If there’s one aspect of soccer that’s almost as old as the modernised version of the game itself, it’s the various clubs that have sprung up over the last 200 years to accommodate both the players and the fans.
Today, soccer clubs are some of the most influential sporting communities in the world, with many of them being worth countless millions of pounds, and being home to some of the best players of the modern age.
The soccer club as we know it today started during a time when Britain had recently entered into the age of industry, and it proved to be the Industrial Revolution that gave way to many of the modern pastimes that we know and love today.
Modern clubs can often be traced back to this period as more people turned around from traditional folk soccer into the modern iteration that has become so globally successful. Historians generally attribute this popularity with the rise in city populations around Great Britain, where thousands of people needed a new pastime to keep their spirits high during their free time – leading to the formation of the game as we know it today.
Notts County
While Notts County isn’t perhaps the most successful club in the UK, it is by far one of the oldest, having first set up shot in 1862, and it would go on to become one of the fixtures of modern English soccer.
Build in Nottingham, the club has held a rivalry with their main competitors, Nottingham Forest, where the two clubs are only separated by 300 metres of land. Notts County last saw success in the 2009-10 season where they were able to be promoted from League Two, which is the competition that they have remained in every since.
Cray Wanderers
Founded in 1860, the Cray Wanderers are regarded as the very oldest club to still be around in the city and capital of England: London. First formed in the region of Bromley in 1860, the Wands have been playing at their home fixture of Hayes Lane for closer to 2 centuries, where they have seen some relative success over the years.
But despite the age of the club, they have only been able to progress to the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup, which occurred during the 2005-06 season, and something that they have not since been able to emulate again, which is why many fans have turned to other pastimes, such as horse racing, which can be easier to follow thanks to easy to understand horse racing tips.
Sheffield FC
Sitting at the top of the list is Sheffield FC, which holds the record for being the very oldest organised soccer club on the planet. Founded in 1857, Sheffield FC was given their 150th anniversary in 2007 by FIFA where they were rewarded with the Order of Merit.
Situated in Dronfield, Derbyshire, the home base for the club is the Couches and Horses Ground, and continue to uphold many of the traditions that were born almost 200 years ago. The club has a long and proud history with a long list of successes, and continues to to this day.
