England national amateur football team

The England national amateur football team was the amateur representative team for England at football. It was formed some time around 1900, due to the growth of the professional game which meant that amateur players could no longer easily find places in the main England national team.

The team played many internationals against the full representative sides of Europe, which were usually a mixture of amateur and professional players. The strength of the English amateur team meant they were still able to beat many of these sides, and in fact they were unbeaten in 20 matches from 1906 to 1910. Under an agreement between the four United Kingdom football associations, the team represented the UK at the Olympic Games (under the UK's normal Olympic title of Great Britain), winning the title in 1908 and 1912.

The team continued to play for many years, albeit against purely amateur teams in later years, and with less dominance. It was disbanded in 1974 when the Football Association abolished the distinction between amateurs and professionals. A semi-professional representative team, made up of players from the National League System, now plays in its place.

References

* [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/unb-england-18-am.html RSSSF - England's unbeaten run]