List of Burnley F.C. internationals

Burnley Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Burnley, Lancashire. Founded on 18 May 1882, the club was one of the first to become professional (in 1883), putting pressure on The Football Association to allow professionalism.[1] As a result, the team were able to enter the FA Cup for the first time in 1885–86, and they were one of six Lancashire clubs in the twelve founding members of the Football League in 1888–89.[1] Burnley have played in one of the four professional levels of English football from 1888 to the present day.[2] The team reached their first major final in 1914, when they reached the FA Cup Final, and beat Liverpool 1–0.[3] Burnley have been champions of England twice, in 1920–21 and 1959–60.[4] The team have also won the Charity Shield twice, in 1960 (shared with Wolverhampton Wanderers) and 1973.[5] They are one of only five teams (and were the second) to have won all top four professional divisions of English football, along with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Preston North End, Sheffield United and Portsmouth.[6]

Forward Sam Vokes (2016 photograph) appeared 40 times for Wales while at Burnley, scoring seven goals

In March 1889, forward John Yates became the first Burnley player to be capped in an international match when he played for England against Ireland in the 1888–89 British Home Championship.[7] England won 6–1; Yates scored a hat-trick in what proved to be his only cap. Jimmy Crabtree was the club's second international in 1894, and the first player to be born in the town of Burnley.[8] Full back Billy Bannister is the only other to be born in the town and to be capped while a Burnley player, appearing against Wales in March 1901.[9] Tommy Morrison became the first to represent a country other than England when he played for Ireland against Wales in 1899.[10] The final nation of the British Isles to have a representative from Burnley was Scotland, when Jock Aird won four caps in 1954.[9] The only decade that the club did not have an international representative was during the 1990s.[11] In 2001, Ian Cox became the first Burnley player to not be capped by a country from the United Kingdom or Ireland, appearing for Trinidad and Tobago in a 3–0 win against the Cayman Islands.[9]

Six Burnley players have represented their country at the FIFA World Cup. Northern Irishmen Jimmy McIlroy and Billy Hamilton both made the most appearances with five, in 1958 and 1982, respectively.[12] The first Burnley player to make an appearance in the competition was Aird in 1954.[9] He would later become a dual international, representing New Zealand twice in 1958.[13] At the 1958 FIFA World Cup, McIlroy represented his country, and Colin McDonald was the goalkeeper for England.[14] Tommy Cassidy and Hamilton both appeared for Northern Ireland in 1982. Hamilton scored twice (against Austria) in five caps, and Cassidy played once, as the team reached the second group stage.[15] Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson from Iceland became the first Burnley player in 36 years to play at the World Cup,[16] when he featured in a 1–1 draw against Argentina in 2018, the country's first ever match in the competition.[17]

McIlroy is the club's most capped player and the top goalscorer, appearing in 51 matches for his country and scoring ten times between 1951 and 1962.[11] Bob Kelly won the most caps (11) and scored the most goals (six) for England.[18] Cameron Howieson became Burnley's youngest international at the age of 17 in 2012, making his debut for New Zealand in a 2–2 draw with El Salvador.[19][20]