The Royal Engineers Association Football Club is an association football team representing the Corps of Royal Engineers, the 'Sappers', of the British Army and based in Chatham, Kent. In the 1870s, it was one of the strongest sides in English football, winning the FA Cup in 1875 and being Cup finalists in three of the first four seasons. The Engineers were pioneers of the combination game, where teammates passed the ball to each other rather than kicking ahead and charging after the ball. With the rise of professional teams, in 1888 the Engineers joined a newly formed Army Football Association.
Wanderers Football Club was an English association football club. It was founded as "Forest Football Club" in 1859 in Leytonstone. In 1864, it changed its name to "Wanderers", a reference to it never having a home stadium, instead playing at various locations in London and the surrounding area. Comprising mainly former pupils of the leading English public schools, Wanderers was one of the dominant teams in the early years of organised football and won the inaugural Football Association Challenge Cup in 1872. The club won the competition five times in total, including three in succession from 1876 to 1878, a feat which has been repeated only once.
Arthur Fitzgerald Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird, was a British principal of The Football Association and a leading footballer, considered by some journalists as the first football star. He played in nine FA Cup Finals, a record that stands to this day. His record of five wins in the competition stood until 2010, when it was broken by Ashley Cole.
The 1872–73 season was the second season of competitive football in England. The Football Association staged the second edition of the FA Cup, with Wanderers retaining the trophy by defeating Oxford University in the final. The first officially recognised international football match took place on 30 November 1872 when Scotland hosted England.
Charles William Alcock was an English sportsman, administrator, author and editor. He was a major instigator in the development of both international football and cricket, as well as being the creator of the FA Cup.
The history of association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, stretches back at least to the medieval times. Some predecessors of football may date back to ancient Greece and Rome, and similar games were played in ancient China and Japan. The history of football in Britain dates at least to the eighth century CE.
The 1871–72 Football Association Challenge Cup was the first staging of the Football Association Challenge Cup, usually known in the modern era as the FA Cup, the oldest association football competition in the world. Fifteen of the association's fifty member clubs entered the first competition, although three withdrew without playing a game. In the final, held at Kennington Oval in London on 16 March 1872, Wanderers beat the Royal Engineers by a single goal, scored by Morton Betts, who was playing under the pseudonym A. H. Chequer.
The Combination Game was a style of association football based around teamwork and cooperation. It would gradually favour the passing of the ball between players over individual dribbling skills which had been a notable feature of early Association games. It developed from "scientific" football and is considered to be the predecessor of the modern passing game of football. It originated in Britain and its origins are associated with early clubs: Sheffield FC, The Royal Engineers AFC, Queen's Park FC and Cambridge University AFC. Each of these claimants is supported by retrospective accounts from men who were notable in the early history of football. They are considered below in the order of earliest contemporary evidence of "scientific" football playing styles.
This article details the history of football in Scotland.
The 1872 association football match between the national teams of Scotland and England is officially recognised by FIFA as the sport's first international. It took place on 30 November 1872 at Hamilton Crescent, the West of Scotland Cricket Club's ground in Partick, Glasgow. The match was watched by 4,000 spectators and finished as a 0-0 draw.
The England–Scotland football rivalry, between the England and Scotland national football teams, is the oldest international fixture in the world, first played in 1872 at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow. Scottish nationalism has been a factor in the Scots' desire to defeat England above all other rivals, with Scottish sports journalists traditionally referring to the English as the "Auld Enemy".
Edgar Lubbock LLB was an English amateur footballer who twice won the FA Cup and played first-class cricket. He later became a partner in the Whitbread Brewery, a Director and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and the Master of the Blankney Foxhounds.
The Rev. Charles Edward Burroughs Nepean was an English amateur cricketer and footballer who later became a vicar in the Church of England. As a cricketer he played ten first-class matches for Oxford University and Middlesex between 1870 and 1874, whilst in football he was in goal for Oxford University, the winning side in the 1874 FA Cup Final.
Sir James Kirkpatrick, 8th Baronet was the 8th Kirkpatrick Baronet of Closeburn, Dumfriesshire. In his youth he was a keen sportsman, and helped organise the Scottish football team in the representative matches between March 1870 and February 1872. He also played in goal for the Wanderers when they won the FA Cup in 1878.
Robert Erskine Wade Copland-Crawford was a Scottish soldier and amateur sportsman.
Alfred Joseph Baker was an English amateur sportsman who scored England's goal in the first representative match against a Scottish XI in March 1870. By profession, he was an auctioneer.
Alexander Andrew Ellis Nash was an English amateur footballer who played for England in the first representative match against Scotland in March 1870.
Charles William Stephenson was an English amateur sportsman who made three appearances for England in the representative matches against Scotland in 1871 and 1872. He also was a member of the Football Association committee that agreed to the foundation of the first national knockout football competition, the FA Cup in 1871. By profession, he was a surveyor.
Robert Smith was a Scottish footballer who played for Scotland against England in the first official international matches in 1872 and 1873, as well as three appearances in the earlier unofficial matches. He was a member of the Queen's Park and South Norwood clubs, and was prominent in the early history of Queen's Park.
James Smith was a Scottish footballer who played for Scotland against England in the first official international match in 1872. He was a member of the Queen's Park and South Norwood clubs, and was prominent in the early history of Queen's Park.
