FA Charity Shield

Brighton & Hove Albion FA Charity Shield Overview

Brighton & Hove Albion have taken part in the FA Charity Shield on one occasion. It came at the start of the 1910-11 season when the game pitted the winners of the Football League against the winners of the Southern League for the title of Champions of England.

Jack Robson’s Albion had enjoyed an outstanding 1909-10 campaign, not only winning the Southern League but completing a double by lifting the Southern Professional Charity Cup too. Their opponents in the Charity Shield were Aston Villa, the biggest club in the land at the time and the reigning Football League champions.

The game took place on Monday 5^th September 1910 at Stamford Bridge. Hardly anybody gave Brighton a chance, but the Sussex footballing public were quietly confident that they could give the famous Villa a run for their money.

Hundreds of Albion supporters made the journey to London and they were not to be disappointed. After a fairly even first half finished goalless, Brighton came out for the second 45 minutes determined to take the game to Villa.

They were rewarded when Charlie Webb scored the only goal of the game after a Bert Longstaff corner wasn’t convincingly dealt with by Villa goalkeeper Arthur Cartlidge. Bill Hastings reacted quickest to lay off to Webb and the rest, as they say, is history.

Brighton captain Joe Leeming collected the famous Charity Shield from the Football Associations vice-president Charles Crump and with that, the Albion could justifiably claim to be the best team in England.

The Football League champions versus Southern League champions format lasted for five years and Brighton were the only Southern League side to win the Charity Shield in that time. The current FA Cup winners v English champions was first introduced in 1921.

Brighton also hold a record as the only Charity Shield winners who have not also won the FA Cup or the League at some point in their history.