Get to know Sheffield FC, the world’s oldest football club

When Sheffield FC’s founders formed the club in 1857, they did so with the purpose of creating a sporting organisation to serve the local community. This is a spirit that lives on to this day at Athletic Club and it’s the major driving force behind our 2026 UK Non-League Day collaboration: ‘Unique in the World’ meets ‘First in the World’

On Saturday March 28, Athleticzales from our UK supporters’ group, Mr Pentland Club, led by club director Gorka Cubes, will attend Sheffield’s 2026 Non-League Day fixture against Tadcaster FC at the Home of Football Stadium.

The visit is a symbol of Athletic’s respect towards football’s origins as a community sport and it also aims to cement ties between two of the game’s most historic institutions. 

During half-time, Gorka will participate in an on-the-pitch ceremony in which he will exchange institutional gifts with the Yorkshire side’s new chairman, John McClure.

What’s more, John, the lead singer of the well-known UK indie band Reverend and the Makers, and the club’s commercial manager, Matt Roney, have been invited to attend an Athletic match in Bilbao at a future date.
 

Sheffield FC’s Non-League Day fixture

This year, Sheffield FC will host Tadcaster FC at the Home of Football Stadium for their Non-League Day fixture. Both sides are currently in the play-off spots in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division, the ninth tier of English football. Sheffield are second on 71 points, whilst Tadcaster are fifth with 65 points.

The hosts head into the fixture on the back of an eight-match unbeaten streak. Their most recent match was a 3-1 win against Frickley Athletic.

Sheffield have promised to lay out the red carpet for Gorka Cubes and the Mr Pentland Club members going to the match.

The Athletic travelling party will be given an exclusive tour of the ground, shown some of the sport’s oldest artefacts, and will meet the club’s most important figures such as first-team manager, Vill Powell, first-team captain, Conner Cuts, club president, Allan Methley, and new chairman, John McClure.

Any Athleticzales in the region are encouraged to attend Sheffield FC’s Non-League Day match. Tickets cost £8 for adults and £5 for Juniors and Concessions, and under 5's can go free.

Sheffield FC play at the Coach & Horses in Dronfield, which is about a 20-minute drive from Sheffield City Centre. To get to the ground via public transport, you can take a 10-minute train from Sheffield to Dronfield and the Home of Football Stadium is a 10-minute walk from the station.

        Where it all began

Euskal Non-League Day's motto is 'Where it all begins', a nod to the importance of grassroots football. In the global sport, it's impossible to go any further back than Sheffield FC.

Born from Sheffield Cricket Club in 1857, 'The Club' was formed to give the local community an opportunity to play football.

The founders, Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest, spent the following two years drawing up a universal set of rules for the game, which at the point was played as a ‘mob sport’ in different towns across the UK, and at various schools and universities, but each according to its own regulations.

Sheffield FC wanted to create “a game for young and old people alike to play in their free time”. In 1859, Creswick and Prest published a rulebook, which became known as the “Sheffield Rules”. Many of the laws they introduced later influenced the English FA’s own rulebook when it was formed in 1863.

The Yorkshire club’s contributions to the sport have been recognised at the highest level. In 2004, FIFA, celebrating its centenary, gave their Centenary Order of Merit award to Sheffield FC and Real Madrid.

Sheffield continues to champion local football and works hard to promote the history of game’s early days with initiatives such as ‘The Club of Pioneers’, a global network bringing together the oldest active football teams from every country in the world.
 

New ownership at the World’s First

A local consortium led by Sheffield native John McClure recently acquired a minority stake in the club.

The musician has said he wants to put Sheffield FC back on the map, describing its place in football history as something everyone in the city should be proud of.

“We invented football in this city,” he said. “It's a frustration for many of us that it's not more widely celebrated. Nationally and globally, people are completely unaware.”

The way in which John has spoken about the club and the city strikes a chord at Athletic. If we are ‘Unique in the World’, it’s because we believe in the foundational spirit of football as a sport which can bring people together, just like Sheffield FC’s founders dreamed of in 1857, and just like John McClure dreams of now.
 

About Euskal Non-League Day

Inspired by the British movement, started by James Doe in 2010, the Athletic Club Foundation is preparing a fourth edition of Euskal Non-League Day for the weekend of March 28-29.

Non-League Day is an initiative that goes to the heart of Athletic Club’s values. In addition to its role in local communities, grassroots football is key to the club’s youth development strategy and Athletic have affiliate agreements with almost 180 teams across the Basque Country.

Athletic Club is the only side in LaLiga that organises such an event with the purpose of celebrating non-professional football and encouraging attendance at local grounds during the March international break.
 

Previous collaborations with UK Non-League Day

Since Athletic decided to organise a Basque Non-League Day, we’ve always looked to tie our event with its British counterpart as a nod of respect to the movement’s origins.

For example, Athletic have joined up with former English opponents now playing non-professional football, such as Dulwich Hamlet and Civil Service FC, among others, and last season we sent Zurigorri jerseys to several English non-league sides that also play in red-and-white stripes as a home kit.