When the Football Association legalized professionalism in 1885 it unleashed commercial forces that progressively eroded the influence of gentleman amateurs on the English game. Self-appointed custodians of amateurism fought a long rearguard action against these developments. This culminated in a crisis in the FA's affairs and the secession in 1907 of a large number of amateur clubs, mainly based in London and the south-east. These clubs played under the aegis of the Amateur Football Association for the next seven seasons. This essay explores the origins of this association, its brief history as an independent governing body, and the reasons for its re-integration with the Football Association in 1914.