1894 USFSA Football Championship

Last updated
1894 USFSA Football Championship
Union des societes francaises de sports athletiques logo.svg
Tournament details
Country France
Dates15 April – 6 May
Teams6
Final positions
Champions Standard Athletic Club (1st title)
Runner-up The White Rovers
Tournament statistics
Matches played5
Goals scored25 (5 per match)
1895  

The 1894 USFSA Football Championship was the 1st staging of the USFSA Football Championship. This was the very first recognized football championship to be played in France. The tournament was held on the road between 15 April and 6 May 1894. [1]

Contents

The first competition featured just four Paris teams and was organized on a knockout basis with Standard Athletic Club becoming the French champions after beating The White Rovers 2–2 and 2–0 in the replay of the final. [2]

Participants

The first national championship in team sports in France was the high schools rugby football championship in 1891. Its success prompted the Parisian clubs to start a championship for football as well. So, in 1894, it was decided to hold a "championship" among the volunteering football clubs of the U.S.F.S.A. The tournament gathered six teams, of which 4 were clubs from Paris, thus making it seem more of a championship of Paris rather than a French championship. [1]

TeamsTown
Standard Athletic Club Paris
International Athletic Club Paris
White Rovers Paris
Cercle athlétique de Neuilly Neuilly-sur-Seine
Club Français Paris
Cercle pédestre d'Asnières Asnières-sur-Seine

Format

The competition was played under a knockout cup system. Four clubs, Standard AC, International AC, White Rovers and CA Neuilly took part in a preliminary round, while Club Français and Cercle Pédestre d'Asnières received a bye to the semi-finals. All the matches took place on the Racing Club de France grounds in Levallois. The donator of the trophy was a wealthy sports-loving American businessman, James Gordon Bennett. [1]

Bracket

 
First round Semi-finals #Final
 
          
 
 
 
 
CP Asnières
 
22 April 1894 – Bécon-les-Bruyères
 
bye
 
Standard AC 5
 
15 April 1894 – Bécon-les-Bruyères
 
CP Asnières 0
 
Standard AC Forfeit
 
29 April and 6 May 1894 – Bécon-les-Bruyères
 
International AC
 
Standard AC 2 (2)
 
 
 
White Rovers 2 (0)
 
Club Français
 
22 April 1894 – Bécon-les-Bruyères
 
bye
 
White Rovers 1
 
15 April 1894 – Bécon-les-Bruyères
 
Club Français 0
 
White Rovers 13
 
 
CA Neuilly 0
 

Results

First round

Bye (2):

CP Asnières
Club Français
Standard AC Forfeit International Athletic Club
Report
Racing Club's ground, Bécon-les-Bruyères

Note: At the last moment, the International AC withdrew, without the reason being known.


The White Rovers 13–0 Cercle Athlétique de Neuilly
Report
Racing Club's ground, Bécon-les-Bruyères
Referee: Neek

Semi-finals

Standard AC 5–0 CP Asnières
Report
Racing Club's ground, Bécon-les-Bruyères
Referee: Sleator
The White Rovers 1–0 Club Français
Mac Bain Soccerball shade.svg75' Report
Racing Club's ground, Bécon-les-Bruyères
Referee: Georges Caizac

Note: Rovers were "not expecting so much resistance", but end up scoring fifteen minutes from the end of the match by Mac Bain, on a corner kick taken by J. Wood, slightly helped by the wind. [3]


Final

Standard AC 2–2 The White Rovers
N. Tunmer Soccerball shade.svg
A. Tunmer Soccerball shade.svg
Report J. Wood Soccerball shade.svg
Roscoe Soccerball shade.svg
Racing Club's ground, Bécon-les-Bruyères
Referee: Daumay (Club Français)

Replay

Standard AC 2–0 The White Rovers
Hunter Soccerball shade.svg35'
Vines Soccerball shade.svg88'
Report
Racing Club's ground, Bécon-les-Bruyères
Referee: Daumay (Club Français)

Winner

1894 USFSA Football Championship
Standard AC

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Origins of the French League". RSSSF . 2 June 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  2. Football in France, a statistical record 1894–2003: Alex Graham (2004)
  3. "White Rovers 1–0 Club Français review". babel.hathitrust.org/. 28 April 1894. Retrieved 25 July 2022.