1884–85 in English football

British Football Association

On 23 October 1884, a number of members of the Lancashire Football Association, at the instigation of Bolton Wanderers, met in Blackburn with a view to resisting new Football Association legislation restricting the ability of clubs to "import" players. The result was the formation of a new association, the British Football Association, made up of Lancashire clubs, plus Aston Villa and Walsall Swifts, and Sunderland provisionally joining, pending a club committee vote; the main refusenik was Blackburn Rovers, which had already "grandfathered" in its imported players, having been the first club to do so en masse.

The breakaway was forestalled in July 1885, when the Football Association voted to allow professional players to take part in football competitions, by 35 votes to 12, and the BFA was no longer necessary.

National team

England finished second in the British Home Championship, which was won by Scotland.

• England score given first

Key

• H = Home match
• BHC = British Home Championship

Note – Some sources credit England's third goal as a Joe Lofthouse goal, but match reports clearly state an Eames own goal.http://www.englandfootballonline.com/Seas1872-00/1884-85/M0023Ire1885.html

Honours

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

References

References

1. (23 February 1885). "Football Notes". Liverpool Mercury.
2. (24 October 1884). "The Lancashire Clubs and the New Rules". York Herald.
3. (1 November 1884). "British Football Association". York Herald.
4. (24 July 1885). "National Football Association". Supplement to the Nottinghamshire Guardian.