Oldest football clubs and year of establishment

Oldest football clubs in the world

Football is one of, if not the oldest sports in the world. Most of it is down to the countless number of historic clubs that have lent their contribution to the history of this beautiful game.

Seif Khaled compiles the oldest football clubs were founded in the middle of the 19th century and European clubs founded in the 20th century, Also Rest of the world clubs founded in the 20th century and clubs founded in the 21st century.

Clubs founded in the 19th century:

Founded Name Country Notes
1857 Sheffield FC England Founded as Sheffield Club
1859 Wanderers FC England Founded as Forest Club; Dissolved in 1887
1860 Hallam FC England
1861 Crystal Palace FC England Dissolved in 1876; not identical with the Crystal Palace FC founded in 1905
1862 Notts County England
1862 Barnes FC England Dissolved
1863 Stoke City FC England Founded as Stoke Ramblers
1863 Royal Engineers AFC England
1864 Brigg Town England
1864 Wrexham AFC Wales
1865 Harrow Chequers FC England Dissolved in 1891
1865 Hertfordshire Rangers FC England Dissolved in 1898
1865 Nottingham Forest England
1866 Cambridge University AFC England
1866 Uptown Park FC England Dissolved in 1911
1867 Queen’s Park FC Scotland
1867 Sheffield Wednesday FC England Founded as The Wednesday
1868 Leyton FC England Dissolved in 2011
1868 Swifts FC England Dissolved in 1890
1869 Clapham Rovers England Dissolved in 1911
1869 Kilmarnock FC Scotland
1870 Abingdon Town England Founded as Abingdon FC
1870 Maidenhead United England
1870 Marlow England
1870 Stranraer FC Scotland
1871 Old Etonians England
1871 Oxford University AFC England
1871 Reading FC England
1871 Southall FC England
1871 Uxbridge FC England
1872 Dumbarton FC Scotland
1872 Rangers FC Scotland
1872 Renton FC Scotland Dissolved in 1922
1872 Third Lanark AC Scotland Dissolved in 1967
1872 Vale of Leven FC Scotland Dissolved in 1929
1874 Arthurlie FC Scotland
1874 Aston Villa England
1874 Bolton Wanderers England
1874 Grantham Town FC England
1874 Greenock Morton Scotland
1874 Hamilton Academical FC Scotland
1874 Heart of Midlothian FC Scotland
1874 Wednesbury Old Athletic† England Dissolved in 1893
1875 Birmingham City England Founded as Small Heath Alliance
1875 Blackburn Rovers England
1875 Beith FC Scotland Dissolved in 1938
1875 Hibernian FC Scotland
1875 Newtown AFC Wales
1876 Chirk AAA FC Wales
1876 Falkirk FC Scotland
1876 Kjøbenhavns Boldklubb Denmark
1876 Middlesbrough FC England
1876 Old Carthusians FC England
1876 Partick Thistle FC Scotland
1876 Romford England
1877 Abercorn FC Scotland Dissolved in 1920
1877 Blackburn Olympic England Dissolved in 1889
1877 Clyde FC Scotland
1877 St Mirren Scotland
1877 Wolverhampton Wanderers England
1878 Accrington FC England Dissolved in 1878
1878 Airdrieonians Scotland Founded as Excelsior FC, dissolved in 2002
1878 Alloa Athletic FC Scotland
1878 Arbroath FC Scotland
1878 Everton FC England
1878 Grimsby Town England
1878 Ipswich Town England Founded as Ipswich Association FC
1878 Manchester United FC England Founded as Newton Heath
1878 Royal Albert Scotland
1878 West Bromwich Albion FC England Founded as West Bromwich Strollers
1878 Blackburn Olympic FC England Dissolved in 1889
1879 Ayr FC Scotland Dissolved in 1910
1879 Cliftonville FC N. Ireland
1879 Fulham FC England
1879 FC St. Gallen Switzerland
1879 Koninklijke HFC Netherlands Founded as Haarlemse FC
1879 Montrose FC Scotland
1879 Sunderland AFC England
1879 Swindon Town FC England
1880 Royal Antwerp FC Belgium
1880 Dykehead FC Scotland Dissolved in 1928
1880 Distillery N. Ireland
1880 Preston North End England
1880 Manchester City England Founded as St. Mark’s
1881 Berwick Rangers FC Scotland
1881 Colwyn Bay FC Wales
1881 Cowdenbeath FC Scotland
