Cambridge University A.F.C.
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| Full name | Cambridge University Association Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Blues |
| Founded | 1856/7 (disputed) or 1866 |
| Ground |
Grange Road Stadium/Fenner's Pitches, Cambridge, UK |
| Capacity | 1000 |
| Chairman | Club President Dr Little |
| Captain | Henry Warne |
| League | BUCS Midlands 1A |
| 2014-15 | 6th |
| Website | Club home page |
Cambridge University Association Football Club is an English football club representing the University of Cambridge. Official university publications have claimed that the club was formed in 1856 or 1857 and it is a candidate for the oldest club now playing football.
Varieties of football have been played for many centuries, but until the mid-19th century, none of the modern codes of football existed. Many different games were played at English Public schools and all of these were known simply as "football". Naturally, children who had learnt these games at school now sought to play them at university, but this was problematic because they were used to so many different sets of rules.
Eton, Harrow and Winchester, in particular, developed codes which revolved around a roughly spherical ball being kicked along the ground (Weir, 2004). In 1846, H.C. Malden of Trinity combined these and other football games in the Cambridge Rules, one of the first codes of football, posting them on the trees around Parker's Piece. Debate on the rules continued, and in 1846, a revised set of Cambridge Rules were created. Some records (see Harvey) cite this as the foundation date of the club.
The foundation date of 1856 is based upon the 1856 copy of the Cambridge Rules held by Shrewsbury School which is entitled: "The Laws of the University Foot Ball Club". The Club history probably goes back even further: for example, Harvey states: "Salopians formed a club of their own in the late 1830s/early 1840s but that was presumably absorbed by the Cambridge University Football Club that they were so influential in creating in 1846" Certainly in the early 1840s Charles Astor Bristed confirms that at Cambridge there were games played between football clubs from different colleges and houses Similarly, other sources show that an Arthur Pell established a football club at Cambridge in 1839. This may have been the origin of the Cambridge AFC.
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