List of oldest football competitions

This is a list of the oldest documented football competitions, played at school, club, national and international levels. The first list contains competitions that have been played continuously. The second is a list of competitions that are now defunct.

Current competitions[]

Association football[]

Year (Date)	Competition	Type	First Trophy, Years	Original code	Location	Notes & references
1871	FA Cup	club trophy	FA Cup Original FA Cup trophy 1871–1897 Second FA Cup trophy 1898–1910 Current FA cup Trophy 1911–	Association football	England	Oldest association football competition in the world.
1874	Scottish Cup	club trophy	Scottish Cup 1874–	Association football	Scotland	Oldest association football trophy in the world.
1876	Birmingham Senior Cup	regional club knock-out cup competition	1875–	Association Football	West Midlands, England	Oldest regional trophy in the world.
1877	Welsh Cup	club trophy	Welsh Cup, 1877–	Association football	Wales
1880	Lancashire Senior Cup	County Cup	1880-	Association Football	Lancashire, England	Also includes teams from Greater Manchester and Merseyside
1880	Cheshire Senior Cup	county cup	1880–	Association football	Cheshire, England	Also includes teams from Greater Manchester and Merseyside, many from the historical boundaries of Cheshire.
1881	Irish Football Association Challenge Cup	club trophy	1881-	Association football	Northern Ireland	Originally created as the national club trophy for all of Ireland, it now serves as the national club trophy for Northern Ireland after the Republic of Ireland was created in 1921.
1882	Oxford University Cuppers	intercollegiate trophy		Association football	Oxford, England	University claims is its the 2nd oldest [association] football competition (after the FA Cup),^[1] but also documents 1882/3 as the first season^[2].
1882	Cambridge University Cuppers	intercollegiate trophy		Association football	Cambridge, England
1886	Scottish Junior Cup	club trophy	Scottish Junior Cup 1886–	Association football	Scotland
1887	Aberdeenshire Cup	club trophy	1888	Association football	Aberdeenshire, Scotland	Claims to be second oldest association football tournament in the world.^[3]
1888	English Football League	club league		Association football		Oldest association football league. The Premiere League was later created and is now the main English league.
1888	Durand Cup	club trophy	Durand Cup, 1888–	Association football	India	Oldest football tournament in Asia.
1889	Northern Football League	club league		Association football	North East England	Second-oldest association football league in the world.
1890 (June)	St Joseph's College, Dumfries		1890, Part Pupils v Present Pupils Trophy	Association football	Dumfries, Scotland
1891	Argentine Primera División	club league	Copa Campeonato (1896)	Association football	Argentina	Oldest top division association football league in the world and oldest league outside Great Britain.
1892		interprovincial knockout tournament	Brown Shield, 1892	Association football	New Zealand	Originally the country's premier football trophy, now only contested sporadically.^[4]
1893	IFA Shield	tournament	IFA Shield	Association football	Kolkata, India
1895	Belgian First Division A	club league	National Championships 1895–	Association football	Belgium	Oldest association football league in continental Europe.
1895	Hong Kong Shield	club trophy		Association football	Hong Kong
1898	Serie A	club league	National Championships 1898-	Association football	Italy
1898	Calcutta Football League	club league		Association football	Kolkata, India	Oldest Association football league in Asia.
1898	Swiss Super League	club league	1899–	Association football	Switzerland
1900	Uruguayan Primera División	club league	1900–	Association football	Uruguay
1900	Tagblatt Pokal	club trophy		Association football	Lower Austria, Austria-Hungary
1901	Ontario Cup	club trophy	1901–	Association football	Canada	Oldest association football competition in North America.
1901	Nemzeti Bajnokság	club league		Association football	Hungary, Austria-Hungary
1902	Copa del Rey	club trophy		Association football	Spain
1902	Norwegian Football Cup	club trophy		Association football	Norway	First played as an invitational tournament consisting of 5 teams and arranged by Kristiania Idrætsforening. First time as a national tournament 1963
1902 (3 May)	Campeonato Paulista	club league		Association football	São Paulo state, Brazil
1902	Mumbai Football League	club league		Association football	Mumbai, India
1905 (9 April)	Campeonato Baiano	club league		Association football	Bahia, Brazil
1906 (3 May)	Campeonato Carioca	club league		Association football	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1906 (8 July)	Paraguayan Primera División	club league		Association football	Paraguay
1908	Hong Kong First Division League	club league		Association football	Hong Kong
1909 (6 December)	Liga I	club league		Association football	Romania
1911	Belgian Cup	club trophy		Association football	Belgium
1912	Úrvalsdeild	club league		Association football	Iceland
1912	The Challenge Trophy	club fixture	Connaught Cup 1913–1926, Challenge Trophy 1926–1954, Carling Cup 1954–	Association football	Canada
1914	IUFU Collingwood Cup	university trophy	1914–	Association football	Republic of Ireland
1914	Manning Cup	schools fixture	Manning Cup, 1914–	Association football	Jamaica	annual contest among Secondary High Schools in the Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine parishes of Jamaica.
1914	Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup	club trophy	National Challenge Cup (1914); Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1999–)	Association football	United States	Oldest association football competition in the United States of America.
1916		international tournament		Association football	Argentina	Oldest nations association football competition in the world.
1921		international tournament		Association football	Europe	Inter-Services. Oldest international association football tournament still in existence.^[5]