1881 East Stirlingshire FC Scotland
1881 FC Girondins de Bordeaux France
1881 Leyton Orient FC England Founded as Glyn Cricket and FC
1881 Watford FC England Founded as Watford Rovers
1882 Albion Rovers FC Scotland
1882 Bo’ness FC Scotland Dissolved in 1945
1882 Burnley FC England
1882 Corinthian FC England Dissolved in 1939
1882 Glentoran FC N. Ireland
1882 Racing Club de France France
1882 Tottenham Hotspur FC England Founded as Hotspur
1883 Coventry City England Founded as Singer’s FC
1883 Raith Rovers FC Scotland
1884 Bristol City England
1884 Derby County England Founded as Bristol South End
1884 Leicester City FC England Founded as Leicester Fosse
1884 Lincoln City FC England
1884 Stenhousemuir FC Scotland
1884 St Johnstone FC Scotland
1885 Bury England
1885 Chester City England Dissolved in 2010
1885 Clackmannan FC Scotland Dissolved in 1931
1885 Luton Town FC England
1885 Millwall FC England
1885 Southampton FC England
1885 Újpest FC Hungary
1886 Arsenal FC England
1886 Ayr Parkhouse FC Scotland Dissolved in 1910
1886 BK Frem Denmark
1886 Hong Kong FC China
1886 Linfield FC N. Ireland Founded as Linfield Athletic Club
1886 Motherwell FC Scotland
1886 Queens Park Rangers FC England
1887 Académica de Coimbra Portugal
1887 Athlone Town AFC Ireland
1887 Barnsley England
1887 Blackpool England
1887 Gimnasia Argentina
1887 Hamburger SV Germany Founded as SC Germania
1887 Örgryte IS Sweden
1888 MTK Budapest FC Hungary
1888 Celtic FC Scotland
1888 BFC Germania 1888 Germany
1888 Walsall FC England Founded as Walsall Town Swifts
1889 Brentford England
1889 HFC Haarlem Netherlands Dissolved in 2010
1889 Mohun Bagan AC India
1889 Recreativo de Huelva Spain
1889 Sheffield United England
1889 BFC Viktoria 1889 Germany Dissolved in 2013
1889 Wimbledon FC England Milton Keynes Dons since 2004
1890 Bohemian FC Ireland
1890 Club Français France Dissolved in 1935
1890 Halmstads BK Sweden
1890 Sevilla FC Spain
1890 Standard Athletic Club France
1890 St. Andrew’s Athletic Club Argentina Dissolved in 1894
1891 Club Brugge KV Belgium
1891 Peñarol Uruguay Founded as Central Uruguay Railway Cricket Club
1892 Club Lisbonense Portugal Dissolved in 1902
1892 Liverpool FC England
1892 Hertha Berlin Germany as as BFC Hertha 92
1892 Newcastle United FC England
1892 Pro Vercelli Italy
1893 FC Basel Switzerland
1893 Bathgate FC Scotland Dissolved in 1938
1893 Dundee FC Scotland
1893 Elgin City FC Scotland
1893 Genoa CFC Italy
1893 FC Mulhouse France
1893 Oxford United FC England Founded as Heddington
1893 FC Porto Portugal
1894 First Vienna FC Austria
1894 Floriana FC Malta
1894 FC La Chaux-de-Fonds Switzerland
1894 Odds BK Norway
1895 Flamengo Brazil
1895 Oldham Athletic England Founded as Pine Ville
1895 FC Roubaix France Dissolved in 1964
1895 Royal Daring Club Molenbeek Belgium Dissolved in 1973
1895 Shelbourne FC Ireland
1895 West Ham United FC England
1896 FC Biel-Bienne Switzerland
1896 Hannover 96 Germany
1896 FC Lausanne-Sport Switzerland
1896 Oruro Royal Club Bolivia
1896 Udinese Italy
1896 FC Winterthur Switzerland
1896 FC Zürich Switzerland
1897 Juventus FC Italy
1897 Northampton Town FC England
1897 Red Star FC France Founded as Red Star Club Français
1898 Dresdner SC Germany
1898 FC Étoile-Sporting Switzerland
1898 Portsmouth England
1898 Standard Liège Belgium
1898 CR Vasco da Gama Brazil
1898 SK Rapid Wien Austria Founded as Wiener Arbeiter FK
1899 TSV 1860 Munich Germany
1899 FC Barcelona Spain
1899 K. Beerschot VAC Belgium Dissolved in 1999
1899 AFC Bournemouth England
1899 Cardiff City Wales
1899 Cercle Brugge KSV Belgium
1899 Esporte Clube Pinheiros Brazil Founded as SC Germânia
1899 Ferencváros Hungary
1899 Olympique de Marseille France
1899 AC Milan Italy
1899 Shamrock Rovers FC Ireland
1899 SV Werder Bremen Germany

