1884 British Home Championship
Encyclopedia
The 1884 British Home Championship
was the inaugural international football
tournament, played between the Home Nations
of the British Isles
which at the time made up the constituent nations of the United Kingdom
; England
, Scotland
, Wales
and Ireland. International football matches had begun with annual games played between England and Scotland in 1872 and they had been joined by Wales in 1876 and Ireland in 1882. In 1883 the four governing bodies held a conference to standardise the rules of the game and to arrange a tournament to be held yearly in which the four nations would all play each other once in a league format. This championship would be considered by many to be the world's premier international football tournament for the next 46 years.
The tournament was played in an unusual layout, with Ireland playing all three of their games first, and losing heavily in each one. Then England and Scotland played what would eventually be the deciding match of the tournament, which Scotland won in a close fought contest. Finally Wales played both England and Scotland, losing heavily to each in turn and thus granting Scotland victory in the first British Home Championship.
The points system worked as follows:
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British Home Championship
The British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...
was the inaugural international football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
tournament, played between the Home Nations
Home Nations
Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on the context. Politically, it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom...
of the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
which at the time made up the constituent nations of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
; England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
, Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
, Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
and Ireland. International football matches had begun with annual games played between England and Scotland in 1872 and they had been joined by Wales in 1876 and Ireland in 1882. In 1883 the four governing bodies held a conference to standardise the rules of the game and to arrange a tournament to be held yearly in which the four nations would all play each other once in a league format. This championship would be considered by many to be the world's premier international football tournament for the next 46 years.
The tournament was played in an unusual layout, with Ireland playing all three of their games first, and losing heavily in each one. Then England and Scotland played what would eventually be the deciding match of the tournament, which Scotland won in a close fought contest. Finally Wales played both England and Scotland, losing heavily to each in turn and thus granting Scotland victory in the first British Home Championship.
Table
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 2 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 8 | −1 | |
| 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 19 | −18 |
The points system worked as follows:
- 2 points for a win
- 1 point for a draw
Results
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