The oldest football team in the world. The first football clubs of the Russian Empire: Obak Club, Sporting, Odessa Football Club and others. Football clubs Wanderers and Creigh Wanderers
This football club rightfully bears the name of the oldest football club in the world. Founded back in the century before last, back in 1857, today Sheffield plays in the 8th division of England, First Division of the Northern Premier League. The history of this club is closely connected with the development of the game in Britain and with the growing importance of football in general.
The founders of the club were Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest, and the local Sheffield cricket club served as the training base for the first time. The club made a significant contribution to the research and development of those aspects of football science that were poorly regulated. Gradually a list of rules for the game was formed, which were later adopted by the Sheffield Football Association.
Just six years later, in 1863, Sheffield FC became the founders of the Football Association - the first national organization in charge of football affairs in the country. This may seem surprising, but during its one and a half century history, the club did not have its own training base. The club's home stadium appeared only in 2001. Sheffield have acquired the BT Local Business Stadium, which is located in Dronfield.
Hallam Football Club
In 1804, cricket was almost a national sport in Britain, but in 1860 it underwent a completely successful reorganization and became a football club. In general, apart from the honorable second place in the list of the oldest clubs on the planet, Hallam is not very well known, but, according to the entry in the Guinness Book of Records, Hallam is the most revered place on the planet by its population. Residents of this province have been playing football for several centuries.
The club has its own stadium where the team's home matches are held. The Sandygate Road site is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest stadium in the world. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the club has been focused mainly on the development of amateur football. The team currently plays in Division 1 of the Northern Counties Eastern Football League (Division 9).
Football clubs Wanderers and Creigh Wanderers
These two clubs were founded in the same year. "Cray Wanderers" was formed on one of the outskirts of London, and its creators were employees of the London railway, or rather, the London - Kent section.
"Cray Wanderers" holds the honorary title of the first official football club in the south of England. Initially, the fate of the club was very successful: it occupied a leading position among the teams in this region, but by the beginning of the 1930s everything changed and the team turned from a professional one into an amateur one.
To regain at least the status of a semi-professional team, it took the club quite a bit, as much as 20 years. Today, Cray Wanderers' preparation is somewhat weaker than Sheffield's, but it is the first football club in history created by English workers and this alone provides it with an honorable place in the history of football. 
As for the Wanderers club, it was organized in the same 1860 and at first was known as FC Forest. This club was organized in the London area of Battersea and initially its members included graduates of a very prestigious school - Harrow.
In the first decade of its existence, the club was among the most successful and famous football clubs in the country. Wanderers were famous for their victories in the first 10 years of the English Championship. The club won in 1872, 1873, 1876, 1877 and 1878 and earned the reputation of being the most successful in England and on the continent.
Worksop Town Football Club
While the previous clubs hailed from the central and southern counties, this football club holds the honorary title of being the first in the north-west. Worksop Town is home to industrial Nottingham. The club was formed in 1861 but first made headlines in 1873 after a series of matches at the stadium off Netherton Road. The club's players also have a nickname - Tigers - associated with the FC emblem. 
In the mid-1960s, Worsop Town won the Midland League competition and became a founding member of the Northern Premier League. A 20-year crisis followed, but the 1990s became the best years in the club's history. In the 1997/98 season, Worksop regained the Northern Premier League place they had lost ten years earlier. Currently plays in the Premier Division of the Northern Premier League, the seventh most important football tournament in England.
Notts County Football Club
In 1862, Notts Country Football Club was formed, the oldest professional club in the world, and one of the 11 founding clubs of the Football League, which was created in 1888. In 1894 the team won the FA Cup, and in 1891 they were among the finalists of the championship.
The club originally played at Park Hollow, on the grounds of old Nottingham Castle. In 1883, the Magpies (this is how the team is unofficially called) settled at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. In 1910, the club changed its home ground to Meadow Lane, which remains the team's main training base today.
- Official website of the Sheffield club
- Free electronic encyclopedia Wikipedia, section "Sheffield (football club)"
- Blog "Top-Football", material from Wanderers FC
- Worksop Town official website
- Free electronic encyclopedia Wikipedia, section "Worksop Town"
- Free electronic encyclopedia Wikipedia, section "Notts County"
Today there are not many football clubs left in the world that have existed almost since the history of this sport. Trophies, uniforms, cards, advertising brochures of some of them cost a fortune.
TOP 10 oldest football clubs will help you plunge into history.
