The Club of Pioneers is a worldwide network of the oldest continuing association football clubs from each country.
The Club of Pioneers was founded in 2013 by Sheffield FC, the first and oldest association football club in the world. The Club of Pioneers aims to discover and connect the world's oldest existing football clubs, to build a global network of like-minded football clubs to promote the importance of football history and the grass roots and amateur game.
Definition of Pioneers
According to today's historical knowledge and available sources of football history, the Sheffield Football Club Foundation awards the honorary membership within the Club of Pioneers to those football clubs, who:
- Still play football in amateur or professional football competition today.
- Have constantly existed as a sports organisation since their date of foundation. (Exceptions for periods of inactivity due to external reasons, for example war.)
- Are by definition the oldest existing football club of their country, referring to the foundation date of a football team as part of a multi-sport club or as a proper football club, playing to association football rules.
- Live and support the values of the game and amateur football: Integrity, Respect, Community.
Team Work
The clubâÂÂs staff includes coaches and administrators with experience in football.
- President: Richard Tims
- Partnerships: Dylan Ralph
- Ambassador: Tom Simons (Belgium)
- Latam Ambassador: Juan Alvarez (France - Uruguay)
- Ambassador: Robert Zitzmann (Germany)
Current members
(December 2024)
Pioneers Cup
Members of the Club of Pioneers, can also take part in a Pioneers Cup: a football tournament where only 'oldest' clubs can participate, to showcase their pioneering heritage. The teams themselves do not play, but are represented by 'Pioneer' teams of fans, former-players, and staff of the club.
Notes
Sources
- Sheffield fc - the world's first.
- Cliftonville fc : Introduction to the Club of Pioneers, 10 March 2013
- Genoa CFC
- St-Gallen fc
- R Antwerp FC - Club of Pioneers
- Globalise then localize Game of the People, 27 juli 2013
- Sheffield Pioneers Cup BBC.com, 17 November 2013
- El Recreativo de Huelva ingresa con honores en el âÂÂClub of PioneersâÂÂ, Cihefe.es, 5 May 2013
- Entra en el âÂÂClub of Pioneersâ HuelvaYa.es, 5 May 2013
- KHFC new member for the Club of Pioneers TheStar.co.uk 5 September 2014
- St-Gallen aufnahme in Club of Pioneers Blick.ch, 23 September 2015
- FC St-Gallen kommt inden Club of Pioneers Tagblatt, 22 August 2014
- Antwerp Pioneers Cup GvA, 18 May 2016
- Antwerp treedt toe tot Club of Pioneers GvA, 23 May 2016
- Fola Esch, entering Club of Pioneers FuPa Lux, 14 November 2016
- Fola fir 110. Anniversaire am "Club of Pioneers" opgeholl RTL.lu, 13 December 2016
- Odds Ballklubb celebrated their place in "Club of Pioneers" at halftime in their match against Strømsgodset 13 May 2017
- Odds BK - Club of Pioneers
- Vi ønsker at folk skal kjenne til Odd nÃÂ¥r de snakker om fotball i Norge Vardens, 15 May 2017
- Classic Football Shirts, 19 July 2017
- Savages celebrate in style The Witness, 21 August 2017
- Academica integrase no Club of Pioneers Académica-oaf.pt, 4 November 2017
- Academica integrase no Club of Pioneers DSport.pt, 6 November 2017
- First Vienna FC neue mitglieder ,21 April 2018
- KB i eksklusivt selskab "Club website", 5 November 2018.
- ljuboten-enters-club-of-pioneers "Ljuboten enters Club of Pioneers" ,11 May 2019
- Ceremonia de ingreso Club of Pioneer "Corporation Wanderers", 24 August 2019
- Invitation for Cracovia Twitter, 13 June 2023
- ÃÂþÃÂõò þÃÂøÃÂøðûýþ õ õôøý þàýðù-ÃÂÃÂðÃÂøÃÂõ úûÃÂñþòõ ò ÃÂòõÃÂð "Botev is officially one of the oldest clubs in the world", 2 May 2024
- https://sportsviahistoryfc.substack.com/p/queens-park-fc Website, 10 July 2024
- https://sportsviahistoryfc.substack.com/p/club-of-pioneers Website, 18 April 2024
- https://sportsviahistoryfc.substack.com/p/963 Website, 3 May 2024
External links