On October 24, 1897, on Vasilievsky Island in Saint Petersburg, the first officially recorded football match in Russia took place. On that day, on the parade ground of the First Cadet Corps, the teams of the Vasilievsky Society of Footballers (VOF) and the "Sports Lovers’ Circle" met. By that time, VOF had already existed for six years, consisting mainly of English players. "Shoving, kicks to the legs and face, blows that sent players tumbling <…> Fortunately, no faces were seriously injured," wrote newspapers in Saint Petersburg about this game. VOF defeated SLC with a score of 6:0.