History of youth work History of youth work The history of youth work goes back to the birth of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, which was the first time that young men left their own homes and cottage industries to migrate to the big towns. The result of this migration was an emergent youth culture in urban areas, which was responded to by the efforts of local people. In 1844 the first organisation whose sole aim was to address the needs of young men was founded. The YMCA was set up by George Williams. Williams was from London and his goal was
Football in London having been founded in 1879. However, Isthmian League side Cray Wanderers is the oldest extant club in all of the Greater London area, having been founded in 1860 in St Mary Cray | (then part of Kent but now in the London Borough of Bromley). Initially, football in London was dominated by amateur teams, drawing their membership from former public schoolboys but gradually working-class sides came to the forefront. Royal Arsenal was London's first professional team, becoming so in 1891, a move which saw them boycotted by the amateur London Football Association. Other London clubs soon followed Arsenal's footsteps in