(The '''FA''') is the governing body of
Football in
England (and the
Crown Dependencies of
Jersey ,
Guernsey and the
Isle Of Man ).
The FA was established, for men only, in
1863 and is the oldest football association in the world. It governs all professional football clubs in England. The FA was instrumental in formulating the rules of the modern game and has a special place in the history of the sport. It is a member of
UEFA and
FIFA , and holds a permanent seat on the
International Football Association Board (IFAB). Unlike other national football associations, it does not take the national name (i.e.'English') in its title (compare with
Scottish Football Association , for example).
All of England's professional football clubs must be members of the Football Association. The FA is responsible for the appointment of the management of the England
Men's and
Women's national teams, the organization of the
FA Cup , the nation's most prestigious cup competition, and is the governing body of the
FA Premier League (
The Football League , England's second tier league, consisting of
The Championship ,
League One and
League Two , is self-governing).
The FA plays a major role in the development of English football at the grass roots level, through its continuing support of the amateur game, and organizes the
National League System .
The FA's turnover for the year ended 31 December 2004 was £206.1 million, of which £176.9 million came from television rights (mainly the FA Cup and England Internationals) and sponsorship. Its other sources of income include gate receipts from English internationals, payments from
FIFA and
UEFA relating to England's participation in international competitions, and sundry minor sources of income.
The FA's income does not include the turnover of English football clubs, which are independent businesses. As well as running its own operations the FA chooses five charities each year to which it gives considerable financial support [http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/charity-news/six-villages.htm e.g.
Prior to the first meeting of the Football Association in the Freemason's Tavern in Great Queen Street,
London on
26 October 1863 , there were no universally accepted rules for the playing of the game of football. The founder members present at the first meeting were
Barnes , WO (
War Office ) Club, Crusaders, Forest of Leytonstone (later to become
Wanderers ) , N.N. (No Names) Club (
Kilburn ), Crystal Palace (no relation to
Crystal Palace F.C. ),
Blackheath F.C. , Kensington School, Percival House (Blackheath), Surbiton and Blackheath Proprietary School;
Charterhouse sent their captain, B. F.Hartshorne, but declined the offer to join.
The first revision of the
Rules For The Modern Game was drawn up over a series of six meetings held in the social room of the public house from October till December. At the final meeting, the first FA treasurer who was the representative from Blackheath, withdrew his club from the FA over the removal of two draft rules at the previous meeting, the first which allowed for the running with the ball in hand and the second, obstructing such a run by hacking (kicking an opponent in the shins), tripping and holding. Other
English Rugby Clubs Followed This Lead and did not join the FA but instead in
1871 formed the
Rugby Football Union .
An inaugural game using the new FA rules was initially scheduled for
Battersea Park on
2 January 1864 , but enthusiastic members of the FA couldn't wait for the new year and an experimental game was played at Mortlake on
19 December 1863 between Morley's Barnes team and their neighbours
Richmond (who were not members of the FA), ending in a goalless draw. The Richmond side were obviously unimpressed by the new rules in practice because they subsequently helped form the RFU in 1871. The Battersea Park game was postponed for a week and the first exhibition game using FA rules was played there on Saturday
9 January 1864 . The members of the opposing teams for this game were chosen by the President of the FA (A. Pember) and the Secretary (
E. C. Morley ) and included many well-known footballers of the day.
The Football Association's collection is held by the
National Football Museum .
The FA also runs several competitions:
- Green, Geoffrey (1954) ''History of the Football Association'', Naldrett Press
- Butler, B. (1991). ''The official history of the Football Association'', Queen Anne Press, ISBN 0356191451
