Looking at the Premiership in it's current format and the hype that surrounds it, it is hard to imagine that the origins of quite a number of top English clubs can be found in churches and Sunday schools. During the infancy of the modern game in the late 1800's, football was seen by some church members as a response to the social problems of the day. With many cities lacking any form of infrastructure for leisure, forming local teams and leagues meant that there was a way of keeping young men engaged in an active pastime outside work and away from alcohol abuse. In fact, it was the desire to have a diversion away from public houses when work finished on a Saturday lunchtime that created the traditional kick-off time of 3pm on a Saturday afternoon.
One example of a top team with church origins is Manchester City, who were founded in 1880 by members of St Mark's Church of England, West Gorton as an answer to local gang violence, high unemployment and alcoholism. The rector's daughter of St Mark's, Anna Connell, was so convinced in the formation of a team that she is said to have visited every home in the parish to drum up involvment and remains the only woman to have acted as one of the founding figures of a major British football club.
St Mark's F.C., later to become Manchester City
Another team with an early church affiliation are Fulham, who were originally founded by John Henry Cardwell, vicar of St. Andrews Church of England in West Kensington in 1879 under the title of Fulham St Andrew's Church Sunday School F.C. Cardwell felt that the church alieninated young people while football and sport was a way of reversing the trend.
Everton F.C. are another club with church foundations, being formed in 1878 as St Domingo's to give the congregation of St Domingo's Methodist Church a sport to play during the winter months, while Aston Villa were founded in 1874 by members of the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel in Handsworth, Birmingham.
More to follow....
