Football returns to the people

Until the 1880s the FA Cup was dominated by teams from the public schools, the universities and the army. It was not until 1882 that a club from the north of England, Blackburn Rovers, reached the Cup Final, losing 1-0 to Old Etonians.

In the following year Rovers’ local rivals Blackburn Olympic also reached the Final. Again they played Old Etonians, but this time the Northern team won. This result was very important because the FA Cup was to stay in the North and Midlands for the next twenty years. It was also the last time that a team of ‘Old Boys’ from a public school reached the Final.

Training

Like the Wanderers, Blackburn Olympic did not join the Football League. They soon disappeared but introduced another important new development in football: training. Before the 1883 Final the team went to Blackpool on the coast and trained on the beach. Today every football team trains before matches.

By the 1880s new clubs were emerging in the cities of the North and Midlands of England . In places like Wolverhampton, Blackburn and Preston most people worked in factories, making things: clothes, metal, machines. They worked long hours in dirty, dangerous conditions, and lived in small houses.

Professional

The early footballers played for fun. Men like Lord Kinnaird did not have to worry about money, and they never saw football as a profession.

For the new working class players the situation was very different. They often worked in boring and dangerous jobs, but they needed money the money these jobs game them. They could only play football when they were not working.

'We need a new competition,' they said. ' A competition that lasts the whole season and involves all the best teams in the