The Lancashire Football Association was formed on Sunday 28th September 1878, from a meeting at the Volunteer Inn, Bromley Cross.

In attendance at the meeting were T. Hindle of Darwen, W.T. Dixon, secretary of Turton FC, and John Lewis, a referee and a prominent figure in the founding of Blackburn Rovers.

The modus operandi was discussed, and arrangements made for a representative meeting of clubs to be held.

As events proved, Lancashire FA became a great factor and influence in football, not merely in arranging matches, and fostering Association Football, but in guiding and leading the clubs of England when the titanic struggle of professionalism was fought and won.

Lancashire FA runs a number of different county cup competitions catering for the various levels of football played throughout the county, which is based on the historic county boundaries of Lancashire, before the 1974 county boundary re-organisation, rather than the current administrative county boundaries.

This means the county includes Barrow-in-Furness to the north, Manchester and Liverpool to the south, Blackpool and Morecambe on the west coast as well as Rochdale, Oldham and Burnley to the east.

The administrative area covered by Lancashire FA overlaps with areas covered by Manchester FA and Liverpool FA.

According to the Memorandum on Areas and Overlapping of Associations, Manchester FA covers the area 12 miles from Manchester Town Hall and is confined to Lancashire.

Liverpool FA covers 18 miles in Lancashire and eight miles in Cheshire from Liverpool Town Hall.

Additionally, in an agreement with Cumberland FA, Lancashire FA received eight clubs in the South Cumberland area of Millom from the end of season 1969/70.