France

History of French football

French professional football has a long and storied history, with its roots going back to the late 19th century. The Ligue 1, the top tier of French football, was founded in 1932, although the country had organized regional leagues before then. Paris Saint-Germain, Olympique de Marseille, and AS Saint-Étienne became some of the most successful and popular clubs in France.

In the 1950s and 1960s, French football saw a surge in success, with clubs like Reims reaching the final of the European Cup. During the same period, the national team began to gain recognition, particularly after winning the 1958 World Cup with stars like Just Fontaine.

The 1980s and 1990s marked another significant era, as the French national team became more competitive, winning the 1998 World Cup on home soil and the Euro 1984 championship. This period also saw the growth of football’s popularity in France, with Ligue 1 attracting international stars like Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry.

In recent years, the French league has continued to grow in stature, especially with the rise of Paris Saint-Germain, which has dominated Ligue 1 in the 2010s and attracted top talent such as Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. The national team, Les Bleus, won the 2018 World Cup, cementing France’s place among the football elite.

Today, French football remains one of the most respected leagues in Europe, known for its competitive nature and a steady flow of emerging talent.

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.