1857

Sheffield Club formed. Members play among themselves and against other local men's organizations.

1862

Notts County formed. England 's oldest professional club. Early matches are played on local cricket grounds.

1863

The Football Association is formed.

1871

FA Cup introduced by the Football Association, led by Charles Alcock

1872

First official International game, Scotland v England

1874

Shinguards (to protect the legs) said to have been introduced, by adapting the pads used by cricketers. As with cricket, the guards are worn outside of the stockings.

1875

Crossbar introduced to replace the tape across the goal

1876

Welsh FA formed

1878

Commonly reported date for first use of referee's whistle. However, the game was controlled by two umpires at this time. The referee was merely a time-keeper.

1882

Two handed throw-in introduced

The International Board was instituted to maintain the laws of the game

1883

FA Cup won by a Northern team for the first time (Blackburn Olympic)

1885

Professionalism legalized.

1887

Preston North End beat Hyde FC 26-0 in the 1st round of the FA Cup, the largest ever margin of victory in English football.

1888

Football League founded, after an initiative by William McGregor of Aston Villa. 12 clubs participated.

1889

Preston North End win the first League Championship and the FA Cup, to “do the double”

1891

The penalty kick is included in the laws

Mr Brodie of Liverpool introduces the goal net (and patents the design)

1892

The Football League is extended to two divisions by taking clubs from the Football Alliance.

1893

The FA Amateur Cup starts.

1895
1896

The FA Cup is stolen from a shop window in Birmingham and never recovered. An exact replica is made the year after.

1901

Players are subject to a maximum wage.

1904

FIFA founded

1905

First £1,000 transfer; Alf Common to Middlesbrough

1907

Players' Union re-introduced

1908

First Charity Shield match

Transfer fee maximum set at £350 in January but withdrawn in April

1914

King George V becomes the first reigning monarch to attend the FA Cup Final. Christmas Truce football matches.

1920

53,000 fans watch Dick, Kerr Ladies of Preston play St Helen's Ladies at Goodison Park

1921

A yellow shirt introduced for goalkeepers in International matches

FA bans women teams from playing in FA stadiums. The ban continued for 50 years.

1922

Maximum wage in England rises to £8 during the season, £6 in summer. A benefit not exceeding £650 can be granted to a player after five year's service.

Billy Minter of St. Albans City scores all seven of his team's goals in a cup-tie with Dulwich Hamlet but finishes on the losing side as Dulwich win 8-7.

1923

Littlewoods Football Pools commenced.

1925

New off-side law introduced. Only two men needed between an attacker and the goal, not three.

1926

Huddersfield Town are Football League Champions for the third successive year

1927

A Welsh club, Cardiff City, wins the FA Cup

1928

The four British nations resign from FIFA

The first £10,000 transfer – paid by Arsenal for David Jack.

1930

Uruguay win the first World Cup. England do not take part in a World Cup until 1950

1931

Goalkeepers allowed to take four steps when holding the ball, not two.

1935

Arsenal equal Huddersfield 's record of three successive League championships

1936

Joe Payne of Luton scores ten goals in a League game against Bristol Rovers, which Luton win 12-0

1938

Major re-write of the laws of the game

England team give Nazi salute prior to game against Germany in Berlin

1939

Extensions to Wembley Stadium allow the first 100,000 crowd at an English Cup Final (actually 99,370 attend)

Numbering of player's shirts introduced for Football League games.

The Football League is cancelled after the second week because of the outbreak of World War Two.

1945

The FA Cup returns after the War. The League has to wait another year.

1950

England lose 1-0 to USA in World Cup

1953

Stanley Matthews leads Blackpool to a 4-3 victory over Bolton in the most famous FA Cup Final of all time, often referred to as the ‘Matthews Final'

England beaten 6-3 by Hungary at Wembley

1954

UEFA formed

1956

Bert Trautmann, goalkeeper for Manchester City , broke his neck but carried on playing to see his team to victory in the FA Cup Final

Real Madrid win first UEFA European Cup. No English club competes

1958

Munich air crash kills 8 Manchester United ‘Busby Babes'

1961

Maximum wage for players abolished after a campaign by Jimmy Hill and the players' union.

1961

Tottenham become the first club in the 20th century to win the League and FA Cup double

1963

Tottenham become the first English club to win a European trophy, the UEFA Cup Winner's Cup

1964

BBC Match of the Day broadcast for the first time

1965

Substitutes, for injured players, allowed for the first time in the English game. Tactical substitutions were allowed from 1967.

1966

England host and win the World Cup

1968

Manchester United become the first club to win the European Cup

1970

Yellow and red cards used for the first time by FIFA, an invention of English referee, Ken Aston

1971

Arsenal win the League and FA Cup double

1974

England fail to qualify for the World Cup after a 1-1 draw against Poland. Ramsey sacked as England manager. England do not qualify again until 1982.

1977

Liverpool win the European Cup and starts a run of 5 consecutive wins of the competition by English clubs (three wins by Liverpool, two by Nottingham Forest and one by Aston Villa).

1978

Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa signed by Tottenham after their World Cup success with Argentina

1979

First £1million transfer fee – paid by Nottingham Forest for Trevor Francis.

1981

Three points for a win introduced by the Football League

1984

Liverpool complete a third consecutive League victory. In the 18 seasons from 1973 to 1990, Liverpool won the League on 11 occasions. They also win the European Cup for a fourth time.

1985

At the European Cup Final at Heysel Stadium, 39 Juventus fans are killed after fighting with Liverpool fans. English clubs are banned from European competitions for five years

56 fans killed in a fire at Bradford City stadium

1987

Play-offs introduced as part of the promotion process with the League, reviving a formula first tried in the 1890s

1989

Overcrowding leads to the death of 96 Liverpool fans at Hillsborough. The subsequent Taylor report requires stadiums in England to become all-seater

1990

England reach the semi-finals of the World Cup

1992

FA Premier League formed to maximise the return on income from television revenue for the top 22 clubs.

UEFA forms the Champions League competition

Back passes to goalkeepers rule changed to reduce defensive play

1995

Eric Cantona, playing for Manchester United, attacks a Crystal Palace fan

Bosman ruling allows European players freedom to leave their clubs at the end of their contract

1996

England host the European Championships and the national team reach the semi-finals

In the first game of the 1996-97 season, David Beckham scores a spectacular goal from within his own half for Manchester United.

1999

Manchester United win a treble of League, FA Cup and Champions League

2001

Sven-Goran Eriksson becomes the first overseas manager of the English national side. He leads England to a famous 5-1 victory over Germany .

National Football Museum opens in Preston

2002

National Football Museum launches Hall of Fame

2003

Roman Abramovich buys Chelsea. Chelsea win the League in 2005 and 2006 under Jose Mourinho

2005

Liverpool win the Champions League in one of the most exciting games of all time

2008

Lord Triesman appointed as first independent Chairman of the Football Association