The origin of football substitutes goes back to at least the early 1860s as part of English public school football games. The original use of the term "substitute '' in football was to describe the replacement of players who failed to turn up for matches. For example, in 1863, a match reports states: "The Charterhouse eleven played a match in cloisters against some old Carthusians but in consequence of the non-appearance of some of those who were expected it was necessary to provide three substitutes. The substitution of absent players happened as early as the 1850s, for example from Eton College where the term "emergencies '' is used. Numerous references to players acting as a "substitute '' occur in matches in the mid-1860s where it is not indicated whether these were replacements of absent players or of players injured during the match.
when were subs first used in english football
as early as the 1850s