1888 in association football
# 1888 in association football

The following are the association football events of the year 1888 throughout the world.

## Events

* February 1 - Royal Arsenal move to Manor Ground, their first permanent stadium, playing their first match there, against Millwall Rovers.
* March 23 - A meeting of 12 clubs at Anderson's Hotel in London on the eve of the FA Cup Final, convened by Aston Villa's William McGregor, discusses the possibility of a national football league competition.
* April 17 - A further meeting at Manchester's Royal Hotel leads to the competition being named The Football League.
* September 8 - The first Football League matches are played, marking the 1st season in the Football League.

### Clubs founded in 1888

* Barnet
* Celtic
* Dartford
* Sparta Rotterdam
* Walsall

## Winners club national cup

### Asia

| Nation | Tournament | Winner | Runner-up |
| - | - | - | - |
| India | 1888 Durand Cup | Royal Scots Fusiliers | Highland Light Infantry |

### Europe

| Nation | Tournament | Winner | Runner-up |
| - | - | - | - |
| England | 1887–88 FA Cup | West Bromwich Albion | Preston North End |
| Ireland | 1887–88 Irish Cup | Cliftonville | Distillery |
| Scotland | 1887–88 Scottish Cup | Renton | Cambuslang |
| Wales | 1887–88 Welsh Cup | Chirk AAA | Newtown |

## Winners club national leagues

* No national leagues existed prior to 1888, when the English Football League was founded. The first champions, Preston North End, emerged in the spring of 1889.

## International tournaments

* 1888 British Home Championship (February 4 – April 7, 1888)

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| England (C) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | +13 | 6 |
| Scotland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 4 |
| Wales | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 10 | +3 | 2 |
| Ireland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 26 | −23 | 0 |

* 1888 Football World Championship (May 19, 1888)

## Births

* 11 March – Hermann Garrn (d. 1966), German international footballer.
* 23 July – Jimmy Gordon (d. 1954), Scotland international half-back in ten matches (1912–1920).
* 24 August – Leo Bosschart (d. 1951), Dutch international footballer.
* 6 December – Wilhelm Trautmann (d. 1969), German international footballer.
