# List of oldest football competitions

This is a list of the oldest documented football competitions, played at school, club, national and international levels. The first list contains competitions that have been played continuously. The second is a list of competitions that are now defunct.

## Current competitions
### Association football

Scottish football league founded 1873
| Year | Competition | Type | First Trophy, Years | Original code | Location | Notes & references |
| 1871 | FA Cup | club trophy | FA Cup Original FA Cup trophy 1871–1895 Second FA Cup trophy 1895–1910 Current FA cup Trophy 1911– | Association football | England | Oldest association football competition in the world. |
| 1874 | Scottish Cup | club trophy | Scottish Cup 1874– | Association football | Scotland | Oldest association football trophy in the world. |
| 1876 | Birmingham Senior Cup | county cup | 1876– | Association Football | West Midlands, England | Oldest regional trophy in the world. |
| 1876 | Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup | county cup | 1876– | Association Football | South Yorkshire, England | Also includes some clubs from Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and West Yorkshire. |
| 1877 | Welsh Cup | club trophy | Welsh Cup, 1877– | Association football | Wales | |
| 1877 | Shropshire Senior Cup | county cup | Shropshire Premier County Cup, 1877- | Association football | Shropshire, England | |
| 1878 | Berks & Bucks Senior Cup | county cup | 1879– | Association Football | Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, England | |
| 1880 | Lancashire Senior Cup | county cup | 1880– | Association Football | Lancashire, England | Also includes teams from Greater Manchester and Merseyside |
| 1880 | Cheshire Senior Cup | county cup | 1880– | Association football | Cheshire, England | Also includes teams from Greater Manchester and Merseyside, many from the historical boundaries of Cheshire. |
| 1881 | Irish Cup | club trophy | 1881– | Association football | Ireland (1881–1921) Northern Ireland (1921–) | Originally created as the national club trophy for all of Ireland, it now serves as the national club trophy for Northern Ireland after the Republic of Ireland was created in 1921. |
| 1882 | Oxford University Cuppers | intercollegiate trophy | | Association football | Oxford, England | University claims is its the 2nd oldest [association] football competition (after the FA Cup), but also documents 1882/3 as the first season. |
| 1882 | Cambridge University Cuppers | intercollegiate trophy | | Association football | Cambridge, England | |
| 1884 | Lincolnshire FA County Senior Trophy | county cup | 1884– | Association Football | Lincolnshire, England | |
| 1886 | Scottish Junior Cup | club trophy (non-league) | Scottish Junior Cup 1886– | Association football | Scotland | |
| 1887 | Aberdeenshire Cup | regional cup | 1888 | Association football | Aberdeenshire, Scotland | Claims to be second oldest association football tournament in the world. |
| 1888 | Medaille Fodbold Konkurrence | regional cup | April 29th, 1888 | Pre-association | Denmark | Oldest football league outside of Great Britain and Ireland. |
| 1888 | English Football League | club league | | Association football | England | Oldest association football league. The Premier League was later created and is now the top-flight English league. |
| 1888 | Durand Cup | club trophy | Durand Cup, 1888– | Association football | India | Oldest football tournament in Asia. |
| 1889 | Northern Football League | club league | | Association football | North East England | Second-oldest association football league in the world. |
| 1889 | Trades Cup | regional cup | | Association football | Kolkata, India | |
| 1890 | Border Cup | regional cup | | Association football | Scottish Borders Scotland | Originally played for by senior clubs, has been contested by Border Amateur Football Association clubs since 1960. |
| 1891 | Argentine Primera División | club league | Copa Campeonato (1896) | Association football | Argentina | Oldest top division association football league in the world and oldest league outside Great Britain. |
| 1892 | Brown Shield | interprovincial tournament | Brown Shield, 1892 | Association football | New Zealand | Originally the country's premier football trophy, now only contested sporadically. |
| 1893 | IFA Shield | club trophy | IFA Shield | Association football | Kolkata, India | |
| 1894 | Bedfordshire Senior Cup | county cup | 1894– | Association Football | Bedfordshire, England | |
| 1895 | Belgian First Division A | club league | National Championships 1895– | Association football | Belgium | Oldest association football league in continental Europe. |
| 1896 | Hong Kong Shield | club trophy | | Association football | Hong Kong |
| 1897 | Montagu Cup | regional cup (amateur) | 1897– | Association football | Mexborough, England | Oldest football cup regularly played at its original venue. |
| 1898 | Serie A | club league | National Championships 1898– | Association football | Italy |
