London Five-a-Sides
Football tournament From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Evening Standard London Five-a-Sides was an annual indoor football tournament organised by the Sports Council (now Sport England). As the competition name suggests it featured Football League clubs from the capital city. The latter years of the event was open to Football League clubs outside London.[1]
| Founded | 1954 [1] |
|---|---|
| Abolished | 1995[1] |
| Region | London, England (The Sports Council) |
| Last champions | Wycomble Wanderers (2nd title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Queen's Park Rangers (five titles) |
| Television broadcasters | ITV Sky TV (1993–95) |
History
The competition usually took place towards end of the domestic football season in April or May.[1] The competition was on six-year hiatus from 1961 to 1966 and then a seven-year break between 1986 and 1992.[1]
The first venue of choice was the Empress Hall, Earls Court.[1] The second edition was transferred to the Harringay Arena.[1] The event moved to Empire Pool Wembley in 1959.[1] It shared a home with the National Five-a Side tournament that ran from 1968 to 1986.[1]
ITV (Thames Television) covered the best of the action on its late evening show Midweek Sports Special for London and surrounding areas only.[1] Commentary came from Brian Moore.[2] The final three editions in the 1990s were shown by Sky TV to a wider audience.[1]
Originally, only First Division and Second Division clubs from the Football League were eligible to participate.[3]
List of Finals
Titles by Club
| Team[1] | Finals Won | Finals Lost | Winning Years | Losing Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen's Park Rangers | 5 | 2 | 1971, 1972, 1974, 1980, 1985 | 1976, 1978 |
| West Ham United | 3 | 7 | 1967, 1970, 1984 | 1955, 1957, 1960, 1971, 1974, 1977, 1981 |
| Charlton Athletic | 3 | 3 | 1954, 1968, 1975 | 1959, 1980, 1982 |
| Millwall | 3 | 2 | 1978, 1979, 1983 | 1973, 1975 |
| Fulham | 3 | 1 | 1955, 1957, 1982 | 1956 |
| Crystal Palace | 2 | 3 | 1959, 1969 | 1958, 1968, 1979 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2 | 3 | 1956, 1960 | 1954, 1970, 1984 |
| Arsenal | 2 | 2 | 1977, 1981 | 1967, 1985 |
| Leyton Orient | 2 | – | 1958, 1976 | |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 2 | – | 1994, 1995 | |
| Chelsea | 1 | – | 1973 | |
| Watford | 1 | – | 1993 | |
| Brentford | – | 2 | 1969, 1983 | |
| Wimbledon | – | 2 | 1993, 1994 | |
| Luton Town | – | 1 | 1995 | |
| Southampton | – | 1 | 1972 |
References
External links
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