202 Derby County is a football club with a long history, founded in 1884 as an offshoot of Derbyshire County Cricket Club. They competed initially mostly in informal competitions, but also entered the FA Cup. They were amongst the founder members of the Football League in 1888. In the early days the club played at The Racecourse Ground but in 1895 they moved to The Baseball Ground, which was to be the clubs home for the next 102 years. Also at this time, the team adopted its now traditional colour scheme of black and white.
Telephone +44 (0) 1302 764 664 Doncaster Rovers were formed in 1879 by apprentices from the local railway works. Following a one-off match, the lads agreed to form a club whilst walking home, as they had enjoyed the experience. They even decided there and then on the name Doncaster Rovers. Rovers played in the Midland Alliance and Midland League successfully before joining the Football League in 1901. It was a roller-coaster ride until World War I, however, with regular relegation and re-election to and from the Midland League during this time. In 1914 the club went into voluntary liquidation and was reformed a month later. Shortly afterwards the team had to suspend operations as they failed to raise a team and their ground was in use by the army. After resuming operations, the club were elected to the Football League again in 1923.
Telephone +44 (0) 1513 302 200 Formed 1878.
Telephone +44 (0) 1392 411 243 Exeter City FC were founded in 1904 and began playing on an old field used for fattening pigs, St James Park (not to be confused with the home of Newcastle United or Brackley Town) Exeter remain at St James Park to this day. The club is nicknamed "The Grecians". City's home kit consists of red and white shirts, black shorts, and black socks. Their away kit is blue. City's record league victories are their 8-1 triumphs against Coventry City in 1926 and Aldershot in 1935 (the score was 0-0 against Aldershot at half-time!). In the FA Cup, they beat Aberdare Athletic 9-1 in 1927. City's record league defeats are the 9-0 defeats against Notts County in 1948 and Northampton Town in 1958. Exeter City Football Club are an English football club, based in Exeter, who were members of the Football League from 1920 to 2003, and rejoined the league for the 2008–09 season, after 5 seasons in the Conference National. Exeter City's record home attendance at St. James' Park is 20,984 who witnessed Exeter lose 4-2 to Sunderland in an FA Cup Sixth Round Replay in 1931. Exeter City's record away attendance was 67,551 in January 2005 at Old Trafford, watching City draw 0-0 with Manchester United in the FA Cup Third Round. The highest number of City fans watching an Exeter City game was probably at the Conference play-off final in 2007, when over 30,000 Grecians made it to the Wembley Stadium. Exeter City FC was formed from two predecessor clubs: - Exeter United and St Sidwell's United. Exeter United were a football club from Exeter, Devon, who played between 1890 and 1904. In 1904, Exeter United lost 3-1 to local rivals St Sidwell's United and after the match, it was agreed that the two clubs should become one. The new team took the name Exeter City and continued to play at Exeter United's ground, St James Park, where Exeter City still play today. The team formed from the cricket team of the same name and thus the first football team with the moniker 'United'. St Sidwell's United (which had also been known as St Sidwell's Wesleyans and St Sidwell's Old Boys) was a club that had formed from the regulars who frequented the Foresters Inn in Sidwell Street, Exeter; although the public house was always known as the Drum and Monkey. They played in St Sidwell's old colours of green and white. On September 10 1904, Exeter City played their first ever competitive match: - a 2-1 victory at St James's over 110th Battery of the Royal Artillery, in the East Devon League. The attendance was 600, and the winning goal scored by Sid Thomas, who was to serve the club in various capacities for 70 years. City topped the East Devon League with 11 wins, 2 draws, 1 defeat in their 1st season, and transferred to the Plymouth and District League for next 3 seasons. In 1908, Exeter City AFC became a limited company. City become a full-time
professional team, and applied successfully for membership of the Southern
League, replacing Tottenham Hotspur. A wooden grandstand was erected, and the
club entered into a leasing arrangement over the ground. Fulham Football Club Telephone +44 (0) 8704 421 222 Formed 1879 Fulham FC are the oldest professional football team in London. They formed in 1879 as Fulham St Andrew's Church Sunday School and celebrated their 125th anniversary in 2004. The name was shortened to just Fulham in 1888. The team play at Craven Cottage, which has a capacity of 24,525 and has been the club's home since 1896.
Telephone +44 (0) 1634 850 986 Gillingham F.C. was formed in 1893 under the name New Brompton F.C. Starting with share capital of £1500, the team purchased the land that was to become its lifelong home of Priestfield Stadium for £600. New Brompton turned professional a year later and were founder members of the Southern League. In 1913 the team changed their name to Gillingham and they joined the Football League in 1920. There was little success to enjoy in the years leading up to World War II and in 1938 the club failed in a bid for re-election and were relegated from the Football League. They rejoined the Southern League and enjoyed considerable success, culminating in their elevation to the newly expanded Football League Third Division South in 1950. The team had to wait a long time before progressing beyond the third tier of the Football League. In 1999 they were two minutes away from achieving their dream, leading Manchester City 2-0 in the Play-off final at Wembley. As time appeared to be running out, City scored and after five minutes of injury time, equalised to send the game to extra time. In the end City won on penalties.
Telephone +44 (0) 1472 605 050 Grimsby Town F.C. was formed, like many of the early Football League teams, by members of a local cricket team (Worsley Cricket Club) who were looking for a winter pastime. In 1878 a meeting was held at the Wellington Arms in Freeman Street and Grimsby Town F.C. was born, although for the first year team name was Grimsby Pelham. Grimsby first played league football in the Combination League in 1888, soon after joining the Football Association, the rival set up to the new Football League. In 1892 they were accepted into the Football League Second Division. League football was a turbulent ride for Grimsby, soon reaching the heights of the First Division only to fail in a bid for re-election to the League and drop to the Midland League a few years later. They returned to the League before long, and recovered considerably in the inter war years, regaining top flight status in 1929. They remained in top flight for the majority of the 1930's, gaining their highest ever Football League finish in 1935 with fifth place.
Telephone +44 (0) 1429 272 584 Hartlepool United F.C. was founded in 1881 as West Hartlepool Amateur Football Club. They won the FA Amateur Cup in 1905 and took the opportunity to turn professional in 1908 when the local Rugby team folded leaving the Victoria Ground vacant and in need of investment. Hartlepools (sic) United Football Athletic Company was formed and the stadium bought. The team was actually only renamed Hartlepool United in 1967 after the districts of Old Hartlepool and West Hartlepool were merged. Hartlepool have played their home matches at the Victoria Ground (now Victoria Park) ever since. In 1921 Hartlepool joined the newly formed Football League Division Three North.
Telephone +44 (0) 1484 484 100 The popularity of Rugby League in Huddersfield may well have accounted for the
relatively late development of a serious Association Football Club in the town.
In 1907 moves were begun to develop a professional club and in 1908 Huddersfield
Town A.F.C. was born. It was not too long before Huddersfield had established
themselves as one of the power house teams in Yorkshire and indeed the country
as a whole. This was all despite going into liquidation in 1912 and only
reforming in 1919. Somehow, by 1920 the club had become strong enough to reach
the FA Cup final, finishing runners-up. Hull City Football Club Telephone +44 (0) 1482 575 263 Hull City F.C. was founded in 1904. Several earlier attempts to found a professional football club ended in failure, mostly due to the strength of Rugby League in the city. Hull F.C. and Hull Kingston Rovers were well established and already very strong Rugby League clubs by this time. They were unable to join the Football League in time for the 1904-05 season, so the first season of professional football at Hull consisted only of friendlies, 44 in all! The team's early games were played at the Rugby League ground used by Hull F.C. Hull's first season in the Football League Second Division and finished fifth in their first season. In 1930 the club had its greatest cup run, reaching the semi-finals and claiming many big scalps along the way. The nickname for Hull City is The Tigers.
Telephone +44 (0) 1473 400 500 Ipswich Town F.C. was founded in 1878 but did not turn until 1936. They were admitted to the Football League in 1938. Originally known as Ipswich Association F.C. the team merged in 1888 with Ipswich Rugby Club and was renamed Ipswich Town Football Club. The team played in Division Three (South) until finally gaining promotion to Division Two in 1954. They lasted only one season before relegation, but fortunes improved after Sir Alf Ramsey was appointed manager in August 1955.
Telephone +44 (0) 1132 266 000 Leeds United A.F.C. was formed in 1919 following the demise of Leeds City. Leeds United established their home at Elland Road in 1919, where they have played ever since. They joined the Midland League in 1919 and were loaned £35,000 by the chairman of local rivals Huddersfield Town, to be repaid when Leeds reached Division One. In 1920 they were elected to the football league Division Two, gaining promotion to Division One as champions in 1924. The club had to wait until the arrival of Don Revie as manager in 1961 before the glory years began.
Telephone +44 (0) 1162 915 000 Nicknamed the foxes, Leicester City Football Club was formed in 1884 as Leicester Fosse Football Club. The club was somewhat nomadic in its early years, playing at some six different grounds before settling on Filbert Street in 1891. This was to be the club's home for 111 years until they moved to the 32,500 seat Walkers Stadium for the start of the 2002-03 season. In 1891 the club joined the Midland League. After some very successful seasons, they were elected to the Football League Second Division in 1894. Up until the First World War, the club enjoyed mixed success having to apply for re-election in 1904 and being promoted briefly to the First Division in 1908. After the war, Leicester Fosse was wound up due to financial problems and replaced by Leicester City Football Club, so named as Leicester had just been granted city status earlier in the year.
Telephone +44 (0) 2089 261 111 Leyton Orient F.C. is simply known as Orient or the 'Os' to its fans. Formed in 1881 by members of Glyn Cricket Club, the team has had many name changes in its history including Eagle Cricket Club, Orient Football Club and Clapton Orient. The name Orient was originally chosen in 1888 following the suggestion of one of the players, who was an employee of the Orient Shipping Line. The team moved to Leyton in 1937, prompting the name change to Leyton Orient. In 1966 they changed the name again to just Orient, before reverting to Leyton Orient in 1987 after a campaign by fans. The team joined the Football League in 1905.
