Charles William Alcock was a football pioneer, the instigator of international football, and – albeit inadvertently – the ‘creator’ of the UFWC.
Alcock was born in Sunderland in 1842, and educated at Harrow. He was one of the founders of the famous Wanderers club, and went on to become secretary of the English FA. He also played for England in a couple of games against a ‘London Scottish’ side in 1870 and 1871.
Appetite was growing for a proper England vs Scotland international match and, in 1872, he successfully arranged for that to take place. As he noted, ‘In order to further the interests of the Association in Scotland, it was decided that during the current season, a team should be sent to Glasgow to play a match v Scotland’.
The match took place on 30 November 1872, being the first ever international football match, and the first ever UFWC title match.
As a player, Alcock missed the match through injury (although he did act as umpire), but he later played for, captained, and scored for England in a UFWC match against Scotland in March 1875.
Alcock also created the first organised football competition, the FA Cup, with the first round of ties being played on 11 November 1871. The first FA Cup final was won by Wanderers – captained, naturally, by one CW Alcock.
He was also involved in cricket, and arranged the first Test Match, between England and Australia in 1880.
CW Alcock was the founding father of international football, and deserved first inductee into the UFWC Hall of Fame. In a further tribute, the official UFWC trophy is named in his honour as the CW Alcock Cup.
CW Alcock, UFWC career 1875, 1 game, 1 goal.
