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Full name | Royal Engineers Association Football Club | |
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Nickname(s) | Sappers | |
Founded | 1863 | |
Ground | Number one ground, Chatham | |
Capacity | 500 | |
Chair | Lt Col Chloe Plimmer | |
Manager | Keith Stubbs | |
League | Army Football Association | |
Website | Club website | |
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The Royal Engineers Association Football Club is an association football team representing the Corps of Royal Engineers, the 'Sappers', of the British Army and based in Chatham, Kent. In the 1870s, it was one of the strongest sides in English football, winning the FA Cup in 1875[1] and being Cup finalists in three of the first four seasons. The Engineers were pioneers of the combination game, where teammates passed the ball to each other rather than kicking ahead and charging after the ball. With the rise of professional teams, in 1888 the Engineers joined a newly formed Army Football Association.