British Home Championships

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The first international association football match, between Scotland and England, took place in November 1872. Following that contest, a schedule of international matches between the four home nations gradually developed, the games taking place between January and April of each year. In 1884, for the first time, all six possible matches were played. This schedule (the climax usually being the England v Scotland fixture) continued without interruption until the First World War. Recognition of the international season as constituting a single tournament came slowly. Early reports focused on the rivalries between the two teams in each match, rather than any overall title. Talk of a 'championship' began to emerge gradually during the 1890s, with some writers suggesting the use of a league table between the nations, with 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. By 1908 a list of 'International Champions' extending all the way back to 1884 was published. The championship, although increasingly recognised as such, had no official prize until 1935, when a trophy for the 'British International Championship' was created in honour of the silver jubilee of King George V. The rise of other international competitions, especially the World Cup and European Championships, meant that the British Home Championship lost much of its prestige as the years went on. The 1949–50 and 1953–54 Championships doubled up as qualifying groups for the 1950 and 1954 World Cups respectively, and the results of the 1966–67 and 1967–68 Championships were used to determine which team would progress to the second qualifying round of Euro 1968.

In Their Own Story

The 1966–67 British Home Championship was the first since England's victory at the World Cup 1966. Naturally, England were favourites for the Championship title. In the end, the outcome of the entire Championship rested on the final game: England v Scotland at Wembley Stadium in London on 15 April. If England won or drew, they would win the Championship; if Scotland won, they would triumph. Scotland beat the World Cup winners 3–2. The match was followed by a large, but relatively harmless, pitch invasion by the jubilant Scottish fans, who were quick to waggishly declare Scotland the 'World Champions', as the game was England's first defeat since winning the World Cup. The Scots' joke ultimately led to the conception of the Unofficial Football World Championships. Again, the 1976–77 Championship came down to the final game between England and Scotland at Wembley on 4 June. Scotland won the game 2–1, making them champions. As in 1967, a pitch invasion by the overjoyed Scottish fans followed, but this time vandalism ensued: the pitch was ripped up and taken back to Scotland in small pieces, along with one of the broken crossbars.

Reader's Guide

Each team played every other team once (making for a total of three matches per team and six matches in total). Generally, each team played either one or two matches at home and the remainder away, with home advantage between two teams alternating each year (so if England played Scotland at home one year, they played them away the next). A team received two points for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. The team with the most points was declared the winner. If two or more teams were equal on points, that position in the league table was shared (as was the Championship if it occurred between the top teams). In 1956, uniquely, all teams finished with the same number of points, leading to the Championship being shared between all four home nations. From the 1978–79 Championship onwards, however, goal difference (total goals scored minus total goals conceded) was used to differentiate between teams level on points. If goal difference was equal, then total goals scored was used. The British Home Championship was discontinued after the 1983–84 competition. There were a number of reasons for the tournament's demise, including it being overshadowed by the World Cup and European Championships, falling attendances at all but the England v Scotland games, fixture congestion, the rise of hooliganism, the Troubles in Northern Ireland (civil unrest led to the 1980–81 competition being abandoned), and England's desire to play against 'stronger' teams. The fate of the competition was settled when the (English) Football Association, swiftly followed by the Scottish Football Association, announced in 1983 that they would not be entering after the 1983–84 Championship.

Did You Know?

• The British Home Championship is the oldest international association football tournament in the world, beginning during the 1883–84 season.
• In 1956, uniquely, all four teams finished with the same number of points, leading to the Championship being shared between all four home nations.
• The 1949–50 and 1953–54 Championships doubled up as qualifying groups for the 1950 and 1954 World Cups respectively.
• The trophy, created in 1935 for the silver jubilee of King George V, was first awarded as the 'Jubilee Trophy' to Scotland, victors of the 1935–36 competition.
• The 1902 Scotland v England match at Ibrox Park saw a terracing collapse that killed 25 and injured over 500; the match was later declared void and replayed at Villa Park.