SCOTLAND and England have been locked in some epic footballing battles — and a new one is emerging over who can lay claim to the world’s oldest football club.

Until now, it was thought Sheffield FC held the accolade, having been founded in 1857. However, newly uncovered documents reveal the Football Club of Edinburgh was in existence 33 years earlier.

Papers held in the collection of an Edinburgh lawyer, and recently obtained by the National Archives of Scotland, show a list of players from 1824, as well as the club’s expenses account from its first season.

The account includes entries for the purchase of pig bladders, which were needed for the ball, as well as “hailsticks” — the old Scots word for goalposts. Another regular expense was the wage of a boy employed to blow up the ball when it burst during a match.

Official records reveal the Edinburgh club was dissolved in 1841, but it has recently been revived by local enthusiasts who are seeking official accreditation as the world’s oldest club by Fifa, football’s international governing body.

They are supported by the Scottish Football Association (SFA), Alex Salmond, the first minister, and the Duke of Edinburgh as well as Tony Blair, who was born in the city.

In a message sent to the club, the former prime minister said: “It is a fantastic accolade to be the world’s first football club and one I am sure all your players are proud of.”

The club, based at Leith Academy, has 38 players and is in the Edinburgh and District amateur Sunday league. Kenny Cameron, a community coach who was involved in reviving the club, said: “I learnt about its history and I was amazed. If you think about how many clubs there are in the world, it is really quite amazing.

“We would like people to start recognising that Edinburgh is the birthplace of modern football, and that they see us as a well-run club that tries to play football the right way and does a lot for charity.”

However, Sheffield FC, which has been operating continuously for the past 151 years, is not about to give up its mantle easily. It says the Scottish attempt to claim the title is little more than a stunt and is continuing to describe itself as the world’s oldest club.

“If you have a unique selling point, you will get shot at,” said Richard Tims, the club’s chairman. “Our selling point is that we are the oldest club in the world. The Football Club of Edinburgh was dissolved in 1841, when the modern game really started to develop. It will be up to Fifa to decide who is the oldest team. Until then, it is business as usual for us.”

Rob Shorthouse, head of communications for the SFA, said it is fully behind the Edinburgh club in its bid, adding: “It would be fantastic for the game here in Scotland if we were recognised as where it all began.”

The documents reveal that mostly young Edinburgh professionals and students played each other every Saturday as there was no other team to play against.

Richard McBrearty, curator of the Scottish Football Museum said: “Some may ask whether this is a football club, but this was the beginning of an evolution, before clubs started coming together to form those institutions we know today.

“This is so long ago that you couldn’t just go and buy a football. They also had to hire fields to play on and buy goalposts. It is an interesting breakdown of what was required to hold a football game in Edinburgh and an incredible snapshot of the history of the game.”

Cameron said those behind the modern-day club tried to keep its spirit and functions as close as possible to the original.

“I did a lot of research into how the club worked. Recreation and charity work are still our priorities,” he said. “Membership now is £25 for 10 weeks, and players meet every Saturday to play each other — just like the first members of the Saturday club used to.

He added: “We also now have an amateur 11-a-side team, which plays on Sundays, and are looking into organising further teams.”

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Copyright 2008 Times Newspapers Ltd.