The London XI was a football team that represented the city of London in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The competition began in 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; however, rules stated that there could only be a single team from each city. Therefore, a representative team was created especially for the tournament, using the best players from the 11 Greater London-based Football League clubs. Membership of the team varied considerably between matches, and some 54 players took part in the team's eight-match campaign. The London XI, managed by Chelsea chairman Joe 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 Sports. London lost 8–2 on aggregate over two legs to FC Barcelona. The London XI only competed in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Thereafter, London was represented in the competition by individual clubs who qualified. A unified London side competed in friendly matches even earlier: a "London" team represented the FA in the historic 1866 London v Sheffield match, there were several challenges against the Glasgow FA during the 1880s, and "London" lost 4-2 to Corinthians on 21 November 1903 in front of 1500, described as Corinthians "had an easy task" in a 1904 Times article. Two other matches have been referenced – an "annual match" versus Birmingham on 3 October 1910 and a match versus Paris on 18 December 1910.

Teams and match details

Group stage

Semi-finals

London XI won 3–2 on aggregate.

Final

First leg

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

Second leg

Team: Jack Kelsey (Arsenal), George Wright (Orient), Noel Cantwell (West Ham), Danny Blanchflower (Tottenham), Ken Brown (West Ham), Dave Bowen (Arsenal), Terry Medwin (Tottenham), Vic Groves (Arsenal), Bobby Smith (Tottenham), Jimmy Bloomfield (Arsenal), Jim Lewis (Chelsea). Barcelona XI won 8–2 on aggregate.

London v Glasgow