| 1898 | Calcutta Football League | club league | | Association football | Kolkata, India | Oldest association football league in Asia. |
| 1898 | Swiss Super League | club league | 1898–1929 Serie A 1931–1944 Nationalliga/Ligue Nationale/Lega Nazionale 1944–2003 Nationalliga A/Ligue Nationale A/Lega Nazionale A 2003– Super League | Association football | Switzerland | Longest continuously running top-flight national league |
| 1899 | KNVB Cup | club trophy | 1899– | Association football | Netherlands | |
| 1900 | Uruguayan Primera División | club league | 1900– | Association football | Uruguay | |
| 1901 | Ontario Cup | club trophy | 1901– | Association football | Canada | Oldest association football competition in North America. |
| 1901 | Nemzeti Bajnokság | club league | | Association football | Hungary | |
| 1902 | Copa del Rey | club trophy | 1902 Copa de la Coronación, 1903– | Association football | Spain | |
| 1902 | Norwegian Football Cup | club trophy | | Association football | Norway | First played as an invitational tournament consisting of 5 teams and arranged by Kristiania Idrætsforening. First time as a national tournament 1963 |
| 1902 (3 May) | Campeonato Paulista | club league | | Association football | São Paulo state, Brazil | |
| 1902 | Mumbai Football League | club league | | Association football | Mumbai, India | |
| 1903 | Primera División de la Asociación de Football de Santiago | club league | | Association football | Santiago, Chile | |
| 1905 (9 April) | Campeonato Baiano | club league | | Association football | Bahia, Brazil | |
| 1906 (3 May) | Campeonato Carioca | club league | | Association football | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| 1906 (8 July) | Paraguayan Primera División | club league | | Association football | Paraguay | |
| 1907 | Federation Cup | club trophy | | Association football | South Australia, Australia | Second oldest knockout competition in Australia. |
| 1908 | Milne Cup | annual challenge match | 1908– | Association football | Shetland and Orkney (Scotland) | Oldest football competition between two islands. |
| 1908 | Hong Kong First Division League | club league | | Association football | Hong Kong | |
| 1908 | Nadkarni Cup | regional cup | Nadkarni Cup | Association football | Mumbai, India | |
| 1908 (19 October) | Football at the Summer Olympics | International tournament | 1908– | Association football | various | Oldest nations association football competition in the world. |
| 1909 (6 December) | Liga I | club league | | Association football | Romania | |
| 1911 | Belgian Cup | club trophy | 1911– | Association football | Belgium | |
| 1912 | Peruvian Primera División | club league | | Association football | Peru | League (under the denomination of Escudo Dewar) was exclusively played by teams from Lima. However, older, less-important tournaments were previously held in Callao. |
| 1912 | Úrvalsdeild | club league | | Association football | Iceland | |
| 1913 | Challenge Trophy | club trophy (today amateur) | Connaught Cup 1913–1925; Challenge Trophy 1926–1954; Challenge Trophy & Carling Cup 1954–1961; Challenge Trophy 1962- | Association football | Canada | Strictly amateur since 1962. |
| 1914 | Collingwood Cup | university trophy | 1914– | Association football | Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | |
| 1914 | Manning Cup | schools fixture | Manning Cup, 1914– | Association football | Jamaica | annual contest among Secondary High Schools in the Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine parishes of Jamaica. |
| 1914 | Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup | club trophy | National Challenge Cup (1914); Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1999–) | Association football | United States | Oldest association football competition in the United States of America. |
| 1916 | Copa América | International tournament | South American Football Championship (1916–1967) Copa América (1975–) | Association football | South America | Oldest non-European association football competition in the world. |
| 1917 | All Japan High School Soccer Tournament | high school tournament | | Association football | Japan | |
| 1921 | Kentish Cup | international (services) | | Association football | Europe | Inter-Services. Oldest international military association football tournament. |
| 1921 | FAI Cup | club trophy | 1921– | Association football | Republic of Ireland | |
| 1921 | Egypt Cup | club trophy | 1921– | Association football | Egypt | Oldest association football competition in Africa. |
| 1921 | Malaysia Cup | club trophy | 1921– southern champ, Singapore FA and the northern champ, Selangor FA | Association football | Malaysia | Oldest football competition in the ASEAN |
| 1921 | Emperor's Cup | club trophy | | Association football | Japan | |
| 1923 | Totty Cup | primary school tournament | post-1947 for primary schools | Association football | England | |
| 1925 | Swiss Cup | club trophy | | Association football | Switzerland | |
| 1925 | Polish Cup | club trophy | 1925; 1951– | Association football | Poland | |

