Who are the 5 oldest clubs in the football league?

Answer 1

the original football league had 12 clubs:

Accrington(1876), Aston Villa (1874), Blackburn Rovers (1875), Bolton Wanderers (1874), Burnley (1882), Derby County (1884), Everton (1878), Notts County (1862), Preston North End (1881), Stoke F.C.(1863), West Bromwich Albion (1878) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (1877).

so the 5 oldest league clubs are:

Notts County

Stoke F.C.

Aston Villa

Bolton Wanderers

Blackburn Rovers

some people exclude Stoke FC who changed to Stoke City in 1922. the next oldest league club would then be

Wolverhampton Wanderers,

NOT Accrington, which was a different club entirely to Accrington Stanley.

The oldest football club in the world still playing Association football is

Sheffield FC, formed in 1857 and now playing in the Northern Premier League.

Answer 2

Here are some candidates:

Stevenage FC (formerly Stevenage Borough) were only founded in 1976 and entered the football league in 2010.

Aldershot Town FC was founded in 1992 after Aldershot FC went out of business. Rushden & Diamonds were founded the same year but of course are no longer a football league club.

Although not strictly as a legal entity, Milton Keynes Dons was founded in 2004, taking the place of Wimbledon FC. They do not consider themselves a continuation of Wimbledon FC.

Before that you're looking at Accrington Stanley (reformed in 1968), Colchester United (1937), Peterborough United (1934), and Wigan Athletic (1932).

I would say the youngest is legally Aldershot, and in essence MK followed by Stevenage.

Answer 3

Notts. County 1862, Stoke City 1863, Nottingham Forest 1865, Chesterfield 1866, Sheff. Wed 1867. Although FA and FIFA recognise Sheffield FC as oldest club in world, 1857.