ALBION v ALBION

Football clubs have many additions to their place name such as Rangers, Rovers and Albion. Yesterday it was the clash of the Albions, two teams that carry that "addition" in the Premier League (and indeed in the Football league), Brighton and Hove Albion (founded 1901 joined the Football League in 1920) v West Bromwich Albion (founded 1878 as the West Bromwich Strollers) became Albion 1880 and were founder members of the Football League in 1888.

Albion comes from an archaic or poetic word meaning Britain or England although there are other associations such as "alb" meaning mountain  (Albania), the Latin Alpes, albus meaning white (cliffs possibly "people") as first seen by European invaders as they reached Kent and Sussex across the Channel!!!

Other "Albions" come from:-
Burton Albion in England,
Albion Rovers FC, Scottish League One from Coatbridge, founded in 1882,
Stirling Albion, founded 1945, in the Scottish League Two,
Forfar Albion, a Junior club in Angus, Scotland,
Ossett Albion in the Northern Premier League based in West Yorkshire founded in 1944,
Tadcaster (North Yorkshire) Northern Premier Div One North founded 1892 originally known as John Smith's after the brewers, the club was renamed in 1923.
Witton Albion (Cheshire) in the Northern Premier Div One South, founded 1887. Comedian John Bishop played for the club in the 1980s.
Albion Rovers in Newport Wales.
Albion in Montevideo founded in 1891 in the oldest club in the country and plays in the third tier of the Uruguayan football League. Formed by students at the English High School, the first match was against the Montevideo Cricket Club on the 1st of August. An English immigrant (arriving in 1885) and Cambridge University graduate, William Leslie Poole, taught at the school and encouraged the game to be played, so he was regarded as the "Father of Uruguayan Football". He refereed and was an important member of the national association.
Left is the Albion Club in 1898.

The MCC also claims to have founded the first Rugby Union club in the country in 1861, the first club outside the UK and Rowing began in 1874. An area in the city is named after Poole. With such an "early start" it is no wonder that Uruguay dominated the early World Cup Finals.

I suspect there are others but life goes on.