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List of oldest football competitions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of the oldest documented football competitions, played at school, club, national and international levels. The first list contains competitions that have been played continuously. The second is a list of competitions that are now defunct.

Current competitions

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Association football

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Year Competition Type First Trophy, Years Original code Location Notes & references
1871 FA Cup club trophy FA Cup
Original FA Cup trophy 1871–1895
Second FA Cup trophy 1895–1910
Current FA cup Trophy 1911–		 Association football England Oldest association football competition in the world.
1874 Scottish Cup club trophy Scottish Cup 1874– Association football Scotland Oldest association football trophy in the world.
1876 Birmingham Senior Cup county cup 1876– Association Football West Midlands, England Oldest regional trophy in the world.
1876 Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup county cup 1876– Association Football South Yorkshire, England Also includes some clubs from Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and West Yorkshire.
1877 Welsh Cup club trophy Welsh Cup, 1877– Association football Wales
1877 Shropshire Senior Cup county cup Shropshire Premier County Cup, 1877- Association football Shropshire, England
1878 Berks & Bucks Senior Cup county cup 1879– Association Football Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, England
1880 Lancashire Senior Cup county cup 1880– Association Football Lancashire, England Also includes teams from Greater Manchester and Merseyside
1880 Cheshire Senior Cup county cup 1880– Association football Cheshire, England Also includes teams from Greater Manchester and Merseyside, many from the historical boundaries of Cheshire.
1881 Irish Cup club trophy 1881– Association football Ireland (1881–1921)
Northern Ireland (1921–)		 Originally created as the national club trophy for all of Ireland, it now serves as the national club trophy for Northern Ireland after the Republic of Ireland was created in 1921.
1882 Oxford University Cuppers intercollegiate trophy Association football Oxford, England University claims is its the 2nd oldest [association] football competition (after the FA Cup),[1] but also documents 1882/3 as the first season.[2]
1882 Cambridge University Cuppers intercollegiate trophy Association football Cambridge, England
1884 Lincolnshire FA County Senior Trophy county cup 1884– Association Football Lincolnshire, England
1886 Scottish Junior Cup club trophy
(non-league)		 Scottish Junior Cup 1886– Association football Scotland
1887 Aberdeenshire Cup regional cup 1888 Association football Aberdeenshire, Scotland Claims to be second oldest association football tournament in the world.[3]
1888 Medaille Fodbold Konkurrence regional cup April 29th, 1888 Pre-association Denmark Oldest football league outside of Great Britain and Ireland.
1888 English Football League club league Association football England Oldest association football league. The Premier League was later created and is now the top-flight English league.
1888 Durand Cup club trophy Durand Cup, 1888– Association football India Oldest football tournament in Asia.
1889 Northern Football League club league Association football North East England Second-oldest association football league in the world.
1889 Trades Cup regional cup Association football Kolkata, India
1890 Border Cup regional cup Association