Telephone +44 (0) 152 288 011 Lincoln City F.C. are nicknamed the 'Red Imps', after a creature from local legend. The club was officially founded in 1884 as an amateur association, following the disbanding of Lincoln Rovers. Lincoln City turned professional in 1891-92, having already had some impressive FA Cup runs, twice finishing in the last 16. The club moved to its current home at Sincil Bank in 1895, having played originally at the John O'Gaunts ground. The club joined the Football League Division Two in 1892 as founder members, achieving their best ever Football League finish in the 1901-02 season when they finished fifth in the Second Division. A notable period in the club's history was from the 1930's to the 1950's, when they were crowned Division Three (North) champions three times. In 1975-76 they won the Division 4 championship under the guidance of England manager-to-be Graham Taylor, setting a number of league records in the process.
Telephone +44 (0) 1512 632 361 Formed 1892. Liverpool F.C. was formed 1892 by John Holding. Holding had been the leaseholder of Anfield stadium and purchased the ground outright in 1891. He then proposed a rent increase to Everton F.C., who were using the ground back then, from £100 to £250 per year. Everton refused and moved to Goodison Park. So Liverpool were formed and took their place at Anfield, beginning one of the oldest rivalries in English Football. Anfield is still the club's home and has a capacity of 45,276.
Telephone +44 (0) 1582 411 622 Luton Town F.C. was created in 1885 from the merger of Luton Wanderers and Luton Excelsior. They were the first team in the south of England to turn professional. Luton had a brief spell in the Football League between 1897 and 1900 but then resigned and rejoined the Southern League. They returned when many Southern League teams created the new Football League Third Division in 1920. After 17 seasons in the Third Division, Luton were promoted to Division Two as runners-up. In 1954-55 they made it to the top flight for the first time. This period of success ended with an FA Cup final loss in 1959. The team then went into decline, even dropping to Division Four. During the late 60's and early 70's fortunes revived and the team managed to get back briefly into the top flight. The arrival of David Pleat as manager bought renewed success and a return to the top flight, this time for a longer spell. His successor Ray Harford took the team to League Cup glory in 1988 with an amazing come from behind victory over favourites Arsenal. They were in the final again the year after, this time finishing as runners-up. Luton's most famous fan was comedian Eric Morecambe.
Telephone +44 (0) 1625 264 686 Macclesfield Town F.C. was founded in 1874, when the local Rugby Football club decided to adopt Association Football rules. They played under a variety of names between 1874 and 1940, including Macclesfield F.C., Hallifield F.C. and Macclesfield Football and Athletic Club. Macclesfield Town F.C. Ltd was formed when football resumed after World War II, and the team joined the Cheshire League. They won the Cheshire League title several times in the 1950's. In 1968 they reached the FA Cup third round for the first time, facing First Division Fulham at Craven Cottage. They lost 4-2, but the Macclesfield goalkeeper, Keith Goalen, became the first non league player ever to be named Player of the Month by the Evening Standard. In the same year Macclesfield were founder members of the Northern Premier League, which they won for the first two years in a row.
Telephone +44 (0) 8700 621 894 Formed 1880. Manchester City F.C. began life in 1880 as St Marks (West Gorton), in the Gorton district of Manchester. They moved to Hyde Road in nearby Ardwick in 1887, changing their name to Ardwick F.C. After experiencing financial difficulties in the 1893-94 campaign the team was renamed Manchester City F.C. They joined the Football League as founder members of the Second Division in 1892, and gained promotion to the First Division in 1899.
Telephone +44 (0) 1618 688 000 Formed 1878. Manchester United F.C. was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LandYR F.C., the works team of the local depot of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. The team played on a small field in North Road before moving to Bank Street in 1893. A year earlier the team had entered the Football League, leading it to gradually sever its ties with the railway and become an independent company. Unfortunately, this almost led to the club going bust, with the ground being closed by bailiffs at one point. The club was saved by a sizeable investment from J H Davies, the managing director of Manchester Breweries. The club then looked for a new name. The suggestion of Manchester United came from Louis Rocca, a young Italian immigrant. The team won its first League title in 1908 and its first FA Cup in 1909.
Telephone +44 (0) 844 499 6789 Formed 1876. Middlesbrough was formed in 1876 and, like many of the older football clubs, it was started by members of the local cricket club as a means of staying in shape during the winter. The club was elected to the Football League in 1899, their first ever win in the league being recorded against Grimsby Town. The club began its life playing at Linthorpe Road, before moving to Ayresome Park in 1903. They stayed at Ayresome Park for 92 years before moving to the Riverside Stadium, which holds 35,100. The club had financial difficulties in the 1980's, coming within ten minutes of failing to raise the necessary fee for the league registration in the 1986-87 season. They were saved by a consortium organised by board member Steve Gibson and the official company name changed to Middlesbrough Football and Athletic Club (1986) Ltd.
Telephone +44 (0) 2072 321 222 Millwall Rovers, as they were then called, were founded in 1885 by the workers of J T Morton, a cannery and food processing plant on The Isle of Dogs. Originally a Scottish company, it attracted many of its workers from the East Coast of Scotland. The majority of the club's founding members were Scottish. Enjoying a great deal of success in the East London Senior Cup, they joined the Southern League as founder members in 1894; indeed the club was the main driving force behind the formation of the league. By this time known as Millwall Athletic, they were champions for each of the first two seasons of the new league. In 1903 they earned the nickname 'The Lions' for a heroic FA Cup run where they reached the semi-final. They joined the Football League in 1920 with the creation of the Third Division.
Telephone +44 (0) 1908 607 090 Milton Keynes Dons F.C. was originally connected to Wimbledon F.C. who moved to Milton Keynes in 2004 and shortly afterwards re-launched under the current name. Despite the struggles faced by Wimbledon at the time, the move was a highly controversial one for Wimbledon fans and few of the original fans still support the new club. This is not too surprising seeing as the club moved some 62 miles to the north of its old home! In fact the supporters of the original Wimbledon team formed their own club A.F.C. Wimbledon, after the original club moved. After negotiations with the Wimbledon Independent Supporters Association, the club agreed to sever its claims to the honours and record of Wimbledon and return the club memorabilia to the London Borough of Merton. The club moved to a new stadium, the 22,000 seat stadium mk (known locally as Denbigh Stadium) in 2007.
Telephone +44 (0) 1524 411 797 There were a number of attempts to start up football in Morecambe at the beginning of the 1900s, all failing in what was strong Rugby territory. Finally in 1920 Morecambe F.C. was formed following a meeting at the West View Hotel and the team joined the Lancashire Combination League for 1920-21. The early years proved to be a struggle for survival, however, with poor results and low revenue. The club enjoyed a visit to the third round of the FA Cup in 1961-62 and in 1974 they beat Dartford in the final of the FA Trophy. Another barren period followed until the mid-1980s. This was the start of a period of steady improvement which saw them eventually find their way into the Conference. After their promotion to the Conference in 1995-96, Morecambe established themselves as one of the leading Conference clubs, finishing near the top on many occasions and having a few unsuccessful play-off appearances. In 2007, however, Morecambe went one better, seeing off York City in the play-off semi final to set up a Wembley appearance against Exeter City. They won 2-1 in front of 40,000 spectators to gain entrance to the Football League for the first time in the club's history.
Telephone +44 (0) 1912 018 400 Formed 1892. Newcastle United Football club was formed in 1892 from the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End. The two clubs that formed the merger had both been originally formed from local cricket teams. Since their formation, Newcastle United has always played at St James Park. They are also known as The Magpies and The Toon and have enjoy fanatical support through good times and bad. After some initially worrying times with financial difficulties and low attendances, the Geordie team developed into one of the most successful English teams in the Edwardian Era, with five FA Cup appearances (but only one win) prior to the start of World War I.
Telephone +44 (0) 1604 757 773 Northampton Town F.C. was originally formed by teachers from the town. The local schoolboy football scene was strong, largely due to the enthusiasm of the teachers for the game. They wanted to be able to demonstrate practical examples to their students and decided that forming a team would enable them to do this. So in 1897 Northampton's first professional football team was formed after a meeting with a local solicitor. The team has become known as 'The Cobblers' due to the town's historical associations with the boot and shoe trade. They enjoyed success in the early years and joined the Southern League in 1901. In 1902 they made the headlines when they beat Portsmouth F.C. 1-0 at Fratton Park. This was the first time in 66 attempts that any team had managed victory over Portsmouth at Fratton Park! The Cobblers won the Southern League championship in 1908-09. They joined the Football League in 1920.
Telephone +44 (0) 1603 760 760 Norwich City was formed at a meeting in the Criterion Café in Norwich in 1902. In 1905 the FA deemed the club professional and ousted them from the amateur leagues. They were admitted to the Southern League later that year. The club then faced some tough years financially, being voluntarily wound up in 1917 and reformed in 1919. By this time the club nickname had become 'The Canaries' (canary breeding being a popular local pastime) and the team was wearing yellow and green. The club joined the Football League Third Division in 1920.
Telephone +44 (0) 1159 824 444 Nottingham Forest F.C. was founded in 1865, making them one of the oldest surviving professional football clubs in the world. They were formed shortly after their neighbours Notts County, who are the oldest professional football club still in existence. Unlike many older football clubs, the team was not formed by cricket players but by players of a Scottish game known as shinty, which bears some resemblance to the Irish game of hurling. After winning the rival Football Alliance in 1892, the team was elected to the Football League. They distinguished themselves early on reaching the 1898 FA Cup final and defeating Derby County 3-1, all the more remarkable as Derby had beaten them 5-1 in a league match the week before.
Telephone +44 (0) 1159 529 000 Notts County F.C. is known as 'the oldest Football League club in the world', due to its original formation in 1862. It is probable that the rules used back then were rather different from those we know today, especially as the newspaper report from 1862 which tells of the clubs first game mentions the team scoring goals and 'rouges'. Notts County were founder members of the Football League in 1888 and achieved their highest ever league finish in 1890-91 with third place, a feat they repeated a decade later. In 1891 they also reached the FA Cup final, losing on that occasion to Blackburn Rovers. They returned in 1894, however, and this time beat Bolton Wanderers 4-1 to win the trophy.
