This is a list of the oldest documented football competitions, played at school, club, national and international levels. The first list contains competitions that have been played continuously. The second is a list of competitions that are now defunct.
Current competitions
Association football
YearCompetitionType First Trophy, YearsOriginal codeLocationNotes & references 1871 FA Cup club trophy FA Cup Original FA Cup trophy 1871–1895 Second FA Cup trophy 1895–1910 Current FA cup Trophy 1911– Association football England The Oldest association football competition in the world. 1873 Scottish Cup club trophy Scottish Cup 1874– Association football Scotland Oldest association football trophy in the world. 1876 Birmingham Senior Cup county cup 1876– Association Football West Midlands, England Oldest regional trophy in the world. 1876 Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup county cup 1876– Association Football South Yorkshire, England Also includes some clubs from Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and West Yorkshire. 1877 Welsh Cup club trophy Welsh Cup, 1877– Association football Wales 1877 Shropshire Senior Cup county cup Shropshire Premier County Cup, 1877- Association football Shropshire, England 1878 Berks & Bucks Senior Cup county cup 1879– Association Football Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, England 1880 Lancashire Senior Cup county cup 1880– Association Football Lancashire, England Also includes teams from Greater Manchester and Merseyside 1880 Cheshire Senior Cup county cup 1880– Association football Cheshire, England Also includes teams from Greater Manchester and Merseyside, many from the historical boundaries of Cheshire. 1881 Irish Cup club trophy 1881– Association football Ireland (1881–1921)Northern Ireland (1921–) Originally created as the national club trophy for all of Ireland, it now serves as the national club trophy for Northern Ireland after the Republic of Ireland was created in 1921. 1882 Oxford University Cuppers intercollegiate trophy Association football Oxford, England University claims is its the 2nd oldest [association] football competition (after the FA Cup), but also documents 1882/83 as the first season. 1882 Cambridge University Cuppers intercollegiate trophy Association football Cambridge, England 1883Stirlingshire CupRegional Cup1883/84-Association FootballStirlingshire, Scotland1884Lincolnshire FA County Senior Trophycounty cup1884–Association FootballLincolnshire, England 1886 Scottish Junior Cup club trophy(non-league) Scottish Junior Cup 1886– Association football Scotland 1887 Aberdeenshire Cup regional cup 1888 Association football Aberdeenshire, Scotland Claims to be second oldest association football tournament in the world.1888Medaille Fodbold Konkurrenceregional cupApril 29th, 1888Pre-associationDenmarkOldest football league outside of Great Britain and Ireland. 1888 English Football League club league Association football England Oldest association football league. The Premier League was later created and is now the top-flight English league. 1888 Durand Cup club trophy Durand Cup, 1888– Association football India Oldest football tournament in Asia. 1889 Northern Football League club league Association football North East England Second-oldest association football league in the world. 1889 Trades Cup regional cup Association football Kolkata, India 1890 Border Cup regional cup Association football Scottish BordersScotland Originally played for by senior clubs, has been contested by Border Amateur Football Association clubs since 1960. 1891 Argentine Primera División club league Copa Campeonato (1896) Association football Argentina 1892 Brown Shield interprovincial tournament Brown Shield, 1892 Association football New Zealand Originally the country's premier football trophy, now only contested sporadically. 1893 IFA Shield club trophy IFA Shield Association football Kolkata, India 1894 Bedfordshire Senior Cup county cup 1894– Association Football Bedfordshire, England 1895 Belgian First Division A club league National Championships 1895– Association football Belgium Oldest association football league in continental Europe. 1896 Hong Kong Shield club trophy Association football Hong Kong 1897 Montagu Cup regional cup (amateur) 1897– Association football Mexborough, England Oldest football cup regularly played at its original venue. 1898 Serie A club league National Championships 1898– Association football Italy 1898 Calcutta Football League club league Association football Kolkata, India Oldest association football league in Asia. 1898 Swiss Super League club league 1898–1929 Serie A1931–1944 Nationalliga/Ligue Nationale/Lega Nazionale1944–2003 Nationalliga A/Ligue Nationale A/Lega Nazionale A2003– Super League Association football Switzerland Longest continuously running top-flight national league 1899 KNVB Cup club trophy 1899– Association football Netherlands 1900 Uruguayan Primera División club league 1900– Association football Uruguay 1901 Ontario Cup club trophy 1901– Association football Canada Oldest association football competition in North America. 1901 Nemzeti Bajnokság club league Association football Hungary 1902 Hampshire Colleges Sixes 6-a-side tournament 1902- Association football England Probably the oldest small-sided football tournament/competition in the world with King Edwards School first winning in 1902. 