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Phoenix were active in the Moscow area in the years leading up to the war with the Central Powers (1914).
Based at Zuyevo, Phoenix played in the Orekhovo-Zuyevo league. 

Sheffield Wednesday At The Seaside

The seaside preparation paid off as Wednesday beat Grimsby Town 5-1 at Owlerton on 16th January, David McLean scoring 4.
The clubs official name was The Wednesday Football Club up until 1929, but the press often referred to them as Sheffield Wednesday.

Foot Ball Club Bergamo

Foot Ball Club Bergamo was founded by Swiss residents of the city in 1903-04.
They participated in the Lombardy championships up until 1910, but were eclipsed by their neighbours Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio (founded 1907).

London FA Senior Cup

The London FA was established in 1882, effectively as a branch of the actual Football Association with the purpose of overseeing club football in the metropolitan area. This was to enable the FA to focus on administering the Laws of the Game, the FA Cup  and international football. Any clubs within 12 miles of Charing Cross fall under the jurisdiction of the London  Association.
The following clubs were members in the inaugural season:

Acton	Hermits	Olympic	Vulcans
Alexandra	Hotspur	Olympic Rangers	West End
Alpine Rovers	Kildare	Park	Westminster Club
Argus	Lennox	Pilgrims	Woodford Bridge
Clapham Rovers	Lyonstown	Prairie Rangers
Clapton	Melrose	Rangers
City Ramblers	Minerva	St Alban’s
Dreadnought	Morton Rangers	St Bartholomew’s Hospital
Excelsior	Mosquitoes	St Bride’s
Finchley	Oakshott	St Peter’s
Grove House	Old Brightonians	Somerset
Hanover	Old Etonians	Union
Hatton Rovers	Old Westminsters	Upton Park
Hendon	Olympian	Upton Rangers

The first President was A.F Kinnaird, Vice presidents were C.W Alcock and R.A Ogilvie. Hon. sec. was N. L Jackson (founder of Corinthian F.C, who eschewed 'competitive' football). London followed the example of provincial associations and instituted a cup competition for member clubs.
Southern Football was essentially amateur up until the 1890s (Royal Arsenal and Brentford  are the only teams featured here to play League football until Wimbledon and Barnet graduated to the League in the 1970s and 1990s).
The early years of the competition were dominated by venerable amateur clubs that regularly saw players capped by  England.
Old Carthusians had won the FA Cup in 1880-81 and were semi-finalists in the following 2 seasons.  Their wins in  1894 and 1897 were 'doubles' in which they also won the FA Amateur Cup.

                                                                         Clapton 1889

1882-83	Upton Park	4	0	Old Foresters
1883-84	Upton Park	4	1	Old Foresters
1884-85	Old Foresters	2	1	Upton Park
1885-86	Ashburnham Rovers	2	1	Hotspur
1886-87	Old Westminsters	1	1	Casuals
	Shared
1887-88	Old Westminsters	1	0	Casuals
1888-89	Clapton	4	2	Casuals
1889-90	Old Westminsters	1	0	Royal Arsenal
1890-91	Royal Arsenal	6	0	St Bartholomew’s Hospital
1891-92	Old Westminsters	2	1	Ilford
1892-93	Old Westminsters	3	0	Casuals
1893-94	Old Foresters	2	1	Old Carthusians
1894-95	Old Carthusians	6	0	Casuals
1895-96	Old Carthusians	3	1	Casuals
1896-97	Old Carthusians	5	2	3rd Grenadier Guards
1897-98	Brentford	5	1	Ilford
1898-99	Old Carthusians	2	1	London Caledonians
99-00	London Caledonians	1	0	Old Westminsters
1900-01	Ilford	2	1	Clapton
1901-02	Civil Service	3	2	Shepherds Bush
1902-03	Old Malvernians	4	2	Clapton
1903-04	Leyton	1	0	Ilford
1904-05	Ilford	2	1	Ealing
1905-06	New Crusaders	2	2	Dulwich Hamlet
		3	1
1906-07	West Norwood	4	1	West Hampstead
1907-08	London Caledonians	1	0	Dulwich Hamlet
1908-09	Clapton	1	0	Nunhead
1909-10	Bromley	1	0	Clapton
1910-11	Clapton	2	0	Ilford
1911-12	Barking	3	0	London Caledonians
1912-13	Tufnell Park	2	0	Metrogas
1913-14	Ilford	1	1	Nunhead
		2	0
1914-15	London Caledonians	4	1	Clapton
1919-20	Leytonstone	5	2	Barking Town
1920-21	Barking Town	4	1	Dulwich Hamlet
1921-22	Ilford	3	1	Nunhead
1922-23	Nunhead	1	0	Bromley
1923-24	Tufnell Park	2	1	Kingstonian
1924-25	Dulwich Hamlet	2	0	Clapton
1925-26	London Caledonians	3	1	Kingstonian
1926-27	Barking Town	4	2	London Caledonians
1927-28	London Caledonians	2	0	Dulwich Hamlet
1928-29	Ilford	4	1	London Caledonians
1929-30	Ilford	4	1	Walthamstow Avenue
1930-31	Wimbledon	1	0	Kingstonian
1931-32	Hayes	3	1	Ilford
1932-33	Finchley	2	0	Barnet
1933-34	Wimbledon	1	1	Leyton
		2	1
1934-35	Enfield	2	0	Metropolitan Police
1935-36	Walthamstow Avenue	1	0	Golders Green
1936-37	Walthamstow Avenue	6	3	Hayes

The International Football Association Board

FIFA states that The Laws of the Game are the preserve of the International Football Association Board.
The first meeting of the International Football Association Board, attended by representatives of the Football Associations of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, took place on 2nd June 1886 in London.
When FIFA was founded they embraced the International Football Association Board Laws of the Game. The International Football Association Board in turn recognized the validity of FIFA, but FIFA did not have representation at the IFAB until the 1914 annual meeting, which was held in Paris. Minutes of the annual meetings of this body can be viewed  here.

London University in Russia, 1914

In April 1914 London University played 3 matches in the Moscow area of Russia.
The first match was played at Orekhovo, about 100km from Moscow, against a club side called Morozovtsy*. The tourists won 5-1. The ground was new, and before the match the pitch was blessed by a priest who spoke about the benefits of sport for the working classes. There was a crowd of about 7,000.
The next match was against a Moscow Universities XI. London again ran out winners by 7-0, watched by a crowd of 6,000.
On the 24th April (according to the western calendar, as you can from the poster it was 13th in Russia!) a match was played against Moscow Clubs Select (without distinction of nationality). The attendance was reported as being 10,000! The tourists won 2-1 (some sources give 1-0 but there are contemporary Russian reports of 2-1 with Denisov scoring for the hosts). 

Russian reporters commented positively on the teamwork of the visitors, their accurate passing, strong shooting and impressive fitness. Russian spectators were less impressed by the physical aspect of the English game, particularly shoulder charges. 

Contemporary reports refer to a J.H Lockton scoring 2 goals v Morozovtsy and 4 vs Universities. The only other references to individual London University players I have found are that the goalkeeper was named Williams and that Bateman played inside right and scored 2 vs Universities. 

* The present FC Znamya Truda

FC Porto v Fortuna

Porto (stripes) and Fortuna (white)

Porto (Portugal) and Vigo (Spain) are 160km apart.

On 15 December 1907 FC Porto played host to Fortuna FC of Vigo, 

This was Porto's first match against foreign opposition. Porto won 4-1. 

A return match was played in January 1908, Porto's first game abroad.

Billy Meredith

Can't go for too long without a Billy Meredith post!
Happy Saint David's Day to all our Welsh readers.