The following are events in 1872 which are relevant to the development of association football. Included are events in closely related codes, such as the Sheffield Rules.

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• 24 February – England defeat Scotland 1–0 in the fifth and final representative match between the two teams.
• 16 March – Wanderers defeat Royal Engineers 1–0 in the inaugural FA Cup Final at the Kennington Oval. Morton Betts scores the winning goal in the 15th minute after a successful dribble by Walpole Vidal.
• 30 November – The first FIFA-recognised international match is played in front of a crowd of 4,000 between Scotland and England at Hamilton Crescent, Partick. It ends as a 0–0 draw.

• 27 January – Jack Taylor (d. 1949), Scotland international forward in four matches (1892–1895); made 400 appearances for Everton (1896–1910), scoring 80 goals.
• 27 April – Kelly Houlker (d. 1962), England international half-back in five matches (1902–1906).
• 8 May – Bill Crawford (d. 1955), English professional footballer^[3]
• 10 May – Charlie Athersmith (d. 1910), England international forward in twelve matches, scoring three goals (1892–1900); won five league titles with Aston Villa.
• 25 November – G. O. Smith (d. 1943), England international forward in twenty matches (1893–1901), scoring eleven goals; captained the England team in at least thirteen matches from 1896 to 1901.
• 21 December – Lewis Vaughan Lodge (d. 1916), England international full-back in five matches (1894–1896).
• 27 December – Tommy Crawshaw (d. 1960), England international centre-half in ten matches (1895–1904).
• Full date unknown:
  • Harry Davy (d. 1896), English professional footballer.^[4]
  • Charles Hudson (d. 1955), English professional footballer.^[5]