Sheffield F.C. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Sheffield F.C.

Full name	Sheffield Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Club
Founded	24 October 1857; 167 years ago (24 October 1857)
Ground	Home of Football Ground, Dronfield, Derbyshire
Ground Capacity	2,089 (250 seats)
Chairman	Richard Tims
Manager	Vill Powell
League	Northern Premier League Division One South East
2018–19	Northern Premier League Division One East, 4th of 20
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Sheffield Football Club is an English football team. It is based in Dronfield, Derbyshire. The club plays in the Northern Premier League Division One South East, which is the eighth level of English football.

Sheffield F.C. was started in October 1857. It is known by FIFA as the oldest existing independent football club in the world!

At first, Sheffield F.C. played games using their own special rules, called the Sheffield Rules. They didn't start using the official FA rules until 1878.

The club has a special rivalry with nearby team Hallam. Their games are called the Rules derby. In 2004, FIFA gave Sheffield F.C. the FIFA Order of Merit. This is a very special award given to only one other club, Real Madrid. In 2007, the club was added to the English Football Hall of Fame. This happened to celebrate their 150th birthday!

On the field, Sheffield F.C.'s biggest win was in 1904. They won the FA Amateur Cup. This competition was actually suggested by Sheffield F.C. They also finished as runners up in the FA Vase in 1977.

Club History

In 1855, some members of a Sheffield cricket club started playing informal football games. They didn't have any official rules. Later, two members, Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest, decided to form the Sheffield Football Club.

Starting the Club

The first meeting of the club was on October 24, 1857. It took place at Parkfield House in Highfield. Their first home was a greenhouse. It was lent by Thomas Asline Ward. The field next to it was their first playing ground. At first, Sheffield F.C. only played games among its own members. These games were often "Married vs. Singles" or "Professionals vs. the Rest."

A London team that played against Sheffield in 1873.

The Sheffield Rules

Creswick and Prest wrote down the club's rules for playing. These rules were agreed upon in October 1858 and published the next year. They were called the Sheffield Rules. These were the first detailed football rules published by a football club. Before the the Football Association (FA) was formed, many different football rules existed. For example, different public schools had their own rules. The Sheffield Rules were later used by the Sheffield and Hallamshire Football Association when it started in 1867.

Early Matches and Challenges

Sheffield's close neighbor, Hallam, was formed in 1860. In the same year, the two clubs played each other for the first time. This game is still played today and is called the Rules derby. By 1862, there were 15 football clubs in the Sheffield area.

Sheffield F.C. joined The Football Association on November 30, 1863. However, they kept using their own rules. On January 2, 1865, the club played its first game outside Sheffield. They played against Notts County (then called Nottingham Football Club). Sheffield won that game.

By this time, the club wanted to play stronger teams from outside Sheffield. On March 31, 1866, Sheffield played a "London" team using FA rules. London won the game. But the rules continued to be a problem. Sheffield clubs still preferred their own rules. The FA rejected some of Sheffield's rule ideas in 1867. Sheffield clubs finally started using the FA rules in 1878.

In 1873, the club entered the FA Cup for the first time. Their first game in the competition was decided by a coin toss after a tied replay. This is the only time in the FA Cup's history that a game was decided this way! They reached the 4th round of the FA Cup in 1877–78 and 1879–80.

A Sheffield team from 1876.

The Rise of Professionalism

Sheffield F.C. started to decline in football when professional players became common in 1885. Sheffield's amateur players couldn't compete with professional teams. They lost badly to teams like Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest. After professionalism became legal, Sheffield F.C. suggested a new cup just for amateur clubs. The FA Amateur Cup started in 1893. Sheffield F.C. won this cup in 1904.

The club joined its first league, the Midland League, in 1889. But they left after just one season. They also helped start the first Yorkshire League in 1898. Again, they only stayed for one season.

After 1900, Sheffield F.C. mostly played in local leagues. By 1925–26, they were in the Sheffield Association League.

Post-War Years and Wembley

Fifty years after leaving, the club rejoined the Yorkshire Football League in 1949. Three years later, they moved up to Division One. They were relegated in 1954 but quickly returned to the top division. In 1957, they celebrated their 100th birthday. They played special games against the England B team and Queen's Park F.C..

In 1961, Sheffield was relegated again. They returned to the top division in 1967 for one season. In 1970, they were relegated to the new Division Three. The club spent six seasons in the lowest division of the Yorkshire League. They started to improve in 1976. A year later, they won the Division Two championship and returned to Division One.

