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American Football Association (1884–1924)

The American Football Association (AFA) was the first attempt in the United States to form an organizing soccer body.^[1] It was the second oldest sports league to form, behind the National League of baseball in 1876,^[2] as well as being the oldest soccer organization in the United States.

History[edit]

The Association was formed in 1884 at a meeting at Clark Thread Company in East Newark New Jersey. ^[3]

Standardization of Rules[edit]

The purpose of the AFA included an attempt to standardize rules and procedures. Which set of rules that were officially used by the AFA is unclear. At the time it was report that the new organization had adopted English rules.^[4] though they may have been the 1881 version.^[5] But in the 1885–86 SFA's Annual the AFA's secretary, P.J. O'Toole claimed the Scottish Rules were the basis for the American game.^[6] In addition, in 1887 a review of the AFA's Constitution, By-Laws and Laws of the Game showed how the AFA rules aligned more with the SFA's rules, rather than the English rules.^[7]

Professional encroachment[edit]

In 1894, the American League of Professional Football formed by multiple National League Baseball owners in an attempt to fill their stadiums during the winter. It was the first attempt to form a fully professional league. And though it only lasted for 17 days, the AFA still barred any players who had signed contracts with the new league from playing in AFA-sanctioned events.^[8]

Initial struggles[edit]

The AFA suffered from their initial problems in 1899, after the Panic of 1893,^[9] which had a negative effect on the Northeast's economy and when the textile workers went on strike, in addition professional players started becoming part of the New York and New Jersey teams, resulting in the cancellation of the American Cup from 1899 to 1905. Arlington A.A. maintained the cup during that time period.^[10]

Resurgence[edit]

The tour of both Corinthian F.C. and The Pilgrims F.C. in 1906 brought interest in soccer back to the region and the AFA reformed under the encouragement of Hal Holden. A new group of officers were reelected and the American Cup was reborn.^[11]

Association with the FA[edit]

AFA was allied with The Football Association, becoming a member on February 22, 1909, at an FA meeting chaired by Charles Clegg,^[13] and drew on that organization's approach to the game. As part of its efforts, the AFA directly organized cup competitions as well as overseeing the operations of member leagues. In 1884, the AFA established the American Cup,^[3] which for several decades was the highest competitive soccer competition in the United States.

The weakness of the AFA lay in its refusal to expand outside the southern New England region.^[14] In addition, those involved in American Soccer had concerns about the AFA concentrating on professional players and their strong ties to the FA. AFA had never had an American president and in 1911 when they banned AFA-affiliated teams from playing Corinthian F.C., who was split from the FA, it was too much for many and they looked to join the newly formed American Amateur Football Association (AAFA).^[15]

Struggle with AAFA[edit]

When a movement began to create a national governing body in 1911, the AFA found itself confronting the newly established AAFA, a body which quickly became national.^[16] The AFA argued that it should be recognized by FIFA. However, several member organizations defected from the AFA to the AAFA in 1912. The AAFA quickly moved to reform itself as the United States Football Association, receiving FIFA recognition in 1913.^[17] The AFA continued to run the American Cup through 1924, but by that time it had been superseded by the National Challenge Cup and National Amateur Cup.^[18]

American Cup[edit]

References[edit]

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