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Unearthed: Is Baggies video from 1898 the oldest football film?

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Historic footage of a football match featuring West Bromwich Albion has been uncovered.

The grainy 45-second clip of the Baggies from 1898 is believed to be the oldest video of the beautiful game in existence. The First Division fixture ended in defeat for the Albion, who lost 4-1 to home-side Blackburn Rovers.

Although it is difficult to see the exact passage of play – including the location of the ball – it offers a fascinating glimpse into the early years of the professional game.

Swedish app developers Football Addicts found the footage in the North West Film Archive – one of the UK's largest public film collections.

Patrik Arnesson, founder of Football Addicts, said: "Although the coverage, rules, facilities, teams, leagues and players have changed over the 116 years since this film was shot, one thing remains the same – the passion of the fans.

"About 12,000 supporters went to see this match which shows how the enthusiasm for the sport was just as fervent then as it is now. It makes a contrast from the high definition shots that usually grace our TV screens and provides an interesting insight into the nature of the game in the late 19th century."

Football Addicts was directed to the Albion video by the National Museum of Football in Manchester having set out to find the earliest footage of the game.

The company – which is behind the popular mobile app Forza Football – has put the clip on its website for football fans around the world to view.

Mr Arnesson said: "Despite the grainy images, which we can make allowances for given that the film is 116 years old, you can clearly make out the two different teams.

"This is especially easy considering Blackburn were then playing in a very similar kit to the one they wear today. Of course, in the backdrop we can also make out the Ewood Park faithful, fervent as ever.

"Although the passage of play is not the most enthralling pieces of football, the film gives us a clear sense of the atmosphere at the time," he said.

Footage also exists of Black Country rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers. The four-minute clip from a 3-2 defeat to Preston North End, which is available to view on the British Film Institute website, is of much higher quality having been shot seven years later in October 1905.

Preston North End v Wolverhampton Wanderers,1904

But the gold stripes on the Wolves kit fail to register on the black and white footage, making it appear as if the team are playing in all black. In the 1898 clip, it can be seen that Albion are in stripes and Blackburn are playing in pale blue and white halves, similar to the clubs' current kits. The Baggies' side featured goalscorer on the day, Ben Garfield, and club legend Billy Bassett.

An Albion spokesman said: "This is a wonderful piece of footage of West Bromwich Albion as we've never seen them before.

The clip has been presented as the first-ever footage of any football game. On YouTube, another clip purports to show Arsenal a year earlier but this has not been verified. We'd be interested to know if any Albion fans know of any earlier footage."

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