The duel between Sheffield FC and Hallam was played for the first time in 1861. It is disputed by the two teams recognized for the longest time by FIFA. In addition, the match frequently takes place in the oldest stadium.
The Youdan Cup.
Organized by Hallam, it is considered the first competition in the history of football. It was played in 1867 with 12 teams from Sheffield.
800 people enter the Sandygate Road stadium and it has only 248 seats. The data regarding capacity are more similar to those of a neighborhood theater than to those of a soccer stadium. However, it is a great source of pride for the people of the Sheffield suburb of Crosspol: FIFA and the Guinness Book of Records recognize it as the oldest in the world. This year, the fans of Hallam Football Club (the owners of the relic) are celebrating: Sandygate turns 150. There the oldest classic in the world began to be played, between the now modest Sheffield Football Club and Hallam.
The beginning of the story has an exact date: 1855. At that time, the members of a cricket club in the city organized football matches, with certain particularities in terms of their regulations. On October 24, 1857, William Perst and Nathaniel Creswick went one step further: they formed the Sheffield Football Club. The two of them were responsible for drawing up the club's rules of the game, called "Sheffield Rules", with some details that now seem remote or absurd: there was no off side and rivals could be pushed.
In Sheffield they boast of their foundational character, also recognized by FIFA: in 2004, The Club (as this institution is known) received the Order of Merit for its pioneering status. A title that only one other institution in the world has: Real Madrid, as the most successful club of the 20th century. But that award is not enough to improve his present: Sheffield FC never got off the ground and is currently a member of the Northern Counties East League, England's seventh tier.
In 1860, in that nascent football area, the rival appeared: Hallam. It had emerged in 1804 as a cricket club, but it only emerged and was founded as a football club in 1860. It was like a gesture of love for this sport: little by little, those who played cricket frequently began to sympathize with that activity that hardly needs a ball, two bows and a lot of enthusiasm. It has more reasons that support it as a traditional club: in 1867 it won the Youdan Cup, considered the first title in football history. The contest, in which twelve teams from the city participated, was promoted by the owner of the local theater, Thomas Youdan.
In 1861 the first derby in football history was played. It had its moment on Saint Stephen's Day (December 26 in almost all European countries). There were two fundamental characters for the development of this duel: John Charles Shaw (founder and captain of Hallam), who became the president of the FA Sheffield and organized the matches at the local level. He invariably collaborated with Charles Alcock, captain of Sheffield. The duel grew, but it always maintained the particularities of that football that hardly resembles that of these days. And the two are there, even now, resisting in the name of those days in which the history of the now most popular sport on the planet began. In these times, Sheffield FC has an advantage: Sepp Blatter - FIFA president - is among their fans.
Source images: Premier League.
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