European clubs founded in the 20th century

Founded Name Country Notes
1900 AFC Ajax The Netherlands
1900 FC Bayern Munich Germany
1900 Borussia Mönchengladbach Germany Founded as FC Borussia
1900 FC Kaiserslautern Germany Founded as FC 1900 Kaiserslautern
1900 SS Lazio Italy
1901 Brighton & Hove Albion FC England Founded as Brighton & Hove United
1901 FC Sète 34 France Founded as Olympique de Cette
1901 Stade Rennais FC France
1902 AS Cannes France
1902 Debreceni VSC Hungary
1902 Norwich City FC England
1902 Olympique Lillois France Dissolved in 19454
1902 Real Madrid CF Spain Founded as Madrid Football Club
1903 Athletic Bilbao Spain
1903 Atlético Madrid Spain
1903 Beşiktaş JK Turkey
1903 Boavista FC Portugal
1903 Bradford City AFC England
1904 SL Benfica Portugal Founded as Sport Lisboa
1904 OGC Nice France
1904 LKS Pogoń Lwów Poland Dissolved in 1945
1904 FC Schalke 04 Germany
1904 Stade Saint-Germain France Merged with Paris FC in 1970
1905 Charlton Athletic FC England
1905 Chelsea FC England
1905 Crystal Palace FC England
1905 Galatasaray SK Turkey
1905 HŠK Zrinjski Mostar Bosnia and Herzegovina
1906 Sporing CP Portugal
1906 Toprino FC Italy
1906 Wisła Kraków SA Poland
1907 Alba Roma Italy Dissolved in 1907
1907 Atalanta BC Italy
1907 Fenerbahçe SK Turkey
1907 Real Betis Spain
1908 RSC Anderlecht Belgium
1908 FC Internazionale Italy
1908 FC Lugano Switzerland
1908 Panathinaikos FC Greece
1909 Bologna FC Italy
1909 Borussia Dortmund Germany
1909 Budapest Honvéd FC Hungary
1909 SC Hakoah Vienna Austria Dissolved in 1949
1911 HNK Dinamo Zagreb* Croatia Founded as HŠK Građanski
1911 HNK Hajduk Split Croatia
1911 CSKA Moscow Russia
1911 Vasas FC Hungary
1912 Swansea City England
1914 FK Vojvodina Serbia
1916 Legia Warszawa SA Poland Founded as Drużyna Sportowa Legia
1918 FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine Dissolved in 2019
1919 CF Belenenses Portugal
1919 Leeds United England
1919 AS Monaco France
1919 Montpellier HSC France Founded as Stade Olympique Montpelliérain
1919 Valencia CF Spain
1920 Cagliari Calcio Italy
1920 Ruch Chorzów SA Poland
1921 SC Braga Portugal
1921 FC Spartak Vladikavkaz Russia
1921 FK Željezničar Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina Founded as RŠD Željezničar
1922 KKS Lech Poznań Poland Founded as Lutnia Dębiec
1922 FC Lokomotiv Moscow Russia Founded as Kazanka
1922 FC Spartak Moscow Russia Founded as Moscow Sport Circle
1923 FC Dynamo Moscow Russia
1923 Ethnikos Piraeus FC Greece
1924 AEK FC Greece
1925 FC Dinamo Tbilisi Georgia
1925 Olympiacos FC Greece
1925 Union Luxembourg Luxembourg Dissolved in 2005
1925 FC Zenit Saint Petersburg Russia
1926 AFC Fiorentina Italy
1926 SSC Napoli Italy
1926 PAOK Greece
1927 FC Dynamo Kyiv Ukraine
1927 AS Roma Italy
1929 FC Rotor Volgograd Russia
1930 FC Rostov Russia
1932 Wigan Athletic FC England
1933 FC Salzburg – # Austria
1935 FC Ararat Yerevan Armenia Founded as Spartak Yerevan
1936 FC Chernomorets Odessa Ukraine
1936 FC Shakhtar Donetsk Ukraine
1937 Nîmes Olympique France
1943 FC Nantes France
1944 Lille OSC France
1945 FK Partizan Belgrade Serbia
1945 Red Star Belgrade Serbia
1946 HNK Rijeka Croatia Founded as Sportsko Društvo
1946 UC Sampdoria Italy
1946 FK Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina Founded as SD Torpedo
1947 Śląsk Wrocław Poland
1947 CSA Steaua București Romania Founded as ASA București
1948 Górnik Zabrze SSA Poland
1948 1. FC Köln Gerrmany
1950 Olympique Lyonnais France
1958 FC Rubin Kazan Russia
1958 SC Tavriya Simferopol Ukraine Founded as Avanhard Simferopol
1963 Bursaspor Turkey
1963 FC Karpaty Lviv Ukraine
1963 FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod Russia Dissolved in 2016
1967 Trabzonspor Turkey
1970 Paris Saint-Germain FC France
1976 FC Orenburg Russia Founded as Gazovik Orenburg
1994 FC Amkar Perm Russia Dissolved in 2018