football

Scottish Borders

Scotland

Originally played for by senior clubs, has been contested by Border Amateur Football Association clubs since 1960.
1891 Argentine Primera División club league Copa Campeonato (1896) Association football Argentina Oldest top division association football league in the world and oldest league outside Great Britain.
1892 Brown Shield interprovincial tournament Brown Shield, 1892 Association football New Zealand Originally the country's premier football trophy, now only contested sporadically.[4]
1893 IFA Shield club trophy IFA Shield Association football Kolkata, India
1894 Bedfordshire Senior Cup county cup 1894– Association Football Bedfordshire, England
1895 Belgian First Division A club league National Championships 1895– Association football Belgium Oldest association football league in continental Europe.
1896 Hong Kong Shield club trophy Association football Hong Kong
1897 Montagu Cup regional cup (amateur) 1897– Association football Mexborough, England Oldest football cup regularly played at its original venue.
1898 Serie A club league National Championships 1898– Association football Italy
1898 Calcutta Football League club league Association football Kolkata, India Oldest association football league in Asia.
1898 Swiss Super League club league 1898–1929 Serie A
1931–1944 Nationalliga/Ligue Nationale/Lega Nazionale
1944–2003 Nationalliga A/Ligue Nationale A/Lega Nazionale A
2003– Super League 		Association football Switzerland Longest continuously running top-flight national league[5]
1899 KNVB Cup club trophy 1899– Association football Netherlands
1900 Uruguayan Primera División club league 1900– Association football Uruguay
1901 Ontario Cup club trophy 1901– Association football Canada Oldest association football competition in North America.
1901 Nemzeti Bajnokság club league Association football Hungary
1902 Copa del Rey club trophy 1902 Copa de la Coronación, 1903– Association football Spain
1902 Norwegian Football Cup club trophy Association football Norway First played as an invitational tournament consisting of 5 teams and arranged by Kristiania Idrætsforening. First time as a national tournament 1963
1902 (3 May) Campeonato Paulista club league Association football São Paulo state, Brazil
1902 Mumbai Football League club league Association football Mumbai, India
1903 Primera División de la Asociación de Football de Santiago club league Association football Santiago, Chile
1905 (9 April) Campeonato Baiano club league Association football Bahia, Brazil
1906 (3 May) Campeonato Carioca club league Association football Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1906 (8 July) Paraguayan Primera División club league Association football Paraguay
1907 Federation Cup club trophy Association football South Australia, Australia Second oldest knockout competition in Australia.
1908 Milne Cup annual challenge match 1908– Association football Shetland and Orkney (Scotland) Oldest football competition between two islands.
1908 Hong Kong First Division League club league Association football Hong Kong
1908 Nadkarni Cup regional cup Nadkarni Cup Association football Mumbai, India
1908 (19 October) Football at the Summer Olympics International tournament 1908– Association football various Oldest nations association football competition in the world.
1909 (6 December) Liga I club league Association football Romania
1911 Belgian Cup club trophy 1911– Association football Belgium
1912 Peruvian Primera División club league Association football Peru League (under the denomination of Escudo Dewar) was exclusively played by teams from Lima. However, older, less-important tournaments were previously held in Callao.
1912 Úrvalsdeild club league Association football Iceland
1913 Challenge Trophy club trophy (today amateur) Connaught Cup 1913–1925; Challenge Trophy 1926–1954; Challenge Trophy & Carling Cup 1954–1961; Challenge Trophy 1962- Association football Canada Strictly amateur since 1962.
1914 Collingwood Cup university trophy 1914– Association football Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland
1914 Manning Cup schools fixture Manning Cup, 1914– Association football Jamaica annual contest among Secondary High Schools in the Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine parishes of Jamaica.
1914 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup club trophy National Challenge Cup (1914); Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1999–) Association football United States Oldest association football competition in the United States of America.
1916 Copa América International tournament South American Football Championship (1916–1967)
Copa América (1975–)		 Association football South America Oldest non-European association football competition in the world.
1917 All Japan High School Soccer Tournament high school tournament Association football Japan
1921 Kentish Cup international (services) Association football Europe Inter-Services. Oldest international military association football tournament.[6]
1921 FAI Cup club trophy 1921– Association football Republic of Ireland
1921 Egypt Cup club trophy 1921– Association football Egypt Oldest association football competition in Africa.
1921 Malaysia Cup club trophy 1921– southern champ, Singapore FA and the northern champ, Selangor FA Association football Malaysia Oldest football competition in the ASEAN
1921 Emperor's Cup club trophy Association football Japan
1923 Totty Cup primary school tournament post-1947 for primary schools Association football England
1925 Swiss Cup club trophy Association football Switzerland
1925 Polish Cup club trophy 1925; 1951– Association football Poland

Australian rules football

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Year (Date) Competition Type First Trophy,

Years

Original code Location Notes & references
1858 (7 August) Melbourne Grammar School-Scotch College Cordner-Eggleston Cup, 1989– schools fixture Cordner-Eggleston Cup experimental rules Melbourne, Australia
1877 (30 April) South Australian Football Association club league Thomas Seymour Hill Premiership Trophy Australian rules football Adelaide, South Australia Oldest Australian rules football league and earliest governing body, The most influential Footballing Body in South Australia.
1877 (17 May) Victorian Football Association club league Victorian rules Melbourne, Australia Most influential early governing body for Australian rules football in Victoria.
1879 (12 June) Tasmanian Football League club league Victorian rules Hobart, Tasmania, Australia Some discontinuity, most recently dormant between 2001 and 2008.
1881 (10 June) Bendigo Football League club league Victorian rules Bendigo, Australia Includes the Castlemaine football club, second oldest football club in Australia.
1883 Black Diamond Football League club league Black Diamond Challenge Cup, 1888– Australian rules football Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia Trophy donated to the league by Newcastle's Richmond Tobacco Co., claims to be the longest running football trophy in Australia.[7][8]
1885 West Australian Football League club league Australian rules football Perth, Western Australia sustained
1888 Broken Hill Football League club league Australian rules football Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia
1893 Ballarat Football Association club league Australian rules football Ballarat, Victoria
1896 Goldfields Football League club league Australian rules football Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
1896 Victorian Football League/Australian Football League club league Flag 1895-; AFL Premiership Cup, 1959– Australian rules football Victoria, Australia (national since 1990) Now the game's premier competition and highest governing body.
1903 Sydney AFL club league Australian rules football Sydney, Australia
1904 AFL Queensland State League club league Australian rules football Brisbane, Australia

