Football in the Steel City: A Brief History of the Sport in Sheffield



By Cam Terry


One could argue that Sheffield’s footballing history is one of the longest in the world. The Steel City is the birthplace of the beautiful game and has a long list of firsts associated with the development of the modern game. Sheffield were pioneers in giving the world its most popular spectator sport as well as the worlds first football club, Sheffield FC, in 1857. Sheffield’s ability to pioneer was also seen in the development of the first set of rules, which influenced the rules which are in use today, such as free kicks and throw ins, 11-a-aside teams and the length of the game being 90.



Sheffield was home to the first local ‘derby’ after the establishment of the world’s second oldest football club, Hallam FC, in 1860. Furthermore, Sheffield boasts the oldest major professional football ground in the world, Bramall Lane which hosted the first flood lit match in 1862, and the first game to be heard on radio in 1927.




Sheffield currently has two major clubs, Sheffield united and Sheffield Wednesday which were established in 1889 and 1867 respectively and currently reside in the top two tiers of English football. They boast around 60,000 collective regular supporters and continue to highlight Sheffield’s continued footballing relevance. Lodged in Sheffield’s roots, football has brought so many people together around the community. OnTarget aims use the power of football to help improve the lives of many young children around Sheffield today.


Photo sourced from These Football Times

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