Budapesti Torna Club v Vienna Cricket and Football Club, 1897

The Austro-Hungary monarchy covered a large area of central Europe. It encompassed the modern Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovnia as well as territories that are now part of Romania, Germany, Ukraine and Italy. Austria and Hungary were independent states within this enjoying equal status (Hungary had it's own Government) .

Football within the Empire developed around three major cities- Vienna (Austria), Budapest (Hungary) and Prague (Bohemia- now Czech republic but at the time a part of Austria) . 

The above is an advertisement for a match that was played at Budapest's Millenáris pálya on Sunday October 31st. 1897 between Budapesti Torna Club (BTC) and Vienna Cricket and Football Club (Cricketer).

Football had been established in Vienna since 1894 when the Vienna Cricket Club took to the game. 

The Austria/Habsburg Monarchy Challenge Cup, initiated in 1897, was open to any teams from the Empire, but initially only teams from Vienna took part. 

This match was significant in the development of Hungarian football as it inspired the formation of other clubs in Budapest. Budapesti Torna Club, formerly primarily concerned with gymnastics, cycling and boxing, formed a football club in February 1897 - club member  Ray Ferenc had encountered the game whist studying in Switzerland and brought a genuine English football to Budapest. Ferenc Stobbe, often called The Father of Hungarian football, was also active in BTC's earliest football ventures, In February 1897 members had played a few experimental games amongst themselves, going public in May.

When they met Cricketer at Millenaris it was expected that BTC would get beaten heavily. As it was they managed to restrict their visitors to a 2-0 win (one of the goals being hotly disputed).
BTC's line up for the game was :
Stobbe , Klebersberg, Harsády, Hajós, Iszer , Lindner, Ray, Ramaszéder, Yolland, Ashton, Pesky.

The Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség was founded in January 1900, and the first Hungarian league match was played on February 17th 1901. All five teams taking part in this league were  from Budapest.
In 1902/03 Budapest sides 33 FC and  Ferencváros competed in the Austria/Habsburg Monarchy Challenge Cup. 

 Vienna Cricket and Football Club

Budapesti Torna Club

Oxford University - Tour of Austria 1899

Football was introduced to  Austria in the mid-1890's by the English community in Vienna.
The Austrian Football Association, (Comité zur Veranstaltung von Fußballwettspielen), was founded in 1898 by Mark Nicholson, a former West Bromwich Albion professional.
In 1899  the Vienna Cricket & Football Club invited Oxford University AFC to play in Austria.

The tour began in Prague on March 28th. Oxford played Slavia Prague on the day of their arrival.  Slavia were considered the strongest team on the continent; Oxford beat them 3-0. The next day they beat DFC Prague 9-0.

On 1st April  the team arrived in Vienna.

The Vienna Cricket & Football Club honoured them with a banquet, with Mark Twain amongst the guests.

On 2nd April  Oxford University AFC beat a select team of Vienna-born players 15-0 at the WAC-Platz.

The following day, at the same ground, they beat a combined Viennese and  English team 13-0.

Austria/Habsburg Monarchy - Challenge Cup 1897-98

Vienna Cricket and Football Club

Theoretically the Austria/Habsburg Monarchy - Challenge Cup, initiated in 1897, was open to all clubs in the Austro- Hungarian Empire, which would make it an early claimant to the title of 'continental championship', a forerunner of the European tournaments that flourished in the 1950's and 60's.
 However the first editions were contested exclusively by Viennese clubs. In 1900-01 2 Prague clubs, Ceský AFC Vinohrady and Slavia Praha entered, with Budapest teams coming in in 1903.
Ultimately Ferencváros' 1909 victory proved to be the only time a team from outside Vienna won the trophy in its ten year history.
The tournament was established by Englishman John Gramlick, one of the founders of the Vienna Cricket and Football Club (commonly known as Cricketer). 

The first Challenge Cup was contested by four Viennese clubs over a week in November 1897.
The newly formed Wiener FC 98 beat Rasenspielclub Training Wien 5-0 and the predominantly English team,  Cricketer overcame First Vienna Football-Club 1894 3-2.
First Vienna Football-Club 1894 was established by English and Austrian gardeners working on the Rothschild estate, and still play in the Rothschild horseracing colours.

Cricketer proved far too strong for FC98 in the final, running out 7-0 winners.