Football clubs ordered after establishment

The oldest football clubs were founded in the middle of the 19th century. The following lists are compilations of clubs that were established in the 19th, the 20th and 21st century.

Table 1. Clubs founded in the 19th century
Founded Name Country Notes
1857* Sheffield FC England Founded as Sheffield Club
1859 Wanderers FC England Founded as Forest Club; Dissolved in 1887
1860 Hallam FC England  
1861 Crystal Palace FC England Dissolved in 1876; not identical with the Crystal Palace FC founded in 1905
1862 Notts County England  
1862 Barnes FC England Dissolved
1863 Stoke City FC England Founded as Stoke Ramblers
1863 Royal Engineers AFC England  
1864 Brigg Town England  
1864 Wrexham AFC Wales  
1865 Harrow Chequers FC England Dissolved in 1891
1865 Hertfordshire Rangers FC England Dissolved in 1898
1865 Nottingham Forest England  
1866 Cambridge University AFC England  
1867 Chesterfield FC England  
1866 Uptown Park FC England Dissolved in 1911
1867 Queen's Park FC Scotland  
1867 Sheffield Wednesday FC England Founded as The Wednesday
1868 Leyton FC England Dissolved in 2011
1868 Swifts FC England Dissolved in 1890
1869 Clapham Rovers England Dissolved in 1911
1869 Kilmarnock FC Scotland  
1870 Abingdon Town England Founded as Abingdon FC
1870 Maidenhead United England  
1870 Marlow England  
1870 Stranraer FC Scotland  
1871 Old Etonians England  
1871 Oxford University AFC England  
1871 Reading FC England  
1871 Southall FC England  
1871 Uxbridge FC England  
1872 Dumbarton FC Scotland  
1872 Rangers FC Scotland  
1872 Renton FC Scotland Dissolved in 1922
1872 Third Lanark AC Scotland Dissolved in 1967
1872 Vale of Leven FC Scotland Dissolved in 1929
1874 Arthurlie FC Scotland  
1874 Aston Villa England  
1874 Bolton Wanderers England  
1874 Grantham Town FC England  
1874 Greenock Morton Scotland  
1874 Hamilton Academical FC Scotland  
1874 Heart of Midlothian FC Scotland  
1874 Wednesbury Old Athletic† England Dissolved in 1893
1875 Birmingham City England Founded as Small Heath Alliance
1875 Blackburn Rovers England  
1875 Beith FC Scotland Dissolved in 1938
1875 Hibernian FC Scotland  
1875 Newtown AFC Wales  
1876 Chirk AAA FC Wales  
1876 Falkirk FC Scotland  
1876 Kjøbenhavns Boldklubb Denmark  
1876 Middlesbrough FC England  
1876 Old Carthusians FC England  
1876 Partick Thistle FC Scotland  
1876 Romford England  
1877 Abercorn FC Scotland Dissolved in 1920
1877 Blackburn Olympic England Dissolved in 1889
1877 Clyde FC Scotland  
1877 St Mirren Scotland  
1877 Wolverhampton Wanderers England  
1878 Accrington FC England Dissolved in 1878
1878 Airdrieonians Scotland Founded as Excelsior FC, dissolved in 2002
1878 Alloa Athletic FC Scotland  
1878 Arbroath FC Scotland  
1878 Everton FC England  
1878 Grimsby Town England  
1878 Ipswich Town England Founded as Ipswich Association FC
1878 Manchester United FC England Founded as Newton Heath
1878 Royal Albert Scotland  
1878 West Bromwich Albion FC England Founded as West Bromwich Strollers
1878 Blackburn Olympic FC England Dissolved in 1889
1879 Ayr FC Scotland Dissolved in 1910
1879 Cliftonville FC N. Ireland  
1879 Fulham FC England  
1879 FC St. Gallen Switzerland  
1879 Koninklijke HFC Netherlands Founded as Haarlemse FC
1879 Montrose FC Scotland  
1879 Sunderland AFC England  
1879 Swindon Town FC England  
1880 Royal Antwerp FC Belgium  
1880 Dykehead FC Scotland Dissolved in 1928
1880 Distillery N. Ireland  
1880 Preston North End England  
1880 Manchester City England Founded as St. Mark's
1881 Berwick Rangers FC Scotland  
1881 Colwyn Bay FC Wales  
1881 Cowdenbeath FC Scotland  
1881 East Stirlingshire FC Scotland  
1881 FC Girondins de Bordeaux France  
1881 Leyton Orient FC England Founded as Glyn Cricket and FC
1881 Watford FC England Founded as Watford Rovers
1882 Albion Rovers FC Scotland  
1882 Bo'ness FC Scotland Dissolved in 1945
1882 Burnley FC England  
