:''This article relates to an English football team. There are also separate articles on the African

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

and South African peoples.'' The Zulus were a short lived

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 ...

team established 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 ...

that existed from

1879 Events January * January 1 ** The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. ** Brahms' Violin Concerto is premiered in Leipzig with Joseph Joachim ...

1882 Events January * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in New York at the ...

. They were initially set up to raise funds for the wives and families of soldiers killed in the

Zulu war The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Isandlwana and the British defence at ...

. The team disbanded after accusations that they were bringing the game into disrepute and receiving payment for playing.Andrew Ward. ''Football's Strangest Matches: Extraordinary But True Stories from Over a Century of Football'', Robson, 2007 ,
pp.1,2
/ref>

Beginnings

In 1879 a match was played 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 ...

against a Sheffield XI to raise money for the widows and orphans of the soldiers killed that year in the Zulu war. They won their second game 5–4 (their first match took place in Scarborough). Many of the players were taken from local teams, especially The Wednesday. They played in an all black kit and decorated themselves with beads and feathers and, instead of using their own names, they adopted Zulu names such as Ulmathoosi. After the success of the match they started touring the country.The Sheffield Zulus
/ref>

The Zulus on tour

The tour started against Chesterfield touring the town in full costume before the match. They subsequently also took on teams from

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

and a combined team from

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

and

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 ...

.The History of Football in Sheffield
/ref> After it transpired that players were receiving payments for playing they were subsequently banned from playing in official matches. The situation became critical in Sheffield where the 1881

Wharncliffe Charity Cup The Wharncliffe Charity Cup was an invitational cup competition organised by the Sheffield & Hallamshire County Football Association from 1878 to 1984. The competition took its name from the Earl of Wharncliffe, who sponsored the event, and ...

final was cancelled because of the number of players banned for professionalism.Percy M. Young (1962), ''Football in Sheffield'', S. Paul They subsequently also played in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and had an offer to also tour

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. They never lost a match. However, they were forced to disband by the Sheffield F.A. in 1882.

Aftermath

After increasing pressure from players and clubs, professionalism was legalised by

The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

1885 Events January * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 17 – Mahdist ...

. However, opposition remained stronger in the Sheffield area. Sheffield's first professional football club, the short lived Sheffield Rovers, was formed mainly from players of the former Zulus team. The Wednesday followed suit the next year.Keith Farnsworth (1982), ''Wednesday'', Sheffield City Libraries

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zulus Sports clubs and teams in Sheffield Defunct football clubs in England Association football clubs established in 1879 Association football clubs disestablished in 1882 Defunct football clubs in South Yorkshire 1879 establishments in England 1882 disestablishments in England