Disputed captains These players may have officially captained England, but sources are either uncertain or differ.
Unofficial captains The following players have never been named, i.e. started a match as, captain, but were given the armband partway through a match after that game's captain was either
sent off or
substituted. As records for such mid-game changes are not often kept, this list may be incomplete:
Amateurs For a period after the introduction of professionalism, the England team split into two teams that represented the nation internationally, one only including amateur players. This or other amateur English teams also represented Great Britain at the Olympics, when known as "England" in certain early competitions.
Captains of other non-official teams Before the men's and women's teams each became officially associated, different teams represented them in international tournaments. •
Bold indicates tournament winners
Non-official captains by appearances as captain The following players have never captained England officially, but have started a match as named captain of a team representing England, with the match and/or team not officially recognised: Only known, confirmed, non-official caps as captain are included.
Others by age •
Bold indicates permanent captain of England (not necessarily at time of the relevant match/es)
Unofficial young captaincies Unofficial old captaincies == Notes ==