ABSTRACT
The emergence of football was not restricted to the metropolis. In Sheffield, and to a lesser extent Nottingham, the strength of local cricket culture provided the basis for the growth of a new football culture that was based on local rivalry, regular competition and growing media interest in the sport. Although claims that Sheffield was the true birthplace of soccer have come to resemble rugby’s William Webb Ellis myth – indeed, many of Sheffield’s rules were drawn from those of Rugby School – the incipient outlines of modern football culture can be discerned in Sheffield and Nottingham.
