- Timeline of English football
This is a timeline of English football which contains notable football-related events that have occurred both on and off the field.
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1840s - 1850s - 1860s - 1870s - 1880s - 1890s - 1900s - 1910s - 1920s - 1930s - 1940s - 1950s - 1960s - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s - 2000s2000s
2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001 - 2000
2008
*On the last day of the summer transfer window, both
Kevin Keegan andAlan Curbishley walked out of their Premier League management jobs, citing boardroom interference in transfers. In the same week,Dimitar Berbatov completed a move toManchester United against the wishes of theTottenham Hotspur board, andManchester City were purchased by the Abu Dhabi group and immediately exceeded the English transfer record by purchasingRobinho
*Three clubs start theFootball League Two season with points deductions. Both fc|Rotherham United and fc|Bournemouth started the season on -17 points after exiting administration without using a Company Voluntary Agreement. fc|Luton Town started on -30 points after a 20 point deduction due to exiting administration without using a CVA and a 10 point deduction due to illegal agent payments during transfers. This 30 point deduction doubled the previous record points deduction imposed on a club in 2007.
*fc|Manchester United win the Premier League for the 10th time. It is also the tenth title for Sir Alex Ferguson and Ryan Giggs.
*fc|Tottenham Hotspur beat fc|Chelsea 2-1 after extra time in the first final of the Football League Cup to be held at the newWembley Stadium
*Fabio Capello succeeds Steve McClaren as head coach of theEngland national football team .
*Derby became the firstPremier League side to be relegated as early as March.
*The2008 UEFA Champions League Final is the first all English club final in European Cup/Champions League history
*The Manchester-Russia connection - The progress of the 2007/8 European club season sees in May 2008 the Old Trafford based Manchester United travel to Russia for the Champions League Final, while the Russian team Zenit Saint Petersburg travels to the City of Manchester stadium to contest the UEFA Cup Final. Additionally, Manchester United's opponents are the Russian owned English club Chelsea.
*Leicester City are relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time in their 124 year history.2007
*
Luton Town F.C. enter administration on 22 November thus incurring a 10 point deduction for the 2007-08 season. [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/luton_town/7108271.stm |title=Luton suffer 10-point deduction |accessdate=2007-11-25 |date=22 November 2007 |publisher=BBC Sport]
*Steve McClaren is fired from the job as England manager after failing to qualify forEuro 2008 .
*Leeds United are hit with the biggest point deduction in English professional football history on the 4 August after the club was sold without a C.V.A. after entering administration, required by league rules. [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/leeds_united/6920103.stm |title=Leeds hit with 15-point penalty |accessdate=2007-08-04 |date=4 August 2007 |publisher=BBC Sport] This penalty was applied for the 2007-08 season meaning Leeds would start the season on minus 15 points.
*Manchester United F.C. win the Premiership, the ninth time under Sir Alex Ferguson.
*Chelsea F.C. win a cup double winning theFA Cup in the first final back at the recently completedWembley Stadium . The match however was not one of the better finals to ever have graced the wembley turf and finished 1-0.Didier Drogba scored the only goal in the last minute of extra-time.Ryan Giggs set a new record for the player to appear in the most finals, however he could not beatMark Hughes ' record for the most finals won by one player. The victory by Chelsea stopped Manchester United from winning the Double.
*Leeds United enter administration on 4 May after a number of years struggling with the debt incurred by previous boards, thus incuring a 10 point deduction for the 2006-07 season.
*Boston United enter administration in the final minutes of the league season to take a 10-point deduction in the 2006–07 season. They are relegated two divisions to theConference North .
*Chelsea F.C. become League Cup champions after beatingArsenal F.C. 2-1 at theMillennium Stadium . This was also the last major English Cup Final to be played at the Millennium Stadium before the move back toWembley Stadium after its completion.
*American tycoonsGeorge N. Gillett Jr. andTom Hicks pay £174.1m to take overLiverpool F.C. 2006
*
Doug Ellis steps down as Aston Villa chairman after 24 years running the club. It was bought by American billionaireRandy Lerner for £64 million.
*John Terry succeedsDavid Beckham as England's national team captain. Liverpool'sSteven Gerrard is named vice-captain.
*Sven-Göran Eriksson announces that he will step down as England manager following the 2006 World Cup. He will be succeeded bySteve McClaren with effect from 1 August.
*Chelsea win the Premiership for the second year in succession.
*Thierry Henry scores the last goal, and the last hat trick, in the final game at Highbury before Arsenal move to their new 60,000-seatEmirates Stadium
*Manchester United win the League Cup for the second time in their history beating Wigan Athletic 4-0 at theMillennium Stadium .
*Middlesbrough reach theUEFA Cup final for the first time in their history, only to be beaten 4-0 by Sevilla.
*Peter Osgood , a Chelsea legend, dies of a heart attack aged 59.
*Charlton Athletic become the first Premiership club to change their shirt design mid-season.
*Alan Shearer retires two weeks early following a knee injury. After 18 years, the former England and Newcastle captain bows out as the Premiership's leading goalscorer of all time with 260 goals in 441 games but only one trophy, the 1994-95 Premiership title. [cite news | title =Injury forces Shearer retirement | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/4929358.stm]
*Sunderland are relegated from the Premiership, and break their own record set three years earlier for the lowest points accumulated, ending the season with just fifteen.
*Reading are promoted to the Premiership, for the first time in their history, after winning theFootball League Championship with a record 106 points.
*Liverpool beat West Ham 3-1 on penalties in the 125thFA Cup final after the game finished 3-3 in normal time. Being the lastFA Cup game at theMillennium Stadium , it was fitting that it was one of the best of all time.
*Arsenal's firstUEFA Champions League final seesJens Lehmann become the first player dismissed in a final asFC Barcelona win 2-1.
*The players of Aston Villa make history on 14 July by issuing a joint statement critical of chairmanDoug Ellis , the first ever time such a statement has been formally issued to the press by a collective of players from any English football club.2005
*Liverpool defeat CSKA Moscow 3-2 after extra time to win the
European Super Cup for a third time, an English record.
*Liverpool win the Champions League for a fifth time, an English record, on penalties, after drawing 3-3 with AC Milan inIstanbul
*Chelsea win the Premiership title with just one defeat all season - which has been bettered only by Arsenal's unbeaten season a year earlier. They set a new Premiership record for fewest goals conceded (15) and most points attained (95).
*Arsenal become the first team to win theFA Cup on penalties when they triumph over Manchester United.
