OLDEST CLUB PLAYS BY THE RULES

In 1855, members of a Sheffield cricket club organised informal kick-abouts without any official rules. The inaugural meeting of Sheffield F.C. took place on 24 October 1857 at Parkfield House in the suburb of Highfield. The original headquarters was a greenhouse on East Bank Road lent by Thomas Asline Ward, father of the first club president Frederick Ward, and the adjacent field was used as their first playing ground.  Initially, Sheffield FC games were played among club members themselves and took the format of "Married v Singles" or "Professionals v the Rest". The Sheffield club is officially recognised by FIFA as the oldest football club in the world.

The club's rules of play, were decided upon at the club's AGM on 21 October 1858. They were referred to as the Sheffield Rules. At the time, before the formation of the Football Association, many different kinds of football were popular in England. For example, each of the various public schools played football according to their own individual rules, and these varied widely.

The first rules were distinctive. There was no offside rule and was the first to introduce free kicks for foul play. Australian rules football resembles the original Sheffield code in various respects.

Sheffield's near neighbour, Hallam, was formed in 1860 and in the same year the two clubs first played each other in a local derby which is still contested today. By 1862 there were 15 clubs in the Sheffield area. These rules were later adopted by the Sheffield Football Association when it was formed in 1867. By this time the club had decided only to play teams outside Sheffield in order to seek a bigger challenge. They became members of The Football Association in 30 November 1863 but continued to use their own set of rules.

On 2 January 1865, the club played its first fixture outside Sheffield against Nottingham, playing eighteen aside under Nottingham Rules. The rest of the season also saw them visit Nottingham Forest and Lincoln City.

On 31 March 1866, there was a match between a team representing Sheffield and one representing London clubs, at Battersea Park. Rules that differed only slightly from the FA rules were used. The game, played as an eleven aside, was won by London by 2 goals and four touchdowns to nil.

However the matter of rules remained a problem with Sheffield continuing to play by their own rules. A number of rule proposals by the club were rejected by the FA in February 1867 and the London Committee were reluctant to commit to further fixtures over Sheffield's refusal to play strictly to FA rules. Sheffield finally adopted the FA rules in 1878.

The club have had some success in national competitions, with an FA Amateur Cup win in 1903–04, and a Wembley appearance in the 1976–77 FA Vase final (although they lost the replay at the City Ground, Nottingham to Billericay Town). They have not been in the more senior FA Cup since the 1880s, but they did make the quarter finals on three occasions in the 1870s. They have a unique place in FA Cup history, knocking out Shropshire Wanderers on the toss of a coin in 1873; the only time a tie has been decided in this way

Its decline from the top echelon of football began with the introduction of professionalism in July 1885, with the amateurs of Sheffield failing to compete with professional teams, losing heavily that year to Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Notts County.

After the legalisation of professionalism Sheffield Club suggested to the FA the creation of a cup exclusively for amateur clubs. This would become the FA Amateur Cup and gave Sheffield their first ever cup success in 1904. 

On Saturday Sheffield FC play Shephed Dynamo in the First Qualifying Round of the FA Cup.For non-league footballers, this Saturday is always one to look forward. The aim? to get to the first round proper.