1882 Corinthian FC England Merged with Casuals FC in 1939
1882 Glentoran FC N. Ireland  
1882 Racing Club de France France  
1882 Tottenham Hotspur FC England Founded as Hotspur
1883 Coventry City England Founded as Singer’s FC
1883 Bristol Rovers England Founded as Black Arabs
1883 Raith Rovers FC Scotland  
1883 Wiener Sport-Club Austria  
1884 Bristol City England  
1884 Derby County England Founded as Bristol South End
1884 Leicester City FC England Founded as Leicester Fosse
1884 Lincoln City FC England  
1884 Stenhousemuir FC Scotland  
1884 St Johnstone FC Scotland  
1885 Bury England  
1885 Chester City England Dissolved in 2010
1885 Clackmannan FC Scotland Dissolved in 1931
1885 Luton Town FC England  
1885 Millwall FC England  
1885 Southampton FC England  
1885 Újpest FC Hungary  
1886 Arsenal FC England  
1886 Ayr Parkhouse FC Scotland Dissolved in 1910
1886 BK Frem Denmark  
1886 Hong Kong FC China  
1886 Linfield FC N. Ireland Founded as Linfield Athletic Club
1886 Motherwell FC Scotland  
1886 Queens Park Rangers FC England  
1887 Académica de Coimbra Portugal  
1887 Athlone Town AFC Ireland  
1887 Barnsley England  
1887 Blackpool England  
1887 Gimnasia Argentina  
1887 Hamburger SV Germany Founded as SC Germania
1887 Örgryte IS Sweden  
1888 MTK Budapest FC Hungary  
1888 Celtic FC Scotland  
1888 BFC Germania 1888 Germany  
1888 Walsall FC England Founded as Walsall Town Swifts
1889 Brentford England  
1889 HFC Haarlem Netherlands Dissolved in 2010
1889 Mohun Bagan AC India  
1889 Recreativo de Huelva Spain  
1889 Sheffield United England  
1889 BFC Viktoria 1889 Germany Dissolved in 2013
1889 Wimbledon FC England Milton Keynes Dons since 2004
1890 Bohemian FC Ireland  
1890 Club Français France Dissolved in 1935
1890 Halmstads BK Sweden  
1890 Sevilla FC Spain  
1890 Standard Athletic Club France  
1890 St. Andrew's Athletic Club Argentina Dissolved in 1894
1891 Club Brugge KV Belgium  
1891 Peñarol Uruguay Founded as Central Uruguay Railway Cricket Club
1892 Club Lisbonense Portugal Dissolved in 1902
1892 Liverpool FC England  
1892 Hertha Berlin Germany as as BFC Hertha 92
1892 Newcastle United FC England  
1892 Pro Vercelli Italy  
1893 FC Basel Switzerland  
1893 Bathgate FC Scotland Dissolved in 1938
1893 Dundee FC Scotland  
1893 Elgin City FC Scotland  
1893 Genoa CFC Italy  
1893 FC Mulhouse France  
1893 Oxford United FC England Founded as Heddington
1893 FC Porto Portugal  
1894 First Vienna FC Austria  
1894 Floriana FC Malta  
1894 FC La Chaux-de-Fonds Switzerland  
1894 Odds BK Norway  
1895 Flamengo Brazil  
1895 Oldham Athletic England Founded as Pine Ville
1895 FC Roubaix France Dissolved in 1964
1895 Royal Daring Club Molenbeek Belgium Dissolved in 1973
1895 Shelbourne FC Ireland  
1895 West Ham United FC England  
1895 Amsterdamsche FC The Netherlands  
1896 FC Biel-Bienne Switzerland  
1896 Hannover 96 Germany  
1896 FC Lausanne-Sport Switzerland  
1896 Oruro Royal Club Bolivia  
1896 Udinese Italy  
1896 FC Winterthur Switzerland  
1896 FC Zürich Switzerland  
1897 Juventus FC Italy  
1897 Northampton Town FC England  
1897 Red Star FC France Founded as Red Star Club Français
1898 Dresdner SC Germany  
1898 FC Étoile-Sporting Switzerland  
1898 Young Boys    
1898 Portsmouth England  
1898 Standard Liège Belgium  
1898 CR Vasco da Gama Brazil  
1898 SK Rapid Wien Austria Founded as Wiener Arbeiter FK
1898 Club Sportif Constantinois Algeria  
1899 TSV 1860 Munich Germany  
1899 FC Barcelona Spain  
1899 K. Beerschot VAC Belgium Dissolved in 1999
1899 AFC Bournemouth England  
1899 Cardiff City Wales  
1899 Cercle Brugge KSV Belgium  
1899 Esporte Clube Pinheiros Brazil Founded as SC Germânia
1899 Ferencváros Hungary  
1899 Club Nacional de Football Uruguay  
1899 Olympique de Marseille France  
1899 AC Milan Italy  
1899 Shamrock Rovers FC Ireland  
1899 SV Werder Bremen Germany  

* The year of establishment is debated.
† Two additional English clubs is referred to the same name.

