Barnes RFC
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| Full name | Barnes Rugby Football Club |
|---|---|
| Union | Rugby Football Union |
| Founded | November 1862 |
| Ground(s) | Barn Elms (Capacity: 500) |
| Chairman | Michael Whitfield |
| League(s) | National League 2 South |
| 2016–17 | 15th (relegated to National League 3 London & SE) |
| Official website | |
| www |
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Barnes Rugby Football Club, formerly known simply as the Barnes Club, is a rugby union club which is claimed by some sources to be the world's first and oldest club in any code of football. It is claimed that Barnes RFC was founded in as early as 1839 but there is no actual evidence, so the club itself states to have clear documents about its activities from the 1920s. If the claim is true, then Barnes is the world's oldest football club in all codes. The club, from Barnes, London, also played a major role in the early years of association football, and was one of the teams in the first ever game of football. The club currently play in the fifth tier of the English league system, National League 3 South East.
Accounts of the date that the club was formed are contradictory: club records give 1839, while other accounts give credit to eminent club member Ebenezer Cobb Morley, in 1858 or 1862. Its earliest recorded result was in November 1862 versus Richmond, played at Barn Elms. The club won that match and the replay that followed later in the year.
The Barnes Club was a founder member of the Football Association and Morley is often said to be the "father of The Football Association". On December 19, 1863, Barnes participated in the first ever match under FA rules, again against Richmond. It also competed in the first ever FA Cup and continued to do so through to the 1885–86 competition. The first three secretaries of the FA were members of Barnes.
Barnes forward Charles Morice represented England in the first ever international football match between Scotland and England played at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow in 1872.
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