*George Best , widely regarded one of the greatest footballers in the history of Manchester United and the footballing world, dies aged 59.
*Wigan Athletic reach the top division for the first time in their history after finishing runners up in theFootball League Championship , mirroring Fulham's achievement four years previously of having made their way fromLeague Two to the Premier League.
*Coventry City move into the new 32,500-seatRicoh Arena after 106 years at the Highfield Road stadium.
*TheMalcolm Glazer takeover of Manchester United leads to disgruntled fans creatingF.C. United of Manchester .2004
*Arsenal are crowned Premiership champions after going a 38-game league season unbeaten.
*Manchester United win theFA Cup for a record eleventh time.
*Divisions One, Two and Three ofThe Football League are renamed theFootball League Championship , League One and League Two respectively as part of a rebranding exercise.
*Evertonstriker Wayne Rooney , still only 18, becomes the world's most expensive teenager when he signs for Manchester United in a transfer deal which could eventually rise to £27million from an initial £20million.
*Middlesbrough beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 in the League Cup final to win the first major trophy in their 128-year history.2003
*Liverpool win the League Cup for a record seventh time.
*Arsenal win theFA Cup Final by beating Southampton 1-0
*Chelsea are bought by Russianbillionaire Roman Abramovich in an English record takeover deal worth £150 million.
*Manchester United overhaul Arsenal during the final weeks of the season to claim their eighth Premiership title in eleven seasons.
*Sunderland confirm themselves as statistically the worst Premiership team ever after they are relegated with a record low of 4 wins, 19 points and 21 goals.
*Leicester City win promotion to the Premiership as Division One runners-up despite having started the season in receivership with £30 million debts and a transfer embargo.
*Manchester City leaveMaine Road after 80 years and move into the 48,000-seatCity of Manchester Stadium which had been constructed for the previous year'sCommonwealth Games .2002
*Arsenal join Manchester United as the second club to have won three league championships and
FA Cup doubles.
*West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City win promotion to the Premiership, ending an exile from the top flight which both clubs had begun in 1986.
*Mobile phone operator MM02 replaces SEGA as Arsenal's shirt sponsor.
*Leicester City leaveFilbert Street after 111 years and relocate to the 32,000-seatWalkers Stadium .
*Manchester United break the British transfer record once again by paying Leeds United £29million for central defenderRio Ferdinand .
*Alan Shearer hits his 200th Premiership goal against Chalton Athletic atSt. James' Park on 20 April 2002.
*Everton become the first team to have spent 100 seasons in the top flight of English football.2001
*Manchester United become only the fourth English club to win three successive league championships, following Huddersfield Town in the 1920s, Arsenal in the 1930s, and Liverpool in the 1980s.
*Liverpool complete a unique treble of theFA Cup , League Cup andUEFA Cup .
*David Rocastle , who won a League Cup and two league championships with Arsenal as well as never being on the losing side in his 14 England appearances, dies of cancer aged 33.
*Paul Vaessen who famously scored the winning goal for Arsenal against Juventus at the Stadio Comunale, in the second leg of a Cup Winners' Cup semi-final on 23 April 1980, (the first time an English club had beaten Juventus in Turin), dies of a drug overdose at the age of 39, He had led a troubled life since injury resulted in his premature retirement from football in 1923 aged just 21. He was known as "a forgotten hero" as his death gained no media coverage at all, incredibly announcements of Paul's death in his local free newspaper omitted the fact that he had formerly been a footballer and merely labelled him a "local addict".
*Manchester United pay a British record of £19million forPSV Eindhoven 's Dutch strikerRuud van Nistelrooy and a few weeks later break their own record by splashing out £28.1million for Lazio's Argentinemidfielder Juan Sebastián Verón .
*Coventry City suffer relegation from the Premiership after 34 successive seasons of top flight football.
*Fulham are promoted to the Premiership, becoming the first club since the Premier League's formation to have made their way from Division Three (now League Two) to the top flight.2000
*
FA Cup holders Manchester United decline to defend their trophy, instead electing to take part in the inauguralFIFA Club World Championship —Darlington become the lucky losers who take their place in the Third Round draw.
*England lose 1-0 to Germany in their opening qualifier for the 2002 World Cup, in a game which is also the last game at Wembley Stadium before it closes its doors after 77 years for a complete revamp. The historic goal is scored byDietmar Hamann .
*Kevin Keegan resigns after England's defeat and is succeeded by Lazio's Swedish coachSven-Göran Eriksson - the first foreigner to take charge of the England team.
*Chelsea beat Aston Villa 1-0 to win the lastFA Cup final at Wembley before its reconstruction.
*Sir Stanley Matthews , one of the greatest players in the history of English footballer, dies after a short illness at the age of 85.
*The new home of Welsh football is the 72,000-seatMillennium Stadium , which stands on the site ofCardiff Arms Park , and will host all English cup finals and playoff finals until Wembley is reopened.1990s
1999 - 1998 - 1997 - 1996 - 1995 - 1994 - 1993 - 1992 - 1991 - 1990
1999
*Manchester United complete a unique treble of the Premiership title,
FA Cup and European Cup, and managerAlex Ferguson is honoured with aknighthood .
*On-loangoalkeeper Jimmy Glass scores an injury time winner for Carlisle United on the last day of the season to preserve their league status and relegate Scarborough.
*Bradford City finish runners-up in Division One to end their 77-year absence from the top flight of English football.
*Glenn Hoddle is sacked as England manager after a controversial newspaper interview. He is replaced byKevin Keegan .
*Sir Alf Ramsey, manager of the 1966 England World Cup winning team, dies fromAlzheimer's disease at the age of 79.
*OnBoxing Day , Chelsea become the first British side to field an entirely foreign (non-UK) line-up in aPremier League match against Southampton.1998
*Arsenal equal Manchester United's record of two league championship and
FA Cup doubles in their first full season under the management of FrenchmanArsène Wenger .
*Chelsea complete a double of theCup Winners' Cup and League Cup within four months ofGianluca Vialli taking charge of team affairs followingRuud Gullit 's dismissal, which follows a dispute with chairmanKen Bates over transfer funds.
*Doncaster Rovers F.C. are relegated from theFootball League with a record of 34 league defeats.
*Manchester City are relegated to the third tier of the English league for the first time in their history.1997
*After captaining Manchester United to their fourth Premiership title in five seasons,
Eric Cantona announces his retirement as a player.
*Ruud Gullit becomes the first foreign manager to win an English trophy after his Chelsea side defeated Middlesbrough 2-0 in theFA Cup final to end their 26-year trophy drought.
