This is where it all began. Sheffield F.C are officially acknowledged by FIFA as being the oldest football club in the world, having been established in October, 1857. To put the date into perspective, this was when Britain and France began the Second Opium War against China, Giuseppe Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra” premiered in Venice, the world’s first elevator was installed in New York City, the Indian mutiny against the British East India Company began and the sewing machine was invented. The story begins in 1855, when members of a local Sheffield cricket club organised informal kickabouts with no official rules. Two of the clubs members, Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest, decided to form a separate club for this new sport. The clubs inaugural meeting took place on the 24th of October that year at Parkfield House in Highfield. Creswick and Prest were responsible for drawing up the clubs rules of play. These rules became known as The Sheffield Rules, and they formed the foundations of the game we know and love today. In November 1863, the club joined the Football Association, but continued to play according to the Sheffield Rules. Their first fixture outside of Sheffield was an 18-a-side match against Nottingham played under the Nottingham Rules.

 

Sheffield FC was founded a full 6 years before the rules of football were even officially codified, and during their early years they had to organise games among themselves (Professionals vs Merchants, Married vs Singles etc), as they were the only football club that existed. This was until the formation of their rival club Hallam FC in 1860, against which Sheffield played the first ever inter-club match in a derby that continues to be contested to this day in the form of occasional friendlies, since the clubs play in separate leagues.

 

Eventually, Sheffield FC decided they needed a bigger challenge, and in 1866 they set up a match featuring a city of Sheffield team and a city of London team, playing 11-a-side at Battersea Park in London. The rules used differed slightly to the official FA rules, and Sheffield won the game by two goals and four touchdowns to nil. The London Committee refused to agree to play any more games against the club due to the reluctance of all Sheffield clubs to play strictly to the FA’s rules, however they finally adopted these rules in 1878.

 

The club entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1873. Their first ever tie in the competition, against Shropshire Wanderers, was decided with a coin toss – the only FA Cup game to ever be decided in this manner.

 

The team fell into decline when professionalism was introduced in 1885, with the amateur side unable to compete against the pros, however they did win the F.A. Amateur Cup in 1904. A hundred years later, Sheffield FC were awarded the FIFA Order of Merit. This award has only been bestowed upon one other club – Real Madrid. In 2007, to commemorate their 150th anniversary, Sheffield FC were inducted into the English football hall of fame and to this day the club continues to compete in the NPL Division One South. Put simply, the game as we know it today owes everything to this group of pioneers.

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Achievements: The world’s first football club, FA Cup 4th Round x2

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Star player: Nathaniel CRESWICK – DoB 31 July 1831, Sheffield, England 

 

The co-founder of Sheffield FC, along with William Prest. Born in Sheffield in 1831, he worked as a solicitor and became involved in numerous local sports clubs such as the Clarkhouse Road Fencing Club and Sheffield Cricket Club. It’s from members of this club that Sheffield FC was born. Creswick and Prest were also responsible for founding the Hallamshire Rifles, an infantry battalion of the British Army that survived until 1999. He was a member of theirs from 1858 to 1897, rising to the rank of colonel. He was eventually knighted for services to the volunteer movement. Creswick was also the first club captain and president of the Sheffield and District Golf Club. He died in October 1917, exactly 60 years after inventing the game of football in 1857.