Telephone +44 (0) 8707 532 000 Oldham Athletic F.C. was founded in 1895 under the name Pine Villa F.C., changing to the current name and turning professional in 1899. They joined the Football League Second Division in 1907. They finished third, having been unbeaten at home in their first season in the league. The following year they went one better and were promoted to the First Division. They continued to be competitive at this level and often finished high up the table, including ending as runners-up just prior to World War I. They also reached the FA Cup semi final in 1913. The team never really recovered from the break for the war and in 1923 they were relegated from Division One. Things did not improve for Oldham after this with the team finally slipping as far as Division Four. In 1969-70 Jimmy Frizzel took over as player manager and the club almost instantly began to revive.
Telephone +44 (0) 8700 550 442 Peterborough United F.C. is nicknamed 'The Posh'. Their main rivals are Northampton Town and Cambridge United, according to whether you are an older or younger fan (respectively). Their home ground is the London Road Stadium which holds over 15,000 fans. The club was formed relatively recently compared to many Football League Clubs, being founded in 1934. The decision was made to start a new professional club to fill the void left by the collapse of Peterborough and Fletton United two years earlier. The team played its early football in the Midland League. They almost didn't get into the league after it was found that the delegation from Peterborough did not have the required entry fee and £20 deposit. In the end Grantham Town loaned the team enough money to pay the fees and the problem was solved. In 1960 Peterborough finally managed their dream of Football League status (which meant the return of the original £20 deposit from the Midland League!), replacing Gateshead.
Telephone +44 (0) 1752 562 561 Plymouth Argyle F.C. was founded in 1886 as Argyle Football Club. The name is connected with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, an army regiment who were once stationed in Plymouth and whose football team had impressed the founding members of the club. The team is nicknamed 'The Pilgrims' in connection with the English Separatists that left from Plymouth for Massachusetts. The club badge includes The Mayflower, the ship which carried the pilgrims to Massachusetts. On joining the Southern League in 1903, the club changed its name to Plymouth Argyle F.C. In 1920 they joined the Football League Division Three in its inaugural year.
Telephone +44 (0) 1782 655 800 Port Vale F.C. took its name from Port Vale House, the venue of its inaugural meeting in 1876. The team moved to nearby Burslem in 1884 and became Burslem Port Vale. They spent a few years in the Midland league before joining the Football League Division Two in 1892 as founder members. They struggled in the football league and after a roller coaster ride of relegation and re-election they almost went out of existence due to financial troubles in 1907 and resigned from the league. After many years in the Central League they returned to the Football League in 1919 to finish the fixtures left over by the expulsion of Leeds City. By this time they had dropped the Burslem prefix and were just Port Vale. In 1931 the team achieved its highest ever league position, 5th place in the Second Division. The club have a very famous fan in Robbie Williams, now a major shareholder in the club, having bought over 95% of the available shares in the club. He provided an original theme song for the video game FIFA 2000 'Its only us', on the provision that Port Vale was included as a team in the game.
Telephone +44 (0) 2392 731 204 Formed 1898. Portsmouth Football Club was founded in 1898 with local brewery owner John Brickwood as Chairman. The club joined the Southern League in 1899. Their first match was played at Chatham Town, which they won 1-0. The following match was against Southampton, who became the team's local rivals. The match was the debut of Fratton Park, which has been the club's home ever since. The team's first title in the Southern League came in 1901-02.
Telephone +44 (0) 1772 902 020 Originally formed as a Cricket Club in 1862, Preston North End played its first Association Football match in 1878. The club was guided by Major William Sudell, who had a clear vision of how to make the club successful. He imported players from other areas, mostly Scotland. They were paid match fees and given high-paid jobs outside of Football. This led to accusations of professionalism and in 1884 Preston was expelled from the FA Cup. In 1885, however, a revolt by northern clubs forced the league to accept professionalism.
Telephone +44 (0) 2087 430 262 Queens Park Rangers F.C. was founded in 1882, following the merger of two clubs, St. Jude's and Christchurch Rangers. The team was the most nomadic in the history of English Football, playing home games in 20 different grounds before settling at Loftus Road in 1917. The team achieved several successes in the early years, winning the West London Observer cup three times in the 1890's and the London Cup once. Spurred on by their success the team turned professional in 1898 and joined the Southern League, finally winning the championship in 1907-08. They expected election to the Football League, but eighth place Tottenham were elected instead. In 1920 they joined the newly formed Football League Third Division.
Formed 1871 Originally nicknamed The Biscuitmen after the town's main trade, Reading was originally formed in 1871 but did not turn professional until 1895. They were founder members of the Southern League in 1894. The connection with biscuits also led to the unofficial fanzine to be named 'Hob Nob Anyone?' The club nickname changed to the Royals when the local biscuit factory closed down in the 1970's. In 1913 the team went on a tour of Italy. The club played a five match tour in which they only lost one game and that narrowly. They beat the full Italian national side 2-0. Reading joined the football league in 1920 in Division Three, where they have spent the majority of their history.
Telephone +44 (0) 1706 644 648 Rochdale F.C. was founded in 1907 and joined the Manchester League for one year before becoming members of the Lancashire Combination in 1908. The team tried on a few occasions to join the Football League but was unsuccessful until 1921 when they were invited to join the Football League Third Division (North). The first Football League game in the club's history was a 6-3 victory against Accrington Stanley on August 27th 1921. Unfortunately, the rest of the season did not go as well, with the team finishing bottom and having to apply for re-election. In 1962, Rochdale became the first team in the bottom division of the Football League to reach a major cup final when they got to the final of the League Cup. Unfortunately they could not finish the job and were beaten by Norwich for the cup. Since 1974 the team has been in the bottom division of the Football League, making it the longest spell in the lowest division for any club in Football League history. Rochdale F.C. is nicknamed 'The Dale' and plays its home games at Spotland, with a capacity of 10,249. The team normally wears blue as its home strip but swapped back to black and white stripes for its centenary season in 2007-08.
Telephone +44 (0) 1709 512 434 Rotherham United F.C. was formed as a merger of Rotherham Town and Rotherham County in 1925. Rotherham Town formed in 1870 as just Rotherham; Rotherham County formed in 1877 under the name Thornhill. The two teams had vied for the title as Rotherham's top team prior to the merger, taking in turns to claim the top dog slot. At the time of the merger, Rotherham County had made it into the Football League but were struggling to hang on to their league status. Things did not really improve for the club, however, until after World War II. Rotherham United found its way back into the Football League Division Two after winning the Division Three (North) championship in 1951. The team achieved its best ever Football League finish in 1955, third place in the second tier.
Telephone +44 (0) 1724 848 077 Scunthorpe United F.C. has existed under various names, including Scunthorpe and Lindsey United, since 1899. The club is nicknamed 'The Iron' due to the fact that Iron and (later on) Steel are the mainstay industries of the town of Scunthorpe. Despite having existed since 1899, the club did not join the Football League until 1950. The club has played in the lower two divisions for most of its time in the Football League, reaching the second tier between 1958 and 1964. Following relegation in 1964, the club has had to wait until 2007 to finally return to the former Second Division, now called The Championship. The club played at The Old Showground until 1988 when new fire regulations forced them to become the first club in the modern era to move to a new purpose built stadium. The new stadium Glanford Park, was officially opened on August 14th 1988
Telephone +44 (0) 114 221 5757 Formed 1889. Like many of the older clubs in the Football League, Sheffield United was formed by a local cricket club as a way of keeping the team together during the winter months and helping the players stay fit. Founded in 1889, the team was one of the most successful teams in the early years of the Football League. 'The Blades', as they are known, captured the Football League title in 1897-98 and finished runners-up in 1896-97 and 1899-00.
Telephone +44 (0) 1743 360 111 Shrewsbury Town F.C. was formed in 1886. Its formation followed, though not directly, the demise of the Castle Blues a successful local team. Castle Blues were known for their success on the field but had something of a rough reputation, known for violence both on and off the field. This led to the demise of the Blues and paved the way for the new club, hoping to emulate the success without the negative points. The team played in the Shropshire and District League before joining the Birmingham League. In the late thirties the team took the step up to the more competitive Midland League winning the Midland League title on two occasions and joining the Football League Third Division (North) in 1950. It took the team until the late 1970s to progress to the second tier. Manager Graham Turner took the team to the Third Division Championship and promotion to the Second Division in his first season in charge in 1978-79. This was followed by a successful FA Cup run two years later, when Shrewsbury reached the quarter finals. Since then fortunes have waned, and the team even spent 2003-04 season out of the Football League, in the Conference. The club recently moved from its traditional home 'Gay Meadow' to its new stadium 'New Meadow'.
Telephone +44 (0) 8456 889 448 Southampton F.C. began life in 1885 as St Mary's Young Men's Association F.C. In
1887 this was shortened to St Mary's F.C. and then became Southampton St Mary's
F.C. when the team joined the Southern League in 1894. In 1897, after wining
their first Southern League Championship, they changed to Southampton F.C. The
team played many of its early matches on The Common, meaning that they were
sometimes interrupted by pedestrians. The team moved to the newly built stadium
'The Dell' in 1898, where they stayed for 103 years. The new all seat St Mary's
stadium became their new home in 2001. Southampton enjoyed great success in the
Southern League before being elected to the Football League Division Three in
1920.
Southend United F.C. was formed in 1906 at a meeting convened by the Landlord of the Blue Boar, a local Pub. They joined the Southern League Second Division, winning the division championship in 1908 and promotion to the Southern League First Division. In 1920 Southend United joined the Football League Third Division as founder members. They remained in the Third Division (or during regionalisation Third Division South) for 46 years until they were relegated to Division Four in 1966. For over 20 years the Southend fans had to endure a rollercoaster ride of promotion and relegation. At one point the clubs very existence was threatened, both on and off the field. In 1991, however, the team achieved promotion to the second tier of the Football League for the first time in its history.
Telephone +44 (0) 1612 868 888 Stockport County F.C. was originally formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers F.C., who merged shortly after formation with Heaton Norris F.C. In May 1890 the club changed the name to Stockport County F.C. to reflect the fact that Stockport had become a County Borough. Stockport played in The Combination and the Lancashire League, before joining the Football League in 1900 after winning the Lancashire League championship.
