Sheffield Football Clubs’ Summer Fixtures – Enjoy the sun, football & history
There is plenty of Sheffield football to watch between now and September with the sun on your back and a football history book in your hand. With high profile friendlies, local derbies, exotic overseas games, a You Tube team and the actual season beginning on the first weekend of August (Championship), there is no reason to moan about the lack of an international tournament this summer.
The early season fixtures have created a history lesson in early Association football. There is still no news on who Wednesday will play to celebrate their 150th anniversary on the 5th September but they are at home on the 9th of September to Nottingham Forest. The fixture computer has produced a corker here, as Forest are the second oldest professional football club in the world (1865) after their County neighbours (1862). With Wednesday (1867), the third oldest professional club; a game between second and third beckons.
(Stoke City FC claim to be older than Wednesday with the year of 1863 on their badges but most research now confirms them as 4th with an actual foundation date of 1868. Appropriately the Potters are in Sheffield on the 25th of July to play Sheffield United.)
The football match of the summer for history fans is the friendly between Sheffield FC and Hallam FC on Sunday 30th July. A match between the world’s two oldest football clubs with the longest rivalry of any other. Interestingly Sheffield United have decided to play both Sheffield FC and Hallam FC as part of their build up to their first season in the Championship after six seasons in League One.
(Sheffield FC celebrate their 160th birthday on the 24th October 2017 and at the time of writing it not yet known who their celebratory match will be against.)
In between the local derbies Wednesday and United fly to Portugal and Spain respectively to fine tune their match play before they meet at Hillsborough on September 23rd in the keenly awaited ‘Steel City Derby’. (Sky will already be considering this for their TV schedules so it could quickly move to the Sunday 24th)
SUMMER 2017 FIXTURES (as of 21/6/17)
Sheffield FC (founded 1857)
Chesterfield FC (founded 1919) Home 4th July (Friendly) 19.30
Sheffield United FC (founded 1889) Home 11th July 2017 (Friendly) 19.30
Doncaster Rovers FC (founded 1879) Home 22nd July 2017 (Friendly) 15.00
AFC Emley (founded 2005) Away 25th July 2017 (Friendly) 19.45
Hallam FC (founded 1860) Home 30th July 2017 (Friendly) 14.00
Staveley Miners Welfare FC (founded 1962) Away 2nd August 2017 (Friendly) 19.45
Rebel FC (founded 2017) Home 5th August 2017 (Friendly) 19.45 15.00
(A YouTuber sports team managed by Rio Ferdinand)
Hallam FC (founded 1860)
Penistone Church FC (founded 1906) Home 18th July 2017 (Friendly) 19.30
Phoenix FC (founded 1910) Away 26th July 2017 (Friendly) 19.15
Sheffield FC (founded 1857) Away 30th July 2017 (Friendly) 14.00
Sheffield United (founded 1889) Home 1st August 2017 (Friendly) 19.45
Sheffield Wednesday FC (founded 1867)
Alfreton FC (founded 1959) Away 11th July 2017 (Friendly) 19.30
Mansfield Town FC (founded 1897 -but no Mansfield clubs by 1901) Away 15th July 2017 (Friendly) 15.00
Portimonense SC (founded 1914) Away 19th July (Friendly) 19.00
Vitoria de Setubal FC (founded 1910) Away 22nd July (Friendly) 20.00
Doncaster Rovers FC (founded 1879) Away 25th July 2017 (Friendly) 19.30
Preston North End FC (founded 1878) Away 5th August 2017 (League) 15.00
Queens Park Rangers FC (founded 1886) Home 12th August 2017 (League) 15.00
Sunderland FC (founded 1880 ) Home 15th August (League) 19.45
Fulham FC (founded 1879) Away 19th August 2017 (League) 15.00
Burton United FC (founded 1871*) Away 26th August 2017 (League) 15.00
Nottingham Forest FC (founded 1865) Home 9th September 2017 (League) 17.30 (on Sky TV)
Sheffield United FC (founded 1889)
Stocksbridge Park Steelers (founded 1986) Away 8th July 2017 (Friendly) 15.00
Sheffield FC (founded 1857) Away 11th July 2017 (Friendly) 19.30
Malaga CF (founded 1904) Away 14th July 2017 (Friendly) 20.30
Chesterfield FC (founded 1919) Away 18th July 2017 (Friendly) 19.45
Rotherham United FC (founded 1925) Away 21st July (Friendly) 19.45
Stoke City FC (founded 1868) Home 25th July 2017 (Friendly) 19.45
Eastleigh FC (founded 1946) Away 28th July (Friendly-Chris Wilder was a trainee at the club) 19.45
Hallam FC (founded 1860) Away 1st August 2017 (Friendly) 19.45
Brentford FC (founded 1889) Home 5th August 2017 (League) 15.00
Middlesbrough FC (founded 1876) Home 12th August 2017 (League) 15.00
Cardiff FC (founded 1899) Away 15th August 2017 (League) managed by Neil Warnock 19.45
Barnsley FC (founded 1887) Away 19th August 2017 (League) 15.00
Derby County FC (founded 1881**) Home 26th August 2017 (League) 15.00
Sunderland FC (founded 1880) Away 9th September 2017 (League) 15.00
More history on the south Yorkshire and north Derbyshire Football clubs can be found in “A History of Sheffield Football 1857-1889: Speed, Science and Bottom” There is more information here: https://englandsoldestfootballclubs.com/a-history-of-sheffield-football-1857-1889-speed-science-and-bottom/
* A merger between Burton Swifts FC and Burton Wanderers FC
** As Derby Midland FC
