| UIAFA European Football Tournament | |
| Year: | 1911 |
| Other Titles: | Great European football tournament |
| Caption: | Stadium de Roubaix during the 1911 Great European Tournament |
| Country: | France |
| Num Teams: | 4 |
| Second: | England AFA |
| Matches: | 3 |
| Goals: | 11 |
| Scoring Leader: | Josef Bělka Jan Kosek |
The 1911 UIAFA European Football Tournament was an unofficial European Championship organized by UIAFA (Union Internationale Amateur de Football Association), which was competing with FIFA at the time.[1] The tournament was held within the framework of the in Roubaix, France, between 25 and 29 May.[1] [2] It was won by the Bohemia national team.[1] [3] [4] [5] Several European national teams participated, thus some historians consider this cup to be the first European international championship in the history of football, although that title can also be attributed to the 1908 Olympic Games.[1] It was held nearly half a century before the first official European Football Championship, which began in 1960, coincidentally also held in France.
See main article: UIAFA. Originally, the tournament was to be contested by the national teams of all of UIAFA's 7 members, France (USFSA), England (AFA), Bohemia (ČSF), Spain (FECF), Belgium (FBSA), Switzerland (LSS), British East Africa, and an additional team in the form of "North of France" to make it 8. However, Spain, Belgium, and British East Africa were unable to participate for unknown reasons, thus leaving the three founding members, France, England, and Bohemia, and Switzerland, which withdrew at the last minute, so the Organizing Committee decided to grant the vacant place to a team from the North of France, made up of players from US Tourquennoise, Stade Roubaisien, Racing Club de Roubaix, and Olympique Lille.[4] It is important to note that the English AFA team (Amateur Football Alliance) is not related to the England Amateur side fielded by the English FA at the time, which was obviously stronger.[1]
| width=200px | Teams | width=200px | Town |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | Amateur Football Association (AFA) | ||
 France | Union des sociétés françaises de sports athlétiques (USFSA) | ||
| Bohemia | Český svaz footballový (ČSF) | ||
 Spain | Federación Española de Clubs de Football (FECF) (withdrew) | ||
 Belgium | Fédération Belge des Sports Athlétiques (FBSA) (withdrew) | ||
 Switzerland | Ligue Sportive Suisse (LSS) (withdrew) | ||
| British East Africa | British East Africa (withdrew) | ||
| North of France | North of France |
The hosts France had been the laughing stock of the continent ever since the 1908 Olympics because, after a 2–1 win against Switzerland in March 1908, they went winless for more than three years and a half, in which they played fifteen matches, drawing one and losing the remainder, scoring 13 goals and conceding exactly 100. By the time they finally got a win against Luxembourg at the end of October 1911, this tournament was already over.[1]
It thus was no surprise that Bohemia won the tournament[3] [4] since they had a strong side, which is confirmed by a series of very successful friendly matches against teams from Central Europe and Great Britain in 1906-1908, as they only lost 0–4 at home to the full England side in June 1908 (Austria and Hungary had suffered much heavier losses). The basis of their team was the players of Slavia Prague, led by main star Jan Košek.[1] [6]
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