Table 2. European clubs founded in the 20th century
Founded Name Country Notes
1900 AFC Ajax The Netherlands  
1900 FC Bayern Munich Germany  
1900 Borussia Mönchengladbach Germany Founded as FC Borussia
1900 FC Kaiserslautern Germany Founded as FC 1900 Kaiserslautern
1900 SS Lazio Italy  
1901 Brighton & Hove Albion FC England Founded as Brighton & Hove United
1901 FC Sète 34 France Founded as Olympique de Cette
1901 Stade Rennais FC France  
1902 AS Cannes France  
1902 Debreceni VSC Hungary  
1902 Grazer AK Austria  
1902 Norwich City FC England  
1902 Olympique Lillois France Dissolved in 1944
1902 Real Madrid CF Spain Founded as Madrid Football Club
1903 Athletic Bilbao Spain  
1903 Atlético Madrid Spain  
1903 Beşiktaş JK Turkey  
1903 Boavista FC Portugal  
1903 Bradford City AFC England  
1904 SL Benfica Portugal Founded as Sport Lisboa
1904 OGC Nice France  
1904 LKS Pogoń Lwów Poland Dissolved in 1945
1904 FC Schalke 04 Germany  
1904 Stade Saint-Germain France Merged with Paris FC in 1970
1905 Charlton Athletic FC England  
1905 Chelsea FC England  
1905 Crystal Palace FC England  
1905 Galatasaray SK Turkey  
1905 HŠK Zrinjski Mostar Bosnia and Herzegovina  
1906 Sporing CP Portugal  
1906 Toprino FC Italy  
1906 Wisła Kraków SA Poland  
1907 Alba Roma Italy Dissolved in 1907
1907 Atalanta BC Italy  
1907 Fenerbahçe SK Turkey  
1907 Real Betis Spain  
1908 RSC Anderlecht Belgium  
1908 FC Internazionale Italy  
1908 FC Lugano Switzerland  
1908 Panathinaikos FC Greece  
1909 Bologna FC Italy  
1909 Borussia Dortmund Germany  
1909 Budapest Honvéd FC Hungary  
1909 SC Hakoah Vienna Austria Dissolved in 1949
1911 HNK Dinamo Zagreb* Croatia Founded as HŠK Građanski
1911 HNK Hajduk Split Croatia  
1911 CSKA Moscow Russia  
1911 Vasas FC Hungary  
1912 Swansea City Wales  
1914 FK Vojvodina Serbia  
1916 Legia Warszawa SA Poland Founded as Drużyna Sportowa Legia
1918 FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine Dissolved in 2019
1919 CF Belenenses Portugal  
1919 Leeds United England  
1919 AS Monaco France  
1919 Montpellier HSC France Founded as Stade Olympique Montpelliérain
1919 Valencia CF Spain  
1920 Cagliari Calcio Italy  
1920 Ruch Chorzów SA Poland  
1921 SC Braga Portugal  
1921 FC Spartak Vladikavkaz Russia  
1921 FK Željezničar Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina Founded as RŠD Željezničar
1922 KKS Lech Poznań Poland Founded as Lutnia Dębiec
1922 FC Lokomotiv Moscow Russia Founded as Kazanka
1922 FC Spartak Moscow Russia Founded as Moscow Sport Circle
1923 FC Dynamo Moscow Russia  
1923 Ethnikos Piraeus FC Greece  
1924 AEK FC Greece  
1925 FC Dinamo Tbilisi Georgia  
1925 Olympiacos FC Greece  
1925 Union Luxembourg Luxembourg Dissolved in 2005
1925 FC Zenit Saint Petersburg Russia  
1926 AFC Fiorentina Italy  
1926 SSC Napoli Italy  
1926 PAOK Greece  
1927 FC Dynamo Kyiv Ukraine  
1927 AS Roma Italy  
1929 FC Rotor Volgograd Russia  
1930 FC Rostov Russia  
1932 Wigan Athletic FC England  
1933 FC Salzburg† Austria  
1935 FC Ararat Yerevan Armenia Founded as Spartak Yerevan
1936 FC Chernomorets Odessa Ukraine  
1936 FC Shakhtar Donetsk Ukraine  
1937 Nîmes Olympique France  
1943 FC Nantes France  
1944 Lille OSC France  
1945 FK Partizan Belgrade Serbia  
1945 Red Star Belgrade Serbia  
1946 HNK Rijeka Croatia Founded as Sportsko Društvo
1946 UC Sampdoria Italy  
1946 FK Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina Founded as SD Torpedo
1947 Śląsk Wrocław Poland  
1947 CSA Steaua București Romania Founded as ASA București
1948 Górnik Zabrze SSA Poland  
1948 1. FC Köln Gerrmany  
1950 Olympique Lyonnais France  
1958 FC Rubin Kazan Russia  
1958 SC Tavriya Simferopol Ukraine Founded as Avanhard Simferopol
1963 Bursaspor Turkey  
1963 FC Karpaty Lviv Ukraine  
1963 FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod Russia Dissolved in 2016
1967 Trabzonspor Turkey  
1970 Paris Saint-Germain FC France  
1976 FC Orenburg Russia Founded as Gazovik Orenburg
1994 FC Amkar Perm Russia Dissolved in 2018