Telephone +44 (0) 1782 592 222 Stoke City F.C. are believed to be the second oldest Football League club. They were founded in 1863 as Stoke Ramblers by apprentices at the North Staffordshire Railway Works, although there is no record of any matches by the team until 1868. Stoke achieved early success when in 1877 the Staffordshire FA was formed and the County Cup created. Stoke won the trophy in its first two years, in one tie recording the clubs record win of 26-0 over Mow Cop. In 1878 the team merged with Stoke Victoria Cricket Club and moved to what became known as the Victoria Ground.
Telephone +44 (0)8719 111 200 Sunderland A.F.C. started life in 1879 as the Sunderland and District Teachers Association Football Club. In 1890 they were the first club to be elected to the Football League following its inauguration in 1888. Sunderland was one of the most successful English clubs in the early years of the Football League, having won five league titles prior to World War I. The nickname for the Sunderland Football Club, is the Baggies.
Telephone +44 (0) 1792 474 114 Swansea City F.C. was formed in 1912 as the professional club, Swansea Town. The name was changed to city when Swansea itself was granted city status in 1971. Swansea Town played at Vetch Field near the city centre. Vetch Field took its name from the cabbage-like plant that grew wild on the field. The Swans, as they are known, joined the Southern League Second Division, winning promotion to the Southern League First Division just prior to the outbreak of World War I. This led to them becoming founder members of the new Football League Third Division in 1920.
Telephone +44 (0) 1793 333 700 There's a certain mystery surrounding the date of the exact founding of Swindon Town F.C. Recent research suggests that the club was founded in 1879, possibly as Swindon A.F.C., before becoming Spartans and later merging with local rivals the Young Man's Friendly Society. In 1883 they became Swindon Town F.C. They turned professional in 1894 the team turned professional and joined the Southern League Division One. In 1920 they joined the Football League Third Division, where they played until 1963 when they won promotion and entered the Second Division.
Telephone +44 (0) 2083 655 000 Formed 1882. Tottenham Hotspur F.C. was formed in 1882 as Hotspur F.C. by members of Hotspur Cricket Club. It is believed that the name Hotspur is associated with Sir Harry Hotspur the character from Shakespeare's 'King Henry IV - part one', who had lived locally. In 1884 the team changed to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. The club is often known as 'Spurs'. The team joined the Football League 1908, but in 1901 became the only non-league side to win the FA Cup since the formation of the Football League.
Telephone +44 (0) 1516 084 194 Tranmere Rovers were founded in 1884 as Belmont F.C., formed from the merger of two cricket clubs, Belmont Cricket Club and Lyndhurst Wanderers. The team changed the name to Tranmere Rovers a year later. In the early years Tranmere played in the Liverpool and District League, followed by the Lancashire Combination, where they won their first silverware. In 1919 they stepped up to the Central League, which led to them joining the newly formed Third Division (North) of the Football League in 1921.
Telephone +44 (0) 1922 622 791 Walsall Town were founded in 1877 and their fierce rivals, Walsall Swifts, were formed a tear later in 1878. In the 1887/88 season, they decided to end the rivalry and merged to make Walsall F.C (originally know as the Walsall Town Swifts). They are nicknamed The Saddlers. Walsall did not gain entry to the Football League as founder members but showed their strength that year by beating one of the founders, Burnley, in the new leagues debut season. They also had defender Albert Aldridge capped for England twice that year. They joined the newly formed Football League Second Division in 1892 where they struggled to maintain their status. Walsall failed to gain re-election in 1895 but bounced back into the league the next year.
Telephone +44 (0) 1923 496 000 Formed 1898 Watford F.C. was formed in 1881 by Henry Grover. They did not join the Football League, however, until 1920 when they were inaugural members of the Third Division. They had played in the Southern League prior to this, winning the championship in 1915. The team moved to Vicarage Road, their home ever since, in 1922. They currently share the ground with Saracens Rugby Club. The club spent most of its time in Divisions Three and Four, with only three years in Division Two prior to 1979. The revolution in the club's history began when pop superstar Elton John took over as Chairman in 1976 and Graham Taylor was appointed manager.
Telephone +44 (0) 8700 668 888 West Bromwich Albion F.C. is also known as The Baggies, The Albion, The Throstles, West Brom and W.B.A. They were formed in 1878 by workers at the local Spring Works as the West Bromwich Strollers and changed to Albion in 1880.
Telephone +44 (0) 2085 482 748 Formed 1895. West ham United, known as 'The Hammers', were formed in 1985 as 'Thames Ironworks F.C.'. They changed the name to West Ham United five years later after severing their links with the Ironworks. In 1989 they turned professional and joined the Southern League, having won the London League as amateurs the year before. The team went through a number of colours before winning their now traditional colours of claret and blue from members of Aston Villa F.C. in a wager. After becoming West Ham United, the team went through some difficult years, at some points having no stable ground until the team moved to the Boleyn Ground at Upton Park in 1904.
Telephone +44 (0) 1942 774 000 Formed in 1932 Wigan Athletic F.C., also known a 'The Latics', were the sixth attempt at a stable club in Wigan. Previously there had been Wigan County, Wigan United, Wigan Town Wigan Rovers and finally Wigan Borough who folded the year before Wigan Athletic was formed in 1932.
Telephone +44 (0) 1902 655 000 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. started life in 1877 as St Luke's, after the headmaster of St Luke's School in Blakenhall presented some of the school's pupils with a football. The team merged with a local cricket team The Wanderers in 1879, becoming Wolverhampton Wanderers. In 1888 Wolves, as they are more commonly known, were founder members of the Football League. They finished third and were also beaten finalists in the FA Cup that year.
Telephone +44 (0) 1978 262 129 In 1872, members of Wrexham Cricket Club met at the Turf Hotel in Wrexham to discuss proposals for a winter pastime to keep the team fit. At this meeting Wrexham Football Club was formed, despite the fact that the club's modern badge states 1873! Wrexham were one of the leading campaigners for a rule restricting the number of players to eleven. Football rules were rather flexible in the early days, and some games were played with as many as seventeen per side. After many years in the Football Combination and Birmingham and District Leagues, Wrexham were invited to join the newly formed Football League Division Three (North) in 1921. The team had to wait until the late 1970's before reaching the second tier of the Football League, when new manager Arfon Griffiths, who took the team to a four year spell in the Second Division. Wrexham has won the Welsh Cup 23 times to date and been runners-up on a further 22 occasions. They reached the quarter final of the European Cup Winner's Cup in 1975-76. Wrexham F.C. is nicknamed 'The Red Dragons' or 'The Robins' and plays it home fixtures at the 15 500 seat Racecourse Ground in Wrexham.
Telephone +44 (0) 1494 472 100 Wycombe Wanderers F.C. was formed in 1887 by a group of local furniture makers, hence the club nickname 'The Chairboys'. They joined the Southern League, but struggled as an amateur team in a mainly professional league. After a couple of league changes they ended up in the Isthmian League in 1921. It was some time before they enjoyed any real success in the Isthmian League, although they did win the FA Amateur Cup in 1931. In 1956 Wycombe won the first of its eight Isthmian League titles. The Chairboys joined the Football Conference in 1985 and after an initially difficult ride, began to enjoy some success. The appointment of Martin O'Neill as manager was a key moment, leading to two FA Trophy wins and promotion to the Football League for the first time in the team's history in 1993. This was followed by more success as the team won promotion to the third tier in its first season in the Football League.
Telephone +44 (0) 1935 423 662 Yeovil Town FC was founded in 1890 and for many years shared a ground with the local Rugby Club. In 1895 the club was reborn as the Yeovil Casuals, moving away from the Rugby team to play at its own ground, the Pen Mill Athletic Club. The club became Yeovil Town FC during the 1907-08 season. In 1908, another football team was founded in Yeovil, Petters United. Within a couple of years an intense rivalry grew up between the clubs. This ended in 1914 when the two teams amalgamated and moved up to the Western League, where they became champions in 1921-22. Yeovil then joined the Southern League, Western section and shortly after this began to make a name for themselves as a giant killing FA Cup side.
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Scottish Football League Aberdeen Football Club Telephone +44 (0) 1224 650 400 Aberdeen F.C., known as 'The Dons', was founded in 1903 from the amalgamation of three local clubs. The club's first season in 1904-05 and they have only ever spent one season outside of the top flight of Scottish Football. After formation they won election to the First Division where they have remained ever since, giving them the distinction of never having been relegated from any division at any time in the club's history. It was sometime, however, before they achieved any real success in the First Division; although they did finish as runners-up in 1910-11 and 1935-56. In 1955, the Dons won their first League championship. Since this period, the Dons have achieved a great deal more than in the early years, particularly since the late 1970s.
Telephone +44 (0) 7710 230 775 Airdrie United F.C. was founded in 2002 upon the demise of Airdrieonians F.C.
and is universally accepted as its successor. Airdrieonians F.C. was founded in
1878 as Excelsior Football Club, but changed to Airdrieonians in 1881. The
club's most successful era was the 1920s, when it finished second in the
Scottish League First Division (then the top flight) four years consecutively.
During that decade the team also won the Scottish Cup in 1924. Airdrieonians
appeared once again in the Scottish Cup final in 1992, this time losing to
Rangers. Following this, the club began to face financial difficulties and
stadium problems that would ultimately lead to the club going bankrupt ten years
later. Airdrie United F.C. was founded immediately following the collapse of the
former club and applied to replace Airdrieonians in the league. Unfortunately,
the league had already accepted Gretna and Jim Ballantyne, the creator of
Airdrie United F.C., had to change his approach by buying out Clydebank and
relocating to Airdrie. In 2003-04 the new team won the Second Division (now the
fourth tier) championship and also reached the final of the Scottish Challenge
Cup. Albion Rovers Football Club Telephone +44 (0) 1236 606 334 Albion Rovers F.C. was founded in 1882 from the merger of Albion and Rovers and is based at the town of Coatbridge to the east of Glasgow. 'The Wee Rovers', as the team is known to its fans, has played at its current ground of Cliftonhill Stadium since its opening on Christmas Day 1919. The Wee Rovers joined the Scottish Football League Second Division in time for the 1902-03 season. They joined the First Division for a short spell when the league resumed after the end of World War I. Apart from a few brief forays into the First Division during the thirties and forties, however, Albion's story is one of a gradual slide down to the lower divisions. The team came close to cup glory in the Scottish Cup of 1919-1920, having despatched Rangers after a replay in the semi final. They played Kilmarnock at Hampden Park in front of 95,600 spectators, but were beaten 3-2 on the day. The following year Albion faced a rematch in the semi final against Rangers. This time Rangers got their revenge, however, winning 4-1.
