Civil Service F.C.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Civil Service F.C. is an English football club based in the city of London. The club was one of the dozen founding sides of the Football Association on October 28, 1863, and lays claim to an earlier, but uncertain, date of origin. It was represented at the founder's meeting by Mr. Warne of the War Office, leading to the side often being identified as the War Office Club in historical accounts of the founding of the FA.
Civil Service played a significant role in the introduction and popularization of the game of football in Europe early in the 1900s through touring, undertaking their first continental tour in 1901. In recognition of their contributions the club is an honorary life member of Real Madrid and Slavia Prague.
Early in the club's history the decision was taken to remain an amateur side in the face of the emergence of the professional game. Civil Service was subsequently active in the formation of several amateur leagues including the Amateur Football Alliance, the Isthmian League (1906), and the Southern Amateur League (1907).
The club continued to participate in FA Cup play until 1951, but its best results came in its earliest appearances there. In 1902 it reached the divisional final where it was put out by Luton, and the following year advanced to the third round where it was put out by Fulham.
CSFC enjoyed its greatest success in the years leading up to World War I with several wins in other cup competitions to its credit including the London Senior Cup (1901), the Middlesex Senior Cup (1908 and 1913), and the Amateur Football Association Cup (1910, and again later in 1920 and 1930). They also captured the Southern Amateur League title in 1913 and 1914. In later years club's accumulation of honours was modest with a SAL title in 1939 and two more league triumphs in 1969 and 1971.
More recently the club has seen the return of a greater measure of success. They captured the AFA Senior Cup in 1997 with a 4-3 win over Lensbury, securing the trophy for the first time in 67 years. The 2001-02 season saw a return to Division 1 play in the Southern Amateur League and a respectable third place result.
[edit] Notable players
- C.W Herbridge, four caps for England in 1920 in matches against Wales, France, Ireland and Belgium.
[edit] External links
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