*Middlesbrough experience a unique season. They are on the losing side in both domestic cup finals and have a 3-point deduction imposed for postponing a Premiership fixture at short notice seeing them relegated in second from bottom place - so they finished in the last two of all three major English competitions.
*Alan Shearer is ruled out of football for seven months after suffering a broken ankle in a pre-season game.
*Kevin Keegan shocks Newcastle United by resigning as manager just after the turn of theNew Year . He felt that he could take the club no further, and is succeeded byKenny Dalglish .
*Bolton Wanderers move into theReebok Stadium , leavingBurnden Park , their home for 102 years.1996
*Manchester United win a unique second league championship and
FA Cup double. Following taunts that "You win nothing with kids", the young team hits back by achieving something that no English team has done before.
*Alan Shearer becomes the world's first £15million player when he leaves Blackburn Rovers to join his hometown club Newcastle United.
*England hosts the European Championships for the first time and reach the semi finals, losing 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
*Terry Venables steps down after two-and-a-half years as England manager after the European Championships and is replaced byGlenn Hoddle .
*Bob Paisley , who won a record 21 prizes in nine seasons as Liverpool manager, dies, aged 77, after a long illness.
*Aston Villa win the League Cup for a record equaling fifth time, against Leeds United 3-0.
*Goalkeeper Peter Shilton plays his 1000th career league game for Leyton Orient against Brighton & Hove Albion.1995
*Manchester United's French
striker Eric Cantona is banned from football for 8 months and sentenced to 120 hourscommunity service for kicking a Crystal Palace spectator atSelhurst Park . Chelsea captainDennis Wise is convicted of assaulting a taxi driver. Arsenal'sPaul Merson and Crystal Palace's Chris Armstrong both undergo rehab after it is revealed that Merson has a cocaine addiction and alcoholism, while Armstrong had failed a drugs test. Arsenal's manager George Graham is sacked following revelations that he had accepted £425,000 in illegal payments in 1992 in connection with the acquisition ofPal Lydersen andJohn Jensen .
*Kenny Dalglish becomes the third manager to win the English league with different clubs after Blackburn Rovers clinch the Premiership title to top the English league for the first time since 1914.
*APaul Rideout goal gives Everton a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in theFA Cup final to leaveAlex Ferguson 's men without a major trophy for the first time since 1989.
*Bobby Stokes , who scored Southampton's winning goal in their shock win over Manchester United in the 1976FA Cup final, dies suddenly at the age of 44.
*Manchester United break the English record in January by paying Newcastle United £7million for strikerAndy Cole . Five months later the record is broken again when Arsenal pay Internazionale £7.5million for Dutchstriker Dennis Bergkamp . Bergkamp's record is almost instantly broken when Liverpool sign Nottingham Foreststriker Stan Collymore for £8.5million.
*Middlesbrough leave theirAyresome Park home for theRiverside Stadium , the first stadium designed and constructed to comply with theTaylor Report .
*West Ham United celebrate theircentenary .1994
*Manchester United become only the fourth club in the 20th century to win the league championship and
FA Cup double. They achieve this triumph just four months after the death of legendary former managerSir Matt Busby at the age of 84. They are denied an unprecedented 'treble' byAston Villa , who defeat them in the final of the League Cup.
*Blackburn Rovers break the English transfer fee record by paying Norwich City £5million for 21-year-oldstriker Chris Sutton .
*Liverpool demolish the world famous Spion Kop terrace and Aston Villa clear their massive Holte End to comply with the all-seater requirements for Premiership stadiums which comes into force for the 2004-05 season.
*Bryan Robson leaves Manchester United after 13 years to become player-manager of Middlesbrough.
*Tottenham Hotspur are found guilty of financial irregularities dating back to the 1980s and handed the most severe punishment in the history of English football: a £600,000 fine, 12 league points deducted and a one-year ban from theFA Cup . The points deduction and theFA Cup ban are later quashed but the fine is increased to a new record of £1.5million.1993
*Manchester United win the inaugural Premiership title to end their 26-year wait for the league championship. They strengthened themselves for the defence of their big prize by paying a British record fee of £3.75million for Nottingham Forest's young Irish midfielder
Roy Keane .
*Arsenal become the first club to win theFA Cup and League Cup in the same season, after beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 in both finals.
*Tony Barton , who managed Aston Villa to European Cup glory in 1982, dies of a heart attack aged 56.
*Graham Taylor quits as England manager after the nation's failure to qualify for the1994 FIFA World Cup and is succeeded byTerry Venables .
*Bobby Moore , captain of England's 1966 World Cup winning team, dies at the age of 51.
*Gary Lineker ends his English footballing career and signs for Japanese sideNagoya Grampus Eight for £900k. His Farewell Match was against the previous seasons League Champions Leeds United and finished Leeds United 2-1Nagoya Grampus Eight 1992
*
The Football Association creates theFA Premier League , an elite league of 22 clubs which replaces the oldFootball League First Division as England's highest division.
*Blackburn Rovers, back in the top flight for the first time since the 1960s, makeAlan Shearer England's most expensive footballer by paying Southampton £3.5million for his services.
*Leeds United win the lastFootball League First Division championship before the creation of theFA Premier League .
*Aldershot, who have struggled to stay afloat for two years, finally go out of business on 25 March. Maidstone United follow suit on 17 August after their financial crisis leaves them with no option but to quit the Football League.1991
*Arsenal win the Football League title with just one defeat from 38 fixtures.
*Manchester United mark the comeback of English clubs in European competition by beatingFC Barcelona 2-1 in theCup Winners' Cup final.
*Liverpool are readmitted to European competition and, as First Division runners-up are entered into theUEFA Cup for the 1991-92 season.
*After three years with French sideAS Monaco FC ,Glenn Hoddle returns to England to become player-manager of Swindon Town.
*Dean Saunders becomes the most expensive player in English footballer when he is transferred from Derby County to Liverpool in a £2.9million deal.1990
*Liverpool win their eighteenth top flight title.
*England reach the semi finals of the World Cup before losing to eventual winners Germany on penalties after a 1-1 draw. ManagerBobby Robson resigns after the competition to take charge of Dutch sidePSV Eindhoven and is succeeded by Aston Villa managerGraham Taylor , who in turn is replaced by Czech coachJozef Venglos - the first foreign manager in the top flight of English football.
*English clubs are readmitted to European competition after a five-year ban arising from theHeysel Stadium disaster . First Division runners-up, Aston Villa, qualify for theUEFA Cup whilstFA Cup winners, Manchester United, qualify for theCup Winners' Cup . Champions Liverpool are unable to compete in the European Cup because they have to serve an extra year of the ban.
