It is of interest to note that the sailor of the Royal Navy in the 19th Century was playing his game of football under rules and conditions drawn up to suit the occasion and so were other institutions. It is also true to say that whilst the game played by these various institutions had some commonalties, each set about the game in their own way and did their own thing. Therefore, on the 26th October 1863 the Football Association was formed. It was not until 1907, some 44 years later that the Royal Navy Football Association (RNFA) became an affiliated member, with a representative serving on its General Council.
So where did it all start? Organised football in the Royal Navy began on 13th January 1904 in the offices of “The Southern Daily Mail” newspaper in Portsmouth. A group of Royal Navy officers met and agreed that an Association should be formed for the “Guidance and Government of Naval Football”. On 9th February 1904, a second meeting was held at the “Southern Daily Mail” at which a General Council was formed with Captain Spence H Login, Royal Navy appointed as the Secretary/Treasurer. Resolutions were also passed at that meeting inviting the King, The Prince of Wales and the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to become patrons of the Association. (With the exception of one or two years, the Association has enjoyed Royal Patronage ever since, the current Patron being Her Majesty the Queen). Although only these two meetings were held at the offices of the “Southern Daily Mail” to acknowledge the friendship between the two organisations, the management of the newspaper presented the newly formed Royal Navy Football Association with its first trophy – the Navy Cup.
In 1905 the first Inter Port competition was introduced with Portsmouth beating Devonport 4 - 0 at Fratton Park and with the exception of the War Years, the competition was an annual event until 1946. Renamed the Inter Command Competition in 1947 it still exists today and remains a keenly contested competition between the best players from Scotland, Devonport, Portsmouth, the Fleet Air Arm, the Royal Marines and the operational Fleet.
The RNFA enjoys full status as a County Member of the Football Association as well as being represented on the FA Council. Currently four representative teams are run, 1st XI, Under 21, Under 18's and Women, fed from a supporting infrastructure of ship and command side. The Royal Navy were Inter-Service Champions in 1999 and 2002, and players make a substantial contribution to the Combined Services Team.