This archive report was first published on 22 April 2020.
On April 22, 2020, Crystal Palace made a surprising claim to be the world's oldest professional football club, challenging Notts County's long-held title.
According to research by Peter Manning, a connection exists between Crystal Palace Football Club, founded in 1905, and a cricket and football club formed in 1861, a year before Notts County was founded.
The research suggests that the two clubs share a common ownership through the Crystal Palace Company, which was instrumental in the formation of the football club.
"Without the Crystal Palace and the Crystal Palace Company, there would have been no Crystal Palace Football Club," Manning said.
Palace chairman Steve Parish added, "As a lifelong supporter of Crystal Palace, it's amazing that we have a legitimate claim to be the oldest professional league club still in existence, that we were in the very first FA meetings, and that our history dates all the way back to the Victorian cricketers of 1861 at the Palace even involving the great W.G. Grace."
However, football authorities have yet to confirm or deny the validity of Palace's claim.
Sheffield FC, an amateur team, is currently recognized by FIFA as the oldest club in the world, founded in 1857.