Sheffield
It still exists today; the football club was founded in 1857 by graduates of the famous University of Cambridge. Interesting fact - the club was founded based on the cricket team.
Today it is not as famous as the Spanish “Real”, but is still in the English division. The club was founded by two former students - Nathaniel Creswick (one of the famous and talented football players) and William Prest.
Newton Heath (Manchester United)
It was founded by ordinary railway workers in 1878. Stanford is considered the founding city. Since the club’s finances were poor, the players trained first at a destroyed factory, and later at the forgotten and overgrown North Road stadium.
Interesting fact: in the 20th century, ordinary hard workers were able to take first place in English championships more than 20 times. Today the team is one of the most expensive and titled; fans know it as Manchester United.
Bayern München (Bavaria)
The club was founded at the beginning of the 20th century (1900). Is the pride of Germany and one of the best football clubs in the world. Interesting fact: at first the club was intended for gymnasts, but in order to attract young people, the club opened a second division for young football players.
Within 3 years, the club began to receive funds from investors to maintain a talented roster. By the way, today the club’s players cost from 60 million rubles and still show the best results on the field.
Bayer 04
Founded in 1904 as a recreational company of pharmacists. Interesting fact: in its century-long history, the club has never received gold, but has repeatedly won silver at the German championships.
Today the club is not as famous as in the mid-50s, but is still part of the regional league. And in 2010 the players showed the best results in the Bundesliga championship.
Borussia
Also included in the list of the oldest but active clubs in the world. He is a multiple winner of the German Cup and Champions League.
It was opened in 1909 by ordinary seminarians, despite the fact that their pastor strictly forbade them to do so because of his own dislike for this sport. Today the club shows the best results and is active fights for the world championship.
Spartacus
The first football clubs in Russia began to appear at the beginning of the 20th century. However, due to lack of funding and special government interest in this sport, they were never able to last more than 2 years. Despite this, the Moscow club, founded back in 1922, was able to show good results and become a real asset to the country.
The club has repeatedly taken first place in competitions in the USSR and Russia, but the athletes did not reach the UEFA semi-finals. Despite this, Spartak still produces some of the best football players, and proudly bears the cliché of the People's Club.
Slavia
A football club from ancient Prague was founded back in 1892. Interesting fact: the club was founded by medical students in order to distract themselves from the litigation of their studies.
The university liked the healthy hobby and soon the team received funding. The club still produces good players.
FC Petržalka
The oldest club from Bratislava has a rather specific name. It was founded back in 1898. As recent sources show, it still participates in national leagues.
However, in 2009, the team lost its main sponsor, which closed the door to big football for it.
Anorthosis
Football club from warm Cyprus. Was founded in 1911. The name has a historical origin, meaning "Division". This is due to the fact that during the 1900s, the Greeks actively advocated the separation of the two territories.
The club's first players were military personnel, but in 1960, after the club was bought by a new sponsor, they were replaced by athletes from major universities in the country. Thanks to government support, Anorthosis still exists and even takes places not only in the national league, but also in the Champions League (7th place in 2010).
Maccabi
The oldest Israeli club, which was founded back in 1909. Interesting fact: it was the first Jewish club to be allowed to compete in Palestine.
The FC still exists and trains talented football players. Thanks to the fact that Israel was able to join UEFA in the 90s, the team received new sponsors. However, despite decent funding, over the past few years it has not been able to enter the Champions League and show decent results.
Date of foundation
The oldest football club in the world, over the 153 years of its existence, has not been able to achieve any significant success in the sports field. Founded in 1857, the English football club Sheffield Football Club plays in the 8th division, with an average of 300 people attending its home matches, and its stadium seats only 1,200 spectators.
Last season 2009/2010, Sheffield finished 5th and had a chance to reach League 7 through the play-offs, but this task turned out to be impossible for the world's oldest football club.
The Sheffield Football Club from the city of the same name was created on the basis of a cricket club, and at the end of 1860 the very first football match in history between club teams was played.
These are the fans!
At one time, 3 England national team players played for Sheffield, although this “back in the day” was in the 70-80s of the 19th century.
It’s interesting that Sheffield’s honorary fans include such well-known figures in the football world as Sepp Blatter and Sven-Göran Eriksson.
Club anniversary
In 2007, celebrations were held in honor of the 150th anniversary of the club; Inter Milan came to visit the birthday boy. The match took place at the world's oldest active football stadium, Bramall Lane, built in 1855 (now owned by the more venerable Sheffield United club).
