List of oldest football competitions explained

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	Competition	Type	First Trophy, Years	Original code	Location	Notes & references
1871		club trophy	FA Cup Original FA Cup trophy 1871–1895 Second FA Cup trophy 1895–1910 Current FA cup Trophy 1911–			Oldest association football competition in the world.
1874		club trophy	Scottish Cup 1874–	Association football		Oldest association football trophy in the world.
1876		county cup	1876–	Association Football	West Midlands, England	Oldest regional trophy in the world.
1876		county cup	1876–	Association Football	South Yorkshire, England	Also includes some clubs from Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and West Yorkshire.
1877		club trophy	Welsh Cup, 1877–	Association football
1877		county cup	Shropshire Premier County Cup, 1877-	Association football	Shropshire, England
1878		county cup	1879–	Association Football	Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, England
1880		county cup	1880–	Association Football		Also includes teams from Greater Manchester and Merseyside
1880		county cup	1880–	Association football		Also includes teams from Greater Manchester and Merseyside, many from the historical boundaries of Cheshire.
1881		club trophy	1881–	Association football	Ireland (1881–1921) Northern Ireland (1921–)	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		intercollegiate trophy		Association football		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		intercollegiate trophy		Association football
1884	Lincolnshire FA County Senior Trophy	county cup	1884–	Association Football	Lincolnshire, England
1886		club trophy (non-league)	Scottish Junior Cup 1886–	Association football
1887		regional cup	1888				Claims to be second oldest association football tournament in the world.^[3]
1888	Medaille Fodbold Konkurrence	regional cup	April 29th, 1888	Pre-association	Denmark	Oldest football league outside of Great Britain and Ireland.
1888		club league		Association football	England	Oldest association football league. The Premier League was later created and is now the top-flight English league.
1888		club trophy	Durand Cup, 1888–	Association football		Oldest football tournament in Asia.
1889		club league		Association football		Second-oldest association football league in the world.
1889		regional cup		Association football	Kolkata, India
1890	Border Cup	regional cup		Association football	Scottish BordersScotland	Originally played for by senior clubs, has been contested by Border Amateur Football Association clubs since 1960.
1891		club league	Copa Campeonato (1896)	Association football
1892		interprovincial tournament	Brown Shield, 1892	Association football		Originally the country's premier football trophy, now only contested sporadically.^[4]
1893		club trophy	IFA Shield	Association football	Kolkata, India
1894		county cup	1894–	Association Football	Bedfordshire, England
1895		club league	National Championships 1895–	Association football		Oldest association football league in continental Europe.
1896		club trophy		Association football
1897	Montagu Cup	regional cup (amateur)	1897–	Association football	Mexborough, England	Oldest football cup regularly played at its original venue.
1898		club league	National Championships 1898–	Association football	Italy
1898		club league		Association football		Oldest association football league in Asia.
1898		club league	1898–1929 Serie A 1931–1944 Nationalliga/Ligue Nationale/Lega Nazionale 1944–2003 Nationalliga A/Ligue Nationale A/Lega Nazionale A 2003– Super League	Association football		Longest continuously running top-flight national league^[5]
1899		club trophy	1899–	Association football
1900		club league	1900–	Association football
1901		club trophy	1901–	Association football		Oldest association football competition in North America.
1901		club league		Association football
1902		club trophy	1902 Copa de la Coronación, 1903–	Association football
1902		club trophy		Association football		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)		club league		Association football
1902		club league		Association football
1903		club league		Association football
1905 (9 April)		club league		Association football
1906 (3 May)		club league		Association football
1906 (8 July)		club league		Association football
1907		club trophy		Association football		Second oldest knockout competition in Australia.
1908		annual challenge match	1908–	Association football	Shetland and Orkney (Scotland)	Oldest football competition between two islands.
1908		club league		Association football	Hong Kong
1908		regional cup	Nadkarni Cup	Association football	Mumbai, India
1908 (19 October)		International tournament	1908–	Association football	various	Oldest nations association football competition in the world.
1909 (6 December)		club league		Association football
1911		club trophy	1911–	Association football
1912		club league		Association football		League (under the denomination of Escudo Dewar) was exclusively played by teams from Lima. However, older, less-important tournaments were previously held in Callao.
1912		club league		Association football
1913		club trophy (today amateur)	Connaught Cup 1913–1925; Challenge Trophy 1926–1954; Challenge Trophy & Carling Cup 1954–1961; Challenge Trophy 1962-	Association football		Strictly amateur since 1962.
1914		university trophy	1914–	Association football
1914		schools fixture	Manning Cup, 1914–	Association football		annual contest among Secondary High Schools in the Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine parishes of Jamaica.
1914		club trophy	National Challenge Cup (1914); Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1999–)	Association football		Oldest association football competition in the United States of America.
1916		International tournament	South American Football Championship (1916–1967) Copa América (1975–)	Association football	South America	Oldest non-European association football competition in the world.
1917		high school tournament		Association football
1921		international (services)		Association football		Inter-Services. Oldest international military association football tournament.^[6]
1921		club trophy	1921–	Association football
1921		club trophy	1921–	Association football		Oldest association football competition in Africa.
1921		club trophy	1921– southern champ, Singapore FA and the northern champ, Selangor FA	Association football		Oldest football competition in the ASEAN
1921		club trophy		Association football	Japan
1923	Totty Cup	primary school tournament	post-1947 for primary schools	Association football	England
1925		club trophy		Association football
1925		club trophy	1925; 1951–	Association football

