Northern France football team

As early as 1906, André Billy, the newly-elected president of USFSA, organized meetings between the football teams of Paris and Northern France, which was made up of a selection of the best players from the Northern Committee of the USFSA. During the presidency of Robert Guérin, the French team was largely made up of only Parisians, with two exceptions, but under Billy, the Northerners made their entrance in large scale, and they were keen to win the so-called "Paris-Nord" meetings to confirm the domination of the Northern clubs, thus becoming a sort of annual selection match for the French team. In the 1907 Paris-Nord match, Georges Bon scored a goal to help the Northerners win 4–1, and this earned him his first (and only) cap for France in a friendly match against Belgium at Uccle on 21 April 1907, in which he contributed to France's winning goal (2–1). Both sides selected players who belonged to regional elite clubs, and who benefited from training conditions and remuneration that allowed them to honor the selections.

In 1910, the USFSA invited its regional committees to increase the number of such matches, for the purposes of sporting emulation. In the following year, the USFSA's selection of Northern France participated in the 1911 UIAFA European Football Tournament at Roubaix, an unofficial European Championship organized by UIAFA, entering as a last-minute replacement for Switzerland, which had withdrawn, and being set to face England AFA in the semifinals on 25 May.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesx/xporoobeke1911.html |title=Grand Tournoi Européen (Roubaix) 1911 |publisher=RSSSF |date=19 September 2023 |accessdate=21 November 2024 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730000019/https://www.rsssf.org/tablesx/xporoobeke1911.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.chroniquesbleues.fr/Quand-Roubaix |title=Quand Roubaix accueillait le premier championnat d'Europe, en 1911 |trans-title=When Roubaix hosted the first European Championship, in 1911 |language=fr |website=www.chroniquesbleues.fr |date=9 April 2020 |accessdate=21 November 2024 |archive-date=22 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922074012/https://www.chroniquesbleues.fr/Quand-Roubaix |url-status=live }} In the build-up for the tournament, Northern France defeated two English clubs, Old Malvernians (3–1) and Lyford FC (1–0), the latter under the name Roubaix XI, but despite these victories, the French press never believed in their chances, with the French newspaper L'Auto prophesying that "the fight is therefore expected to be tough, but, despite all their value, the Northerners will have to bow to the fine AFA team", and indeed, the Northerners equalized at the restart of the second half to make it 1–1, but the English centre-forward scored the winning goal at the very end of the game.

In 1912, Henri Jooris took the initiative of creating a northern selection in order to organize inter-regional meetings that would serve as a springboard for possible selection to the French team. It was nicknamed Lions des Flandres in honor of the French Flanders, and the most prestigious matches of this selection consisted of an annual opposition with the Parisian selection.{{Cite web |url=http://droguebierecomplotlosc.unblog.fr/2024/10/01/septembre-1925-le-real-madrid-a-lille-premiere/ |title=Septembre 1925: le Real Madrid à Lille, première |trans-title=September 1925: Real Madrid in Lille, first |language=fr |website=droguebierecomplotlosc.unblog.fr |date=1 October 2024 |accessdate=21 November 2024 }} This selection was made up of the best players who played in the clubs from the departments of Northern France, such as Somme and Pas-de-Calais, with the players mainly coming from the three flagship clubs of the Lille metropolis: Racing Club de Roubaix, US Tourquennoise, and Olympique Lillois. Even though Amiens SC was part of the USFSA Football Championship, some of its players were also selected for the Lions of Flanders from creation. Other clubs included the SC Fives, the Excelsior AC, Valenciennes FC, and the US Malo-les-Bains.

File:4-1-14_Lions_des_Flandres.jpg, Fernand Desrousseaux (coach), Henri Moigneu, Henri Lesur, Gabriel Hanot, Albert Eloy, Alphonse Six, Paul Chandelier, Maurice Gravelines, Raymond Dubly, Albert Parsys, Jean Ducret (captain).]]

