The 1894 USFSA Football Championship was the 1st staging of the USFSA Football Championship. This was the very first recognized football championship to be played in France. The tournament was held on the road between 15 April and 6 May 1894.[1]
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Dates | 15 April – 6 May |
| Teams | 6 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Standard Athletic Club (1st title) |
| Runner-up | The White Rovers |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 5 |
| Goals scored | 25 (5 per match) |
The first competition featured just four Paris teams and was organized on a knockout basis with Standard Athletic Club becoming the French champions after beating The White Rovers 2–2 and 2–0 in the replay of the final.[2]
Participants
editThe first national championship in team sports in France was the high schools rugby football championship in 1891. Its success prompted the Parisian clubs to start a championship for football as well. So, in 1894, it was decided to hold a "championship" among the volunteering football clubs of the U.S.F.S.A. The tournament gathered six teams, of which 4 were clubs from Paris, thus making it seem more of a championship of Paris rather than a French championship.[1]
Format
editThe competition was played under a knockout cup system. Four clubs, Standard AC, International AC, White Rovers and CA Neuilly took part in a preliminary round, while Club Français and Cercle Pédestre d'Asnières received a bye to the semi-finals. All the matches took place on the Racing Club de France grounds in Levallois. The donator of the trophy was a wealthy sports-loving American businessman, James Gordon Bennett.[1]
Bracket
edit| First round | Semi-finals | #Final | ||||||||
| CP Asnières | ||||||||||
| 22 April 1894 – Bécon-les-Bruyères | ||||||||||
| bye | ||||||||||
| Standard AC | 5 | |||||||||
| 15 April 1894 – Bécon-les-Bruyères | ||||||||||
| CP Asnières | 0 | |||||||||
| Standard AC | Forfeit | |||||||||
| 29 April and 6 May 1894 – Bécon-les-Bruyères | ||||||||||
| International AC | ||||||||||
| Standard AC | 2 (2) | |||||||||
| White Rovers | 2 (0) | |||||||||
| Club Français | ||||||||||
| 22 April 1894 – Bécon-les-Bruyères | ||||||||||
| bye | ||||||||||
| White Rovers | 1 | |||||||||
| 15 April 1894 – Bécon-les-Bruyères | ||||||||||
| Club Français | 0 | |||||||||
| White Rovers | 13 | |||||||||
| CA Neuilly | 0 | |||||||||
Results
editFirst round
editBye (2):
| Standard AC | Forfeit | International Athletic Club |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Note: At the last moment, the International AC withdrew, without the reason being known.
| The White Rovers | 13–0 | Cercle Athlétique de Neuilly |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Semi-finals
edit| Standard AC | 5–0 | CP Asnières |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| The White Rovers | 1–0 | Club Français |
|---|---|---|
Mac Bain  75' |
Report |
Note: Rovers were "not expecting so much resistance", but end up scoring fifteen minutes from the end of the match by Mac Bain, on a corner kick taken by J. Wood, slightly helped by the wind.[3]
Final
edit| Standard AC | 2–2 | The White Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| N. Tunmer A. Tunmer |
Report | J. Wood Roscoe |
Replay
edit| Standard AC | 2–0 | The White Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| Hunter 35' Vines 88' |
Report |
Winner
edit| 1894 USFSA Football Championship |
|---|
| Standard AC |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Origins of the French League". RSSSF. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ Football in France, a statistical record 1894–2003: Alex Graham (2004)
- ^ "White Rovers 1–0 Club Français review". babel.hathitrust.org/. 28 April 1894. Retrieved 25 July 2022.