The First Football Match in History: Barnes vs Richmond, 1863

<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>FOOTBALL | History & Origins
SOURCE: The Football Association historical archives; contemporary "Field" magazine reporting, 1863 | LAST UPDATED: 2026-09-10 | READ TIME: 6 min read

DIRECT ANSWER

The first football match played under the Football Association's newly written rules took place on December 19, 1863, between Barnes FC and Richmond FC at Limes Field in Mortlake, London. It ended in a 0-0 draw, played 15-a-side rather than the modern 11-a-side format. The match came just weeks after the FA itself was founded, and it directly led to a split in the sport — Richmond disliked the new rules and went on to help found rugby football instead.

Before the Match: Founding the FA's Rules

The Football Association was formed in October 1863, when representatives from several London-area clubs met to agree on one standardized rulebook — before this, different clubs and schools played by their own, often wildly different, local rules. The most contentious issue was "hacking" — deliberately kicking an opponent's shins, which some clubs considered a legitimate part of the game. Ebenezer Cobb Morley, the FA's first secretary and captain of Barnes FC, argued that allowing it would keep adult men from wanting to play at all. At a decisive meeting on December 8, 1863, hacking was formally banned under the new laws.

The Match: Barnes vs Richmond

Eleven days later, on December 19, 1863, Barnes and Richmond — neighboring clubs and regular opponents — played the first match under these new rules at Limes Field in Mortlake. It was a 15-a-side match, since squad sizes hadn't yet standardized to the 11 players used today. Contemporary reporting in the magazine Field described the game as goalless and fairly even, though not particularly fast-paced by the standards of the day.
What isn't confirmed: surviving accounts name Morley as Barnes's captain, but a complete list of every player who took the field for either side doesn't appear to have survived in the historical record. If you see a full 15-name roster for this match elsewhere, treat it with some skepticism about its sourcing.
Was it really "official"? This is genuinely disputed. Some historians note that Richmond weren't registered FA members at the time, meaning the match doesn't cleanly qualify as an "official FA match" in the strictest sense — it's better understood as the first real-world test of the FA's brand-new laws, played between one FA member (Barnes) and a willing neighboring club (Richmond), rather than a sanctioned competitive fixture.

The Aftermath: A Fork in the Road for Football and Rugby

The match's biggest long-term consequence wasn't the result — it was what happened next. Richmond, unhappy with the ban on hacking and carrying the ball, drifted away from the FA's version of the game entirely. The club went on to become one of the founding members of the Rugby Football Union in 1871, when rugby split off as its own separate, formally organized sport. Barnes, by contrast, stayed within the FA's rules and continued as an early fixture of what would become modern association football.

What Came Next


The first FA Cup Final was played in 1872 — Wanderers beat Royal Engineers 1-0 at Kennington Oval, itself normally a cricket ground.
The first full international match took place on November 30, 1872, between Scotland and England at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow — the first major match to use the now-standard 11-a-side format, ending in a 0-0 draw in front of roughly 4,000 spectators.


FAQs

When was the first football match played?
December 19, 1863, between Barnes FC and Richmond FC in Mortlake, London — the first match played under the newly written Football Association rules.
What was the score of the first football match?
0-0. Contemporary reports described it as an even, if unhurried, contest between two familiar local rivals.
How many players were on each team in the first football match?
15 per side — 30 players total. The modern 11-a-side format wasn't standardized until later; the first major match to use it was the 1872 Scotland vs England international.
Was the first football match really "official"?
It's disputed. Richmond weren't FA members at the time, so some historians argue it doesn't count as a strictly "official" FA fixture — it's more accurately described as the first real match played under the FA's new laws, rather than a sanctioned competitive game.
Why did Richmond stop playing association football?
Richmond disliked the FA's new rules, particularly the ban on hacking and carrying the ball. The club later helped found the Rugby Football Union in 1871, choosing to develop what became rugby football instead.

Sources & Verification

Verified against The Football Association's historical record, contemporary 1863 reporting in Field magazine, and cross-referenced historical accounts of Barnes FC's early seasons.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-10 by the Laws of Sport Editorial Team.
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