Manchester United Football Club Limited

Beautifully engraved certificate from the Manchester United Football Club Limited issued in 1979. This historic document has an ornate border around it with vignettes of the company's logo. This item is over 24 years old. Modern football/soccer evolved when large industrial towns began to appear throughout England. During the 19th century the game became slightly less popular, probably due to overcrowding, but it survived amongst public schoolboys. In 1848 Cambridge University attempted to create a common set of rules (the Cambridge Rules) which were adopted by several clubs. Then in 1863 the Freemasons' Tavern in London devised a list of standard rules, which led to the formation of a Football Association. Football was very much an upper middle-class game at this point and was strictly amateur. A cup competition was launched by the Association in 1872 - which was first won by Wanderers, who beat the Royal Engineers 1-0 at the Oval in front of 2000 spectators. Over a period of time some of the best players began to emerge from northern and middle England, where clubs had started to pay expenses and retaining fees. Then in 1885 professionalism was finally accepted, leading to much greater attendance figures - with 45,000 people gathering to watch Wolves v Everton at the Cup Final in Manchester in 1893. Twelve clubs from the midlands and the north formed a Football League in 1888, including Preston North End, Blackburn Rovers and Accrington. Sixteen more clubs joined over the next four years (Nottingham Forest and Sunderland among them), which led to a second division being created in 1892. By 1914 the F.L. had extended south, allowing Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, Bristol City and Fulham to compete; then the Scots and Irish followed suit in 1890, creating their own Leagues. It is interesting to note that many English clubs were formed from works or church teams - Manchester United were originally railway workers and Aston Villa a Wesleyan group. Football soon became England's most popular spectator sport, with a huge number of working men spending Saturday afternoons watching their favourite teams compete. Following the First World War a third division was added to the League. Then, when Wembley Stadium opened in 1923, over 126,000 people squashed in to watch Bolton Wanderers v West Ham. Although the League competitions were suspended throughout the Second World War, exhibition matches continued to take place and guest players remained popular. During the 1948/9 season, over 40 million people paid to watch English teams play but, hooliganism in the terraces, along with live televised matches, both contributed to a decline in numbers attending during the 1980s. Nevertheless, English clubs fared particularly well in early international competitions and, between them, held the European Cup from 1977 to 1982 (Liverpool also won it in 1984).