It all started in 1887!
Football has been played in Dorset for many Centuries: there is a reference to a Charter of 1551 which gave permission for “kicking the ball” to be played each Shrove Tuesday in the Corfe Castle area.
During the 1860s and 1870s there was a marked growth in the number of football clubs in England, each adopting one of the regional variation of the rules of the game. In October 1863 The Football Association was founded and brought a national influence to the Laws.
The 1870s saw a significant increase in the number of teams in Dorset. One of the best known was the Panthers team from Sturminster Newton area who played in the FA Cup for a number of seasons in the 1870s.
The increase in the number of teams led to the formation of the South Hants and Dorset Football Association on 26 April 1884 at Laings Hotel in Wimborne. Within three years the growth led to the need for two separate Associations, and on 13 April 1887 the Dorset County Football Association was formed at a hotel in Wimborne. It is believed that the joint Association met, divided into two rooms and that the Dorset County Football Association was formed twenty minutes before the Hampshire Football Association!
The centenary of the two County Associations was marked by a match played at Dean Court, Bournemouth on the actual centenary, Monday 13 April 1987 when, perhaps, fittingly, the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
With the help, assistance and recommendation of the Football Association, County Football Associations were encouraged to become Companies Limited by Guarantee, and on 1 April 1999, the Dorset County Football Association became a Limited Company.
In its 120 year history the Dorset County Football Association has produced some well respected figures in the game of football: Mark Frowde was Chairman of the Football Association from 1939-41: Jim Wiltshire refereed the FA Cup Final in 1947: Paul Durkin refereed the FA Cup Final in 1998 and also represented England in the World Cup in France in the same year.
Much has changed in football over the years: no longer is the game solely a male orientated one: we have seen the advent of women and girls becoming involved: the introduction of small sided football and many mini soccer initiatives. Off the pitch we have had the creation of a number of initiatives involving development – the County FA are working with other agencies to develop all aspects of the game across society – the benefits of this development can be readily seen in the way in which the Dorset County Football Association now impacts on the football family in Dorset.