Between 1912 and 1914, the team was presided by Jooris, coached by Fernand Desrousseaux, and captained by Jean Ducret. On All Saints' Day of 1913, two matches were organized at the same time by the main rival organizations, with the USFSA selection facing the amateurs' team of English Wanderers in Auteuil, while the LFA's selection of Paris faced the London League in Saint-Ouen, and this choice proves the acuteness of the rivalry between the federations. The English Wanderers was made up of several players who had played international matches for England amateur, some of which at the Olympic Games of 1908 and 1912, such as Albert Henry Bell, Frederick Chapman, and Henry Littlewort, and thus, the USFSA team logically lost 1–4, and on the following day, the English Wanderers defeated a Le Havre selection by a score of 5–0.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesb/brit-ier-tours-prewwii.html#e |title=British and Irish Clubs - Overseas Tours 1890-1939: English Wanderers (II) |publisher=RSSSF |date=12 September 2024 |accessdate=21 November 2024 }} Two months later, on 4 January 1914, the Lions des Flandres gained national recognition after its 3–0 victory against the LFA's Paris selection in Lille, thanks to goals from Henri Lesur, Alphonse Six, and Raymond Dubly.{{Cite web |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k290186w/f6.item.zoom |title=U.S.F.S.A. contre L.F.A: Le Lion des Flandres bat l'Équipe de la Ligue |trans-title=USFSA against LFA: The Lion of Flanders beats the League Team |language=fr |website=gallica.bnf.fr |publisher=Le Figaro |page=6 |date=5 January 1914 |accessdate=21 November 2024 }} In the build-up for a match against Belgium on 25 January 1914, France played a warm-up game against a selection of the foreigner players in Paris, which included both 7 "Liguists" (LFA) and 4 "Unionists" (USFSA), being made-up of 6 Swiss, 3 British, 1 Hungarian, and a Franco-Italian; it ended in a goalless draw.

Thanks to the results of the Lions of Flanders and Olympique Lillois in the early 1910s, it can reasonably be said that northern football was the best in France, but then the First World War broke out, in which Northern France was occupied for 4 years, thus interrupting the activities of the team and causing the death of many of its players. After the War, on 11 May 1919, the Lions des Flandres faced the LFA's Paris selection again, this time at the Stade de Paris in Saint-Ouen, ending in a 4–4 draw.{{Cite web |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k292134z/f7.item.zoom |title=Football association: Ligue et Lions des Flandres match nuls, à 4 buts contre 4 |trans-title=Association football: League and Lions of Flanders draw, 4 goals against 4 |language=fr |website=gallica.bnf.fr |publisher=Le Figaro |page=7 |date=12 May 1919 |accessdate=21 November 2024 }}

On 19 August 1919, the Northern Football Association League (LNFA) was founded by twenty clubs, which began competing in the {{ill|Ligue du Nord-Pas-de-Calais de football|es|lt=Northern Football League}}. On 22 May 1921, "the Lions" faced the prestigious Celtic, which was the first visit of a professional football team to Northern France, which was held at the Jean Dubrulle Stadium in Roubaix in front of 10,000 spectators, with Celtic winning 3–0. The newspaper l'Echo du Nord stated that this meeting between Scottish professionals and northern amateurs would be "a landmark in the annals of northern sport".{{Cite web |url=https://www.pinte2foot.com/article/roubaix-terre-historique-du-football-aujourdhui-disparue |title=Roubaix: terre historique du football aujourd'hui disparue |trans-title=Roubaix: a historic football land that has now disappeared |language=fr |website=www.pinte2foot.com |date=8 January 2024 |accessdate=21 November 2024 }}

The results of the Lions of Flanders, which had been mixed for a long time, improved significantly from 1927. Thus, it afforded itself the luxury of beating Rapid Wien, winner of the 1930 Mitropa Cup. In the 1930s, the Lions of Flanders played against the South-East selection in Montpellier and the amateur Hungarian team in Tourcoing.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

As part of the UEFA Regions' Cup, a Nord-Pas-de-Calais selection was created in 1999, in which players must be 19 years old and have never signed a professional, trainee, aspirant, or federal contract.{{Cite web |url=https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/art/sports/foot-amateur-le-nord-pas-de-calais-fait-sa-coupe-d-europe-ia182b226960n2728234 |title=Foot amateur: Le Nord - Pas-de-Calais fait sa Coupe d'Europe |trans-title=Amateur football: Nord - Pas-de-Calais makes its European Cup |language=fr |website=www.lavoixdunord.fr |date=23 March 2015 |accessdate=21 November 2024 }} In 2017, the Nord-Pas-de-Calais selection merged with that of Picardy to form the Hauts-de-France selection.{{Cite web |url=https://lbfc.fff.fr/simple/premiere-liste-pour-la-coupe-uefa-des-regions/ |title=Première liste pour la Coupe UEFA des régions |trans-title=First list for the UEFA Regions' Cup |language=fr |website=lbfc.fff.fr |date=6 October 2017 |accessdate=21 November 2024 }}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 1907

| time =

| round = Friendly

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{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 1908

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = ?