*Leeds United won the Second Division championship to end their eight-year exile from the First Division.
*York Citystriker David Longhurst collapses and dies in his side's Fourth Division home fixture against Lincoln City atBootham Crescent .
*Bournemouth director Brian Tiler, a former Aston Villa player, is killed in a car crash. ManagerHarry Redknapp is also involved in the crash but survived.
*Play-off finals become one-legged matches played at Wembley.1980s
1989 - 1988 - 1987 - 1986 - 1985 - 1984 - 1983 - 1982 - 1981 - 1980
1989
*Arsenal win the league championship with the last kick of the season from
Michael Thomas , giving them a 2-0 away win over nearest rivals Liverpool to snatch the title on goals scored, with both teams goal difference being equal.
*94 Liverpool fans die on 15 April after being crushed on the terraces at Hillsborough, where Liverpool were taking on Nottingham Forest in theFA Cup semi final. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/29/newsid_2733000/2733979.stm On This Day - 29 May 1985] BBC Online - news.bbc.co.uk ] The final death toll for the disaster was 96.
*Standing terraces in England are phased out after Lord Justice Taylor's report into theHillsborough disaster .
*Liverpool go on to win theFA Cup with a 3-2 extra-time victory over Everton at Wembley.
*John Lyall 's 15-year reign as West Ham manager comes to an end after they are relegated from the First Division.
*Newport County go out of business on 27 February and are then expelled from theFootball Conference for failing to fulfill their fixtures.
*Leeds United's most successful ever manager,Don Revie , dies on 26 May frommotor neurone disease aged 61.
*Peter Shilton becomes the most capped England international when he wins his 109th cap beatingBobby Moore 's record.1988
*Liverpool wrap up their seventeenth league title after losing just two league games in a 40-game season.
*Wimbledon beat Liverpool 1-0 to win theFA Cup in one of the most dramatic finals seen at Wembley. The triumph came at the end of Wimbledon's 11th season as a Football League club and only their second as First Division members.
*Luton Town win the first major trophy of their history by beating Arsenal 3-2 in the League Cup final.
*Jackie Milburn , the legendary former Newcastle United striker, dies ofcancer at the age of 64.
*Lincoln City, the first club to suffer automatic relegation from the Football League, regain their league status at the first time of asking by clinching theFootball Conference title.1987
*Tottenham manager
David Pleat resigns after rumours in the media that he has been involved in a vice ring. He is replaced byTerry Venables .
*Coventry City win the first major trophy in their history by beating Tottenham Hotspur (unbeaten in their previous seven finals) 3-2 in theFA Cup final.
*Everton win their ninth league title
*Lincoln City become the first English club to suffer automatic relegation from the Football League after the re-election system is scrapped. They are replaced by Conference champions Scarborough.
*The Football League introduces play-offs to settle the final promotion place initially including one team from the higher division.
*Former Aston Villa and Walesmidfielder Trevor Hockey dies of a heart attack at the age of 43.1986
*England are eliminated from the
1986 FIFA World Cup in the quarter finals after losing 2-1 to Argentina, whose first goal had been an obviously deliberate handball byDiego Maradona - an act which he quickly labelled theHand of God goal . Argentina go on to win the competition.
*Liverpool win the league championship andFA Cup double inKenny Dalglish 's first season as player-manager.
*Sir Stanley Rous , one ofthe Football Association 's most prominent administrators, dies at the age of 90. Shortly after his death, a stand at Watford'sVicarage Road stadium is to be named in his honour.
*Wimbledon are promoted to the First Division in only their ninth season as a Football League club.
*Wolverhampton Wanderers complete ahat trick of successive relegations to fall into the Fourth Division for the first time in their history.1985
*56 spectators are burnt to death and more than 200 are injured in a fire at Bradford City's
Valley Parade stadium on 11 May.
*39 spectators, most of them Italian, are trampled to death in rioting on the terraces of theHeysel Stadium at the European Cup final between Liverpool andJuventus . [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/29/newsid_2733000/2733979.stm On This Day - 29 May 1985] BBC Online - news.bbc.co.uk ] Despite the carnage, the match is played andJuventus win 1-0. The sequel of the tragedy was a 5-year ban on English clubs from European competition, with a 6-year ban on Liverpool.
*Everton establish themselves as one of the strongest club sides in Europe after winning the league championship with four matches to spare and adding theCup Winners' Cup to their trophy cabinet.
*Anton Johnson is banned from football for life after it is revealed that he had illegally taken control of two football clubs (Southend United and Rotherham United) at the same time and had also mishandled the finances of both clubs.
*Preston North End and Burnley are both relegated to the Fourth Division for the first time.
*16 years oldMatthew Le Tissier finishes a trial at Oxford United and signs for Southampton.
*Oxford United promoted to the top flight, after claiming the Second Division championship, a year after they won the Third Division championship in 1984, the only club to have won two consecutive championships on the way to the Top Flight.1984
*Liverpool become the first English club to win three major competitions in the same season when they win the league championship, the League Cup and the European Cup in
Joe Fagan 's first season as manager.
*Tottenham Hotspur win theUefa Cup .
*Everton beat Watford in theFA Cup final to win their first major trophy under the management ofHoward Kendall .
*Kevin Keegan calls time on his playing career after helping Newcastle United win promotion to the First Division.
*Ian Rush is votedFootballer of the Year by thePFA after scoring 32 goals to help Liverpool win their third successive league title.
*Tony Barton is sacked after two-and-a-half years as manager of Aston Villa. He had won the European Cup just three months after being appointed. Villa replace him with Shrewsbury Town's managerGraham Turner .1983
*
The Football Association and thenScottish Football Association initiate the end of theBritish Home Championship s by announcing they will not enter after the 1983-84 competition.
*Manchester United beat Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 in theFA Cup replay after a 2-2 draw in the first match to win their first major trophy under the management ofRon Atkinson .
*Watford finish second in the league at the end of their first season in the First Division.
*The Football Association keep faith in England managerBobby Robson despite the country's failure to qualify for the1984 European Football Championship .
*Bob Paisley retires after nine years as Liverpool manager. He finishes on a high with the league championship and League Cup to bring his tally of major prizes to an English record of 21.
*Sharp Electronics become the first official sponsors of Manchester United.1982
*
Ron Greenwood retires as England manager after the1982 FIFA World Cup , which was won by Italy. He is replaced by Ipswich Town managerBobby Robson .