Telephone +44 (0) 1259 722695 Alloa Athletic F.C. is based in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, which is mainland Scotland's smallest county. The team was formed in 1878 and became members of the Scottish FA in 1883. Alloa is nicknamed 'The Wasps' due to its black and gold hooped kit. Originally formed as Clackmannan County, the club changed its name in 1879 to Alloa Association Football Club, displaying the initials 'AAFC' on the club's badge. This was misinterpreted by some as standing for Alloa Athletic Football Club and this stuck even though it was unofficial. It was not until 1997 that the club actually officially registered themselves as Alloa Athletic. Alloa joined the league in 1921 as members of the Second Division, winning the division title in its first year. Unfortunately, they were relegated back down to the second division the following year. The Wasps have spent most of their time outside of the top flight of Scottish Football, winning the Second Division Championship in 1921/22 and the Third Division Championship in 1997/98. The team also won the Scottish Challenge Cup in 1999/2000 and were runners up in 2001/02. Alloa Athletic plays at the Recreation Park in Alloa which has a capacity of 3,100 and has undergone a number of improvements in recent years.
Telephone +44 (0) 1241 872 157 Arbroath F.C. was founded in 1878 and is nicknamed 'The Red Lichties' after the
red light that used to guide ships into the local harbour. Prior to the official
formation of the team, a demonstration match had been played by members of the
Arbroath Rugby club against a Dundee football team called St Clements. Since
1880 the club has played its home fixtures at Gayfield, which now holds 4,145
spectators. In 1885 Arbroath set a world record for senior football which still
stands when they beat Bon Accord 36-0 in a Scottish Cup game. Jocky Petrie
scored 13 goals in that game, itself a British record in senior football.
Incredibly Arbroath had other goals disallowed and actually only just made the
record books because, by an amazing coincidence, Dundee Harp beat Aberdeen
Rovers 35-0 on the same day in the Scottish Cup. Ayr United Football Club Telephone +44 (0) 1292 263 435 Ayr United F.C. was formed in 1910 as a merger of two Ayr teams; Ayr F.C. and Ayr Parkhouse F.C. Ayr F.C. were founded in 1879, themselves as a merging of two clubs, Ayr Thistle and Ayr Academicals. Ayr Thistle had reached the semi final of the Scottish Cup in 1876, only to lose 9-0 to Vale. The second team involved in the merger was Ayr Parkhouse F.C., which was formed in 1886. Prior to the successful merger there had been other attempts to join the clubs but the fierce rivalry between them had always prevented progress toward unification. The team plays at Somerset Park in Ayr, which is one of the few remaining old style football stadiums and has a capacity of over 12,000.
Telephone +44 (0) 1289 307 424 Berwick-upon-Tweed has an unusual history of changing hands between the Scots
and the English, fourteen times during the 12th and 13th centuries alone! Even
when it was last taken by the English; it remained an independent state before
becoming legally part of England in 1836. It is not surprising then to find that
Berwick Rangers decided to pursue football in the Scottish Leagues rather than
the English Leagues. They joined the Scottish Borders League initially in 1905
and had to wait until 1955 before finally joining the full Scottish Football
League. Since then the team has hung on to its Scottish League status despite
some low attendances and financial problems. Brechin City Football Club Telephone +44 (0) 1356 622 856 Brechin City F.C. was formed in 1906 from the merger of two local clubs, Brechin Hearts and Brechin Harp. The Forfarshire Football Association had decided that the city needed a senior side, feeling this would benefit football in Forfarshire generally. Brechin joined the Scottish Football League Third Division in 1923. The team has played most of its football since in the second tier of Scottish Football. Brechin won the Second Division title in 1982-83, 1989-90 and 2004-05, and the Third Division in 2001-02. The club finished as runners-up in the Scottish Challenge cup in 2002-03 and won the Qualifying cup in 1950-51. The team celebrated its centenary year in 2006 and made the second division play offs in the 2006-07 season. Unfortunately the celebration ended there, as the team lost 6-1 on aggregate to Airdrie. The Hedgemen, as the team is known, play at Glebe Park, Brechin, which has a capacity of 3,960.
Telephone +44 (0) 1415 562 611 Celtic F.C. (full name The Celtic Football Club) was officially founded at St Mary's Church in what was then East Rose Street, now Forbes Street, Calton. The purpose of founding the team was stated as being a move to 'alleviate poverty in the east end parishes of Glasgow'. The team played its first game in 1888, a friendly against Rangers, which it won 5-2. In 1889 Celtic reached the final of the Scottish Cup in the club's first full season, losing to the well established Third Lanark. In 1892 Celtic defeated Queens Park to win the Scottish Cup for the first of 34 victories, up to and including the 2007 win. In 1893 Celtic won the Scottish League championship for the first time.
Telephone +44 (0) 1236 451 511 Clyde F.C. was formed in 1877 and played at Barrowfield on the banks of the River Clyde. The team entered the Scottish Cup for the first time in that same year, but fell at the first hurdle. In 1891 the team joined the Scottish Football League and won 10-3 in its first ever Scottish League match. Soon the facilities at Barrowfield proved to be inadequate for league football and in 1899 the team moved across the river to Shawfield. In 1994 the team moved to Cumbernauld after several years of ground sharing, a move which lost the team many of its traditional supporters. Clyde achieved mixed success in the early league seasons, eventually dropping to the second tier. Despite several runner-up and top of the table finishes, the team did not return to the top flight until 1906 due to the lack of automatic promotion and relegation. The 1908-09 season was the season that really established Clyde as a force in Scottish football; they finished third in the league and reached the semi final of the Scottish Cup.
Telephone +44 (0) 1383 610 166 Traditionally, the club dates its founding back to 1881, when Cowdenbeath Rangers (formed 1880) merged with Cowdenbeath Thistle. The true beginning of Cowdenbeath F.C. is really 1882 because the name wasn't changed until that year when the club merged with Raith Rovers and joined the Fifeshire Football Association. Cowdenbeath are the oldest surviving club in Fife and won the Fife cup for the first time in 1885. In 1905 Cowdenbeath F.C. joined the Scottish League. The club won the second division title in 1914 and 1915 but was denied promotion by the voting system that favoured west coast clubs. It decided to break away and join the highly successful Central League. In 1921 the Scottish League introduced automatic promotion and relegation and the Central League clubs rejoined. Cowdenbeath was successful on its return to the Scottish League; with ten years in the top flight and a highest ever finish of fifth in 1925. The beginning of World War II ended the best years for Cowdenbeath. They were fined by the league in the 1939-40 season the sum of £ 5,000 for failing to fulfil a fixture due to the number of their players who had enlisted. The team could not afford the fine and resigned from the league. When they rejoined at the end of the war they were placed in a lower division, a blow that the team never recovered from.
Telephone +44 (0) 1389 762 569 On a Saturday afternoon in 1872, a group of young men watched their first ever game of football when The Vale of Levern travelled to the Old Recreation Ground at Crosshill, Glasgow to be beaten 3-0 by Queens Park. The next day this same group of men decided to form their own club at Dumbarton. They could little have foreseen that they were about to create a team that was to be a dominant force in the early days of Scottish Football. They joined the newly formed Scottish Football Association in 1873 and by 1879 had moved into their ground at Boghead Park, where they put together an unbeaten home run lasting five years. Dumbarton won the Scottish Cup in 1882-83 and were beaten finalists on a further five occasions. They met English FA Cup winners Blackburn Olympic, as holders of the Scottish Cup, and pounded them 6-1 to be proclaimed champions of Britain. Dumbarton joined the newly formed Scottish Football League for the 1890-91 season and finished up sharing the championship with Rangers. Dumbarton won the title outright in the following year. Dumbarton also has the distinction in 1892 of handing Celtic their biggest home defeat in a friendly (0-8) and Rangers their biggest ever league defeats (6-0).
Telephone +44 (0) 1382 889 966 Dundee F.C. is one of the city's two senior professional football clubs. This is unusual for a city of the size of Dundee and in fact, the grounds are only a few hundred yards away from each other. Hence the rivalry with Dundee United is a fierce one indeed, cooling a little recently when Dundee was relegated to the Scottish First Division in 2005. The club was first formed in 1893, from the amalgamation of two teams, Our Boys and East End. The team's first Scottish League match was on the 12th August 1893, a 3-3 draw with Rangers. The team moved to its current home of Dens Park in 1899, the stadium now holds 11,856. During the 1900s Dundee were runners-up in the Scottish League three times, but had to wait until 1961-62 before claiming the team's league championship.
Telephone +44 (0) 1382 833 166 Dundee United F.C. was formed in 1909 by members of the local Irish community in Dundee, primarily to replace Dundee Harp who had folded three years earlier. Calling themselves Dundee Hibernian they moved into Clepington Park, displacing the current occupants Dundee Wanderers and renaming it Tannadice Park. The team was invited to join the Scottish League in 1910 after a successful first season. There was a rocky relationship between the club and the Scottish League following World War I due to the league's decision not to reintroduce the Second Division after the war. After much protest and resignations from the league, the second tier was finally reintroduced in 1921. In 1923 the club was renamed Dundee United.
Telephone +44 (0) 1383 724 295 Commonly known just as Dunfermline, Dunfermline Athletic F.C. was founded in 1885 after a meeting at the 'Old Inn' pub. The football team had originally been founded as a part of the Dunfermline Cricket Club in 1874, but a dispute had caused the formation of a separate football team at the 1885 meeting. Dunfermline joined the Scottish League in the 1920s after the creation of a Second Division. They won the Second Division championship in 1925-26 and were promoted briefly to the top flight. They have had something of a roller coaster ride between the divisions ever since.