In the same season (1976–77), Sheffield reached the final of the new FA Vase. They played Billericay Town at Wembley Stadium. The game was a 1–1 draw. Sheffield lost 2–1 in the replay.

Modern Era and Milestones

In 1981, the Yorkshire League joined with the Midland League to form the Northern Counties East League (NCEL). Sheffield was placed in Division One South. They won the Division One title in 1989. However, they were relegated a year later because their stadium didn't have floodlights.

Pelé (left) in Sheffield in November 2007, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Sheffield F.C.

Sheffield won the Division One title again quickly. This time, they stayed in the NCEL Premier Division for 15 years. In 1994, the club won the Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup for the first time. They won this trophy four more times in the 2010s.

The year 2007 was very important for Sheffield F.C. as they turned 150 years old. They finished second in their league and moved up to the Northern Premier League (NPL). In October 2007, FIFA president Sepp Blatter attended the club's anniversary dinner. The next month, the club played special anniversary games against Internazionale and Ajax at Bramall Lane. Football legend Pelé was a special guest at the first game. He met the teams and fans before the match. Inter won the game 5–2. Over 18,000 fans watched the match. Inter's team included World Cup winner Marco Materazzi and a young Mario Balotelli. During his visit, Pelé opened an exhibition. It showed the original hand-written rules of football for the first time in 40 years.

Sheffield has reached the play-offs of the NPL Division One South four times. But they haven't won promotion yet. In 2015, the Qataris donated £100,000 to Sheffield FC.

Recently, Sheffield FC's performance in the league has declined. In 2025, Sheffield played Hallam FC in the Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup. This was the first competitive Rules Derby in over ten years. Sheffield lost 2-1 to their rivals. Sheffield FC was also relegated from the Northern Premier League.

Managers

Famous Former Players

Some famous players from the club's early days include the founders, Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest. Four Sheffield players have played for the England national team. These include Charles Clegg, who played in the first international game in 1872. Others were John Owen (1874), Thomas Sorby (1879), and Jack Hudson (1883).

Many other players have also played in the Football League before or after playing for Sheffield:

Club Grounds

Sheffield F.C. has played at many different grounds near Sheffield. At first, they played at Strawberry Hall Lane Park. But like all their early grounds, the club did not own it. Later, they played at Old Forge ground and a field near Hunter's Bar on Ecclesall Road.

The owners of Bramall Lane did not want football played on their pitch. They only allowed it for a charity match between Sheffield and Hallam in 1862. Sheffield used this ground for important games. But their relationship with the owners was difficult. It ended in 1875 when the club decided never to play there again.

In 1921, Sheffield found a new home at Abbeydale Park. They moved to Hillsborough Park in 1988, then to Owlerton Stadium and Don Valley Stadium. In 1999, Richard Tims became involved with the club. He saw that the club was struggling because they rented their stadium. He took over and helped the club get its own ground. This was the Coach and Horses Stadium in Dronfield, Derbyshire.

The club bought the Coach & Horses ground in Dronfield in 2001. This was the first time the club owned its own stadium! The ground can hold over 2,000 people, with 250 seats.

In 2019, Sheffield F.C. started talking about moving back to Sheffield city. Plans to move to Olive Grove sports ground fell through in 2016. In March 2021, plans for a new stadium were shown. It would be at the Sheffield Transport Sports Club (STSC) in Meadowhead. The proposed stadium would hold 4,000 people. It would also have a heritage center to celebrate Sheffield's role in football history.

The club has played its FA Cup games at these grounds:

Images for kids

• 

  Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield's home for a period during the 1980s and 1990s.

• 

  Don Valley Stadium, another of Sheffield's former homes.

• 

  The south end of the Coach & Horses Ground.

• 

  The east end of the Coach & Horses Ground, with the Coach & Horses pub to the left.

Club Achievements

Club Records

• Best FA Cup result: 4th round, 1877–78, 1879–80
• Best FA Amateur Cup result: Winners, 1903–04
• Best FA Trophy result: 3rd qualifying round, 2007–08, 2011–12, 2013–14
• Best FA Vase result: Runners-up, 1976–77
• Highest attendance: 2,000 vs. Barton Rovers, FA Vase Semi-Final, 1976–77

See also

In Spanish: Sheffield Football Club para niños

• Club of Pioneers