Australian rules football[]

Year (Date)	Competition	Type	First Trophy, Years	Original code	Location	Notes & references
1858 (7 August)	Melbourne Grammar School-Scotch College Cordner-Eggleston Cup, 1989–	schools fixture	Cordner-Eggleston Cup	experimental rules	Melbourne, Australia
1877 (30 April)	South Australian Football Association	club league	Thomas Seymour Hill Premiership Trophy	Australian rules football	Adelaide, South Australia	Oldest Australian rules football league and earliest governing body, The most influential Footballing Body in South Australia.
1877 (17 May)	Victorian Football Association	club league		Victorian rules	Melbourne, Australia	Most influential early governing body for Australian rules football in Victoria.
1879	Tasmanian Football League	club league		Victorian rules	Hobart, Tasmania, Australia	Some discontinuity, most recently dormant between 2001 and 2008.
1880	Bendigo Football League	club league		Victorian rules	Bendigo, Australia	Includes the Castlemaine football club, second oldest football club in Australia.
1883	Black Diamond Football League	club league	Black Diamond Challenge Cup, 1888–	Australian rules football	Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia	Trophy donated to the league by Newcastle's Richmond Tobacco Co., claims to be the longest running football trophy in Australia.^[6]^[7]
1885	West Australian Football League	club league		Australian rules football	Perth, Western Australia	sustained
1888	Broken Hill Football League	club league		Australian rules football	Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia
1896	Victorian Football League/Australian Football League	club league	Flag 1895-; AFL Premiership Cup, 1959–	Australian rules football	Victoria, Australia (national since 1990)	Now the game's premier competition and highest governing body.
1903	Sydney AFL	club league		Australian rules football	Sydney, Australia
1904	AFL Queensland State League	club league		Australian rules football	Brisbane, Australia

Rugby[]

Year (Date)	Competition	Type	First Trophy, Years	Original code	Location	Notes & references
1858 (11 December)	Edinburgh Academy vs Merchiston Castle School	schools fixture		Rugby football	Edinburgh, Scotland	^[8]
1874	United Hospitals Challenge Cup	club trophy	United Hospitals Challenge Cup – 1874–	Rugby football	Surrey, England	Oldest rugby football competition in the world.
1875	Bromsgrove–KES	schools fixture	Siviter-Smith Cup, 1935–	Rugby football	Bromsgrove/Birmingham, England	Later trophy donated by Paul Siviter-Smith, a Birmingham businessman, who had sons at both schools.^[9]^[10]
1876 (17 March)	Ulster Schools Cup	cup tournament	Schools Cup 1876–	Rugby football	Ravenhill, Belfast, Northern Ireland
1879 (10 March)	Calcutta Cup	international challenge		Rugby football	England, Scotland	Competed for by the England and Scotland international rugby teams annually.
1883	Auckland Premier	club league		Rugby football	Auckland, New Zealand	The winner of the competition has been awarded the Gallaher Shield since 1922.
1889	Currie Cup	provincial tournament	Currie Cup, 1889–	Rugby football	South Africa	Oldest provincial rugby union competition in the world, and oldest national rugby union competition in the southern hemisphere.
1901	New South Wales Suburban Rugby Union	club league		Rugby union	Sydney, Australia
1904	Ranfurly Shield	provincial challenge	Ranfurly Shield, 1902	Rugby union	New Zealand	First won by Auckland in 1902, and first challenged for in 1904.

