 This would make the current professional club the oldest professional football club in the world, and although the claims have not been officially ratified, the current professional club has accepted the amateur club as part of its own history.The Crystal Palace Company who owned the Crystal Palace Exhibition building founded the Crystal Palace Club in 1857 to play cricket before turning their attention to football.It had been lobbied by existing members of the cricket club to provide a continuation of sporting activities during the winter months.