Now You Know Big Book of Sports. Doug Lennox

Perceval House

      • Kensington School

      • The War Office

      • Crystal Palace

      • Epping Forest

      • Crusaders

      • Surbiton

      • No Names of Kilburn

      • Blackheath Proprietary School

       When was the Scottish Football Association founded?

      On March 13, 1873, representatives of seven Scottish soccer teams gathered at a meeting in Glasgow in response to an advertisement in the newspaper. The purpose of the gathering was to form the Scottish Football Association. At the meeting it was resolved that, “The clubs here represented form themselves into an association for the promotion of football according to the rules of The Football Association and that the clubs connected with this association subscribe for a challenge cup to be played for annually, the committee to propose the laws of the competition.” An eighth club, Kilmarnock, did not attend the meeting, but expressed its wish to join by letter.

       When was the Scottish Cup first played?

      The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, usually known as the Scottish Cup, started in the 1873–74 season, when it was contested by 16 teams. The trophy is the oldest national trophy in the world. The Scottish Cup was first awarded to Queen’s Park when they beat Clydesdale 2–0 in the final in front of a crowd of 3,000 people.

       Chronology of the Formation of the United Kingdom’s Football Associations

      • England: “The Football Association” (FA) — 1863

      • Scotland: “The Scottish Football Association” (SFA) — 1873

      • Wales: “The Football Association of Wales” (FAW) —1876

      • Northern Ireland: “Irish Football Association” (IFA) — 1880

       What is the Old Firm?

      The Scottish soccer teams Celtic FC, founded in 1888, and Rangers FC, founded in 1873, both based in Glasgow, are collectively referred to as the Old Firm. It is not clear how this term came about. Some say it is because of camaraderie shown between the two clubs in their early days, while others surmise it is an ironic take on the arch rivalry that eventually developed between them. Whichever it is, the two clubs are indisputably the most successful in Scotland, having won between them 66 Scottish Cups and 93 Scottish Premier League championships as of 2008.

       Quickies

       Did you know …

      that in September 1884 the Glasgow Evening News produced the first-ever football edition of a newspaper giving match scores from earlier that afternoon?

       Quickies …

       Did you know …

      that the Scottish club Queen’s Park FC, established in 1867, is the world’s oldest soccer club outside of England?

       Quickies

       Did you know …

      that the Football Association of Wales, founded in 1876, is the third-oldest national soccer association in the world?

       What 1882 game gave opposite records to Ireland and England?

      On February 18, 1882, two years after the founding of the Irish FA, Ireland made their international debut against England, losing 13–0 in a friendly game played at Bloomfield Park in Belfast. This remains the record win for England and the record defeat for the Northern Ireland team.

       What is the oldest Irish soccer club?

      Cliftonville Football and Athletic Club, known as The Reds, is a Northern Irish football team playing in the IFA Premiership. Founded on September 20, 1879, in the north Belfast district of Cliftonville, they are the oldest football club in Ireland and celebrated their 125th anniversary in 2004.

       When was the Irish league founded?

       Quickies

       Did you know …

      that Scotland’s first match outside the British Isles was on May 26, 1929? They beat Norway 7–3 in Bergen.

      The Irish League is the second-oldest national league in the world, being formed a week earlier than the Scottish Football League. Only the Football League in England is older. Four clubs — Cliftonville, Glentoran, Linfield, and Lisburn Distillery — have retained membership of the Irish League since its inception in 1890.

       What is the difference between the Irish Football Association (IFA) and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI)?

      Ireland has two FAs because Ireland itself is divided into two nations, Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, which is a sovereign state formed in 1921. Beginning with the formation of the Irish Football Association (IFA) in 1879, all of Ireland was represented under that one association. But with the partition of Ireland in 1921, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) was formed to represent the Republic of Ireland, due to bitter disputes between Dublin-area teams and Belfast teams.

       Quickies

       Did you know …

      that Ireland changed to green shirts against England on October 17, 1931? Up until then they had worn blue.

       When was the first international game between non-UK teams?

      The first international soccer game played without involving a British side was between the United States and Canada, played in Newark, New Jersey, on November 28, 1885. The Canadians won 1–0.

       Quickies

      Did you know … that England played their first game on foreign soil when they beat Austria 6–1 in Vienna on June 6, 1908?

       What was the largest crowd to ever attend a soccer match?

      The largest crowd ever to attend a soccer match was 199,854 spectators at the World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 16, 1950. The game pitted Brazil against Uruguay. Uruguay won the match, 2–1.

       Who sets the official rules for soccer?

      The official rules of soccer are called the Laws of the Game and they are maintained by two governing bodies: the International Football Association Board (IFAB) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

       What is FIFA?

      FIFA is an acronym for Fédération Internationale de Football Association. It is the international governing body of association football, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. FIFA is responsible for the organization and governance of soccer’s major international tournaments, most notably the FIFA World Cup, held since 1930. The Laws of the Game are not solely the responsibility of FIFA; they are maintained by a body called the International Football Association Board (IFAB). FIFA has members on its board (four representatives); the other four are provided by the football associations of the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, in recognition of their contribution