EFA Centenary ArtEFActs: Kinnaird Cup

Kenneth Fitzgerald Kinnaird KBE (1880-1972), 12th Lord Kinnaird, was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge.

He donated a ‘challenge cup for the Amateur Championship’ in 1924, shortly after the death of his father, Arthur (1847-1923).

“It was first played for in 1925, and though it lapsed for a couple of years after its inception, the building of the covered Fives court at Queen's Club in 1927 set it on its feet once more. In 1931 the Kinnaird Cup regulations were revised and the title of the competition was altered to 'Amateur Championship for the Kinnaird Cup', thus giving it a larger showing of importance."

Extract from Eton & Rugby Fives by David Egerton and John Armitage (circa 1934)

Both father and son were described by The Times as “the best player[s] in the world of [their] day” at Eton Fives, and Kenneth won the School Fives as Keeper (captain) at Eton in 1888 and 1889 with his partner, SM Macnaghten. Arthur Kinnaird was more closely associated with football, playing in nine FA Cup Finals (still a record) and serving as President of the Football Association for 33 years.

Kenneth Kinnaird was a member of the original committee which founded the Eton Fives Association in 1924 and was the organisation’s first patron in 1934, a position he continued to hold after the war until his death in 1972.

To celebrate the centenary of the Kinnaird Cup competition in 2024, the EFA has launched the Kinnaird 100 Club – click here for further details.

The trophy now has a crush-resistant case created by Wiseman Cases, which was donated by Howard Wiseman to raise funds for the EFA Centenary Appeal.