Also in 2007, Sheffield FC was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. Sheffield was also awarded the FIFA Order of Dignity, an award only Real Madrid has.
Oleg Skorodumov, Samogo.Net
England is the country where football appeared. A game that has captured the minds and hearts of millions of fans around the world. It is no coincidence that they remain one of the strongest in Europe. Many of them have already celebrated their centenary, never ceasing to delight their fans.
At the origins
Many modern researchers claim that games similar to football existed in ancient China and among the Incas. However, more reliable information still sends us to medieval England. Football then, of course, was very different from now: there were no uniform rules, games were organized spontaneously and often developed into brawls. It got to the point that King Edward III even tried to ban matches, calling football more dangerous and useless entertainment than archery.
In the 19th century the situation changed dramatically. At first it was possible to play with both hands and feet. The Klyuchevskaya date is 1863, when a unified set of rules was first adopted. Here there was a split among football fans. The most important decision was to ban playing with hands. Some agreed with this, while others became the founders of rugby.
First championship
The English football league is the oldest in the world. It was founded in 1888. 12 teams took part in the first season, the competition was held in two rounds. The champion was the Preston North End club, now playing in the Football League Championship (the second most important tournament).
There are only 4 teams - participants of the first championship, which will compete in the Premier League this year. These are West Bromwich Albion, Everton, Burnley and Stoke City. It is worth noting that the name of English football clubs does not change with such frequency as it often happens in our country. Most of the groups are called the same as they were 100 years ago.
The oldest tournament in the world
And yet the very first tournament in the history of football was not the championship, but the FA Cup. Its first draw took place in the 1871/72 season. Initially, 15 teams entered the draw, but 3 of them subsequently withdrew their candidacies.
The final took place at Kennington Oval. In the decisive match, the Wanderers (a team from London that has not survived to this day) and the Royal Engineers, consisting of the Royal Engineers of the British Army, met. 2 thousand spectators watched the final of the first tournament in the history of football. The outcome of the confrontation was decided by the only goal of Morton Betts in the 15th minute, which brought the trophy to the capital club.
Interesting fact: as a defender, Betts played his only match for England as a goalkeeper. In 1877, the meeting with the Scots ended in failure - 1:3, as did Betts' career in the national team.
Marks of Excellence
Unlike the names, which remained unchanged, the emblems of English football clubs were subject to change. At the same time, the main elements, as a rule, were preserved. For example, the canary on the Norwich logo or the rooster on the Tottenham crest.
Fans attach great importance to symbolism. Team nicknames are most often associated with animals or objects depicted on the logos. The logos of English football clubs are very diverse. It is also important to have a motto on them. For the same Tottenham it says: “To decide is to do.” The Spurs have managed to do their job, that is, become champions, only twice so far. And the last time was back in 1961.
Champions
The most titled club in England today remains Manchester United. They won their first title back in 1908, and their last in 2013. Over the course of their history, the team won the English Championship 20 times and won silver medals another 15 times.
English football clubs that managed to win the main trophy are included in the hall of fame of the “most footballing” country in Europe. There are 24 such teams in total. Among them are those who are still among the leaders of not only national but also European football, and those who have been playing in the lower leagues for a long time.
If we count which city the winners most often brought the coveted trophy to, then Liverpool will be the undisputed leader. The team of the same name, together with Everton, became champions 27 times. And Manchester United and Manchester City have only 24 titles between them.
New story
Since 1992, English football has opened a new page in its history. From now on, the best English football clubs play in the Premier League. 20 teams play in it. This tournament is rightfully considered the most popular and profitable sports championship in the world.
There were many preconditions for its appearance. The main one is financial. Its founders decided to leave the world's oldest football league in order to generate greater profits, primarily through the sale of television rights.
In the first season of 1992/93, 22 teams took part in the tournament. Manchester United became the champion with a big advantage, ahead of Birmingham's Aston Villa by 10 points. That season was also replete with big names. At the opening of the season, the Welshman was recognized as the top scorer and upset his opponents 22 times. Eric Cantona (then still part of Leeds) shone on the field.
