In 1883 the Assistant Honorary Secretary of The Football Association, Nicholas Lane Jackson, was tasked to organise three County FAs, amongst which was Middlesex. Mr Jackson, who had the previous year been instrumental in the founding of Corinthians FC, became the Middlesex County FA’s first Chairman.
The Association progressed slowly but surely under a Council of twenty-five Members until 1907, when the Middlesex County FA briefly parted company from the auspices of The Football Association. A short time was spent in partnership with the Amateur Football Association, which later became the Amateur Football Alliance. Most clubs loyally followed and remained affiliated to the Association, which was reconciled with The FA after just a few years.
By 1912 the Middlesex County FA had formed a Professional Cup Committee, represented by the County Officers and one representative of each affiliated professional club. At this period there were one hundred and seventy-eight clubs and seventy-two leagues affiliated to the Association. The professional clubs in membership were Chelsea FC, Clapton Orient FC, Fulham FC, Millwall FC, Queens Park Rangers FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC.
The Middlesex County FA also had a Schools’ Cup and Shields Committee, which served schools’ football admirably until the foundation of the English Schools Football Association in 1904. A separate Youth Association was formed in 1950.
The Middlesex County FA also initiated the Middlesex Youth Invitation Cup, which was contested by eight professional clubs, including Portsmouth FC. This competition grew to become the South East Counties Youth Football League, forerunner to the South East Counties League, and today’s FA Premier League Youth Academy.
The Association had then - as now - a strong reputation in representative football, and during the 1950s and 1960s the Association regularly fielded an eleven of amateur internationals.
In 1966-67 the Sunday leagues and clubs of Middlesex joined the Association, more than doubling it’s affiliated membership. Referees involved in Sunday football also registered with Middlesex from this point, having a similar effect on the number of Middlesex County FA referees.
In 1975, the Middlesex County FA acquired its headquarters building in Harrow. It contained a Council Chamber, two Committee Rooms, a Common Room and a Secretary’s Office. The accommodation has since been the subject of extensive rebuilding, and now contains a four large Meeting Rooms, catering facilities, and in addition to the County Secretary’s Office, there is also accommodation for the Association’s six full-time staff, IT and copying equipment.
The Middlesex County FA first employed a full-time member of staff in 1992. Since then, the staffing requirements have grown to the present compliment of a County Secretary, an Executive Officer, two Administrative Officers, two Administrative Assistants, and a Football Development Officer. Part-time staff are also brought in on a temporary basis as necessary to help with peaks in the workload.
The Middlesex County FA usually has a Council of up to fifty-four Members, comprising eighteen Officers, up to thirty-six Councillors, and co-options as needed. In addition, the Middlesex County Youth Division also has a Council of approximately forty-five, consisting of nineteen Officers, twenty Councillors and six delegates nominated by the Council of the Association, delegates from affiliated youth competitions, the Middlesex Young Peoples Clubs and the Middlesex Schools FA.
The geography and infrastructure of Middlesex
Middlesex is an inland county, bounded on the south by Surrey and a very small part of Kent, but physically separated from both by the River Thames. To the east Middlesex is bordered by Essex, along the River Lea; to the north by Hertfordshire; and to the west by Buckinghamshire, marked by the natural boundary of the River Colne. Middlesex extends from 51° 22' to 51° 42' (Northern Latitude), and from 2' (East Longitude) to 31' (West Longitude). It contains about 180,480 acres, or 282 square miles.
The name is slightly corrupted from the Anglo-Saxon “Middle-Seaxe”, signifying the country of the Middle Saxons. This portion of the English territory was at the heart of the early Saxon sovereignty established in South Britain. It did not, however, form a distinct kingdom, but was included in the domain of the East Saxons, who established themselves in Essex in about 530 AD, and thereafter extended their territory to take in the countryside that in subsequent centuries became Middlesex, Sussex and Wessex.
The County of Middlesex was first documented in AD 704, and its history includes that of the metropolis itself. Local government authorities were, at their inception, drawn up to operate within the County boundaries. In 1889, the administrative County of London was formed from the City of London, together with parts of Middlesex, Kent and Surrey. This new ‘county’ was divided into boroughs.
In 1963 the government of the day abolished this County of London administration and replaced it with the Greater London Council, which also took in the rest of Middlesex and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire, as well as some county boroughs. In the new hierarchy, London boroughs were formed to operate under the auspices of the new GLC.
The County of Middlesex itself continues today, however. It covers a broad area from Cowley and Hillingdon in the west to Poplar in the east, and from Potters Bar in the north to Shepperton and Hampton Wick in the south. In Westminster, alongside the Houses of Parliament, the Middlesex Guildhall still survives.
Indeed, no other county could boast such an extent of riches, which include Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, England’s international rugby and cricket stadiums - Twickenham and Lords - world-famous national museums, and the world’s largest international airport at Heathrow, all within its borders.
The strategic location of Middlesex is by no means just historic, and the county borders contain European headquarters of such varied businesses as Apple Computers, Viglen, IBM, British Airways, GlaxoSmithKline, Daewoo, various international media groups, the major financial and banking institutions of the West, and of course The Football Association.
For the purposes of football administration, wide areas within the borders of the County of Middlesex also fall within the jurisdiction of the London FA and the Amateur Football Alliance. In addition, the County borders involve negotiations and co-operation with no less than five other County Associations - Hertfordshire, Berks & Bucks, Surrey, Kent and Essex.
In this respect, taking into account the demography of the population centres, which include much of inner and outer London as well as suburban and rural districts, the area that the Middlesex County FA administers probably presents the Association with a situation unique to English football.
The governmental composition of Middlesex
The County of Middlesex covers metropolitan, urban and rural areas, including districts of contrasting affluence and poverty. There are twenty local authorities, including the London Boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Camden, Ealing, Enfield, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Richmond upon Thames, Tower Hamlets and Westminster, all serving the county’s population of approximately six million people.
These local government bodies exercise control of many sports facilities in Middlesex, including football pitches and training areas, and changing accommodation. There are also diminishing numbers of sports grounds owned by commercial businesses, charitable organisations and the Ministry of Defence.
The owners generally seek to maximise income from letting or leasing their facilities, and have in some circumstances sought to realise their asset value through sale of the land and buildings. Many of these sports amenities are operated under contract, and the overall standard of football facilities in Middlesex is perceived as being in decline.