Rugby

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Year (Date) Competition Type First Trophy,

Years

Original code Location Notes & references
1858 (11 December) Edinburgh Academy vs Merchiston Castle School schools fixture Rugby football Edinburgh, Scotland [9]
1872 The Varsity Match University fixture Bowring Bowl Rugby football England The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England.
1874 United Hospitals Challenge Cup club trophy United Hospitals Challenge Cup – 1874– Rugby football Surrey, England Oldest rugby football competition in the world.
1875 Bromsgrove–KES schools fixture Siviter-Smith Cup, 1935– Rugby football Bromsgrove/Birmingham, England Later trophy donated by Paul Siviter-Smith, a Birmingham businessman, who had sons at both schools.[10][11]
1876 (17 March) Ulster Schools Cup cup tournament Schools Cup 1876– Rugby football Ravenhill, Belfast, Northern Ireland
1878 Army Navy Match Inter-Services Competition The Babcock Trophy Rugby football England
1879 (10 March) Calcutta Cup international challenge Rugby football England/Scotland Competed for by the England and Scotland international rugby teams annually.
1883 Home Nations Championship international tournament Rugby football Home Nations It is an annual international Rugby union competition between Home nations. It is also the oldest international sport tournament ever competed between Home Nations. But now, It became the Six Nations Championship with the addition of France and Italy.
1883 Auckland Premier club league Rugby football Auckland, New Zealand The winner of the competition has been awarded the Gallaher Shield since 1922.
1889 Currie Cup provincial tournament Currie Cup, 1889– Rugby football South Africa Oldest provincial rugby union competition in the world, and oldest national rugby union competition in the southern hemisphere.
1901 New South Wales Suburban Rugby Union club league Rugby union Sydney, Australia
1904 Ranfurly Shield provincial challenge Ranfurly Shield, 1902 Rugby union New Zealand First won by Auckland in 1902, and first challenged for in 1904.

Rugby league

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Year (Date) Competition Type First Trophy,

Years

Original code Location Notes & references
1895 Rugby Football League/Super League club league Rugby Football League Championship 1895– Rugby league England
1896 Challenge Cup club league Rugby league Europe
1908 NSWRL/National Rugby League club league Rugby league Sydney, Australia
1908 Queensland Rugby League club league Rugby league Brisbane, Australia
1908 The Ashes international challenge Rugby league Australia & Great Britain
1910 New Zealand Rugby League club league Rugby League Shield 1910– Rugby league Auckland, New Zealand
1910 Newcastle Rugby League club league Rugby league Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
1911 Illawarra Rugby League club league Rugby league Illawarra, New South Wales, Australia

Other

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Year (Date) Competition Type First Trophy,

Years

Original code Current Code Location Notes & references
1875 (13 November) The Game Interscholastic match 1875 modified Rugby union American football United States
1887 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship inter-county cup 1928 Gaelic football Gaelic football
1893 (Boxing Day/ Christmas Day (1893–98)) Scarborough Fisherman v Fireman football match Cup The Silver Cup, 1901 Experimental Rules Experimental Rules Scarborough, England Organised as a charity football match to raise money for the Evelyn and Maud that sank. Still played annually today to raise money for the Fisherman and Fireman fund.
1898 Yates Cup college league Canadian football Canadian football Ontario, Canada The Ontario University Athletics football trophy and oldest football trophy in North America.
1902 (1 or 2 January) Rose Bowl Game bowl game American football American football Pasadena, California, United States
1909 Grey Cup Originally national club trophy; now national league "Rugby football" (early form of Canadian football) Canadian football Canada Now the championship trophy of the Canadian Football League.

