In the late nineteenth century, British workers living in St Petersburg brought football to Russia and the sport gradually became popular in the Russian Empire, with teams of Russian players also springing up across Russia.
The first team, consisting entirely of Russian players was created in 1897 in St. Petersburg at the Circle of Sports Lovers and set up by Georgy Alexandrovich Duperron.
The date of birth of Russian football is considered as 24 October 1897 when the first officially recorded football match was held on Vasilievsky Island. when the Russian team (KLS) took on the English side (VOF), who had been in existence for around six years at that point.
The match ended with a 6-0 win for the English side with all the goals coming in the first half, however newspapers at the time reported the performance of the Russian side favourably.
In 1901, the St Petersburg Football League (SPFL) was established, later becoming one of the founding members of the All-Russian Football Association. In 1912, the All-Russian Football Association joined FIFA.
