Amateur soccer is about clubs and in 1862 the first one was founded in the States. Oneida Football Club was founded in Boston by Gerritt Miller Smith. Their early matches were played in Boston Commons. Today stands a monument at that location commemorating the club.
Most of what they played was before the writing of the laws of the game for association football and any coded rules for American football or rugby. They played until 1865 and were in defeated.
The monument inscription reads “On this field the Oneida Football Club of Boston, the first organized football club in the United States, played against all comers from 1862 to 1865. The Oneida goal was never crossed.”