* The year of establishment is debated.
† Officially FC Red Bull Salzburg since 2005

Table 3. Rest of the world clubs founded in the 20th century
Founded Name Country Notes
1901 River Plate Argentina  
1902 Fluminense Brazil  
1902 Club Olimpia Uruguay  
1903 Grêmio Brazil  
1903 Racing Argentina  
1904 Botafogo Brazil  
1905 Club Atlético Independiente Argentina  
1905 Boca Juniors Argentina  
1907 Al Ahly SC Egypt  
1908 Atlético Mineiro Brazil  
1908 San Lorenzo de Almagro Argentina  
1909 Internacional Brazil  
1910 Corinthians Brazil  
1912 América-MG Brazil  
1912 Santos Brazil  
1914 Palmeiras Brazil Founded as Palestra Italia
1920 Portuguesa Brazil  
1921 Cruzeiro Esporte Clube Brazil  
1925 Barcelona SC Colombia  
1925 Colo-Colo Chile  
1927 América de Cali Colombia unofficially founded 1918
1930 São Paulo FC Brazil  
1931 Bahia Brazil  
1943 Goiás Brazil  
1947 Atlético Nacional Colombia  
1957 Al-Hilal SFC Saudi Arabia  
Table 4. Clubs founded in the 21st century
Founded Name Country Notes
2001 PFC Ludogorets Razgrad Bulgaria Originates from Razgrad 2000
2004 Milton Keynes Dons England Originates from Wimbledon
2004 FC Moscow Russia Dissolved in 2019
2008 FC Krasnodar Russia  
2010 Chester FC England Originates from Chester City
2013 FC Tosno Russia Dissolved in 2018

Dissolved clubs of historical significance

It is remarkable how many old football clubs that still exist. Yet, some have dissolved during the years. Some clubs of great historical significance that no longer exists are presented below.

Queen’s Park. Founded in 1868 and by that being Scotland’s oldest football club. Characterized by a passing game opposed to the dribbling game practiced by English teams. In need for more opponents, Queen’s Park joined the FA in 1870, and from that adopted to the different kind of offside rule that was practiced by the FA. When the first national matches between Scotland and England was played, the Scottish side was represented by Queen’s Park. The club did exhibition tours in Scotland and was important for the early development of the game.

Darwen FC. Founded in 1870 as one of the early Lancashire clubs. Dissolved in 2009 after bankruptcy, but was reconstituted as AFC Darwen. The club was a part of the early English football history and marked the shift when clubs with working-class background started to become significant. They played in The Combination 1888-1889 and Football Alliance 1889-1891 before being a member of the Football League in 1891. They became the first winner of Lancashire Senior Cup in 1880.

After 1899, however, Darwen would reside in non-professional leagues. The best result in Division 1 was a 14th place in 1892 and the best result in FA Cup was the semi-finals in 1881.

Accrington FC. The English Accrington Football Club was founded in 1878. The club was thrown out from FA in 1883 after using a paid player (only amateurs were allowed at the time). Was one of the teams in the English Football League when it started in 1888 and reached a seventh place that season. Accrington played in the league five seasons, but when relegated to the second division, the club decided to leave the league all together and a few years later the club was dissolved. Accrington FC should not be confused with Accrington Stanley FC.

Blackburn Olympic. Less known than Blackburn Rovers is Blackburn Olympic that existed from 1877 to 1889. Blackburn Olympic won the FA Cup in 1883.

Bradford AFC. Founded 1907 and dissolved 1974. Not to be confused with Bradford City. Originated from the rugby club Bradford RC. A member of the Football League 1908-1970. The best result was a ninth place in Division 1 in 1915. After relegation from division 4 to the Northern Premier League in 1970 the road to bankruptcy began.

See also Royal Engineers and Wanderers FC