Club of Pioneers
The Club of Pioneers is a worldwide network of the oldest still existing football clubs in a country.
The Club of Pioneers was founded in 2013 by Sheffield FC , the oldest football club in the world. The oldest club in a country can join regardless of their status (professional or amateur) or the league in which they play. Member clubs must continue to exist without interruption from the date of establishment and still participate in football competitions. The club was founded to preserve the history of football for the future and aims to unite and network all the oldest football clubs in a country under one roof.
The motto of the Club of Pioneers is "Integrity - Respect - Community" and should reflect the real values of football.
Member clubs
| Club | founded | country | continent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield FC | 1857, October 24th |
 England
|
Europe |
| Wrexham FC | 1864, October 4th |
 Wales
|
Europe |
| FC Queen's Park | 1867, July 9th |
 Scotland
|
Europe |
| Kjøbenhavns Boldklub | 1878, October 24th |
 Denmark
|
Europe |
| FC St. Gallen | 1879, April 19th |
 Switzerland
|
Europe |
| Royal HFC | 1879, September 15 |
 Netherlands
|
Europe |
| Cliftonville FC | 1879, September 20 |
 Northern Ireland
|
Europe |
| Royal Antwerp | 1880, September 1st |
 Belgium
|
Europe |
| Savages fc PMB | 1882 |
 South Africa
|
Africa |
| Hong Kong FC | 1886, February 12 |
 Hong Kong
|
Asia |
| Yokohama C&AC | 1886, December 26th |
 Japan
|
Asia |
| Académica de Coimbra | 1887, November 3 |
 Portugal
|
Europe |
| North Store United | 1887 |
 New Zealand
|
Oceania |
| Berlin FC Germania 1888 | 1888, April 15th |
 Germany
|
Europe |
| Mohun Bagan AC | 1889, August 15th |
 India
|
Asia |
| Recreativo de Huelva | 1889, December 23 |
 Spain
|
Europe |
| St. George's FC | 1890 |
 Malta
|
Europe |
| Albion FC | 1891, June 1 |
 Uruguay
|
South America |
| Tvøroyrar Bóltfelag | 1892, May 13th |
 Faroe Islands
|
Europe |
| Santiago Wanderers | 1892, August 15th |
 Chile
|
South America |
| CFC genoa | 1893, September 7th |
 Italy
|
Europe |
| Odds Ball Club | 1894, March 31 |
 Norway
|
Europe |
| First Vienna FC | 1894, August 22 |
 Austria
|
Europe |
| CS Fola Esch | 1906, December 9th |
 Luxembourg
|
Europe |
| FK Lyuboten Tetovo | 1919, March 28th |
 North Macedonia
|
Europe |
| FK Sveikata | 1919, June 8th |
 Lithuania
|
Europe |
(As of July 2020)
Pioneers Cup
Members of the Club of Pioneers can organize a Pioneers Cup , a friendship tournament in which member clubs can participate. It is not the actual teams themselves that play, but so-called “pioneer teams”, which can consist of fans, former players or employees of the club, for example.
| Pioneers Cup 2013 - Sheffield | |
|---|---|
| date | November 16, 2013 |
| place | Coach and Horses Ground - Dronfield , England |
| Participating teams | Sheffield FC (England) with Chris Waddle , Carlton Palmer , John Beresford , ... Recreativo Huelva (Spain) CFC Genoa (Italy) with Tomáš Skuhravý , Gennaro Ruotolo , ... |
| winner | Sheffield FC |
| Pioneers Cup 2014 - Haarlem | |
|---|---|
| date | August 30, 2014 |
| place | Haarlem - Netherlands |
| Participating teams | Sheffield FC (England) with, among others, Chris Dolby , Andy Kiwomya ... Koninklijke HFC (Netherlands) Royal Antwerp FC (Belgium) |
| winner | Sheffield FC |
| Pioneers Cup 2014 - Huelva | |
|---|---|
| date | September 6, 2014 |
| place | Nuevo Colombino - Huelva, Spain |
| Participating teams | RC Recreativo de Huelva (Spain) Koninklijke HFC (Netherlands) Genoa FC (Italy) |
| winner | RC Recreativo de Huelva |
| Pioneers Cup 2016 - Antwerp | |
|---|---|
| date | May 21, 2016 |
| place | Bosuil Stadium - Antwerp , Belgium |
| Participating teams | Royal Antwerp FC (Belgium) with Jonas De Roeck , ... Koninklijke HFC (Netherlands) Fola Esch (Luxembourg) |
| winner | Royal HFC |
| further information | Pioneers Cup Ambassador: László Fazekas |
| Pioneers Cup 2019 - Haarlem | |
|---|---|
| date | August 31, 2019 |
| place | Haarlem , the Netherlands |
| Participating teams | FK Sveikata (Lithuania) with, among others, Gintaras Cibirka, Audrius Paškevičius ... Koninklijke HFC (Netherlands) Royal Antwerp FC (Belgium) |
| winner | FK Sveikata |
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Club of Pioneers Introduction , sheffieldfc.com, accessed on January 13, 2017 (PDF 2.68 MB)
- ↑ Pioneer Spirit ( Memento of the original from January 4, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , cliftonvillefc.net March 10, 2013, accessed January 13, 2017
- ↑ Entra en el Club of Pioneers , on: huelvaya.es of March 19, 2013, accessed on January 13, 2017
- ↑ Sheffield FC wins oldest football teams Pioneer Cup competition , on bbc.com on November 17, 2013, accessed on January 13, 2017
- ^ Chairman welcomes Royal Club Pioneers , sheffieldfc.com, May 24, 2016, accessed January 13, 2017
- ^ Chairman welcomes Royal Club Pioneers , sheffieldfc.com, May 24, 2016, accessed January 13, 2017
- Savages fc celebrates in style The Witness, August 21, 2017
- Academica de coimbra integrase no Club of Pioneers DSport.pt, 6 November 2017
- Académica integrada no Club of Pioneers Academica-oaf.pt, November 4, 2017
- / First Vienna FC new members , April 4th 2018
- / KB clubwebsite , November 5, 2018
- Corporation Wanderers , August 24, 2019