| Sheffield F.c. |
Article Index for Sheffield |
Website Links For Sheffield |
Information AboutSheffield F.c. |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SHEFFIELD F.C. | |
| football soccer clubs established in 1857 | |
| english football clubs | |
| sports teams and clubs in sheffield | |
| sport in derbyshire | |
| yorkshire football clubs | |
|
HISTORY In 1855, members of a Sheffield Cricket club organised informal kick abouts without any official basis. On October 24 , 1857 Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest, two former Harrovians formed Sheffield Football Club. The Sheffield club is the Oldest Football Club in the world among those that have played, or do play, football. It is the oldest documented club, in any code of football, in England . Creswick and Prest were responsible for drawing up the club's rules of play in 1857, referred to as Sheffield Rules . At that time, before the formation of The Football Association (FA), there were many different kinds of football. Each of the various Public Schools of England played football according to their own rules and these varied widely. The first Sheffield Rules , as they became known, were also distinctive. For example, there was no Offside Rule , opposing players could be pushed, and a player catching the ball would get a free kick. ( Australian Rules Football , which began to develop the following year, resembles the Sheffield code in all of these respects. The similarities probably resulted indirectly, from the common influence of codes such as the Cambridge Rules ). Initially, Sheffield FC games were played among club members themselves and took the format of "Married Vs Singles" or "Professionals Vs the Rest". Sheffield F.C.'s near neighbour, Hallam F.C. , was formed in 1860 and in 1861 the two clubs first played each other in a Local Derby which is still contested today. By 1862 there were 15 clubs in the Sheffield area who all adhered to the Sheffield Rules. They later formed the Sheffield Football Association , to play their code of football and did not join the FA. In March 31 , 1866 , there was a match between a team representing the Sheffield FA and one representing London clubs, at Battersea Park . Rules that differed only slightly from the FA rules was used. However, Sheffield continued to play by their own rules, with modifications, until they adopted the FA rules in 1878 . It's decline from the top echelon of football began with the introduction of professionalism in July 1885, with the amateurs of Sheffield failing to compete with professional teams, losing heavily that year to Aston Villa , Nottingham Forest and Notts County . TODAY Sheffield F.C. are now based at the Bright Finance Stadium (formally called Coach & Horses Ground and sometimes referred to as the Stadium of Bright) in Dronfield , the first ground they have owned themselves. They play in the Northern Counties East League Premier League, which is directly below the Northern Premier League in the National League System . There’s now 2 senior teams, 9 junior teams, 1 women’s team (formed by a merger with Norton F.C.) and 1 disability team. They have recently started a membership drive, notable members are Sven Goran Eriksson , Sepp Blatter and Michael Vaughan . They have also enjoyed links with Real Madrid since both clubs received the FIFA Order Of Merit and there are plans to play a match against them to celebrate their 150th Aniversary. CURRENT SQUAD HONOURS
OTHER AWARDS FIFA Order Of Merit awarded in 2004 ( Real Madrid is the only other club in the world to get one) SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
|
|