*Just three months after stepping up from the coaching staff to replaceRon Saunders ,Tony Barton guides Aston Villa to glory in the European Cup - they beatBayern Munich 1-0 thanks to aPeter Withe goal.
*JVC Electronics become the first official sponsors of Arsenal.
*Tottenham Hotspur beat Queens Park Rangers - managed by former Tottenhamstriker Terry Venables - to win theFA Cup for the second year running.
*Swansea City finish sixth in their first season as a First Division club.1981
*
The Football League begins awarding three points for a win instead of two.
*Aston Villa win their first league championship for 71 years.
*Ipswich Town join the list of triumphant English clubs in Europe by winning theUEFA Cup .
*Liverpool win their third European Cup and their first-ever League Cup in a season where they had failed to make a serious bid for the league title.
*Tottenham Hotspur win theFA Cup
*Bill Shankly dies of a heart attack aged 67, seven years after he retired as Liverpool manager.
*Ron Atkinson replacesDave Sexton as manager of Manchester United. Three months after his appointment, West Bromwich Albionmidfielder ,Bryan Robson , follows his old manager to Old Trafford for an English record fee of £1.75million.1980
*Nottingham Forest retain their European Cup crown, making them the only English team to have won more European Cups than league titles.
*Manchester United chairmanLouis Edwards , 65, dies of a heart attack weeks after being accused of financial irregularities byITV . Control of the club passes to his son Martin.
*West Ham beat Arsenal in theFA Cup final to become the third Second Division team in eight years to win the trophy thanks to aTrevor Brooking goal.
*Dixie Dean , who scored 60 goals for Everton during the 1927-28 season, dies of a heart attack at the age of 72 while watching an Everton v Liverpool game atGoodison Park on 1 March.
*Emlyn Hughes , who had achieved numerous success with Liverpool before his transfer to Wolves in 1978, added the League Cup to his list of honours after helping them overcome Nottingham Forest in the final.1970s
1979 - 1978 - 1977 - 1976 - 1975 - 1974 - 1973 - 1972 - 1971 - 1970
1979
*Nottingham Forest lose their defence of the league title to Liverpool but compensate by winning the European Cup.
*One of Nottingham Forest's key players in the European triumph isTrevor Francis , who four months earlier had signed from Birmingham City and became Britain's first million-pound footballer.
*Arsenal overcome a late revival by Manchester United to win 3-2 in theFA Cup final - their first major trophy sinceTerry Neill replaced the legendaryBertie Mee as manager.
*West Bromwich Albion finish third in the league with a side containing three black players -Laurie Cunningham ,Cyrille Regis andBrendan Batson - who were known as theThree Degrees .Ron Atkinson 's side had achieved a famous 5-3 away win over Manchester United on 29 December to put pressure on the title race.
*Danny Blanchflower 's short-lived and unsuccessful reign as manager of Chelsea comes to an end after the club suffers relegation to the Second Division.1978
*Newly promoted Nottingham Forest win the league title and League Cup for the first time in their history.
*Ipswich Town win theFA Cup for the first time in their history.
*West Bromwich Albion appoint Cambridge United'sRon Atkinson as manager.
*Wigan Athletic are elected to the Football League in place of Southport
*Tottenham Hotspur, back in the First Division after a one-year absence, sign two Argentine World Cup winners -Osvaldo Ardiles andRicardo Villa - for a combined fee of £750,000.1977
*
Tommy Docherty is sacked as manager of Manchester United just weeks after guiding them toFA Cup victory over Liverpool. He is replaced byDave Sexton .
*Liverpool establish themselves as one of Europe's finest sides by retaining the league title and joining the list of European Cup winners.
*Aston Villa win their second League Cup in three years. 19-year-oldstriker Andy Gray is votedPFA Player of the Year andPFA Young Player of the Year , he was the only player to have one both in the same season, untilCristiano Ronaldo in 2006-7.
*Peter Houseman , who played in Chelsea'sFA Cup andCup Winners' Cup winning teams of 1970 and 1971, is killed in a car crash near Oxford at the age of 31 along with his wife.
*Wimbledon are elected to the Football League in place of Workington.
*Kenny Dalglish joins Liverpool at a record £440,000 to replaceKevin Keegan who leaves to join Hamburg in Germany.
*After a 2-1 victory to Scotland against England in theBritish Home Championship at Wembley Stadium, theTartan Army invade the pitch, breaking goalposts and helping themselves to some of Wembley's turf. [ [http://football.guardian.co.uk/gallery/image/0,8556,-10704601121,00.html Guardian Unlimited - "Excited Scotland fans"] ] [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/aboutus/wirelesstoweb/decades/clip_display.shtml?decade=70s&clip_name=pitch_invasion&size=v&media_type=video BBC Scotland] (RealVideo)]1976
*Liverpool win the league championship to end manager
Bob Paisley 's two-year quest to bring a major trophy toAnfield .
*Southampton beat Manchester United 1-0 in theFA Cup final thanks to a goal fromBobby Stokes .
*Pop starElton John becomes the new chairman of Fourth Division Watford and appoints Lincoln City managerGraham Taylor as manager.
*Queens Park Rangers finish league runners-up to achieve their highest-ever league position.
*Bertie Mee retires as manager of Arsenal and is replaced byTerry Neill .1975
*Derby County, in David Mackay's first full season as manager, win their second league title in four years to add to the 1972 championship which had been won by Mackay's predecessor,
Brian Clough .
*John Lyall ends his first season as West Ham manager with anFA Cup triumph at the expense of Fulham, whose side included former West Ham captainBobby Moore .
*Carlisle United, who had topped the 1974-75 First Division after three games, are relegated after failing to put together a consistent run of good form in their first season as a top division club.
*Manchester United are promoted back to the First Division one season after losing their top flight status.
*Aston Villa re-establish themselves a top English side by winning the League Cup and gaining promotion to the First Division in the same season.1974
*
The Football Association scraps the distinction between professional and amateur players leading to no more UK teams being entered for the Olympics.
*Sir Alf Ramsay pays for England's failure to qualify for the World Cup with his job. He is succeeded by Leeds United managerDon Revie .
*Leeds United are league champions in their final season underDon Revie 's management. Former Derby County managerBrian Clough is appointed but leaves after 44 days and is, in turn, replaced byJimmy Armfield .
*George Best finally leaves Manchester United after three years of uncertainty fuelled by off-the-field problems. He joins Stockport County.
