Sheffield FC proud to be the ‘great grandfather’ of clubs
The oldest team in the world are determined to protect their heritage, writes
Drive into the little town of Dronfield in the north east of Derbyshire and you will find an iconic piece of history – the world’s oldest football club.
This is Sheffield FC. Founded in 1857 by Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest, it was they who created football’s first set of rules.
On the weekend of the official ‘NonLeague Day’, that status is worth celebrating. “In essence, no matter what team you support, this club is your club’s great grandfather,” says chairman Richard Tims. “We are the ultimate grass-roots club. Our founders created the team for the love of the game and we have worked hard to protect that.”
A Sheffield Wednesday fan, Tims assumed the position of chairman in 1998 after becoming disillusioned with the professional game. Within three years he helped secure the club a permanent ground – the Coach and Horses Stadium, also known as the ‘Home of Football’.
Fast forward to 2007, and the club celebrated their 150th year of existence with a match at Bramall Lane against Inter Milan – Marco Materazzi and Mario Balotelli, et al. Pele was even in attendance. “It’s just trying to build our profile especially with our heritage and our history,” Tims says. “There is still a big focus on grass roots. We want to create a pathway for them to come through and play for the oldest club in the world at a good level.”
The club have 21 community teams, including three disability teams, a futsal team, six girls’ teams and a ladies’ team who compete in the Women’s Super League – the highestranked ladies’ side not to have a professional men’s team. All of this needs to be paid for, with resources already stretched on their £200,000a-year budget. Yesterday’s defeat by Farsley Celtic in FA Cup’s first qualifying round was, then, a setback they could have done without. “We get by on fresh air and goodwill,” says Tims, “like when the organising committee for the Qatar World Cup donated £100,000 to the Sheffield FC women’s team a few years ago.”
Other countries have fallen in love with the story of Sheffield FC, but closer to home it does not seem to capture the imagination. “Earlier this year, we contacted every Premier League club, and Richard Scudamore [executive chairman of the Premier League] to donate their founding year in pounds,” says Tims. “It can’t be anything more than £2,000. But only one responded and donated – that was Aston Villa. It’s crazy really because every club originates from here. The FA do support and they came to our 150th, but Fifa have supported us more.”
In 2004, the club became only the second club in history to receive Fifa’s Order of Merit Award, with the first being Real Madrid. A good relationship has been established between the two clubs, as it has with Borussia Dortmund. “We’ve started partnerships with the oldest clubs in every country,” says Tims. “So your likes of Le Havre in France, Genoa in Italy. We need to keep being creative to attract more sponsors. We hope to go on for another 150 years.”
Sheffield’s story is not the only one worth detailing this weekend. Head 52 miles north and you find Trafford FC, who are tucked away on the outskirts of Manchester at their picturesque Shawe View stadium. The club are run by volunteers such as Melody Stephens, who has been on the committee for five years. “Is there anything that I’ve not done at this club?” she says. “From cleaning toilets and serving behind the bar, to building the physio table. I’ve even got on the tractor and mowed the pitch.”
The pitch earned fellow committee member Graham Foxall third place in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League’s 2016 Groundsman of the Year awards last week. It provided a rare bit of publicity for a club eclipsed by Manchester City and United, and in recent times, by nearby non-League sides FC United of Manchester and Salford City. Stephens says: “It does get frustrating seeing them get all the publicity but can you blame them? Not long ago, all three of us were in the same league. Now, we don’t even get a mention on the local radio. But at the same time, would you want your club taken over in that way?”
A 5-2 win over Cheadle Town in the FA Cup yesterday has got the club dreaming of a run. “We live week to week to keep everything going,” he says. “The £3,000 we’ll make from getting to the next round will be massive – it will pay the bills and wages for the next couple of weeks.”
‘We need to keep being creative to attract sponsors. We hope to go on for another 150 years’