The Early Years Of The Fa Cup

The 150th anniversary of the first FA Cup competition, the earliest knockout tournament in the history of football, will be celebrated during the 2021-2022 season. The first set of matches was played on 11 November 1871, with the Engineers reaching the final played at Kennington Oval on 16 March 1872. During the first decade of the competition three teams associated with the military, Royal Engineers, 1st Surrey Rifles and 105th Regiment, were involved in 74 matches. They won more than half of them and scored 154 goals. The Army also produced one of the most respected administrators in the history of football, in the form of Major Francis Marindin, who was involved in the founding of the FA Cup, played in two finals, and refereed a further nine. Military men and units provided a number of ‘firsts’ in the early years of football. The Royal Engineers played in the first ever FA Cup final; Lieutenant James Prinsep of the Essex Regiment was the youngest footballer to appear in an FA Cup final until 2004, although he remains the youngest to complete a full match; Lieutenant William Maynard of the 1st Surrey Rifles played for England in the first ever official international match against Scotland; Captain William Kenyon-Slaney of the Grenadier Guards scored the first ever goal in an official international match, while playing for England; and Lieutenant Henry Renny-Tailyour of the Royal Engineers scored the first ever goal for Scotland in the same match. At a time when there has been talk of a financially-motivated breakaway European Super League, James gives the reader the opportunity to look back at a time when football was played for the game itself. Using his vast knowledge concerning Victorian football and military history, The Early Years of the FA Cup explores the fascinating history of the Army’s involvement in the early years of the world’s most popular sport. With detailed descriptions of the finals and other matches involving the military teams during football’s heyday, this book, for the first time, then follows the men as they went on campaigns to build roads and bridges in hostile territory, provide maps for commanders in famous conflicts such as The Zulu War, Afghanistan, the Sudan, and the Boer Wars, and saw active service on the Western Front during the First World War. In some cases they never returned. Often great footballers are referred to as ‘heroes’ – in the case of the men who played for the Army teams in the early FA Cup competitions, such an epithet is genuinely true.

A History of the Women's FA Cup Final is an exhaustive account of fifty finals, from the first (on a bumpy field inside an athletics stadium) to the fiftieth (at Wembley, televised to millions), complete with match reports and interviews with some of the greatest players ever to grace the pitch. Every women's FA Cup Final goal scorer can be confirmed in one place for the first time, and the achievements of previously unknown record holders can at last be fully recognised. But this is more than just a stats book; it is a tribute to the pioneers of the game, who fought to overturn a fifty-year ban on female players and who paved the way for the incredible game we have today.

This book is concerned with the early years of the Football Association Challenge Cup – more commonly known as the FA Cup – examining events from its inception in 1871–2 to the beginning of the Football League in 1888–9. The work is underpinned by the figurational sociology of Norbert Elias, employing his ideas around the European 'civilising process', power and lengthening chains of human interdependency. Most of all, the majority of the text has been compiled using primary source material, such as newspaper reports and the minutes of the Football Association, which encourages original and unique additions to the body of knowledge. There exist no comparable offerings on the time period involved, with the book providing a distinct perspective for scholars and non-specialists alike. The initial years of the competition were dominated by teams consisting mainly of upper-middle-class southern amateurs. However, by the early 1880s, they were supplanted by men who were initially covert– and eventually overt – professionals, many of whom hailed from Scotland, but mainly represented clubs from Lancashire and the West Midlands. The FA Cup, despite losing some of its allure when compared to competitions such as the UEFA Champions League, still retains a magic of its own in the English football calendar.

This reference work aims to provide sports enthusiasts, journalists, librarians, students and scholars with an authorative source of information on a comprehensive range of subjects covering the history and organization of football in Britain. Over 250 entries focus on key organisations or individuals, famous clubs, major competitions, events, venues and incidents, institutions and organisations as well as key issues such as gender, racism, commercialization, professionalism and drugs, alcohol and football.

The book captures the early days of Association Football in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It charts results, reports and features of key games in the F A Cup and Lancashire Cups. It also captures league campaigns in the Lancashire League, Lancashire Combination and North East Lancashire Leagues and includes the relevant tables.

What does a turnip have in common with a pair of 500 sunglasses? They've both played a pivotal role in football history. Following on from Neil MacGregor's groundbreaking The History of the World in 100 Objects, Gavin Mortimer provides a quirky and unique take on the beautiful game told through its defining objects. A History of Football in 100 Objects begins on the momentous day in October 1863 when several men in frock coats formed the Football Association. Ever since, the sport has continually evolved - and created new ways to thrill and infuriate its billions of followers along the way. If you've ever wanted to know when footballers started to feign injury, why an old sock helped Pel become a global legend or how a draper's letter changed football, you'll find the answer in this fascinating history of invention, ingenuity, indiscipline - and sometimes inebriation. From the inaugural red card to a Buddhist shrine, each of the objects selected gives us an intimate glimpse of an unexpected truth behind footie mythology.

A high-quality, full-colour pictorial history of the Owls, illustrated throughout.