Defunct competitions

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Years Date Competition Type First trophy awarded, years Original code Location Notes
1851 only 25 January 93rd Regiment v. Edinburgh University FC one-off match Medallion, 1851 only unknown Edinburgh Medallion was given by the losing side (Edinburgh) to the winning side (93rd Regiment).[12][13]
1860 – c. 1968 House Football Cup intramural competition House Football Cup, 1860 – c. 1968 Eton field game Eton College [14][15][16]
1861–1876 December Caledonian Challenge Cup club trophy Caledonian Challenge Cup, 1861–1864 Melbourne Rules Melbourne, Australia [17]
1867 only Youdan Cup club trophy Youdan Cup, 1867 Sheffield rules Sheffield, England
1868 only Cromwell Cup club trophy Cromwell Cup, 1868 Sheffield rules Sheffield, England
1880–1890 Queensland Football Association club league 1880 Victorian rules Brisbane, Queensland
1880-1893 New South Wales Football Association club league 1880 Victorian rules Sydney, New South Wales
1882–? Northern Football Association club league ? Victorian rules Launceston, Tasmania
1884–1984 British Home Championship international tournament British International Championship trophy, 1936–1984[18] Association football Home Nations (UK) oldest international association football tournament in the world, and held until the 1983–84 season
1884–1924 American Cup club trophy Association football United States
1888–1956 Netherlands Football League Championship club league ? Association football Replaced with Eredivisie for the 1956–1957 season
1890–2013 Scottish Football League club league ? Association football Scotland
1890–2001 Rovers Cup club trophy Rovers Cup Association football Mumbai, India Third oldest football tournament in Asia (opened only for British army teams until 1911); organized by the WIFA from 1911 to 2001.[19]
1894 only Taça D. Carlos I club trophy Association football Portugal The first football cup played on the Iberian Peninsula.[20]
1897–1911 Challenge Cup club trophy Association football Austria-Hungary
1900–1903 Copa Macaya club trophy Association football Catalonia Replaced with Catalan championship for the 1903–1904 season[21]
1900–1904 Tagblatt Pokal club trophy Association football Lower Austria, Austria-Hungary
1900–1907 Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz club trophy Association football Europe Replaced with Coupe Jean Dupuich for the 1907–1908 season[22]
1914–1950 Dutch East Indies Championship club league Association football Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Cuppers". OUAFC.
  2. ^ "Oxford University Association Football Club | History of college football". 18 September 2009. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009.
  3. ^ Cryle, Ryan. "Draw for Evening Express Aberdeenshire Cup revealed". Evening Express. Retrieved 19 July 2018. 120th edition of the tournament, which is claimed to be the second oldest association football cup competition in the world.
  4. ^ "New Zealand - Brown Shield History". RSSSF.
  5. ^ "SFL veröffentlicht die Spielpläne für die Saison 2022/23". Swiss Football League. 17 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Portsmouth to host Europe's oldest football contest Royal Navy". Royal Navy. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  7. ^ "FOOTBALL". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876–1954). NSW: National Library of Australia. 12 May 1888. p. 6. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  8. ^ "Australian Football 150 Years > Article > Football gold mined in coal country". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
  9. ^ Thau, Chris (26 December 2008). "The oldest running rugby fixture in the world". Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  10. ^ Michael Blair, "RUGBY UNION: Refresher course in old values; King Edward's School Birmingham 0 Bromsgrove School 18" Archived 30 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Birmingham Post, 2 December 2002
  11. ^ Bromsgrove & KES Birmingham.
    • Thomas Winter Hutton, King Edward's School, Birmingham, 1552–1952, Blackwell, 1952. p. 148 "The first Bromsgrove game was in 1875, and 121 games have been played—two in a season at one period."
    • Henry Icely, Bromsgrove School through four centuries, Blackwell, 1953. pp. 69,99. "Rugby football, hitherto an unregulated and unsatisfactory game, was by 1875 a far better occupation for October half-holidays than wooding." "In the seventies the Rugby game was still twelve a side. There were School matches. KES, Birmingham, was an early fixture; SES, Oxford, was played for the first time in 1882."
  12. ^ Leadbetter, Russell (10 February 2013). "Museum scores with trophy find". The Herald. Glasgow: 19.
  13. ^ "The oldest football medal in the world". Scottish Sport History. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  14. ^ Major [Earnest] Gambier-Parry (1907). Annals of an Eton house, with some notes on the Evans family. London: John Murray. p. 130.
  15. ^ Eton Records. Eton: Spottiswode & Co. 1903. p. 92.
  16. ^ "In the Field: House Sides Final". Eton College Chronicle: 6360. 30 November 1968. For the second year running, Mr Macnaghten's combination of fitness, speed and brawn has won them the House Cup
  17. ^ First contested in 1862 (a trophy was prepared for an 1861 match that was cancelled). The first Australian Rules competition and trophy History of the Royal Caledonian Society of Melbourne Archived 22 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Later trophy donated by the Athletic Sports Committee before becoming the South Yarra Challenge Cup.
  18. ^ "Jubilee Trophy for Scotland". Western Daily Press: 4. 6 April 1936.
  19. ^ Nirwane, Sarwadnya (18 January 2022). "Rovers Cup — the second oldest Football tournament in India". thesportslite.com. Mumbai: The Sports Lite. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  20. ^ "Portugal - Competitions before World War I - Taça D. Carlos I 1894". RSSSF. 15 September 2004. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  21. ^ "Spain - Final Tables Catalonia". RSSSF. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  22. ^ "Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz". RSSSF. 10 February 2022. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
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