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 (12 June)	Tasmanian Football League	club league		Victorian rules	Hobart, Tasmania, Australia	Some discontinuity, most recently dormant between 2001 and 2008.
1881 (10 June)	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.^[7] ^[8]
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
1893	Ballarat Football Association	club league		Australian rules football	Ballarat, Victoria
1896	Goldfields Football League	club league		Australian rules football	Kalgoorlie, Western 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	^[9]
1872	The Varsity Match	University fixture	Bowring Bowl	Rugby football	England	The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England.
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.^[10] ^[11]
1876 (17 March)	Ulster Schools Cup	cup tournament	Schools Cup 1876–	Rugby football	Ravenhill, Belfast, Northern Ireland
1878	Army Navy Match	Inter-Services Competition	The Babcock Trophy	Rugby football	England
1879 (10 March)	Calcutta Cup	international challenge		Rugby football	England/Scotland	Competed for by the England and Scotland international rugby teams annually.
1883	Home Nations Championship	international tournament		Rugby football	Home Nations	It is an annual international Rugby union competition between Home nations. It is also the oldest international sport tournament ever competed between Home Nations. But now, It became the Six Nations Championship with the addition of France and Italy.
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	Notes & references
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		one-off match	Medallion, 1851 only	unknown		Medallion was given by the losing side (Edinburgh) to the winning side (93rd Regiment).^[12] ^[13]
1860 – c. 1968		House Football Cup	intramural competition	House Football Cup, 1860 – c. 1968			^[14] ^[15] ^[16]
1861–1876	December		club trophy	Caledonian Challenge Cup, 1861–1864	Melbourne Rules		^[17]
1867 only			club trophy	Youdan Cup, 1867	Sheffield rules
1868 only			club trophy	Cromwell Cup, 1868	Sheffield rules
1880–1890			club league	1880	Victorian rules
1880-1893			club league	1880	Victorian rules
1882–?		Northern Football Association	club league	?	Victorian rules
1884–1984			international tournament	British International Championship trophy, 1936–1984^[18]	Association football	Home Nations (UK)	oldest international association football tournament in the world, and held until the 1983–84 season
1884–1924			club trophy		Association football
1888–1956			club league	?	Association football		Replaced with Eredivisie for the 1956–1957 season
1890–2013			club league	?	Association football
1890–2001			club trophy	Rovers Cup	Association football		Third oldest football tournament in Asia (opened only for British army teams until 1911); organized by the WIFA from 1911 to 2001.^[19]
1894 only			club trophy		Association football		The first football cup played on the Iberian Peninsula.^[20]
1897–1911			club trophy		Association football
1900–1903			club trophy		Association football		Replaced with Catalan championship for the 1903–1904 season^[21]
1900–1904			club trophy		Association football
1900–1907			club trophy		Association football		Replaced with Coupe Jean Dupuich for the 1907–1908 season^[22]
1914–1950			club league		Association football	Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia)

See also

• List of association football competitions

Notes and References

1. Web site: Cuppers. OUAFC.
2. Web site: Oxford University Association Football Club | History of college football. 18 September 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090918085040/http://www.ouafc.com/history_college. 18 September 2009.
3. News: Cryle. Ryan. Draw for Evening Express Aberdeenshire Cup revealed. Evening Express. 19 July 2018. 120th edition of the tournament, which is claimed to be the second oldest association football cup competition in the world.. 4.
4. Web site: New Zealand - Brown Shield History. RSSSF.
5. Web site: SFL veröffentlicht die Spielpläne für die Saison 2022/23. 17 June 2022. Swiss Football League.
6. Web site: Portsmouth to host Europe's oldest football contest Royal Navy. 15 July 2020. Royal Navy.
7. News: 12 May 1888. FOOTBALL.. 6. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876–1954). National Library of Australia. NSW. 10 May 2014.
8. Web site: Australian Football 150 Years > Article > Football gold mined in coal country. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110706100126/http://www.150years.com.au/Home/Article/tabid/11376/Default.aspx?newsId=62244. 6 July 2011. 27 June 2008.
9. Web site: Thau. Chris. 26 December 2008. The oldest running rugby fixture in the world. 17 September 2019.
10. Michael Blair, "RUGBY UNION: Refresher course in old values; King Edward's School Birmingham 0 Bromsgrove School 18", Birmingham Post, 2 December 2002
11. 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."
12. Museum scores with trophy find . Russell . Leadbetter . 2013-02-10 . 19 . The Herald . Glasgow .
13. Web site: The oldest football medal in the world . 2018-04-03 . Scottish Sport History . 2019-12-07.
14. Book: Annals of an Eton house, with some notes on the Evans family . 130 . Major [Earnest] Gambier-Parry . 1907 . John Murray . London.
15. Book: Eton Records . 92 . 1903 . Spottiswode & Co. . Eton .
16. In the Field: House Sides Final . For the second year running, Mr Macnaghten's combination of fitness, speed and brawn has won them the House Cup . 6360 . 1968-11-30 . Eton College Chronicle .
17. 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.
18. Western Daily Press . Jubilee Trophy for Scotland . 1936-04-06 . 4.
19. Web site: Rovers Cup — the second oldest Football tournament in India. 18 January 2022 . 14 October 2022. Sarwadnya. Nirwane. Mumbai. thesportslite.com. The Sports Lite. 14 October 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221014043956/https://thesportslite.com/football/rovers-cup-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-tournament/.
20. Web site: Portugal - Competitions before World War I - Taça D. Carlos I 1894 . 15 September 2004 . . 16 November 2022 .
21. Web site: Spain - Final Tables Catalonia . 20 May 2020 . . 16 November 2022 .
22. Web site: Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz . 10 February 2022 . 16 November 2022 . 9 July 2022 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20220709122415/https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/coupe-vdsp.html . live .