Rules derby (or Sheffield derby) is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

played in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

between

Sheffield F.C. Sheffield Football Club is an English association football, football club, currently based in Dronfield, Derbyshire. They compete in the , on the eighth level of the English football league system, English football pyramid. Founded in October ...

and Hallam F.C. It was first played on 26 December 1860 and is the oldest football fixture in the world. The name refers to the fact that the fixture was originally played under the

Sheffield Rules The Sheffield Rules was a code of football devised and played in the English city of Sheffield between 1858 and 1877. The rules were initially created and revised by Sheffield F.C., Sheffield Football Club, with responsibility for the laws pa ...

History

The first match was played at Hallam's home ground, Sandygate, and resulted in a Sheffield victory by two goals to nil. The teams competed in the first ever football match at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramall ...

. The derby is currently not a regular fixture as the two sides have not recently played in the same league; Hallam are currently in the NPL Division One East, while Sheffield are in the NCEL Premier Division, one tier below. However, the teams do regularly meet in pre-season friendlies and occasionally local FA matches. The last competitive meeting between the two sides was a 2–1 win for Hallam on 21 January 2025 in the Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup at Sandygate.

References

Sport in Sheffield Football derbies in England Hallam F.C. Sheffield F.C. Football in South Yorkshire {{footy-stub