Middlesex Wanderers A.F.C.
| Full name | Middlesex Wanderers Association Football Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1905 |
| Ground | None |
Middlesex Wanderers A.F.C. is an English touring amateur football team.
When the Richmond Town Association F.C., which had developed from the Old Boys team of the British School in Richmond, Surrey, failed financially after undertaking a tour of France, two members, brothers Bob and Horace Alaway, formed a successor club, Richmond Town Wanderers, in 1905 with the initial intention of a farewell tour. However, the club flourished, pursuing its mission of spreading football to countries where it was less developed than in England. By 1912, it had affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association, adopted the name Middlesex Wanderers, and had begun to restrict membership of its touring teams to players with county representative honours or better. The club's constitution set out its remit as:
Wanderers' 50th tour, to Turkey in 1939, made them the first British club to visit that country; the team included international players from Wales and Ireland as well as England. They played a match with Fenerbahçe as part of that club's jubilee celebrations. Although the intention had been to remain in Istanbul, they responded to popular demand and also visited the capital, Ankara. On their return, Horace Alaway wrote to the Times commending the positive attitude of the Turkish people towards Britain, suggesting that efforts be made to strengthen business and industrial links, and pointing out that "Turkey has shrewd and intelligent leaders, but they need help and friendship, and they are looking to Britain more than to any other country".
The club co-operated with the Football Association (the FA) in undertaking a tour to the West Indies with a team comprising probables and possibles for selection for the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Norman Creek, who was to manage the British team, was liaison officer on the tour so was able to assess his potential players, who in turn were able to accustom themselves to the hotter temperatures and harder, drier pitches that they could expect in Italy. Later that year, Middlesex Wanderers were put forward by the FA to accept an invitation from the Nigerian government to play matches as part of the country's independence celebrations.
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