As many experts note, football clubs in the English Premier League have distanced themselves greatly from teams from other divisions. This is noticeable both in the level of play and in income. At the same time, they are dissatisfied with such successes not only in their homeland, but also far beyond its borders. Thus, it was recently stated that the popularity of English football has a negative impact on interest in the national championship. When English football clubs play, attendance at local matches falls, and talented players only dream of getting to the
New champion
The latest season of the English Premier League brought an incredible surprise. The trophy went to the modest Leicester team, which had never won a championship gold medal before.
Leicester is one of the oldest English clubs, founded back in 1884. However, in more than a hundred years of history, the main achievement before this season was silver medals back in 1929. Then the “Foxes” (as the fans call the team) took second place, losing only one point to Wednesday from Sheffield. Few people remember about this team now; many other English football clubs suffered a similar fate. The list of Leicester's achievements really opened up only last season.
In the 2015/16 season, Leicester was in the leading group from the first rounds, but for a long time was not perceived as a real contender for the title. For some time, Leicester managed to lead, losing first place first to Manchester City and then to London's Arsenal. However, after winning the 23rd round, the “Foxes” again topped the standings and did not lose first place to anyone until the very end. They finished the season with truly amazing results, losing only 3 matches out of 38, and this in one of the strongest leagues in the world.
This world is divided into two categories - right-handers and left-handers. By exactly the same analogy, this world is divided into two other categories - those who love football and those who do not. If you are from the category of those who do not like this game, great from all points of view, then I suggest you close this article and get out of here. Why so categorical? Yes, because everyone who has at least a little bit of negativity towards the foot ball considers it their duty to say it out loud, and with such a face that you don’t even want to imagine. So let’s not conflict, we simply don’t understand each other. 
The beginning of professional football
So, after a harsh introduction, we can finally get to the heart of the matter.
This article can be considered the starting point of a series of topics about everyone’s favorite game at the Stone Forest club called football. In this section we will touch on everything under the sun, as long as there is a connection with this game, the fans of which are millions, if not billions, of people on planet Earth.
Oddly enough, I don’t want to write absolutely anything about the history of football, its roots, or talk about the crowds of raging Britons who, amid heart-rending screams, kicked a pig’s bladder along the cobblestone pavements of Her (His) Majesty’s cities. We are an unusual community, so we will also begin in an unusual way, namely, we will talk about the first football club in history. 
This should be considered a football club from the glorious city of Sheffield, located in the very heart of the British Isles. The club of the same name with the prefix “football” was formed in 1857 on the basis of the cricket section by two students Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest. A strange rebirth, but, as they say, no matter what happens, everything is for the better.
Sheffield FC's home stadium is the BT Local Business Stadium (formerly the Coach and Horses Ground). This is a small building for 2000 people, which until recently was the city stadium, where visitors to the local pub had fun playing ball. And in 2001, the stadium was purchased by Sheffield management. No more than 300-400 people attend a team game.
This is about the fact that history and traditions are not always respected according to their significance. But much more significant are the official founders of club football. Modern football leaves no chance for something soulful, something truly significant, everything is measured by money, income, etc. European club football of the highest echelons is dead from the inside; real kickball can only be seen at the bottom of the national championship leagues. And Sheffield FC plays there, in the regional championship, but it consistently gathers its 300-400 loyal fans, they have something to be proud of, history really plays out before their eyes. And they are a direct part of it. 
150 years of Sheffield FC
A few years ago, the team celebrated its 150th anniversary, and Pele himself came to the awards ceremony to solemnly present memorable and distinctive gifts and awards that the club deserved into the hands of the current management.
It does not play in the Champions League, it is not even fully professional, but FIFA and the world community should honor it no less than other rich clubs that owe their championships to the bloated wallets of billionaires of Arab or Jewish origin. The most remarkable thing is that Sheffield FC is played by home-grown kids, for whom heritage and tradition are not just empty words. Compare these kids with the black fidgety millionaires on whom even more millions are spent, and who cry at the mere sight of a banana. The true masculinity of football remains at the bottom of the standings; real men play there, not pompous homosexuals.
At a recent prestigious auction at Sotheby's, one of the lots was a package of Sheffield FC documents from the time the team was founded. The club has to find finances to survive, and the management took this step with their hearts broken. But let’s hope that the 88 thousand pounds sterling received will help the team exist comfortably for some time, and the current owner of this package of documents will treat them with dignity and be able to carry the history of the first football club through the years. Support your local team.
By the way, in 2019, the Sheffield founders of professional football planned a tour to Russia to play with several teams, including the oldest Russian club, Znamya Truda.