Telephone +44 (0) 1333 426 323 East Fife F.C. was founded in 1903 following a public meeting after local demands to establish a senior football side in the area. The club firstly joined the Fife League, then the Eastern League and finally the Northern League, before settling for a while in the Central League from 1909 until 1921. By this time the Central League was becoming successful and prosperous, serving the thriving mining communities of Fife and West Lothian. In order to stop migration of its players to the Central League, the Scottish Football League admitted the majority of the Central League members, including East Fife, to join. In 1927 East Fife reached the Scottish Cup final, losing to Celtic. In 1938 the team made history by beating Kilmarnock in the final to become the first and, so far, only team to have won the Scottish Cup whilst in the second tier of the Scottish Football League. The decade following the end of World War II was the most successful for the club, however, with East Fife winning three Scottish League Cup finals and became the first team to have won it three times. They also reached another Scottish Cup final and had four finishes in the top four of the First Division (then the top flight) during this period.
Telephone +44 (0) 1324 623 583 In 1880 the Bainsford Bluebonnets cricket club decided to launch a football team called the Bainsford Britannia. A year later, the team changed its name to East Stirlingshire F.C. They had created a force to be reckoned with, in 1888-89 they reached the Quarter Finals of the Scottish Cup, despatching Stenhousemuir 10-1 and Vale of Bannock with a club record 11-2 win. Unfortunately, a young upstart team from Glasgow, known as Celtic, spoilt the dream by narrowly beating 'The Shire' 2-1. East Stirlingshire joined the Scottish Football league second division in 1900, the majority of its league history has been spent in the second tier of Scottish Football. The Shire managed to reach the top flight on two occasions, after wining the Second Division title in 1932 and after finishing as runners up in 1963. Unfortunately, on both occasions, the team only stayed for one year in the top flight. In recent years the team has drifted down to the fourth tier of Scottish Football. Some outsiders shorten the name to East Stirling, giving the impression that the team is based in Stirling. It is in fact based in Falkirk and plays at the 1,880 capacity Firs Park.
Telephone +44 (0) 1343 551 114 Elgin City F.C. was founded in 1893 from a merger between Elgin Rovers and Vale of Lossie. In 1895 they joined the Highland League but found the going tough initially. In 1900 they resigned from the league but returned two years later. Elgin qualified for the Scottish Cup for three consecutive years in 1908-1910, making them the first Highland League club to do this. The 1930's began to see some real success for the club. The team lifted the Highland League title in 1932 and 1935, finishing second or third on a further five occasions during this decade. Elgin also won the Scottish Qualifying Cup twice in the thirties. The Club's golden era is perhaps the 1960's, when they won seven Highland League titles, two Highland League Cups and had some memorable giant killing runs in the Scottish Cup. In 1960, after crushing league side Forfar 5-1, Elgin was only denied a historic win over Celtic by two late goals. In 1967 they knocked out Ayr United and in 1968 they despatched Albion Rovers, Forfar and Arbroath, before losing 2-1 to Morton in the quarter finals. In 2000, the Scottish Football League expanded and Elgin City joined the Third Division along with Peterhead.
Telephone +44 (0) 1324 624 121 Falkirk F.C. was founded in 1876 and quickly picked up the nickname 'The Bairns'. This is in reference to an ancient Falkirk Burgh motto, "Better meddle wi' the deil (devil) than the Bairns (children) O' Falkirk." The team joined the Scottish Football League Second Division in 1902 and was promoted to the First Division after finishing as runner-up in 1905. Falkirk was initially successful in the First Division, finishing as runner-up in both 1908 and 1910. In 1913 the team won the Scottish Cup for the first time, a feat they did not repeat again until 1957. In recent years, Falkirk had been unlucky in being denied a spot in the top flight due to league restructuring and stadium issues, which had prevented automatic promotion following their Division 1 championship in 2003. In 2004 the club finally moved into the new purpose built Falkirk Stadium, it had ground shared for one year after leaving Brockville Park, the club's home since 1885. The old stadium site is now a Morrison's supermarket, which has many items of memorabilia from the old ground, including one of the turnstiles.
Telephone +44 (0) 1307 463 576 Forfar Athletic F.C. was founded 1885 when the second team of Angus Athletic F.C. broke away to form a new team. Forfar's origins are rooted in the growth of Scottish football in the 1870's, when England and Scotland would meet in Internationals and Scotland would mostly gain the upper hand. This helped fuel the popularity of the game in Scotland and by the mid 1880s; most towns had at least one team. Forfar joined the Scottish Football League in 1921, entering the Second Division.
Telephone +44 (0) 8706 001 972 Rangers F.C. is a club from Glasgow. The club was founded in 1872 by four men who got the name from an English Rugby team they had seen in a book. The club officially launched in 1873 when the first annual meeting was held and staff were elected. The club has traditional roots in the Protestant and Unionist communities, which has unfortunately sometimes led to a sectarian element in the age-old rivalry with fellow 'Old Firm' members Celtic. The clubs have both worked hard to attempt to eradicate this element of the rivalry. The founders could scarcely have foreseen the rapid success of the club. By 1876 the club had produced its first Scottish international player, Moses McNeil, one of the club's founders. In 1877 Rangers F.C. reached the Scottish Cup Final. The Scottish Football League was founded in 1890 and Rangers shared the first league title with Dumbarton.
Telephone + 44 (0) 1475 723 571 Greenock Morton F.C. was renamed from Morton F.C. in 1994 to highlight its links with its home town of Greenock. The club was originally established in 1874, making it one of the oldest surviving senior Scottish clubs. In 1886 the club became a limited company, officially known as Greenock Morton Football and Athletic Club. Nicknamed 'The Pride of the Clyde' and 'The Ton', the team joined the Scottish League Second Division as founder members in 1893-94. They won promotion to the First Division in 1900. Since the early part of the 20th century, Morton has played at Cappielow Park in Greenock, which currently holds 11,612. The club's traditional rivals are St Mirren. In 1922 Morton reached one of the pinnacles of the team's history when they got to the final of the Scottish Cup. Although the underdogs against the much fancied Rangers team, Morton won through thanks to a goal by George French.
Telephone +44 (0) 1461 337 602 Gretna F.C. is based on the border of Scotland and England, and has an unusual history of border hopping between English and Scottish Leagues. A club Gretna Green F.C. had existed since the 19th century, but went bankrupt in the 1920s. There was no replacement until a new Gretna F.C. was formed in 1946 playing initially in its own locality in Dumfries, Scotland. In 1947 the club decided to make the unusual move of applying to play in the Carlisle and District League in England. They remained in this league for all but one year in until the early 1980s when they joined the newly created Northern League in England. They won several titles resulting in promotions leading to them playing in the Northern Premier League in 1992. In the nineties they became the first Scottish club to appear in the FA Cup proper since Rangers did it back in 1887. The team applied on two occasions during the nineties for acceptance to the Scottish League and was finally accepted in 2002.
Telephone +44 (0) 1698 286 103 Hamilton Academicals F.C. was founded in 1874 by James Blacklock, the rector of Hamilton Academy. The history of football in the town is slightly confusing as there were a few teams that played football in Hamilton prior to the formation of the 'Accies'. The Hamilton Cricket and Football Club was founded in 1862, but there is no record of a football match until 1875. There was a Hamilton F.C. playing at the time the Academicals were founded and there are suggestions that some of the players crossed over to the 'Accies' at around this time. In 1875 the club was using the name 'Hamilton Academical Cricket and Football Club'; the cricket part was dropped in 1877. The team joined the Scottish FA in 1876 and competed in the Scottish Cup for the first time that year. Hamilton Academicals joined the Scottish Football League in 1897, after Renton were forced to resign from the league.
Telephone +44 (0) 1312 007 200 Formed in 1874, Heart of Midlothian F.C. claims to be Edinburgh's oldest football club. The club gets its name from the Old Tolbooth (tax-house) of Edinburgh that stood in the Royal Mile. The building was also used as a meeting place for the Parliament; the Town Council; the Privy Council; and the High Court. However, after 1640 it became the city prison, housing the hangman's scaffold on a two-storey annex. This sinister building was known as the "Heart of Midlothian" and the entrance is marked by a heart formation of the causeway stones. Hearts play at the Tynecastle Stadium in Edinburgh, which has a capacity of 17,420. In August 1875 Hearts of Midlothian F.C. joined the Scottish League, which it won for the first time in 1895. The club repeated this feat in 1897, but then had to wait until the 1950s, winning the title in 1958 and 1960.
Telephone +44 (0) 1316 612 159 Hibernian F.C. is based in Leith, North Edinburgh. The club was founded in 1875 by members of the Irish immigrant community, hence using the name 'Hibernian' which is the Roman name for the Irish. The team quickly became fully integrated into the Edinburgh community and rapidly established itself as a successful Scottish football club. Nicknamed 'Hibs', the team plays currently at Easter Road, where it has been since 1891. The current stadium holds 17,500. Hibernian F.C. made its first Scottish Cup Final appearance in 1887, beating Dumbarton in the final. In that year Hibs also beat English FA Cup winners Preston North End in a match billed by the respective Football Associations as the 'World Decider'.
Telephone +44 (0) 1463 222 880 Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. is a very new club, formed only in 1994. Its roots, however, go much further back. The club was formed from the merger of two very old clubs from the Inverness area. Caledonian F.C. was founded in 1885 and Inverness Thistle F.C. in 1893. The two clubs were Highland League rivals for many years, until the opportunity for a place in the Scottish Football League caused an unlikely and to some extent unpopular marriage between the two clubs. When the league offered two expansion places in 1994, the two teams felt it unlikely they would both get in and, indeed, may hamper each others chances by both applying. Instead the two clubs merged and the application as one stronger club was accepted. The team went from strength to strength in the Scottish Football League, improving its finishing position each year until in 1996-97 it won the Third Division championship;
Telephone +44 (0) 1563 525 184 Kilmarnock F.C., nicknamed 'Killie', is the oldest professional football club in Scotland. The foundations of the club date back to the earliest origins of organised football in Scotland, when in 1869 members of the local cricket club decided to look for a winter pursuit. They started out playing Rugby rules but soon switched to Association Football rules. The club's Rugby origins are reflected in the name of the club's home ground, Rugby Park. Kilmarnock competed in the first ever Scottish Cup in 1873-74, but did not join the Scottish Football League until 1895. The team has only won the Scottish League title on one occasion, in 1965 under the management of Willie Waddell. Kilmarnock needed a 2-0 away win over Hearts to take the title and fortunately managed to achieve exactly that.
