England

History of English Football

English football began in the late 19th century, with the Football Association (FA) forming in 1863 to standardize the rules. The Football League was founded in 1888, marking the start of professional football in England, and by the mid-20th century, the sport grew immensely in popularity, with England winning the 1966 World Cup.

In 1992, the top clubs formed the Premier League, creating a more lucrative and globally watched competition, which transformed English football into one of the richest leagues in the world. Today, the Premier League is home to some of the best clubs and players, while England’s national team continues to compete on the international stage.

History of the Infinity Cup

The first season of the Infinity Cup began on Saturday, 8th September 1888.

To determine the initial cupholder, the first decisive match played needs to be identified. Five matches were played that day, and all kickoff times were advertised as 3:30 pm.

Research into the first-ever goal scored ruled out the Preston – Burnley game. The research showed that Preston’s striker Fred Dewhurst scored after 3 minutes, which seemed to be the first-ever goal. However, the Preston game started late, at 3:50 pm, so there must have been another goal scored earlier.

The Wolves – Villa match ended in a 1-1 draw, so that was not the first decisive match either, leaving only three possible candidate matches.

According to the same research, it was claimed that the first goal was scored by Davenport in the Bolton – Derby County game. Although it was noted that this match also started later, at 3:45 pm, due to the visitors’ late arrival, it cannot be said for sure that any of the other games started earlier.

While it cannot be definitively determined which match was played first, all three possible scenarios would eventually lead to the same winner of the first season’s Infinity Cup. For that reason, the match between Bolton and Derby County has been marked as the first Infinity Cup holder match.

Current Cupholder

Next Cupholder Match

Previous Seasons

In the table below, you can navigate to previous seasons and see the top-3 ranked teams.

Seasons prior to 2000 are not yet available but will be added soon.