*Bill Shankly retires after 15 glorious years as Liverpool manager and is replaced by 55-year-old coachBob Paisley .
*Manchester United are relegated to the Second Division for the first time since the 1930s. Their fate is ironically sealed when former playerDenis Law scores the winning goal for Manchester City at Old Trafford with his final touch in league football, but Birmingham City's victory would have condemned them to relegation regardless of the outcome of United's game.
*Former Football League side Bradford Park Avenue go intoliquidation and are reformed as a Sunday league side.1973
*An
Ian Porterfield goal gives Second Division Sunderland a shock win over Leeds United in theFA Cup final.
*Leeds United also blow their title chances and Liverpool are crowned league champions instead.
*Bobby Charlton andDenis Law both leave Manchester United after long and illustrious careers.
*The Football League announces that three clubs, instead of two, are to be relegated from the First and Second Divisions from the end of the 1973-74 season onwards, with three clubs being promoted to the Second and Third Divisions. The four-up, four-down system between the Third and Fourth Divisions would continue.
*Hereford United end their first season as a Football League club by winning promotion from the Fourth Division.1972
*Stoke City win the League Cup to record the first major trophy of their history.
*Derby County, managed by 37-year-oldBrian Clough , win the first league championship of their history.
*Tottenham Hotspur win theUefa Cup
*Leeds United win theFA Cup for the first time adding it to their growing list of honours.
*Manchester United sack managerFrank O'Farrell and replace him with Scottish national coachTommy Docherty .
*Hereford United, four months after achieving a shock win over Newcastle United in theFA Cup , are elected to the Football League in favour of Barrow.1971
*Arsenal become the fourth English club to win the league championship and
FA Cup double.
*20 years oldKevin Keegan leaves Scunthorpe United to join Liverpool for £35,000.
*Leeds United win the last-ever European Fairs Cup before the competition is restructured to become theUEFA Cup .
*Chelsea beatReal Madrid in the EuropeanCup Winners' Cup final to claim their first European trophy.
*Manchester United appoint Leicester City'sFrank O'Farrell as their permanent successor toWilf McGuinness .
*Alvechurch progress to the First Round of theFA Cup after taking Oxford City to a record six replays in the qualifying round.1970
*England lose their defence of the World Cup to Brazil.
*Everton win the league title, one short of the record number of points
*Wilf McGuinness is sacked just before the turn of 1971 after 18 months in charge of Manchester United.Sir Matt Busby takes control of first-team affairs until the end of the season.
*TheFA Cup final goes to a replay for the first time. Chelsea beat Leeds United 2-1 at Old Trafford after drawing 2-2 in the first game at Wembley.
*Cambridge United are elected to the Football League in place of Bradford Park Avenue.
*Bobby Moore is accused of stealing a bracelet while inColombia with the England squad for the1970 FIFA World Cup , but all charges are quickly dropped.1960s
1969 - 1968 - 1967 - 1966 - 1965 - 1964 - 1963 - 1962 - 1961 - 1960
1969
*Leeds United win the first league championship of their history.
*Manchester City continue their run of success under the management ofJoe Mercer by winning theFA Cup .
*Sir Matt Busby retires after 24 years as manager of Manchester United and is replaced by 32-year-old reserve team coachWilf McGuinness , a surprise choice after big names likeDon Revie andJock Stein had been linked with the job.
*Newcastle United win the European Fairs Cup to end their 14-year wait for a major trophy.
*David Mackay andColin Bell are joint winners of theFWA Player of the Year award.1968
*For the first time Two English teams win European Competitions in the same season (info below)
*Manchester United beatBenfica 4-1 in extra time at Wembley to win the European Cup with goals fromBobby Charlton twice,George Best and 19-year-oldBrian Kidd - who was covering for the injuredDenis Law .
*Leeds United win the first double in their history picking up theFootball League Cup against Arsenal 1-0 and theInter-Cities Fairs Cup 1-0 on aggregate againstFerencvárosi TC . This is also the only double won by an English team to include a European competition.
*The blue half of Manchester also celebrates after winning the league championship for only the second time in their history.
*AJeff Astle goal against Everton in theFA Cup final gives West Bromwich Albion their fifth triumph in the history of the competition.
*George Best , 22, is votedEuropean Footballer of the Year after a brilliant season which was rounded off by scoring a goal in the European Cup final.
*Matt Busby isknighted after guiding Manchester United to the European Cup title.1967
*Manchester United win the league championship - their fifth under
Matt Busby and their seventh of all time.
*Tottenham Hotspur beat Chelsea 2-1 in theFA Cup final.
*Queens Park Rangers beat West Bromwich Albion in the first one-game League Cup final.
*Goalkeeper Harry Gregg leaves Manchester United after 10 years during which he established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the English game, but with no medals to show for it: he had missed the 1963FA Cup final due to injury and had not played enough games to qualify for a medal when United won the league in 1965 and 1967.
*Coventry City, managed byJimmy Hill , win the Second Division championship and are promoted to the First Division for the first time in their history.1966
*England win the
1966 FIFA World Cup 4-2 against West Germany in extra time asGeoff Hurst becomes the first man to score ahat-trick in a World Cup final, with two of his goals being controversial.Martin Peters also scores for England.
*Alf Ramsey receives aknighthood for inspiring England's World Cup glory.
*Everton win theFA Cup after beating Sheffield Wednesday 3-2 in the final at Wembley.
*Manchester United lose the defence of the league championship trophy to Liverpool.
*Manchester United'sBobby Charlton was votedEuropean Footballer of the Year .1965
*Manchester United win their first post
Munich Air Disaster league championship.
*Liverpool win theFA Cup for the first time in their history.
*West Ham won the EuropeanCup Winners' Cup to bring the total of English clubs winning European trophies to two.
*Eric Brook , all-time record goalscorer for Manchester City, dies at the age of 57.
*Stanley Matthews plays his last game for Stoke City at the age of 50 and collects aknighthood shortly afterwards.1964
*
Match of the Day makes its debut onBBC2 at 6.30pm on 22 August with highlights of Liverpool's 3-2 home win over Arsenal.Kenneth Wolstenholme is both presenter and commentator to an audience of just 20,000. [cite news | title =History of Match of the Day | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tv_and_radio/match_of_the_day/879960.stm]
*Liverpool win the league championship to claim their first major trophy under the management ofBill Shankly .
*Everton complete aMerseyside double by winning theFA Cup .
*West Ham win theFA Cup to claim the first major trophy in their history.
*Tottenham Hotspur inside-forwardJohn White is struck by lightning on a North London golf course and dies instantly at the age of 27.
