PDFC were formed for Worldnet 98 by Phil Porter in May of that year. Click here to see the original message that was the beginning of PDFC. We had moderate success at Worldnet '98, winning two and losing two, not bad considering most of us had never met before.
Since then we have gone from strength to strength. We have achieved limited success in the league but have won a trophy....the wooden spoon at Land UT Gods 99. Just like the real side Punch Drunk have an exciting youth system, as the average age for the players at the recent Charlton Tournament was about 22.

The Squad Photo for WorldNet '98

1998 Squad From Top row left to right: Paul Campbell, Stuart Williams (C), Brian Durrant (Assistant Manager), Dave Patrick, Brendan Holmes, Stephen Lees and Aaron Burrell. Bottom row left to right: Simon Field, Barnaby Burch, Phil Porter (Manager), Chris Towell, Martin Beecroft, Warwick Botwright and Richard Gough.

Internet Football comprises of football teams from all over the world. Each team is made up of fans from official football clubs, and are brought together through mailing lists representing those fans. Mailing lists are discussion forums where fans of football clubs talk and discuss their fortunes (and mis-fortunes). It's a good way for fans living miles away from home to stay in touch.

Using the IFA Mailing list, we organise football matches and tournaments between these teams. The most important thing to remember is that you don't have to be any good because the winners of previous tournaments were no better than an average Sunday side and most of the teams in the league are a whole lot worse.

It's more about taking part, than about winning. Matches are played in a friendly spirit. The idea is to promote fellowship and reconciliation amongst rival soccer fans.

History of Internet Football

Back in the summer of 1995, Dave Walmsley of the Leeds Internet Mailing List, noticed an advert in a Leeds fanzine for a local Sunday Football Club that wanted pre-season practice matches. He asked if there was any interest on the mailing list and the first ever list team was formed. After a stonking 15-0 defeat, the "Lards" as they were now called considered retirement.

At the same time Ivan Cohen had started to run practice sessions for members of the Tottenham list. Hearing about the existence of another team, they challenged Leeds and the match, staged in the neutral venue of Nottingham, was won 6-3 by Leeds.

After this, other teams began to form: Arsenal played Tottenham, QPR and Southampton also began to play games. An unofficial league table was produced for a time - with QPR at the top.

EuroNet 96

Then in 1996 members of football supporter's mailing lists, came together in the spirit of Euro 96 with a knock out football tournament in the city of Nottingham with 16 teams taking part. The tournament, sponsored by Harlequin, was won by a rather astonished Middlesborough List team led by Dave "Robbo" Roberts. The competition received national press and radio coverage and featured a sponsored head shave for Children in Need. EuroNet was the brainchild of Dave "Voice of Football" Walmsley and the inaugral event was organised by Dave and members of the Leeds United List. (who were also semi-finalists in the competition).

The Mystery of the Missing Cup...

On the eve of EuroNet 97, Dave Roberts the Boro captain, was informed by Middlesbrough FC that they had lost the trophy! The club had kindly housed the cup for the year, after Bryan Robson had presented it to them earlier in the season at the Riverside Stadium. The club actually paid for a new trophy, but the question still remains. What happened to the original trophy? Many theories abound, but surely the most rational explanation is that a cleaner, unaccustomed to shiny metal things in the Boro trophy room, simply threw it out.

EuroNet 97

In 1997 things really began to take off. Bradford was designated as the venue for EuroNET 97 and teams were queuing up to be a part of it. That is until the FA stepped in ! Graham Kelly, bless him, refused to sanction the tournament. Why ? ...because it was taking place within the official close season. The upshot was that we were evicted from the council owned venue in Bradford. Unperturbed, and in defiance of Mr Charisma we moved the tournament to a new venue at the privately owned Manion Park in Middlesborough. Twenty-nine teams competed with Bradford City emerging as champions. Three other smaller tournaments were also held in 1997 in Solihull, London and Stramash.
After the success of the EuroNet 97 tournament the EuroNET mailing list was set up for team organisers to exchange opinions and to arrange matches and tournaments. On the 1st of August, a League Table for the 97/98 season was founded and by the end of 1997, 22 matches had been played.

Reading followed with the 1998 event marked by the first ever Scotland vs England International and a tournament win for Accrington Stanley Bowles (Queens Park Rangers). 1999 saw Leicester as the venue - Cybury Gooners (Arsenal) were overall winners.

For the year 2000 the event was based in Wild West Yorkshire at the University of Leeds' Bodington Hall site. Sports Interactive who are the team behind the highly successful football management simulation "Championship Manager 2000" sponsored the main tournament. The event was over the weekend of 22/23 July and attracted 47 teams and over 1000 players. Middlesbrough's Cellnetters were overall winners and Arsenal won the Plate competition.