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{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 27 December 1908

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = 4–3

| report = [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesb/brit-ier-tours-prewwii.html#t Report]

| team1 = Select Nord France 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|ENG}} Townley Park FC

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium =

| location = Lille, France

| attendance =

| referee =

| result = W

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{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 1909

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = ?

| report = [https://www.chroniquesbleues.fr/Georges-Bon-portrait Report]

| team1 = Northern France 20px

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{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 1910

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = ?

| report = [https://www.chroniquesbleues.fr/Georges-Bon-portrait Report]

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| location = France

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| result =

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = March 1911

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = 3–1

| report = [https://www.chroniquesbleues.fr/Rene-Camard-portrait Report]

| team1 = Northern France 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|Paris}} Select Paris

| goals1 = ? {{goal}}{{goal}}{{goal}}

| goals2 = Camard {{goal}}

| stadium =

| location = Lille, France

| attendance =

| referee =

| result = W

| note = Georges Bon provided two assists.

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 7 May 1911

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = 3–1

| report = [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesb/brit-ier-tours-prewwii.html#o Report1]
[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesx/xporoobeke1911.html Report2]

| team1 = Northern France (USFSA) 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|ENG}} Old Malvernians

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium = Stadium de l'Exposition de Roubaix

| location = Roubaix, France

| attendance = 10,000

| referee =

| result = W

| note = On the occasion of the inauguration of the Stade de l'Exposition de Roubaix.

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 14 May 1911

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = 1–0

| report = [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesb/brit-ier-tours-prewwii.html#l Report1]
[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesx/xporoobeke1911.html Report2]

| team1 = Roubaix XI 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|ENG}} Lyford FC

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium = Stadium de l'Exposition de Roubaix

| location = Roubaix, France

| attendance = 1,000

| referee =

| result = W

}}

{{football box collapsible

| date = 25 May 1911

| time = 17:00

| round = 1911 UIAFA European Football Tournament

| score = 1 – 2

| report = [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesx/xporoobeke1911.html Report]

| team1 = Northern France (USFSA) 20px

| team2 = {{fbicon|ENG}} England AFA

| goals1 = ? {{goal|85}}

| goals2 = ? {{goal}}{{goal}}

| stadium = Stadium de l'Exposition de Roubaix

| location = Roubaix, France

| referee = Gardner (England)

| attendance = 4,000

| result = L

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 1912

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = ?

| report = [https://www.chroniquesbleues.fr/Georges-Bon-portrait Report]

| team1 = Northern France 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|Paris}} Select Paris

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium =

| location = France

| attendance =

| referee =

| result =

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 1 November 1913

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = 1–4

| report = [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesb/brit-ier-tours-prewwii.html#e Report1]
[http://footnostalgie.free.fr/championnat/lfa13-14.pdf (page 38-42) Report2]

| team1 = Lions of Flanders 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|ENG}} English Wanderers

| goals1 = Séraphin {{goal|1–3}}



{{center| Loubière
Bonnet, Degouve
Montagne, Loir, Rémy
Trousselier, Brouzes, Félizard, Schalbart, Séraphin}}

| goals2 = Russell {{goal|15}}
Bonnet {{goal|0–2||o.g.}}
Veitch {{goal|0–3}}
Draper {{goal|1–4}}
{{center| Lemoine
Gaskell, Bell
Crane, Grey, Olley
Draper (capt.), Veitch, Kent, Fitchie, Russell}}

| stadium =

| location = Paris, France

| attendance = 1,000

| referee = M. Chapman

| result = L

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = December 1913

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = 3–8

| report = [https://www.chroniquesbleues.fr/Paul-Edouard-Mathaux-portrait Report]

| team1 = Northern France 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|Paris}} Select Paris

