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1872: The Oldest Football Competition in the World

1872: The Oldest Football Competition in the World
Photo Credit To Wikipedia Commons

Story Highlights

  • Historical event:
  • 16. March 1872
  • At that time, most formations were organized so as to have a large number of attackers. So the Royal Engineers played with seven forwards and the Wanderers with as many as eight!

The final match of the oldest football competition in the world – the FA Cup (full name Football Association Challenge Cup) – was played on this day.



The match was played at a London stadium, the Kennington Oval, by the Wanderers and Royal Engineers teams. The Wanderers won with a score of 1-0.

The goal was scored in the 15th minute by Morton Betts, a 24-year-old Londoner. The Wanderers team relied mainly on dribbling through the defense, while the Royal Engineers favored passing the ball.

At that time, most formations were organized so as to have a large number of attackers. So the Royal Engineers played with seven forwards and the Wanderers with as many as eight!

It is interesting that Wanderers, being the winners, automatically entered into the next year’s finals (as in boxing). This rule, unusual for football, was abolished a year later.




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