1902 Norwegian Football Cup club trophy Association football Norway First played as an invitational tournament consisting of 5 teams and arranged by Kristiania Idrætsforening. First time as a national tournament 1963 1902 (3 May) Campeonato Paulista club league Association football São Paulo state, Brazil 1902 Mumbai Football League club league Association football Mumbai, India 1903 Primera División de la Asociación de Football de Santiago club league Association football Santiago, Chile 1903 Copa del Rey club trophy Association football Spain 1905 (9 April) Campeonato Baiano club league Association football Bahia, Brazil 1906 (3 May) Campeonato Carioca club league Association football Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1906 (8 July) Paraguayan Primera División club league Association football Paraguay 1907 Federation Cup club trophy Association football South Australia, Australia Second oldest knockout competition in Australia. 1908 Milne Cup annual challenge match 1908– Association football Shetland and Orkney (Scotland) Oldest football competition between two islands. 1908 Hong Kong First Division League club league Association football Hong Kong 1908 Nadkarni Cup regional cup Nadkarni Cup Association football Mumbai, India 1908 (19 October) Football at the Summer Olympics International tournament 1908– Association football various Oldest nations association football competition in the world. 1909 (6 December) Liga I club league Association football Romania 1911 Belgian Cup club trophy 1911– Association football Belgium 1912 Peruvian Primera División club league Association football Peru League (under the denomination of Escudo Dewar) was exclusively played by teams from Lima. However, older, less-important tournaments were previously held in Callao. 1912 Úrvalsdeild club league Association football Iceland 1913 Challenge Trophy club trophy (today amateur) Connaught Cup 1913–1925; Challenge Trophy 1926–1954; Challenge Trophy & Carling Cup 1954–1961; Challenge Trophy 1962- Association football Canada Strictly amateur since 1962. 1914 Collingwood Cup university trophy 1914– Association football Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland 1914 Manning Cup schools fixture Manning Cup, 1914– Association football Jamaica annual contest among Secondary High Schools in the Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine parishes of Jamaica. 1914 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup club trophy National Challenge Cup (1914); Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1999–) Association football United States Oldest association football competition in the United States of America. 1916 Copa América national team trophy South American Football Championship (1916–1967)Copa América (1975–) Association football South America Oldest non-European association football competition in the world. 1917 All Japan High School Soccer Tournament high school tournament — Association football Japan 1917 Coupe de France club trophy — Association football France 1921 Kentish Cup international (services) Association football Europe Inter-Services. Oldest international military association football tournament. 1921 FAI Cup club trophy 1921– Association football Republic of Ireland 1921 Egypt Cup club trophy 1921– Association football Egypt Oldest association football competition in Africa. 1921 Malaysia Cup club trophy 1921– southern champ, Singapore FA and the northern champ, Selangor FA Association football Malaysia Oldest football competition in the ASEAN 1921 Emperor's Cup club trophy Association football Japan 1922 Coppa Italia club trophy — Association football Italy 1923 Totty Cup primary school tournament post-1947 for primary schools Association football England 1925 Swiss Cup club trophy Association football Switzerland 1925 Polish Cup club trophy 1925; 1951– Association football Poland 1929 La Liga club League National Championships 1929 – Association football Spain 1930 FIFA World Cup national team trophy 1930 (Jules Rimet trophy); 1974 (Current trophy) Association Football FIFA 1935 DFB-Pokal club trophy 1935; 1952 (resume after Second world war) Association football Germany 1955 UEFA Champions League club continental trophy 1955 (Old Trophy); 1967 (Current "big ears" trophy) Association Football Europe The oldest club's continental competition still exist. Formerly known as European Cup before 1992. 1956 AFC Asian Cup national team trophy — Association football Asia The second-oldest continental championship after Copa America 1960 UEFA European Championship national team trophy — Association football Europe 1960 Copa Libertadores club continental trophy – Association football South America 1963 Bundesliga club league — Association football Germany 1964 Jaturamitr Samakkee high school traditional match — Association football Thailand The competition consists of 4 oldest boys school in Bangkok: Assumption College, Bangkok Christian College, Suankularb Wittayalai School and Debsirin School. 1967 AFC Champions League Elite club continental trophy — Association football Asia
Australian rules football Year (Date)CompetitionTypeFirst Trophy,