# Officially FC Red Bull Salzburg since 2005

Rest of the world clubs founded in the 20th century

Founded Name Country Notes
1901 River Plate Argentina
1902 Fluminense Brazil
1918 Club Olimpia Uruguay
1903 Grêmio Brazil
1903 Racing Argentina
1904 Botafogo Brazil
1905 Club Atlético Independiente Argentina
1905 Boca Juniors Argentina
1907 Al Ahly Club Egypt
1908 Atlético Mineiro Brazil
1908 San Lorenzo de Almagro Argentina
1909 Internacional Brazil
1910 Corinthians Brazil
1911 Zamalek Egypt
1912 América-MG Brazil
1912 Santos Brazil
1914 Palmeiras Brazil Founded as Palestra Italia
1920 Portuguesa Brazil
1921 Cruzeiro Esporte Clube Brazil
1925 Barcelona SC Colombia
1925 Colo-Colo Chile
1927 América de Cali Colombia unofficially founded 1918
1930 São Paulo FC Brazil
1931 Bahia Brazil
1943 Goiás Brazil
1947 Atlético Nacional Colombia
1957 Al-Hilal SFC Saudi Arabia

Rest of the world clubs founded in the 20th century

Founded Name Country Notes
1901 River Plate Argentina
1902 Fluminense Brazil
1918 Club Olimpia Uruguay
1903 Grêmio Brazil
1903 Racing Argentina
1904 Botafogo Brazil
1905 Club Atlético Independiente Argentina
1905 Boca Juniors Argentina
1908 Atlético Mineiro Brazil
1908 San Lorenzo de Almagro Argentina
1909 Internacional Brazil
1910 Corinthians Brazil
1912 América-MG Brazil
1912 Santos Brazil
1914 Palmeiras Brazil Founded as Palestra Italia
1920 Portuguesa Brazil
1921 Cruzeiro Esporte Clube Brazil
1925 Barcelona SC Colombia
1925 Colo-Colo Chile
1927 América de Cali Colombia unofficially founded 1918
1930 São Paulo FC Brazil
1931 Bahia Brazil
1943 Goiás Brazil
1947 Atlético Nacional Colombia
1957 Al-Hilal SFC Saudi Arabia

Clubs founded in the 21st century

Founded Name Country Notes
2001 PFC Ludogorets Razgrad Bulgaria Originates from Razgrad 2000
2004 Milton Keynes Dons England Originates from Wimbledon
2004 FC Moscow Russia Dissolved in 2019
2008 FC Krasnodar Russia
2010 Chester FC England Originates from Chester City
2013 FC Tosno Russia Dissolved in 2018

 

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