*Tottenham Hotspur captainDanny Blanchflower retires as a player at the age of 37 after failing to overcome a serious knee injury.1963
*Tottenham Hotspur win the
Cup Winners' Cup to establish themselves as the first English club to win a European competition.
*Everton win their first league championship of the postwar years.
*Manchester United win theFA Cup for the first time in 15 years. It is their first major trophy since theMunich Air Disaster five years earlier.
*Birmingham City beat Aston Villa 3-1 on aggreggate in the League Cup final to win the first major trophy of their history.
*1911FA Cup winners Bradford City finish second from bottom in the Fourth Division and have to seek re-election in order to preserve their Football League place.1962
*Tottenham Hotspur beat Burnley (also league runners-up) at Wembley to retain the
FA Cup .
*Norwich City beat Rochdale 4-0 on aggregate to win the League Cup - the first major trophy of their history.
*Ipswich Town are crowned league champions in their first season as a First Division club.
*Walter Winterbottom retires after 16 years as England manager and is replaced by Ipswich Town manager, Alf Ramsey.
*Accrington Stanley resign from the Football League in March and their Fourth Division records are expunged. Their place in the league for 1962-63 is given toSouthern Football League champions Oxford United.1961
*Tottenham Hotspur become the first club of the 20th century to win the league championship and
FA Cup double.
*Aston Villa beat Rotherham United 3-2 on aggregate to win the first-ever League Cup. The second leg of the final is withheld until the 1961-2 season due to fixture congestion.
*Leeds United appoint former Leicester City and Manchester City playerDon Revie , 33, as their new player-manager.
*Manchester City sell 21-year-old Scottish strikerDenis Law to Torino of Italy in the first £100,000 deal involving a British club.
*Terry Bly scores 52 league goals for Peterborough United as they complete their first league season as Fourth Division champions.1960
*Burnley overcome a spirited challenge of 106-goal Wolves to win the league championship.
*Wolves compensate for their league championship disappointment by overcoming Blackburn Rovers in theFA Cup final.
*Oldham Athletic, league runners-up 45 years earlier, finish second from bottom in the Fourth Division but retain their league status after the Football League's members vote for Gateshead to go down and Southern League champions Peterborough United to go up for the 1960-61 season.
*Legendary former Arsenal and Sunderland playerCharlie Buchan dies at the age of 68.
*Aston Villa win the Second Division championship to regain their First Division status a year after losing it.1950s
1959 - 1958 - 1957 - 1956 - 1955 - 1954 - 1953
1959
*
Bill Shankly is appointed manager of Liverpool
*Wolves retain the league championship despite a spirited challenge from a new-look Manchester United.
*Nottingham Forest win theFA Cup for the first time since 1898.
*Port Vale win the first-ever Fourth Division championship after scoring 110 league goals.
*Billy Wright becomes the first player to play 100 times for England.
*Birmingham City and England full-back Jeff Hall dies at the age of 29.1958
*Eight Manchester United players die and two more have their careers ended by injury after an air crash near the
Munich Airport . ManagerMatt Busby is badly injured and spends two months in hospital recovering from multiple injuries.
*A makeshift Manchester United side reach theFA Cup Final, but lose 2-0 to Bolton.
*Wolves win the league championship for the second time and qualify for the European Cup for the first time.
*Sunderland are relegated from the First Division for the first time, having been in the top division every season since joining the Football League in 1890.
*Legendary former Manchester United and Manchester City wingerBilly Meredith dies aged 83.1957
*Manchester United win the league title for the second year running.
*Aston Villa - winners for the record seventh time - beat Manchester United 2-1 in theFA Cup final to win the trophy for a record seventh time. Their victory denies United the double, meaning Villa are still the last team to achieve the feat, back in 1896-7.
*Stanley Matthews retires from international footballer at the age of 42, but continues his club career with Blackpool.
*Charlton Athletic turn the tables on Huddersfield Town during the final 20 minutes of a Second Division fixture by turning a 5-1 deficit into a 7-6 lead.
*Eastbourne United managerRon Greenwood , 36, is appointed first-team coach of Arsenal.1956
*Manchester United win the league championship with a reshaped side containing mostly young players including
Duncan Edwards (19),David Pegg (20),Albert Scanlon (20) and Mark Jones (22).
*German goalkeeperBert Trautmann plays through Manchester City'sFA Cup victory over Birmingham City despite suffering what an X-ray later confirms as a broken neck, and was able to continue his career.
*The first season of the European Cup - contested between the champions of European domestic leagues - ended with Spanish sideReal Madrid as champions, but English champions Chelsea had withdrawn before the competition started!
*The top three sides in theThird Division South - Leyton Orient, Brighton & Hove Albion and Ipswich Town - all score over 100 league goals.1955
*Chelsea win the league championship for the first time in their history.
*Blackburn Rovers score 106 Second Division goals but concede 79 times and sixth place is not high enough for promotion to the First Division.
*Newcastle United win theFA Cup after beating Manchester City 3-1 at Wembley.
*Duncan Edwards , 18-year-old Manchester United wing-half, becomes England's youngest international when he plays in a side containing 40-year-oldStanley Matthews , who had played for England before Edwards was born!1954
*Wolves win the league title for the first time in their history.
*West Bromwich Albion complete a double for clubs in central England by winning theFA Cup for the fourth time in their history.
*Everton finish Second Division runners-up, are promoted to the First Division and have remained there ever since.
*Bournemouth and Swindon Town are bracketed together in 19th place in the Third Division South having both accumulated 40 league points, scored 67 goals and conceded 70 goals!1953
*38-year-old
Stanley Matthews is instrumental in turning Blackpool's 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 victory against Bolton Wanderers in theFA Cup final, ending his 20-year hunt for a major trophy. The final is still widely known as the 'Matthews Final', despite the fact that his team-mateStan Mortensen scored a hat-trick in the game!
*Arsenal win the league title with a superior goal difference over Preston North End, who also have 54 points and have not won the league title since 1890.
*England's unbeaten home record against a non-British nation ends when they lose 6-3 to Hungary at Wembley.1940s
1948
*83,260 watch Manchester United vs Arsenal at
Maine Road on 17 January to become the highest attendance at an English league game.1946
*Derby County become the first team to win the
FA Cup after losing a game when two-legged games are introduced for one season only.
*League football resumes following the end of the Second World War.
*The Football Association end their boycott ofFIFA , paving the way for England to play in World Cup matches.1930s
1939
*The Football League is abandoned three games in to the new season after the outbreak of the Second World War
1935
*Arsenal win their third successive league title.
