North America: Foreign Players in the Football League
Historically, few North Americans ventured to the English league. During the 1920s there was a brief exodus in the other direction, in the boom years of the American Soccer League (ASL). Some returned after the ASL went into decline, having gained US nationality along the way. Most famously, Scottish-born Jim Brown was granted US citizenship…
Eastern European Players in the Football League 1988-92 – Appendix
An overview of the Eastern European footballers to have played in the Football League between 1988 and 1992. Czechoslovakia Luděk Mikloško Born: 09.12.1961 Prostějov Signed from: Banik Ostrava, February 1990 [£300,000] Football League Career: West Ham United (1990-98) – 318 appearances; QPR (1998-2001) – 57 appearances International Career: Czechoslovakia (1982-92) 40 caps; Czech Republic (1996-97)…
Eastern Europe: Foreign Players in the Football League
The fall of the Berlin Wall and changing regimes behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ of eastern Europe in the late 1980s gave new opportunities to footballers who had previously not been allowed to leave. Players from Poland and Yugoslavia had been the earlier exceptions, arriving in the Football League from the 1970s within strict age limits.…
Western Europe: Foreign Players in the Football League
As covered extensively, the bulk of players moving to the Football League post-1978 from Western Europe came from the Netherlands or Scandinavia and the Nordic nations. Other countries including the major footballing nations of France, (West) Germany, Italy and Spain were sparsely represented, with only rare exceptions. Most of the movement from the late 1970s…
Scandinavians in the Football League 1978-92 – Appendix
An overview of the Scandinavian and Nordic footballers who played in the Football League between 1978 and 1992. Denmark Kurt Bakholt Born: 12.08.1963 Odense Signed from: Vejle, January 1986 Football League Career: QPR (1986) – 1 appearance * Tommy Christensen Born: 20.07.1961 Hillerød Signed from: Elche (Spain), November 1985 Football League Career: Leicester City (1985)…
Scandinavia and the Nordic Nations: Foreign Players in the Football League
Scandinavia and the Nordic nations have a long history of providing players to the Football League. As they remained amateurs in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, they were able to escape the effective historic ban on foreign footballers in England. It was natural that players would continue to move after restrictions were formally lifted…
Inter-League Matches: A Century of Football League Fixtures 1891- 1991
Inter-league matches were introduced in the very first set of rules published by the Football League in January 1889: “A match shall be played each season between teams selected by the Management Committee of the League, the proceeds of which shall be devoted to the funds of the League.” After many years in which they…
Centenary Celebrations: The Football League 1987-88
The Football League began its Centenary celebrations in the 1987-88 season. After a hundred eventful years, there were ninety-two clubs in four national divisions. The 1980s had been a turbulent decade of falling attendances, financial crises and high-profile tragedies, but the League was determined to celebrate a century in style. Secretary Graham Kelly saw the…
The Football League Jubilee 1938
The Football League celebrated its Jubilee in 1938. A number of events and matches were staged to commemorate William McGregor’s historic founding of the world’s first professional league fifty years earlier. The original twelve clubs had grown to eighty-eight across four divisions, reflecting the league’s steady rise in popularity since 1888. The 1937-38 season saw…
Poland: Foreign Players in the Football League
Poland was one of the strongest European football nations of the 1970s. Olympic Champions in 1972, they knocked England out in qualifying for the 1974 World Cup, where they finished third. Olympic silver followed in 1976, ahead of a strong showing at the 1978 World Cup and another third-place finish in Spain 1982. These squads…
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