### Australian rules football

| Year (Date) | Competition | Type | First Trophy, Years | Original code | Location | Notes & references |
| 1858 (7 August) | Melbourne Grammar School-Scotch College Cordner-Eggleston Cup, 1989– | schools fixture | Cordner-Eggleston Cup | experimental rules | Melbourne, Australia | |
| 1877 (30 April) | South Australian Football Association | club league | Thomas Seymour Hill Premiership Trophy | Australian rules football | Adelaide, South Australia | Oldest Australian rules football league and earliest governing body. The most influential footballing body in South Australia. |
| 1877 (17 May) | Victorian Football Association | club league | | Victorian rules | Melbourne, Australia | Most influential early governing body for Australian rules football in Victoria. |
| 1879 (12 June) | Tasmanian Football League | club league | | Victorian rules | Hobart, Tasmania, Australia | Some discontinuity, most recently dormant between 2001 and 2008. |
| 1881 (10 June) | Bendigo Football League | club league | | Victorian rules | Bendigo, Australia | Includes the Castlemaine football club, second oldest football club in Australia. |
| 1883 | Black Diamond Football League | club league | Black Diamond Challenge Cup, 1888– | Australian rules football | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | Trophy donated to the league by Newcastle's Richmond Tobacco Co., claims to be the longest running football trophy in Australia. |
| 1885 | West Australian Football League | club league | | Australian rules football | Perth, Western Australia | |
| 1888 | Broken Hill Football League | club league | | Australian rules football | Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia | |
| 1893 | Ballarat Football Association | club league | | Australian rules football | Ballarat, Victoria | |
| 1896 | Goldfields Football League | club league | | Australian rules football | Kalgoorlie, Western Australia | |
| 1896 | Victorian Football League/Australian Football League | club league | Flag 1895-; AFL Premiership Cup, 1959– | Australian rules football | Victoria, Australia (national since 1990) | Now the game's premier competition and highest governing body. |
| 1903 | Sydney AFL | club league | | Australian rules football | Sydney, Australia | |
| 1904 | AFL Queensland State League | club league | | Australian rules football | Brisbane, Australia | |

### Rugby

| Year (Date) | Competition | Type | First Trophy, Years | Original code | Location | Notes & references |
| 1858 (11 December) | Edinburgh Academy vs Merchiston Castle School | schools fixture | | Rugby football | Edinburgh, Scotland | |
| 1872 | The Varsity Match | University fixture | Bowring Bowl | Rugby football | England | The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. |
| 1874 | United Hospitals Challenge Cup | club trophy | United Hospitals Challenge Cup – 1874– | Rugby football | Surrey, England | Oldest rugby football competition in the world. |
| 1875 | Bromsgrove–KES | schools fixture | Siviter-Smith Cup, 1935– | Rugby football | Bromsgrove/Birmingham, England | Later trophy donated by Paul Siviter-Smith, a Birmingham businessman, who had sons at both schools. |
| 1876 (17 March) | Ulster Schools Cup | cup tournament | Schools Cup 1876– | Rugby football | Ravenhill, Belfast, Northern Ireland | |
| 1878 | Army Navy Match | Inter-Services Competition | The Babcock Trophy | Rugby football | England | |
| 1879 (10 March) | Calcutta Cup | international challenge | | Rugby football | England/Scotland | Competed for by the England and Scotland international rugby teams annually. |
| 1883 | Home Nations Championship | international tournament | | Rugby football | Home Nations | It is an annual international Rugby union competition between Home nations. It is also the oldest international sport tournament ever competed between Home Nations. But now, It became the Six Nations Championship with the addition of France and Italy. |
| 1883 | Auckland Premier | club league | | Rugby football | Auckland, New Zealand | The winner of the competition has been awarded the Gallaher Shield since 1922. |
| 1889 | Currie Cup | provincial tournament | Currie Cup, 1889– | Rugby football | South Africa | Oldest provincial rugby union competition in the world, and oldest national rugby union competition in the southern hemisphere. |
| 1901 | New South Wales Suburban Rugby Union | club league | | Rugby union | Sydney, Australia | |
| 1904 | Ranfurly Shield | provincial challenge | Ranfurly Shield, 1902 | Rugby union | New Zealand | First won by Auckland in 1902, and first challenged for in 1904. |

### Rugby league

| Year (Date) | Competition | Type | First Trophy, Years | Original code | Location |
| 1895 | Rugby Football League/Super League | club league | Rugby Football League Championship 1895– | Rugby league | England |
| 1896 | Challenge Cup | club league | | Rugby league | Europe |
| 1908 | NSWRL/National Rugby League | club league | | Rugby league | Sydney, Australia |
| 1908 | Queensland Rugby League | club league | | Rugby league | Brisbane, Australia |
| 1908 | The Ashes | international challenge | | Rugby league | Australia & Great Britain |
| 1910 | New Zealand Rugby League | club league | Rugby League Shield 1910– | Rugby league | Auckland, New Zealand |
| 1910 | Newcastle Rugby League | club league | | Rugby league | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia |
| 1911 | Illawarra Rugby League | club league | | Rugby league | Illawarra, New South Wales, Australia |

