Cambridge Scholars Publishing Football’s First 100 Years, 1866-1966: From Splendid Isolation to England's Finest Hour

This book recounts the incredible work that Charles Adcock and Arthur Kinnaird performed on behalf of the Football Association (FA) in drafting football’s rules, creating the FA Cup and the world’s first professional Football League. The FA was the undisputed governing body of football at that time and the England national team the undisputed leader in the world of Association Football. When FIFA was formed in 1904, the FA commenced a period of “splendid isolation” during which it decided not to enter the England national team in any international tournament including the World Cups of the 1930s until the World Cup of 1950. England, therefore, lost its supremacy between the 1920s and the 1950s, but regained it with one superlative performance in 1966, when it won the World Cup. The volume also traces football’s development to the World Cups of the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s and will appeal to football enthusiasts in general, as well as to students of the history of football and the history of the World Cup. It also includes commentaries on Mussolini’s Italian teams of the 1930s, the incredible Hungarian team of the 1950s and the magical Brazilian teams of that era. Finally, it recalls the excitement generated amongst football fans, the general public and the media as England progressed to their 1966 World Cup triumph, which the author was fortunate enough to attend.