1894 USFSA Football Championship

1894 USFSA Football Championship
Tournament details
CountryFrance
Dates15 April – 6 May
Teams6
Final positions
ChampionsStandard Athletic Club (1st title)
Runner-upThe White Rovers
Tournament statistics
Matches played5
Goals scored25 (5 per match)
1895 →

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]

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

The 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]

Teams Town
Standard Athletic Club Paris
International Athletic Club Paris
White Rovers Paris
Cercle athlétique de Neuilly Neuilly-sur-Seine
Club Français Paris
Cercle pédestre d'Asnières Asnières-sur-Seine

Format

The 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

 
First roundSemi-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

First round

Bye (2):

CP Asnières
Club Français
Standard ACForfeitInternational Athletic Club
Report
Racing Club's ground, Bécon-les-Bruyères

Note: At the last moment, the International AC withdrew, without the reason being known.

The White Rovers13–0Cercle Athlétique de Neuilly
Report
Racing Club's ground, Bécon-les-Bruyères
Referee: Neek

Semi-finals

Standard AC5–0CP Asnières
Report
Racing Club's ground, Bécon-les-Bruyères
Referee: Sleator
The White Rovers1–0Club Français
Mac Bain 75' Report
Racing Club's ground, Bécon-les-Bruyères
Referee: Georges Caizac

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

Main article: 1894 USFSA Football Championship Final
Standard AC2–2The White Rovers
N. Tunmer
A. Tunmer 		Report J. Wood
Roscoe
Racing Club's ground, Bécon-les-Bruyères
Referee: Daumay (Club Français)

Replay

Standard AC2–0The White Rovers
Hunter 35'
Vines 88'		 Report
Racing Club's ground, Bécon-les-Bruyères
Referee: Daumay (Club Français)

Winner

1894 USFSA Football Championship
Standard AC

References

  1. ^ a b c "Origins of the French League". RSSSF. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  2. ^ Football in France, a statistical record 1894–2003: Alex Graham (2004)
  3. ^ "White Rovers 1–0 Club Français review". babel.hathitrust.org/. 28 April 1894. Retrieved 25 July 2022.