Telephone +44 (0) 1506 417 000 Livingston F.C. was founded in 1995 from the former Edinburgh team Meadowbank Thistle. Originally formed as Ferranti Thistle in 1943, a works team, they changed the name to Meadowbank Thistle when a place opened up in the Scottish League. The demise of Third Lanark meant that an opportunity arose to join the league, but rules over overt sponsorship forced the name change. By the 1990s, the Edinburgh team was facing low attendances and financial difficulties. Faced with the threat of the club folding, the team were only too pleased to hear the offer made by Livingston District Council to house the team and build it a new 9,000 seat stadium. The move initially seemed to bring success and an easing of the team's woes. They had slipped to the fourth tier of the league by the time they moved to Livingston. By the end of 2001 they had achieved three promotions and entry to the Premier League. A year later they finished third in the league and achieved UEFA cup qualification.
Telephone +44 (0) 1674 673 200 Montrose F.C. was founded in 1879 and celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2004. The first game for Montrose played under Association Football rules was played on the eighth of November 1879, although a press report of the time shows that the Montrose players struggled with the rules, which had to be agreed prior to the match. In 1892 Montrose beat East End F.C. (now Dundee F.C.) to win the Forfarshire Cup. With no radio, television or mobile phones, the locals were kept up to date with the progress of the final by telegrams sent back to the town every fifteen minutes! In 1921 Montrose won the Scottish Qualifying Cup, beating Nithsdale Wanderers at Ibrox. In 1923 Montrose joined the Scottish Football League when it attempted to set up a third division, this only lasted for three seasons before folding after making huge losses. In 1929 Montrose rejoined the league in Division Two, where they remained until the start of World War II. After the war Montrose struggled in various leagues before returning to the Scottish Football League in 1955. The club won the Scottish League Division Two (third tier) championship in the 1984-85 season and have always been a strong cup side.
Telephone +44 (0) 1698 333 333 Motherwell F.C. was founded in 1886 following a charity game when two sides based in factories in the Motherwell district were invited to field a select side against a similar side from Glasgow. Talks after the game led to the formal merger of Glencairn F.C. and Alpha F.C., and so Motherwell F.C. was born. The club turned professional in 1893 and were admitted to the new Scottish League Second Division in that same year. In 1896, the club moved to its current site at Fir Park after the land had been gifted from the estate of Baron John Glencairn Carter Hamilton of Dalzell, the owner of the factory that had spawned Glencairn F.C. in 1877.
Telephone +44 (0) 1415 791 971 Partick Thistle F.C. was founded in 1876 in the burgh of Partick, which was at that time administratively separate to Glasgow until incorporation into the city in 1912. The team resides at Maryhill now and has not in fact played in Partick since 1908. In 1909 the club moved to Firhill Stadium in Maryhill and has been there ever since. Firhill Stadium has a capacity of 10,887. The Jags, as the team is known, joined the Scottish Football League Second Division as founder members in 1893 and won the second division title in 1897. After a few years of promotion followed by relegation, they settled in the top flight from 1902 until 1970. Relegation was short lived but the writing was on the wall, Partick's days as a top flight club were numbered. Since 1982 the team has spent the majority of its time in the second tier of Scottish League football, with occasional visits to the first and third tiers.
Telephone +44 (0) 1779 478 256 Football was being played in Peterhead as far back as the 1870's. However, in 1890 a group of enthusiastic men decided it was time to form a proper club playing under Scottish Football Association rules. A year later and Peterhead F.C. had become a reality. In 1900 the team joined the Aberdeenshire Football Association and tasted league football for the first time. Peterhead remained in the Aberdeenshire League until the 1930's when it joined the Highland League. In 1946-47 the club won the Highland League title for the first of five occasions. In 1962-63 'The Blue Toon' won its first Highland League Cup final, a feat which the team repeated on a further four occasions. During its time in the Highland League, Peterhead developed a long standing rivalry with Fraserburgh F.C. In 2000, Peterhead joined the Scottish Football League for the first time in its history.
Telephone +44 (0) 1387 254 853 Queen of the South F.C. is a club from Dumfries and was founded in 1919. The team originally came together from an amalgamation of three clubs; Dumfries F.C, Maxwell Volunteers F.C. and Arrol-Johnston (a works team). The name Queen of the South was taken from an earlier team which had folded, the Queen of the South Wanderers. The team is nicknamed 'The Doonhamers' and play at Palmerston Park in Dumfries, which has a capacity of 6,412. Queen of the South joined the Scottish League Third Division in 1923. After the second year in the league they were promoted to Division Two. The team rose steadily through the Second Division for eight years before achieving promotion to the top flight, where they spent all but four seasons between 1933 and 1964, making it the most successful period in the team's history. Queen of the South achieved its best ever league finish in 1934, finishing fourth.
Telephone +44 (0) 1416 321 275 "Tonight at half past eight o'clock a number of gentlemen met at No. 3 Eglinton Terrace for the purpose of forming a football club". These words, taken from the minutes of a meeting held on July 9th 1867, heralded not only the birth of Queens Park F.C., but also the birth of Scottish Football itself. The game had been played in public schools with their own versions of the code but it was Queens Park who led the way in the establishment of Association Football rules in Scotland. They were considered the masters of the game in the early days and did not concede a single goal for the first eight years of its existence. The club is steeped in tradition and history. At its outset it was decided that no player should ever receive a wage playing for Queens Park. To this day the rule holds and Queens Park's amateur status makes it quite unique in Scottish senior football. The club also resisted the Scottish Football League in its early days, fearing the domination of the League would kill off smaller clubs. They even played in the English FA Cup, finishing runners-up to Blackburn Rovers in 1884 and 1885. In 1900 they finally joined the Scottish League for fear of falling behind. Although it is an amateur club now playing in the lower divisions of the Scottish Football League, Queen's Park still play at the magnificent 52,500 capacity Hampden Park.
Telephone +44 (0) 1592 263 514 Raith Rovers F.C. is a professional football team from Kirkcaldy which was founded in 1883, playing originally at Robbie's Park. They are not connected with the team of the same name that merged with Cowdenbeath in 1882. The Rovers, as the club is known to its fans, plays its home fixtures now at Stark's Park with a capacity of 10,104. In 1902, Raith was elected to the Scottish League and in 1907, the club incorporated into a limited company; the Raith Rovers Football and Athletic Company Ltd. The clubs best league finish came in 1921-22 when they finished third in the top division behind the Old Firm. Not long after this, the team survived a scare when the team was shipwrecked on the way to a friendly in the Canary Islands. Luckily the team managed to disembark safely.
Telephone +44 (0) 1349 860 860 Ross County F.C. is the most northerly professional football club in Scotland. The team is proud of its homeland and its heritage and is committed to serving the Highlands and Islands community. The team is nicknamed 'The Staggies' and a Stag is depicted on the club crest. Ross County plays its home games at Victoria Park, Dingwall, which has a capacity of 6,310. The team was founded in 1929 and has played most of its football in the Highland League. The Staggies won the Highland League championship in 1967, 1991 and 1992. Ross County also has a proud tradition in the Scottish Cup, having beaten Scottish Football League opposition on eight occasions whilst members of the Highland League. The most memorable of these was in 1994 when Ross beat Forfar Athletic 4-0. Three days later Ross County was elected to the Scottish Football League for the first time in the club's history.
Telephone +44 (0) 1738 459 090 Member of St Johnstone Cricket Club began playing football in 1884, although the official meeting launching the club St Johnstone F.C. was not held until 1885. The name is derived from Saint Johns Toun (town) which is an ancient name for Perth. In 1910 the club became a limited company. The club leased a ground that became known as the Recreation Ground. St Johnstone stayed at this ground until 1924 when they moved to Muirton Park, which would be the club's home for the next 65 years. The Saints (as the team is known) now play at McDiarmid Park, which holds 10,673 spectators. The team joined the Scottish League Division Two in 1911, winning the Division Two title in 1925 and gaining promotion to the First Division.
Telephone +44 (0) 1418 892 558 St Mirren F.C. was originally formed in Paisley in 1875 as a cricket club. In 1877 the players decided to switch to Association Football and join the local league. In 1883 the team won the first of its 49 Renfrewshire Cup wins to date. In 1890 St Mirren joined the Scottish Football League as founder members. During this first season, the team played a game against Morton at night using patented oil lamps for floodlighting.
Telephone +44 (0) 1324 562 992 Stenhousemuir F.C. was founded in 1884 by a breakaway group from a local junior team Heather Rangers. The team is nicknamed 'The Warriors' and the club mascot is 'Willie the Warrior', a Viking-like figure with a round shield and horned helmet. The nickname is known to have been in use since at least 1887, but its exact origins are unknown. The Warriors were successful around the turn of the century, winning the Scottish Qualifying Cup twice in 1901 and 1902 and reaching the Scottish Cup semi final in 1903. Stenhousemuir joined the Scottish Football League Second Division in 1921 and remained there until 1975 when, partially due to recent league reorganisation, the club found itself relegated to the Third Division. It has remained in the lower divisions since this time. The team enjoyed some success in the mid 1990's, reaching the quarter final of the Scottish Cup, beating St Johnstone and Aberdeen from higher divisions on the way in 1994-95. In 1995-96 they reached the final of the Scottish League Challenge Cup. About 2,500 Stenhousemuir supporters travelled to Perth to watch their team win a close encounter, finally beating big spending Dundee United on penalties. Since 1890 Stenhousemuir have played at Ochilview Park, which currently has a capacity of 3,776.
