Mosquitoes was an English

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

club who played on

Clapham Common Clapham Common is a large triangular urban park in Clapham, south London, England. Originally common land for the parishes of Battersea and Clapham, it was converted to parkland under the terms of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1878. It is of ...

, London. The club was founded in 1872 under the name Albert and changed its name to Mosquitoes before the 1875–76 season. The club first entered the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

in 1879–80. In the first round, the club beat St Peter's Institute of Battersea Park, at a neutral ground in Nunhead. In the second round the club lost 7–1 to

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

, but had the consolation of playing the tie at the

Kennington Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it ...

, with Charles Alcock acting as the club's nominated umpire. The club's goal was scored by J. B. Ginger, who had started the game as goalkeeper, but had been moved up front when the score was 3–0. The club entered the FA Cup for the next four seasons, but only won one more tie. Before the 1884–85 season, the club merged with the Lennox Association Football Club of

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history T ...

, to form a new club,

Dulwich F.C. Dulwich was an English association football club who played near the Greyhound Pub, Dulwich. History In 1880, the Lennox Association Football Club was founded, playing on Clapham Common. In 1883 Lennox moved to Dulwich, where Mosquitoes F.C. ...

Colours

The club's colours under the name Albert were violet and black. As Mosquitoes their colours were originally black shirts with MFC on the breast, white knickerbockers, and black stockings. By 1881 the club had changed to blue and white.

Grounds

The club originally played on Clapham Common, using the Prince of Wales

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

as its changing rooms. By 1881 the club had moved to Dulwich and was using the Greyhound pub, which had previously been used by the

Grey Friars , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

club, for its facilities.

References

Association football clubs established in 1872 1872 establishments in England Association football clubs disestablished in 1884 Clapham Defunct football clubs in London {{England-footyclub-defunct-stub