A new blue plaque has been unveiled underneath the Wicker Arches in Sheffield to mark the 160th anniversary of the World’s first inter-city football match and away game.
On 2 January 1865 a party from Sheffield FC boarded a train at the old Wicker- based Midland station to travel to Nottingham where they played Nottinghamshire.
This is the latest in a number of plaques unveiled by the charity Sheffield Home of Football (SHOF).
Stephen Wood, a football historian and trustee for SHOF, said: “We take away games for granted as football fans but the very first one took part 160 years ago today.”
The game itself was played at Meadows Cricket Ground in Nottingham. The Nottinghamshire team which went on to become Notts County had only formed the previous month at the George Hotel.
Sheffield Football Club founded in 1857, and considered the world’s first team, won the game 1-0.
The blue plaque has been fixed to an archway on Walker Street in the Wicker area of Sheffield.
The inscription, which provides further details about that day, reads: “Returning in triumph with the match ball, the victorious Sheffield players kicked it through the streets of Sheffield to Broomhill. From this point onward football enthusiasts used the railway to send the game across the United Kingdom and later the World”
This latest plaque is only the start of ambitious plans by the football charity.
According to Mr Wood, Sheffield is “the biggest open air museum on the planet”.
“We will keep going with more statues and plaques.” he said.
“This city is the home of football and we want Unesco World heritage recognition.”