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium =

| location = Lille, France

| attendance =

| referee =

| result = L

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 4 January 1914

| time = 14:34

| round = Friendly

| score = 3–0

| report = [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k290186w/f6.item.zoom Report]

| team1 = Lions des Flandres 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|Paris}} Select Paris

| goals1 = Lesur {{goal|34}}
Six {{goal|72}}
Dubly {{goal|78}}
{{center| Parsys
Moigneu (capt.), Hanot
Dujardin, Ducret, Gravelines
Dubly, Chandelier, Lesur, Six, Eloy}}

| goals2 =


{{center| Chayriguès
Gravier, Pellan
Devic, Gamblin, Barreau
Romano, Rouchès, Maës, Morel, Triboulet}}

| stadium =

| location = Lille, France

| attendance =

| referee = M. Tromp (Netherlands)

| result = W

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 18 January 1914

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = 0–0

| report = [http://footnostalgie.free.fr/championnat/lfa13-14.pdf Report (page 45)]

| team1 = {{fb-rt|FRA}}

| team2 = 20px Foreigners of Paris

| goals1 =

| goals2 = {{center| Germann
Zullig, Romano
Jordan, Eggenschwyler, Steiner
Niggli, Matthey, Surwick, Solka, Burgin}}

| stadium = Saint-Michel Legion Stadium

| location = Paris, France

| attendance =

| referee =

| result = D

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 12 May 1919

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = 4–4

| report = [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k292134z/f7.item.zoom Report]

| team1 = Select Paris {{flagicon|Paris}}

| team2 = 20px Lions des Flandres

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium = Stade de Paris

| location = Saint-Ouen, France

| attendance =

| referee =

| result = D

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 5 April 1920

| time =

| round = Tournoi de Roubaix

| score = 3–4

| report = [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesb/brit-ier-tours-prewwii.html#l Report]

| team1 = Select Roubaix 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|ENG}} London Select

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium = Stade de Paris

| location = Saint-Ouen, France

| attendance =

| referee =

| result = L

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 22 May 1921

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = 0–3

| report = [https://www.pinte2foot.com/article/roubaix-terre-historique-du-football-aujourdhui-disparue Report]

| team1 = Lions of Flanders 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|SCO}} Celtic

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium = Jean Dubrulle Stadium

| location = Roubaix, France

| attendance = 10,000

| referee =

| result = L

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 2 May 1926

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = 3–2

| report = [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesb/brit-ier-tours-prewwii.html#k Report]

| team1 = Northern France 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|ENG}} University of Kent

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium =

| location = Tourcoing, France

| attendance =

| referee =

| result = W

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 22 April 1934

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = 2–3

| report = [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesb/brit-ier-tours-prewwii.html#s Report]

| team1 = Northern France 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|ENG}} Sunderland

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium =

| location = Lille, France

| attendance =

| referee =

| result = L

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 27 May 1934

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = 4–2

| report = [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesb/brit-ier-tours-prewwii.html#c Report]

| team1 = Northern France 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|SCO}} Celtic

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium =

| location = Lille, France

| attendance =

| referee =

| result = W

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 31 March 1935

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = 1–1

| report = [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesb/brit-ier-tours-prewwii.html#c Report]

| team1 = Northern France 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|SCO}} Clyde

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium =

| location = Lille, France

| attendance =

| referee =

| result = D

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 1 December 1935

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = 3–2

| report = [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesb/brit-ier-tours-prewwii.html#s Report]

| team1 = Northern France 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|ENG}} Sheffield Wednesday

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium =

| location = Lille, France

| attendance =

| referee =

| result = W

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

| date = 15 November 1936

| time =

| round = Friendly

| score = 5–1

| report = [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesb/brit-ier-tours-prewwii.html#s Report]

| team1 = Northern France 20px

| team2 = {{flagicon|ENG}} Sunderland

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium =

| location = Lille, France

| attendance =

| referee =

| result = W

}}

• Alphonse Six
• Raymond Dubly
• Jean Ducret
• Gabriel Hanot

• {{Cite book |last=Chovaux |first=Olivier |author-link=Olivier Chovaux |title=Cinquante ans de football dans le Pas-de-Calais. "Le temps de l'enracinement" (Fin XIXe-1940) |trans-title=Fifty years of football in Pas-de-Calais. "The time of rooting" (End of the 19th century-1940) |language=fr |date=2001 |publisher=Artois Presse Université |isbn=9782378153427 |location= }}

{{Reflist}}

{{Non-FIFA teams}}

{{Football in France}}

Category:Football in Paris

Category:Football teams in France

Category:European national and official selection-teams not affiliated to FIFA