Association football during World War I When World War I was declared in 1914 , it had a negative effect on association football ; in some countries competitions were suspended and players signed up to fight , resulting in the deaths of many players . Frederick Wall , Secretary of the Football Association , famously implied Jimmy Hogan was a traitor for spending the duration of World War I in Europe . Competition . Between 1915 and 1919 competitive football was suspended in England . Many footballers signed up to fight in the war and as a result many teams were depleted , and fielded guest players instead . The Football League and FA Cup were suspended and in their place regional league competitions were set up ; appearances in these tournaments do not count in players ' official records . Even though the Swiss Football League was not suspended , some 5 , 800 footballers – out of a total of 8 , 500 – signed up to fight . However , most of the pitches were destroyed – out of a total of had been turned into potato fields . After the outbreak of war in 1914 , the Swiss national side did not compete again until 1920 . Christmas truce . The Christmas truce , was a series of brief unofficial cessations of hostilities occurring on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day of 1914 between German and British or French troops in World War I , particularly that between British and German troops stationed along the Western Front . During the truce , a game of football was played between the British and German soldiers . Fighting footballers . The Football Battalion . On 6 February 1914 , author Arthur Conan Doyle made a direct appeal for footballers to volunteer for service . Many players heeded the calls , and a special Football Battalion was formed , as part of the Middlesex Regiment . The regiment was led by Frank Buckley , who later estimated that over 500 of the battalion ' s original 600 men had died . There were over 5 , 000 men playing professional football in Great Britain 1914 , and of those , 2 , 000 joined the military services . Edinburgh City Pals . Although not an official battalion , the Edinburgh City Pals was populated with players and fans from Hearts , Hibernian , Falkirk and Raith Rovers , and managed to raise 1300 men in six days . Decorated footballers . A number of British soldiers received medals for bravery during World War I , including Bernard Vann ( MC and VC ) , Donald Simpson Bell ( VC ) , William Angus ( VC ) , Jimmy Speirs ( MM ) , Tim Coleman ( MM ) and David Glen ( MM ) . Others to receive decoration include Leigh Richmond Roose ( MM ) and Philip F . Fullard ( MC and AFC ) . Other players who were not awarded medals have also been honoured , such as Walter Tull , who is honoured on both the Arras Memorial and at Northampton Town ' s Sixfields Stadium . Players killed in action . Many football players , both amateur and professional , lost their lives . Scottish side Celtic was badly affected , and lost seven players . Another Scottish side , Brechin City , lost six players . English team Bradford City , for example , lost nine players - first - team players Bob Torrance , Jimmy Speirs , Evelyn Lintott , James Conlin , James Comrie , Gerald Kirk , and reserve players George Draycott , Ernest Goodwin , and Harry Potter . William Baker , a member of the Plymouth Argyle team that won the Southern League in 1913 , was killed in Serre during the Battle of the Somme . Memorials . On 21 October 2010 , the Footballers ' Battalions Memorial was unveiled at Longueval , France , near Delville Wood , to commemorate those from the Footballers ' Battalions who had fought and died in the Great War .