Sheffield F.C.
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| Sheffield F.C. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Sheffield Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Club, The Ancients | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | October 24, 1857 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Bright Finance Stadium, Dronfield, England |
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| Capacity | 1,500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman | Richard Tims | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Dave McCarthy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Northern Counties East | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005/06 | Northern Counties East, 4th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sheffield F.C. are a semi-professional English football club, whose main claim to fame is the fact that they are the world's oldest club, having been established in 1857. They current play in the Northern Counties East League
The team was originally based on various grounds around Sheffield, England, including Bramall Lane, now home of Sheffield United.
Sheffield participate in the oldest local football derby in the world (known as the 'Sheffield' or 'Rules' derby) against arch-rivals Hallam F.C.
The club has no connection to either of the two local professional teams, Sheffield United or Sheffield Wednesday, other than the hometown and the pitches played in. Despite long having lost its status as Sheffield's top team to them, the original Sheffield club has been able to survive thanks to their fans' dedication and their heritage.
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[edit] History
In 1855, members of a Sheffield cricket club organised informal kick-abouts without any official rules. On October 24, 1857 Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest, two former Old Harrovians formed the Sheffield Football Club. The Sheffield club is officially recognised by FIFA as the oldest football club in the world. It is also the oldest documented club, in any code of football, in England.
Creswick and Prest were responsible for drawing up the club's rules of play in 1857, a code referred to as the Sheffield Rules. At the time, before the formation of the Football Association (FA), many different kinds of football were popular in England. For example, each of the various public schools played football according to their own individual rules, and these varied widely.
The first Sheffield Rules were distinctive. For example, there was no offside rule, opposing players could be pushed, and a player catching the ball would get a free kick. Australian rules football, which began to develop the following year, resembles the original Sheffield code in all of these respects. The similarities probably resulted from the common influence of earlier codes such as the Cambridge Rules). Initially, Sheffield FC games were played among club members themselves and took the format of "Married Vs Singles" or "Professionals Vs the Rest".
Sheffield's near neighbour, Hallam, was formed in 1860 and in 1861 the two clubs first played each other in a local derby which is still contested today. By 1862 there were 15 clubs in the Sheffield area who all adhered to the Sheffield Rules. These rules were later adopted by Sheffield Football Association when it formed in 1867. By this time the club had decided to only play teams outside Sheffield in order to seek a bigger challenge.
They became members of the FA in December 1863. In 31 March 1866, there was a match between a team representing Sheffield and one representing London clubs, at Battersea Park. Rules that differed only slightly from the FA rules was used. However, Sheffield continued to play by their own rules, with modifications, until they adopted the FA rules in 1878.
Its decline from the top echelon of football began with the introduction of professionalism in July 1885, with the amateurs of Sheffield failing to compete with professional teams, losing heavily that year to Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Notts County.
After the legalisation of professionalism Sheffield Club suggested to the FA the creation of a cup exclusively for amateur clubs. This would become the FA Amateur Cup and gave Sheffield their first ever cup success in 1904.
[edit] Grounds
Sheffield club have played at a number of grounds around Sheffield. Initially they played at Bramall Lane, the home of the cricket club they were derived from, but as Bramall Lane grew and Sheffield faded from local prominence it was difficult for them to fill the ground. Use of the ground was made impossible when Sheffield United were formed as the home club of Bramall Lane.
The following century saw Sheffield F.C. become nomads. During the 1990s they played at Hillsborough Park, Owlerton Stadium and Don Valley Stadium before purchasing some land next to the Coach and Horses pub in Dronfield.
[edit] Today
Sheffield F.C. are now based at the Bright Finance Stadium (formally called Coach & Horses Ground and sometimes referred to as the Stadium of Bright) in Dronfield, Derbyshire, the first ground they have owned themselves. They play in the Northern Counties East League Premier League, which is directly below the Northern Premier League in the National League System. There are now 2 senior teams, 9 junior teams, 1 women's team (formed by a merger with Norton FC) and 1 disability team.
They have recently started a membership drive, notable members are Sven-Göran Eriksson, Sepp Blatter and Michael Vaughan. They have also enjoyed links with Real Madrid since both clubs received the FIFA Order of Merit and there are plans to play a match against them to celebrate their 150th Anniversary.
[edit] Current squad 2006/07 Season
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[edit] Honours
| FA Amateur Cup | Winners | 1904 |
| FA Vase | Runners Up | 1976/77 |
| Yorkshire League Division Two | Champions | 1976/77 |
| Yorkshire League Cup | Winners | 1977/78 |
| Whitbread Trophy | Winners | 1987/88 |
| Northern Counties East League Division 1 | Champions* | 1988/89, 1990/91 |
| NCEFL Cup | Winners | 2000/01, 2004/05 |
| NCEFL Cup | Runners Up | 2002/03, 2005/06 |
| Sheffield and Hallamshire Senior Cup | Winners | 1993/94, 2004/05, 2005/06 |
*They were not promoted to Premier League after the 88/89 season due to lack of floodlights
[edit] Other Awards
FIFA Order of Merit awarded in 2004 (Real Madrid is the only other club in the world to receive this award)
[edit] External links
- Official Site of the World's Oldest Football Club
- "Behind the Flag", a large fan site
- The original football club
| Northern Counties East League Premier Division 2006/07 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Armthorpe Welfare | Arnold Town | Brodsworth Welfare | Carlton Town | Eccleshill United | Garforth Town | Glapwell | Glasshoughton Welfare | Hallam | Liversedge | Long Eaton United | Maltby Main | Mickleover Sports | Pickering Town | Retford United | Selby Town | Sheffield | Shirebrook Town | Sutton Town | Thackley edit |
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