England’s oldest club relegated from Football League

SWINDON, England (AP) — Notts County, one of the founder members of the English league in 1888, has dropped out of the country’s top four professional divisions for the first time.

The team from central England was beaten at Swindon 3-1 to finish in next-to-last place in the fourth-tier League Two, meaning it lost its proud status as the oldest Football League club after being formed in 1862.

That mantle now passes to city rival Nottingham Forest, which was founded in 1865. Some claim the oldest league team is Stoke but even the club’s own website says “many details remain sketchy” about its formation, purported to be in 1863.

Notts County has had 120 seasons in the Football League, 30 of which came in the top flight. County’s best finish was third in the old Division One, in both the 1890-91 and 1900-01 seasons.