1888 in association football

The following are the association football events of the year 1888 throughout the world.

Events

• February 1 - Royal Arsenal move to Manor Ground, their first permanent stadium, playing their first match there, against Millwall Rovers.
• March 23 - A meeting of 12 clubs at Anderson's Hotel in London on the eve of the FA Cup Final, convened by Aston Villa's William McGregor, discusses the possibility of a national football league competition.
• April 17 - A further meeting at Manchester's Royal Hotel leads to the competition being named The Football League.
• September 8 - The first Football League matches are played, marking the 1st season in the Football League.

Clubs founded in 1888

• Barnet
• Celtic^[1]
• Dartford
• Sparta Rotterdam
• Walsall

Winners club national cup

Asia

Nation	Tournament	Winner	Runner-up
India	1888 Durand Cup	Royal Scots Fusiliers	Highland Light Infantry

Europe

Nation	Tournament	Winner	Runner-up
England	1887–88 FA Cup	West Bromwich Albion	Preston North End
Ireland	1887–88 Irish Cup	Cliftonville	Distillery
Scotland	1887–88 Scottish Cup	Renton	Cambuslang[2]
Wales	1887–88 Welsh Cup	Chirk AAA	Newtown

Winners club national leagues

• No national leagues existed prior to 1888, when the English Football League was founded. The first champions, Preston North End, emerged in the spring of 1889.

International tournaments

• 1888 British Home Championship (February 4 – April 7, 1888)

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
England (C)	3	3	0	0	15	2	+13	6
Scotland	3	2	0	1	15	8	+7	4
Wales	3	1	0	2	13	10	+3	2
Ireland	3	0	0	3	3	26	−23	0

Source: ^[3]
Rules for classification: 1) Points. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
(C) Champions

• 1888 Football World Championship (May 19, 1888)

19 May 1888

Renton	4–1	West Bromwich Albion

Cathkin Park, Glasgow

Attendance: 6,000

Births

• 11 March – Hermann Garrn (d. 1966), German international footballer.
• 23 July – Jimmy Gordon (d. 1954), Scotland international half-back in ten matches (1912–1920).
• 24 August – Leo Bosschart (d. 1951), Dutch international footballer.
• 6 December – Wilhelm Trautmann (d. 1969), German international footballer.

References

1. Lynch, Michael (ed.). The Oxford companion to Scottish history. Oxford University Press. p. 241. ISBN 9780199693054.
2. "Scottish Cup Past Winners | Scottish Cup | Scottish FA". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
3. Reyes, Macario; Morrison, Neil (1 October 1999). "British Home Championship 1884–1899". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 17 August 2019.