ON SALE HERE - DIRECT FROM THE AUTHORS
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This is the story of the world's very first club dedicated to football, founded in Scotland in 1824.
No other contemporary football clubs are known to have existed, but this one thrived for almost 17 years, giving an outlet for organised football to a generation of young sportsmen in Edinburgh. The city played a crucial role in football's early history: the first football club, the first football rules, the first football medal and much more. |
In writing this definitive history of The Foot-Ball Club, John Hutchinson and Andy Mitchell reveal why this club was so significant in creating the games of football we know today. They explain how the club was run, who its members were, how they played and what motivated them.
They have analysed the club's extraordinarily detailed records, which have survived intact including membership lists, accounts, letters and contracts - many of which are illustrated.
They explain why the club fitted perfectly into the vibrant sporting culture which existed in Edinburgh at that time.
They also tell the story of the club's energetic founder, John Hope, who remained a passionate advocate of football throughout his long life. He was a controversial character in other fields - philanthropy, education, religion, politics and temperance - and his exploits will resonate with historians of the period.
Why is this first club so important?
Football has been played in Britain since medieval times, and took on many forms in schools and villages before the Victorians embarked on the process of codification.
The widely accepted version of the game's origin is that the first attempts to write down rules were made in the 1840s at Rugby School, Eton College and Cambridge University. The footballers then formed organisations and a club was founded at Trinity College Dublin in 1854; Scotland's oldest is now the Academical Football Club in Edinburgh, established in 1857; and in England, also dating from 1857, Sheffield makes a strong claim to be the oldest existing club now playing association football.
Yet to find the world’s first football club one has to go back to 1824, when an Edinburgh student called John Hope established what he simply called The Foot-Ball Club. It thrived for many years and had an indelible influence on the long-term development of the world's most popular sport.
1824: The World's First Foot-Ball Club costs £12.99, post free in the UK. Click here to purchase.
205 pages, paperback.
If you wish a signed copy you can buy direct from me at the same price as Amazon (post free in the UK), just send me a message on the contact form. I accept PayPal or bank transfer.
For non-UK buyers, I recommend you buy the book through Amazon.
Want to know more? Listen to the talk the authors gave at the National Records of Scotland [click here for link]
They have analysed the club's extraordinarily detailed records, which have survived intact including membership lists, accounts, letters and contracts - many of which are illustrated.
They explain why the club fitted perfectly into the vibrant sporting culture which existed in Edinburgh at that time.
They also tell the story of the club's energetic founder, John Hope, who remained a passionate advocate of football throughout his long life. He was a controversial character in other fields - philanthropy, education, religion, politics and temperance - and his exploits will resonate with historians of the period.
Why is this first club so important?
Football has been played in Britain since medieval times, and took on many forms in schools and villages before the Victorians embarked on the process of codification.
The widely accepted version of the game's origin is that the first attempts to write down rules were made in the 1840s at Rugby School, Eton College and Cambridge University. The footballers then formed organisations and a club was founded at Trinity College Dublin in 1854; Scotland's oldest is now the Academical Football Club in Edinburgh, established in 1857; and in England, also dating from 1857, Sheffield makes a strong claim to be the oldest existing club now playing association football.
Yet to find the world’s first football club one has to go back to 1824, when an Edinburgh student called John Hope established what he simply called The Foot-Ball Club. It thrived for many years and had an indelible influence on the long-term development of the world's most popular sport.
1824: The World's First Foot-Ball Club costs £12.99, post free in the UK. Click here to purchase.
205 pages, paperback.
If you wish a signed copy you can buy direct from me at the same price as Amazon (post free in the UK), just send me a message on the contact form. I accept PayPal or bank transfer.
For non-UK buyers, I recommend you buy the book through Amazon.
Want to know more? Listen to the talk the authors gave at the National Records of Scotland [click here for link]