### Other

| Year (Date) | Competition | Type | First Trophy, Years | Original code | Current Code | Location | Notes & references |
| 1875 (13 November) | The Game | Interscholastic match | 1875 | modified Rugby union | American football | United States | |
| 1887 | All-Ireland Senior Football Championship | inter-county cup | 1928 | Gaelic football | Gaelic football | | |
| 1893 (Boxing Day/ Christmas Day (1893–98)) | Scarborough Fisherman v Fireman football match | Cup | The Silver Cup, 1901 | Experimental Rules | Experimental Rules | Scarborough, England | Organised as a charity football match to raise money for the Evelyn and Maud that sank. Still played annually today to raise money for the Fisherman and Fireman fund. |
| 1898 | Yates Cup | college league | | Canadian football | Canadian football | Ontario, Canada | The Ontario University Athletics football trophy and oldest football trophy in North America. |
| 1902 (1 or 2 January) | Rose Bowl Game | bowl game | | American football | American football | Pasadena, California, United States | |
| 1909 | Grey Cup | Originally national club trophy; now national league | | "Rugby football" (early form of Canadian football) | Canadian football | Canada | Now the championship trophy of the Canadian Football League. |

## Defunct competitions

| Years | Date | Competition | Type | First trophy awarded, years | Original code | Location | Notes |
| 1851 only | 25 January | 93rd Regiment v. Edinburgh University FC | one-off match | Medallion, 1851 only | unknown | Edinburgh | Medallion was given by the losing side (Edinburgh) to the winning side (93rd Regiment). |
| 1860 – c. 1968 | | House Football Cup | intramural competition | House Football Cup, 1860 – c. 1968 | Eton field game | Eton College | |
| 1861–1876 | December | Caledonian Challenge Cup | club trophy | Caledonian Challenge Cup, 1861–1864 | Melbourne Rules | Melbourne, Australia | |
| 1867 only | | Youdan Cup | club trophy | Youdan Cup, 1867 | Sheffield rules | Sheffield, England | |
| 1868 only | | Cromwell Cup | club trophy | Cromwell Cup, 1868 | Sheffield rules | Sheffield, England | |
| 1880–1890 | | Queensland Football Association | club league | 1880 | Victorian rules | Brisbane, Queensland | |
| 1880-1893 | | New South Wales Football Association | club league | 1880 | Victorian rules | Sydney, New South Wales | |
| 1882–? | | Northern Football Association | club league | ? | Victorian rules | Launceston, Tasmania | |
| 1884–1984 | | British Home Championship | international tournament | British International Championship trophy, 1936–1984 | Association football | Home Nations (UK) | oldest international association football tournament in the world, and held until the 1983–84 season |
| 1884–1924 | | American Cup | club trophy | | Association football | United States | |
| 1888–1956 | | Netherlands Football League Championship | club league | ? | Association football | | Replaced with Eredivisie for the 1956–1957 season |
| 1890–2013 | | Scottish Football League | club league | ? | Association football | Scotland | |
| 1890–2001 | | Rovers Cup | club trophy | Rovers Cup | Association football | Mumbai, India | Third oldest football tournament in Asia (opened only for British army teams until 1911); organized by the WIFA from 1911 to 2001. |
| 1894 only | | Taça D. Carlos I | club trophy | | Association football | Portugal | The first football cup played on the Iberian Peninsula. |
| 1897–1911 | | Challenge Cup | club trophy | | Association football | Austria-Hungary | |
| 1900–1903 | | Copa Macaya | club trophy | | Association football | Catalonia | Replaced with Catalan championship for the 1903–1904 season |
| 1900–1904 | | Tagblatt Pokal | club trophy | | Association football | Lower Austria, Austria-Hungary | |
| 1900–1907 | | Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz | club trophy | | Association football | Europe | Replaced with Coupe Jean Dupuich for the 1907–1908 season |
| 1914–2007 | | Lila Devi Shield | primary school tournament | | Association football | Mymensingh, Bangladesh | |
| 1914–c. 2000 | | Surya Kanta Shield | club trophy | | Association football | Mymensingh, Bangladesh | |
| 1914–1950 | | Dutch East Indies Championship | club league | | Association football | Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) | |