Telephone +44 (0) 1786 450 399 Stirling Albion F.C. is known to its fans as 'The Binos', or sometimes 'The Yo-Yos' owing to the teams habit of achieving successive promotion and relegation! Stirling Albion plays at Forthbank Stadium in Stirling, near the River Forth. The club's badge features the Wallace Monument and the Ochil Hills, a range of hills to the north of the Forth Valley. Stirling Albion was formed in 1945 to replace King's Park F.C., who had been unable to reform after the end of World War II. The old team's stadium had been damaged by the only bomb to have landed on the town during the entire war, so the new team would need a new stadium. Local coal magnate Thomas Fergusson, the brains behind the new club, purchased the lease on the Annfield Estate to build the stadium that would be the club's home until 1992. The team now plays at Forthbank Stadium in Stirling with a capacity of 3,808.
Telephone +44 (0) 1776 703 271 Stranraer F.C. is based at Stranraer in Dumfries and Galloway. It is a semi professional club playing in the Scottish Football League. The club was founded in 1870, making it the third oldest club amongst current Scottish Football League members. Despite the age of the club, it did not join the league until 1949. This was largely due to the remoteness of the South West club in relation to other clubs in the league. In 1948 the league took note of the team when they entertained Rangers in front of a record crowd in the Scottish Cup, the Glasgow team narrowly scraping through by a 1-0 score line. This probably led to their acceptance into the league about a year later. Prior to this, Stranraer had played in the Southern Counties League, the Scottish Combination, the Scottish Alliance and South of Scotland League. Initially the team joined the 'C' Division meaning it played many of the reserve teams from the top flight teams. Stranraer was elevated to the mainstream in 1955 when the 'C' Division was scrapped and the club was admitted to the second division. Add to favorites
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The UEFA Champions League, which evolved from the European Champion Clubs' Cup, is a seasonal club football competition organized by UEFA since 1992 (or overall in its older format since 1955) for the most successful football clubs in Europe. The prize, the European Champion Clubs' Cup (more commonly known as the European Cup), is the most prestigious club trophy in the sport. The UEFA Champions League is separate from the UEFA Cup. Champions League winners keep the real trophy for ten months after their victory, and receive a scaled-down replica to keep forever. Winning clubs are also permitted to make replicas of their own, however they must be clearly marked as such and can be no more than eighty percent the size of the actual trophy. The tournament consists of several stages. In the present format it
begins in mid-July with three preliminary knockout qualifying rounds. The 16
surviving teams join 16 seeded teams in a group stage. Eight group winners and
eight runners-up enter the final knockout rounds, which end with the final match
in May. Previously, only the champions of their respective national league could
participate in the competition; however, this was changed in 1997 to allow the
runners-up of the stronger leagues to compete as well.
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The UEFA Cup The UEFA Cup, which will be renamed the UEFA Europa League in 2009, grew out of an idea conceived by Switzerland's Ernst Thommen who, along with Italy's Ottorino Barrasi and England's Sir Stanley Rous, later FIFA President, created a tournament for representative sides from European cities that regularly held trade fairs. This forerunner to the UEFA Cup, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, was founded on 18 April 1955, two weeks after
the founding of the European Champion Clubs' Cup. The first Fairs Cup involved
teams from Barcelona, Basle, Birmingham, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Lausanne,
Leipzig, London, Milan and Zagreb. The original tournament lasted three years,
with matches timed to coincide with trade fairs. Barcelona, using players purely
from FC Barcelona, beat a London representative side 8-2 on aggregate in the final.
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The World Cup The FIFA World Cup, sometimes referred to as the Football World Cup, but
normally called the World Cup, is an international association football
(also known as soccer) competition contested by the men's national teams of the
members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's
global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since
the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II.
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FIFA Futsal World Cup Futsal is a very fast and furious game of indoor football. Futsal, also known as futbol sala and football sala, has very simailar rules as 11 a side football, but it's played on a much smaller pitch and the teams that take part are 5 a side. Have you ever wondered why players like Xavi and Iniesta have such great close control skills? It's because they were brought up on a diet of Futsal or Fútbol Sala, as it's known in Spain - the only version of indoor football recognised by both FIFA and UEFA. Futsal was created in 1930 and is now played by 30 million people in over 100 countries, making it the fastest growing sport in the world. It's extremely popular in Spain, where there are professional leagues and the national team, which has won the World Championship twice and the European Championship four times, vies with Brazil for the honour of being the best team in the world. If you've played indoor football, the basic idea behind futsal will be very familiar - it's five against five, most of the kit is the same and you score goals with a ball. However, there are some important differences, which make the game a lot of fun and a great way of working on specific skills. The main differences The FIFA regulation pitch size is a maximum of 42 metres long by 25 metres wide with the minimum being 38 x 18 for internationals and 25 x 15 for all other games. Playing in such a reduced area is ideal for working on close individual ball skills and also on one touch passing and receiving. The ball - in indoor football felt balls are sometimes allowed, but in futsal the ball is made of leather and is smaller and heavier than a normal soccer ball - usually regulation size 4 - with a dampened bounce. Although there's no restrictions as to how high the ball can be kicked, this also means that the focus of the game is the feet rather than the head or other parts of the body. Playing time - two halves of just 22 clock-timed minutes each also make for a fast-moving game. Plays are stopped when the stopwatch dictates so there's a sense of urgency similar to basketball as the end of the final period approaches. Another similarity with basketball is that each team can take a one-minute time-out per half and so tactics and strategies, which change the course of the game, can be implemented. The teams - teams consist of five players on each side but there are twelve players in the squad. Flying substitutions are made and players can come on or off even when the ball's in play. Sometimes a coach will change almost all his players during a time-out. This means that as a spectator, you don't only focus on the fantastic ball skills but also on the strategies employed. Free kicks - the majority of the reasons why direct and indirect free kicks are awarded are just like in normal footbal - fouls, handball, dangerous play etc - but there are a number of rules that apply only to the goalkeepers that are designed to keep the game moving quickly and stop time-wasting. For example, the goalkeeper must not throw the ball over the half way line, touch back passes from team-mate with his hands or touch a back pass with any part of his body before it's crossed the half-way line or has been played by an opponent. He's also not allowed to keep the ball in his hands for more than 4 seconds. Finally, just like in normal football, free kicks are taken from where the offending foul was committed. The big difference, though, is that indirect free kicks are also taken in the penalty area, which makes for some incredible nail-biting moments. Futsal hasn't really caught on in the UK to the same extent that futsal has in, say for example, Brazil or Spain, but it is nevertheless starting to catch the attention of the UK public more and more. In the UK, they do play futsal, but the ordinary 5 a side indoor football seems to be more popular, and there's a few differences; in the UK's indoor football, only the goalie is allowed in the goalies semi circle area, but in futsal, anyone's allowed in the goalies area, another big difference, is that in the UK, with indoor 5 a side football, you can bounce the ball off the side walls, whereas in futsal, if the ball goes off the sideline, it's kicked back on from the sideline. The Futsal world cup championships are held every four years - more details below :
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FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association. The name "FA Cup" refers to the English men's tournament. The FA Cup is the oldest football competition in the world, with the first FA cup in England being in 1872. Because it involves clubs of all standards playing against each other there is the possibility for "minnows" from the lower divisions to become "giant-killers" by eliminating top clubs from the tournament, although lower division teams rarely reach the final. In comparison, the League Cup can involve only the 72 members of The Football League (which organises that competition) and the 20 teams in the Premier League for a total of 92 eligible teams. The current holders of the FA Cup are Portsmouth, who beat Cardiff City 1–0 in the 2008 final on 17 May 2008. As well as being presented with the cup, the winning team also qualifies
automatically for the first round of the UEFA Cup, unless they have already qualified
for Europe in which case the position goes to the runners-up or to the highest
placed Premier League side without European qualification.
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Football League Cup / Carling Cup The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or currently as the Carling Cup, is an English football competition. Like the FA Cup, it's played on a knockout (single elimination) basis, but unlike the FA Cup, the semi-finals in the football league cup are played over two legs. The winners automatically qualify for the UEFA Europa League, if they have not qualified for European competition in some other way. (If the winner qualifies for the Champions League, the UEFA Europa League spot is given to the team that finishes highest in the FA Premier League that has not already qualified for a European competition.) Since 1982, the League Cup has been named after its sponsor, giving it the following names: * Milk Cup (1981–82 to 1985–86), sponsored by the Milk Marketing Board
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MastersFootball Tournament The jewel in the crown of many a Masters player, the Masters Cup has become the tournament to win for every ex-professional footballer and international footballer in the UK. Masters football is a 6 a-side indoor football competition in the United Kingdom, where players over the age of 35 are chosen by the Masters Football Selection Committee to represent a senior club for which they played. Regional heats are held, and the winners of each go forward to a national finals competition. Events are contested over the course of a single evening, (usually on Saturdays or Sundays), with games played in two halves of eight minutes duration. The pitch is 60m by 30m, and there is no offside rule. Matches are televised live on the UK subscription channel Sky Sports. Football is recognised as the UK's most popular outdoor sport, and now, football is starting to be recognised as one of the UK's most popular indoor sports. largely thanks to the introduction of the exciting Masters Football six-a-side tournament, which the PFA (Professional Footballers Association), continues to support. Since its conception in 1998, the Masters Football hall of fame has enrolled players of the calibre of Bryan Robson, Ian Rush, John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, Liam Brady, Glenn Hoddle, Ally McCoist, Neville Southall and Ian Wright, to name but a few. The list includes many stars who have played in the Premiership, Champions League and World Cup finals. Thousands of fans have witnessed the unique experience of live indoor football and millions more have watched the action on Sky Sports and Channel Four. Masters Football has quickly established itself as part of the professional sporting calendar and is recognised as the senior tour for football. The six-a-side format ensures that the players are able to display their greatest skills - tackling, dribbling, passing and, of course, scoring. All players will have, at one point in their career played with their respective team and the minimum age is 35 - but don’t be surprised to see a few stars of the past for whom the age of 35 is but a distant memory. The Masters Cup takes in eight regional heats, features 32 teams and over 320 players, culminating in a nerve-jangling Grand Final, all televised live on Sky Sports. Since 2000, the Masters Cup has been played in front of over 1.2 million people, and many more millions have tuned in to see the action on TV and roar their team on to glory. The brilliant Masters Football is a very exciting, fast-moving indoor football tournament which is held every year and is broadcast on SKY TV. The first Masters Football Tournament was held in 2000. The results of all of
them are below :
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