The Day Football Finally Got Paid

OTD E0262 — 20 Jul 1885: The Football Association finally permits professionalism after years of argument over class, amateurism, northern clubs, Scottish players, boot money, Preston North End and William Sudell. This episode traces the amateur ideals of the early FA, the rise of industrial football, Darwen, Blackburn Olympic, Preston’s expulsion after the Upton Park protest, the threat of a rival British Football Association, the FA’s compromise, the six-mile restriction, the Football League, Preston’s Invincibles, the maximum wage, player control, Jimmy Hill, Bosman, and why football stopped pretending it was only a gentleman’s pastime.Ideas: [email protected]