Home of football statistics and historyProfessionalism was illegal, according to the laws of The Football Association which ruled that no player should be entitled to receive money for football in excess of his actual out-of-pocket expenses.
Yet professionalism was rife in the North of England and the Midlands, and everybody knew it. A few players and one or two clubs had been published for breaking the rules, but the national and county associations found it difficult to stamp it out because it was so often impossible to get proof of the crime. The Council of The Football Association considered that the “imported” player was the root of the problem; put a stop to the practice of clubs offering inducements to men from towns more than 12 miles away from their headquarters, and one of the main causes of professionalism would vanish.
Thus, in October 1884 the F.A. circulated all its members with the demand that they must inform the F.A. of all their players who had come in from outside districts, giving the player’s name, occupation, wages, length of time in present residence, previous place of residence, occupation, and wages The move caused consternation in Lancashire. Seventeen clubs in that county met at Blackburn on 11th October and decided collectively not to accede to the request of The Football Association, though they were anxious and uncertain of the outcome of this little “revolt”. Astley Bridge, Bolton Wanderers, Clitheroe, and Preston Zingari, took the precaution of protests about their imported players, and searching enquiry of their affairs. The Association backed up its campaign by ruling Accrington out of the Cup, and forbidding Aston Villa to take up its fixture with Preston North End, and Notts County its engagement with Bolton Wanderers.
A few days later, 15 clubs, including Accrington, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, and Great Lever, called a meeting at Blackburn to form The British National Football Association. They seemed to have some idea that they would be able to legislate within this organisation to allow some (even if limited) importation of players, and a system of expenses for players who had to lose time from work in order to take part in football matches, and yet still enjoy the benefits of affiliation to The Football Association. To the National Association it looked like a rebellion. There was anxiety in London as the membership of the B.N.F.A. grew. In retrospect, there was no reason for great alarm, for the “rebel” clubs needed the F.A. and really could not afford to quarrel with it. They felt they had a case, and a position for “collective bargaining”. Indeed the B.N.F.A. told The Football Association that it would dissolve itself if only the London body would permit a measure of professionalism.
The great debate of The Football Association on professionalism took place in London on 19th January 1885 before the biggest assembly ever mustered by the F.A., 221 clubs and associations being represented.
Mr. Alcock (Wanders F.C.) proposed “that it is desirable to legislate for professionalism under most stringent conditions”. Professionalism, said Mr. Alcock, had greatly increased and unless it was controlled it would be an evil. The recent tour of the Corinthians proved that gentlemen could meet professionals and play a game with them. The proposed legislation was as much in the interests of amateurs as professionals. The first opposition came from Mr. Crump (Stafford Road F.C.) who held that the regulations in force at present, if imposed, were good enough to deal with the situation. Recognition of professionals would ruin the sport. A connection between betting and professional players was already apparent. The Association would be most unwise to permit professionalism. Mr. H.W. Chambers (Sheffield) said the F.A. was founded without the Lancashire clubs, and if the latter would not conform, the Association could carry on without them. Mr. Sudell (Preston North End) admitted that professionalism was rife in Lancashire, but it was also known in Birmingham and Sheffield. Wherever you had big “gates” you would always get professionalism. IT was better to have open professionalism that disguised amateurs. Mr. Jope (Birmingham) claimed the Association should have taken steps to crush professionalism before now, but Mr. Jackson (Finchley) objected: “The Association has done all in its power and failed; why go over all that again?”.
Mr. Pierce Dix (Sheffield), drew a distinction between professional cricketers and footballers. A cricketer could devote his whole life to the sport, but a footballer had only 5 or 6 years. He feared that if professionalism was legalised many amateur clubs would leave the Association. Mr. Lawrie (Queen’s Park), pointed out that the Scottish F.A. was against professionalism and if only the F.A. would give it support the two Associations could stamp out professionalism. The Welsh Association had stated that professionalism would be the ruin of football in Wales.
There were dozens of amendments, but the Chairman (Major Marindin) put the main resolution to the vote saying that everything would stand or fall on a direct negative. The voting went: for Mr. Alcock’s motion, 113 against 108, and so the resolution failed to get the necessary two-thirds majority.
At another meeting of the F.A., on 23rd March 1885, the same proposal was put, this time by the Lancashire F.A. seconded by Preston North End. The old familiar arguments were heard again, and again the motion was lost.
Professional football was at last legalised at a poorly attended meeting on 20th July 1885. Despite the great importance of the matter to be discussed, it was the wrong time of the year to expect a big turn-out of the amateur members. Maybe, too, a lot of them felt they’d heard it all before; perhaps the outcome was seen to be inevitable. Was it yet another instance of Mr. Alcock having his own way by grinding the opposition to nothing?
The British National Football Association (which had grown to 70 members) now faded away. It had nothing left to fight for. It had not actually won its battle. The enemy had surrendered.