1934
*Arsenal and Huddersfield Town's legendary manager
Herbert Chapman dies ofpneumonia on 6 January.*84,569 watch Manchester City defeat Stoke City at
Maine Road in the FA Cup 6th Round, the biggest crowd ever recorded for an English game outside ofWembley Stadium .1931
*Aston Villa set an all-time top-flight record of 129 goals in a season, but still finish runners-up to Arsenal by a point.
1920s
1928
*Arsenal and Chelsea are the first clubs to play with shirt numbers on 25 August.
1926
*Huddersfield Town become the first team to be the Football League champions three seasons in succession.
1925
*The offside rule is changed: a player is now onside if a minimum of two (instead of three) opposing players are between him and the goal line.
1923
*
Bolton Wanderers defeat West Ham United 2–0 in the firstFA Cup final to be held at Wembley. The match kicked off 44 minutes late due to overcrowding - there was an estimated 200,000 fans in attendance, and it wasn't until a white police horse helped clear the pitch that the match took place. As a result, the match is now known as theWhite Horse Final .
*Aston Villa centre-halfTommy Ball is shot dead by his neighbour.1921
*
The Football League is increased to 92 clubs with the Third Division becoming the Third Division South and the introduction of 24 new clubs in the Third Division North.1920
*The Southern League's top division is absorbed into the Football League creating the
Football League Third Division
*Aston Villa capture theFA Cup for a record sixth time.1910s
1919
*Leeds City are expelled and dissolved by the football league after financial irregularities including the payment of players during the First World War. In its place a new club is formed, Leeds United.
1915
*Everton win the final league title before league football is suspended because of the First World War.
1913
*Aston Villa defeat Sunderland to win the
FA Cup .1910
*Aston Villa win the league championship for a record sixth time.
1900s
1909
*The
Charity Shield is inaugurated1908
*The
United Kingdom national football team , then competing under the name "Great Britain and Ireland", win the gold medal in the first official football tournament at the1908 Summer Olympics .1907
*The action by
the Football Association in 1885 leads to the breakaway and formation of theAmateur Football Association .
*Professional Footballers Association formed.1905
*
Alf Common becomes the first £1,000 transfer when he moves from Sunderland to Middlesbrough.
*Chelsea Football Club is founded at The Rising Sun pub (now The Butcher's Hook), Fulham Road, London, on 14 March and like Bradford City in 1903 are immediately elected to the league.
*Aston Villa win theFA Cup .
*Crystal Palace is founded on 10 September by workers atJoseph Paxton 's famous Crystal Palace, inSydenham .1903
*Bradford City are elected to
the Football League before they have ever played a game.1902
*J.H. Davies takes over near bankrupt Newton Heath (L&YR) F.C. and changes its name to Manchester United.
1901
*Tottenham Hotspur become the first non-league club to win the
FA Cup .1900
*Aston Villa win the league championship, their fifth title in seven years.
*Brighton & Hove Albion are founded.1890s
1899
*Aston Villa win the last championship of the century, defeating runners-up
Liverpool F.C. 5-0 in the last match to secure the title.1897
*Aston Villa become the second club to secure the league and cup 'double'.
1896
*Aston Villa capture the league title.
1895
*Aston Villa win the
FA Cup . The Cup is then stolen from the window of a shop inAston ,Birmingham and never found. A replacement is made.
*West Ham United are formed, under the nameThames Ironworks football club .1894
*Aston Villa win their first league championship. Later that year though their legendary former captain
Archie Hunter dies aged just 35.1892
*Expansion of
the Football League to two divisions.
*John Houlding , owner ofAnfield , founds Liverpool Football Club on 15 March.
*West Bromwich Albion defeat Aston Villa in theFA Cup final. There are suspicions over the performance of Villa keeperJames Warner . His pub in burned down by a mob and he never plays for the club again.1891
*The penalty kick is introduced.
*Assistant referees are first introduced as linesmen.1880s
1889
*Preston North End complete the first season of
the Football League as unbeaten champions. They also become the first team to win the 'double', gaining theFA Cup without conceding a goal.1888
*
The Football League is established by Aston Villa directorWilliam McGregor 1887
*Aston Villa win their first
FA Cup .1885
*The threat of
secession leads to the legalisation of professionalism on 20 July bythe Football Association making theBritish Football Association redundant.
*Luton Town, Millwall Rovers and Southampton founded.1884
*Preston North End are suspended for one year from the
FA Cup for paying players in order to compete with Blackburn Rovers.
*Rules attempting to restrict professionalism, such as only Englishmen being allowed to play in theFA Cup , lead to the formation of theBritish Football Association as a rival tothe Football Association .1883
*The
British Home Championship (also known as the Home International Championship) becomes an annual competition contested between the UK's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (Ireland before the late 1970s).
*Accrington are expelled fromthe Football Association for paying players.1882
*
The Football Association (England), theScottish Football Association , theFootball Association of Wales and theIrish Football Association ) meet on 6 December and agree on one uniform set of rules for football. They also establish theInternational Football Association Board (IFAB) to approve changes to the rules (a task that they still perform to this day).
*Hotspur Football Club is formed (later to become Tottenham Hotspur).1870s
1875
*The crossbar is introduced, replacing tape as the means of marking the top of the goal.
1874
*Aston Villa Football Club is formed by members of
1872
*Scotland and England draw 0–0 in the first ever international football match, played at the
West of Scotland Cricket Club .
*Wanderers beat Royal Engineers in the firstFA Cup final.1871
*Charles William Alcock creates the Football Association Challenge Cup, the oldest cup tournament alive.
*Reading F.C. Established.1870
*First "goalkeepers", and transition from "dribbling game" to "passing game" is seen in club matches in
Sheffield andLondon .
*First unofficial international match, between England and Scotland, finishes in a 1-0 win for England at theKennington Oval inLondon .1860s
1867
*The first ever football tournament, the
Youdan Cup , is played by twelveSheffield clubs.1863
*
The Football Association is founded and ratifies the original 14 rules of the game.1862
*
Notts County F.C. , the oldest existing league club, established.1850s
1857
*
Sheffield F.C. , the world's oldest football club, established and theSheffield Rules developed.1840s
1849
*Official referees appear for the first time in a football match in
Cheltenham , two in field and one in tribune.1848
*
The Cambridge Rules are created being the first attempt to establish formal rules.ee also
*
Football in England
*Football in the United Kingdom
*History of association football
*Timeline of association football References
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