All you need to know about Horsham's football history

Football is the most popular sport in the world in terms of both the number of players and spectators.
Carfax United football club, winners of the Horsham Challenge Shield, seasons 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905Carfax United football club, winners of the Horsham Challenge Shield, seasons 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905
Carfax United football club, winners of the Horsham Challenge Shield, seasons 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905

A total of 44.5 million people tuned in to watch the BBC’s television coverage of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Internationally an average of 815 million watched the group stages of this year’s competition.

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The most widely-played version of the sport is Association football which has evolved from earlier ball games.

Horsham has a rich footballing historyHorsham has a rich footballing history
Horsham has a rich footballing history

A form of football has been played in Great Britain since the Middle Ages, and games that involve kicking a ball have existed for millennia.

The Greeks, Romans and Han dynasty Chinese all played ball games that involved kicking, passing between players and scoring points.

Horsham has had a football team since 1871, the year that the Football Association introduced its Challenge Cup.

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On February 23 1871 the West Sussex Gazette reported that Horsham’s first football club had been founded and now played in Springfield Park.

East End Ramblers football club, 1935-36East End Ramblers football club, 1935-36
East End Ramblers football club, 1935-36

The Horsham and District Football Association was founded in 1895, ‘for the purpose of providing players for the Horsham FC’ and the early minute books record the following clubs as members of the Horsham and District Football Association; Horsham FC, Y.M.C.A. FC, Shelley United FC, Carfax FC, Bishopric Wanderers FC, Roffey FC, Warnham FC, Working Mens FC, Billingshurst FC, Handcross FC, and Southwater FC.

Horsham District is now well served with football clubs who cater for all age groups, genders, backgrounds and abilities.

They range from workplace teams, women’s teams, disability football teams, walking football teams, children’s teams and leagues, through to large clubs with a major following.

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Each group and club has its own history, complete with its own unique characters, successes and stories.

It would be impossible to outline a complete and detailed history of every club to have operated in Horsham District, but Horsham Museum’s exhibition, The Beautiful Game: A History of Football in Horsham District hopes to explore some of the stories that have contributed to Horsham District’s rich footballing tradition.

The Museum has received a fantastic response from local clubs and individuals.

The exhibtion is lucky enough to be displaying a wide range of objects.

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These include shirts, trophies, archival material, photos, clippings, artworks and footage that have kindly been lent to us for the duration of the exhibition.

The Beautiful Game: A History of Football in Horsham District opened on January 12.

The exhibition will be running until Saturday March 30.

Horsham Museum and Art Gallery is open from Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm.

Admission to Horsham Museum and Art Gallery is free.

For more information about the exhibit or about the museum please visit their website at www.horshammuseum.org

The museum is situated at 9 Causeway, Horsham.

For more details call 01403 254959.