Rugby league[]

Year (Date)	Competition	Type	First Trophy, Years	Original code	Location
1895	Rugby Football League/Super League	club league	Rugby Football League Championship 1895–	Rugby league	England
1896	Challenge Cup	club league		Rugby league	Europe
1908	NSWRL/National Rugby League	club league		Rugby league	Sydney, Australia
1908	Queensland Rugby League	club league		Rugby league	Brisbane, Australia
1908	The Ashes	international challenge		Rugby league	Australia & Great Britain
1910	New Zealand Rugby League	club league	Rugby League Shield 1910–	Rugby league	Auckland, New Zealand
1910	Newcastle Rugby League	club league		Rugby league	Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
1911	Illawarra Rugby League	club league		Rugby league	Illawarra, New South Wales, Australia

Other[]

Year (Date)	Competition	Type	First Trophy, Years	Original code	Current Code	Location	Notes & references
1875 (13 November)	The Game	Interscholastic match	1875	modified Rugby union	American football	United States
1887	All-Ireland Senior Football Championship	inter-county cup	1928	Gaelic football	Gaelic football
1893 (Boxing Day/ Christmas Day (1893–98))	Scarborough Fisherman v Fireman football match	Cup	The Silver Cup, 1901	Experimental Rules	Experimental Rules	Scarborough, England	Organised as a charity football match to raise money for the Evelyn and Maud that sank. Still played annually today to raise money for the Fisherman and Fireman fund.
1898	Yates Cup	college league		Canadian football	Canadian football	Ontario, Canada	The Ontario University Athletics football trophy and oldest football trophy in North America.
1902 (1 or 2 January)	Rose Bowl Game	bowl game		American football	American football	Pasadena, California, United States
1909	Grey Cup	Originally national club trophy; now national league		"Rugby football" (early form of Canadian football)	Canadian football	Canada	Now the championship trophy of the Canadian Football League.

Defunct competitions[]

Years	Date	Competition	Type	First trophy awarded, years	Original code	Location	Notes
1851 only	25 January	93rd Regiment v. Edinburgh University FC	one-off match	Medallion, 1851 only	unknown	Edinburgh	Medallion was given by the losing side (Edinburgh) to the winning side (93rd Regiment).^[11]^[12]
1860 – c. 1968		House Football Cup	intramural competition	House Football Cup, 1860 – c. 1968	Eton field game	Eton College	^[13]^[14]^[15]
1861–1876	December	Caledonian Challenge Cup	club trophy	Caledonian Challenge Cup, 1861–1864	Melbourne Rules	Melbourne, Australia	^[16]
1867 only		Youdan Cup	club trophy	Youdan Cup, 1867	Sheffield rules	Sheffield, England
1868 only		Cromwell Cup	club trophy	Cromwell Cup, 1868	Sheffield rules	Sheffield, England
1882–?		Northern Football Association	club league	?	Victorian rules	Launceston, Tasmania
1884–1984		Home International Championship	international challenge	British International Championship trophy, 1936–1984^[17]	Association football	Home Nations (UK)
1888–1956		Netherlands Football League Championship	club league	?	Association football		Replaced with Eredivisie for the 1956–1957 season
1890–2013		Scottish Football League	club league	?	Association football	Scotland
1890–2001		Rovers Cup	tournament	Rovers Cup	Association football	Mumbai, India
1897–1911		Challenge Cup	club trophy		Association football	Association football	Austria-Hungary

References[]

^ "Cuppers". OUAFC.
^ "Oxford University Association Football Club | History of college football". 18 September 2009. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009.
^ Cryle, Ryan. "Draw for Evening Express Aberdeenshire Cup revealed". Evening Express. Retrieved 19 July 2018. 120th edition of the tournament, which is claimed to be the second oldest association football cup competition in the world.
^ "New Zealand - Brown Shield History". www.rsssf.com.
^ "Portsmouth to host Europe's oldest football contest Royal Navy". Royal Navy. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
^ "FOOTBALL". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876–1954). NSW: National Library of Australia. 12 May 1888. p. 6. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
^ "Australian Football 150 Years > Article > Football gold mined in coal country". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
^ Thau, Chris (26 December 2008). "The oldest running rugby fixture in the world". Retrieved 17 September 2019.
^ Michael Blair, "RUGBY UNION: Refresher course in old values; King Edward's School Birmingham 0 Bromsgrove School 18", Birmingham Post, 2 December 2002
^
Bromsgrove & KES Birmingham.
- Thomas Winter Hutton, King Edward's School, Birmingham, 1552–1952, Blackwell, 1952. p. 148 "The first Bromsgrove game was in 1875, and 121 games have been played—two in a season at one period."
- Henry Icely, Bromsgrove School through four centuries, Blackwell, 1953. pp. 69,99. "Rugby football, hitherto an unregulated and unsatisfactory game, was by 1875 a far better occupation for October half-holidays than wooding." "In the seventies the Rugby game was still twelve a side. There were School matches. KES, Birmingham, was an early fixture; SES, Oxford, was played for the first time in 1882."
^ Leadbetter, Russell (10 February 2013). "Museum scores with trophy find". The Herald. Glasgow: 19.
^ "The oldest football medal in the world". Scottish Sport History. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
^ Major [Earnest] Gambier-Parry (1907). Annals of an Eton house, with some notes on the Evans family. London: John Murray. p. 130.
^ Eton Records. Eton: Spottiswode & Co. 1903. p. 92.
^ "In the Field: House Sides Final". Eton College Chronicle: 6360. 30 November 1968. For the second year running, Mr Macnaghten's combination of fitness, speed and brawn has won them the House Cup
^ First contested in 1862 (a trophy was prepared for an 1861 match that was cancelled). The first Australian Rules competition and trophy History of the Royal Caledonian Society of Melbourne. Later trophy donated by the Athletic Sports Committee before becoming the South Yarra Challenge Cup.
^ "Jubilee Trophy for Scotland". Western Daily Press: 4. 6 April 1936.

