The London XI was an association football representative team, specially created to take part in a Europe-wide competition, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the precursor of today's UEFA Cup.

The competition was created on April 18, 1955, and the first tournament took three years to complete. The entrants were the major football team of each city which held a Trade Fair. Like many cities taking part, London had several strong teams, so it was decided to create a team especially for the tournament, using the best players from each London-based club. Membership of the team varied considerably between matches.

The London XI, managed by Joseph Mears , reached the final of the cup, after coming top of a group that included special XI teams from Basel and Frankfurt, and then beating Lausanne Sport . London lost 8-2 on aggregate over two legs to Spanish club FC Barcelona.

The teams for the final were:

First Leg

Played on March 3, 1958, at Stamford Bridge stadium, home of Chelsea F.C.

• Jack Kelsey (Arsenal)
• Peter Sillett (Chelsea)
• Jim Langley (Fulham)
• Danny Blanchflower (Tottenham Hotspur)
• Maurice Norman (Tottenham Hotspur),
• Ken Coote (Brentford)
• Vic Groves (Arsenal)
• Jimmy Greaves (Chelsea)
• Bobby Smith (Tottenham Hotspur)
• Johnny Haynes (Fulham)
• George Robb (Tottenham Hotspur)

Second Leg

Played on May 1, 1958, at Camp Nou.

• Jack Kelsey (Arsenal)
• George Wright (West Ham United)
• Noel Cantwell (West Ham United)
• Danny Blanchflower (Tottenham Hotspur)
• Ken Brown (West Ham United)
• Dave Bowen (Arsenal)
• Terry Medwin (Tottenham Hotspur)
• Vic Groves (Arsenal)
• Bobby Smith (Tottenham Hotspur)
• Jimmy Bloomfield (Arsenal)
• James Lewis (Chelsea)

The London XI only competed in the 1955-58 tournament, all future Inter-Cities Fairs Cups involving a London team were contested by individual clubs from London instead.

External link

• Details of the 1955-58 Fairs Cup