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The adoption of the half-holiday in North Staffordshire during the mid-1870s facilitated a dramatic increase in association football activity throughout the region. However, the game was undoubtedly still in its formative stages, with various sets of contrasting rules being applied simultaneously by clubs and players, which created a significant amount of confusion and, at times, conflict. In 1877, the Staffordshire Football Association was established to provide association football in North Staffordshire with greater governance, including establishing a cup competition and adopting Sheffield Rules. Regional football associations played a central role in the growth of the game in England during the final decades of the nineteenth century, yet few scholars have sought to investigate their functions, activities and impact. This paper begins to address this gap in the literature by examining the formative years of the Staffordshire FA and exploring how it influenced the development of the game in North Staffordshire.

Early football, governance and cup competitions: the formative years of the Staffordshire Football Association, c. 1877–1887