[1] "Cuppers". OUAFC.

[2] "Oxford University Association Football Club | History of college football". 18 September 2009. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009.

[3] Cryle, Ryan. "Draw for Evening Express Aberdeenshire Cup revealed". Evening Express. Retrieved 19 July 2018. 120th edition of the tournament, which is claimed to be the second oldest association football cup competition in the world.

[4] "New Zealand - Brown Shield History". www.rsssf.com.

[5] "Portsmouth to host Europe's oldest football contest Royal Navy". Royal Navy. Retrieved 15 July 2020.

[6] "FOOTBALL". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876–1954). NSW: National Library of Australia. 12 May 1888. p. 6. Retrieved 10 May 2014.

[7] "Australian Football 150 Years > Article > Football gold mined in coal country". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2008.

[8] Thau, Chris (26 December 2008). "The oldest running rugby fixture in the world". Retrieved 17 September 2019.

[9] Michael Blair, "RUGBY UNION: Refresher course in old values; King Edward's School Birmingham 0 Bromsgrove School 18", Birmingham Post, 2 December 2002

[10] Bromsgrove & KES Birmingham.
Thomas Winter Hutton, King Edward's School, Birmingham, 1552–1952, Blackwell, 1952. p. 148 "The first Bromsgrove game was in 1875, and 121 games have been played—two in a season at one period."

Henry Icely, Bromsgrove School through four centuries, Blackwell, 1953. pp. 69,99. "Rugby football, hitherto an unregulated and unsatisfactory game, was by 1875 a far better occupation for October half-holidays than wooding." "In the seventies the Rugby game was still twelve a side. There were School matches. KES, Birmingham, was an early fixture; SES, Oxford, was played for the first time in 1882."

[11] Thomas Winter Hutton, King Edward's School, Birmingham, 1552–1952, Blackwell, 1952. p. 148 "The first Bromsgrove game was in 1875, and 121 games have been played—two in a season at one period."

[12] Henry Icely, Bromsgrove School through four centuries, Blackwell, 1953. pp. 69,99. "Rugby football, hitherto an unregulated and unsatisfactory game, was by 1875 a far better occupation for October half-holidays than wooding." "In the seventies the Rugby game was still twelve a side. There were School matches. KES, Birmingham, was an early fixture; SES, Oxford, was played for the first time in 1882."

[11] Leadbetter, Russell (10 February 2013). "Museum scores with trophy find". The Herald. Glasgow: 19.

[12] "The oldest football medal in the world". Scottish Sport History. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2019.

[13] Major [Earnest] Gambier-Parry (1907). Annals of an Eton house, with some notes on the Evans family. London: John Murray. p. 130.

[14] Eton Records. Eton: Spottiswode & Co. 1903. p. 92.

[15] "In the Field: House Sides Final". Eton College Chronicle: 6360. 30 November 1968. For the second year running, Mr Macnaghten's combination of fitness, speed and brawn has won them the House Cup

[16] First contested in 1862 (a trophy was prepared for an 1861 match that was cancelled). The first Australian Rules competition and trophy History of the Royal Caledonian Society of Melbourne. Later trophy donated by the Athletic Sports Committee before becoming the South Yarra Challenge Cup.

[17] "Jubilee Trophy for Scotland". Western Daily Press: 4. 6 April 1936.

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