By the end of 1883, the club turned professional and signed many Scottish players, who were regarded as the best footballers. As a result, Burnley refused to join the Football Association (FA) and its FA Cup, since the association barred professional players. In 1884, they led a group of 35 other clubs in the formation of the breakaway British Football Association to challenge the supremacy of the FA. This threat of secession led to an FA rule change in July 1885 allowing professionalism, which made the new body redundant.