1902 British Home Championship
Encyclopedia
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 an 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 between the British 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...
which was meant to herald the arrival full professional game of 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...
as both 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...
and 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...
fielded fully professional teams for the first time. The championship was however dominated and overshadowed by a disaster
Ibrox disaster
The Ibrox disaster refers to two accidents, in 1902 and 1971, which led to major loss of life at the Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.-First Ibrox disaster:...
during the final deciding match between England and Scotland at Ibrox Park
Ibrox Stadium
Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium located on the south side of the River Clyde, on Edmiston Drive in the Ibrox district of Glasgow. It is the home ground of Scottish Premier League club Rangers and has an all-seated capacity of 51,082...
, which claimed 25 lives. Six minutes into the game, a section of the wooden West Tribune Stand suddenly collapsed due to heavy rainfall the night before. Over 500 people were injured as the stadium was packed to its 68,000 capacity for the match. Although play was stopped in the immediate aftermath of the disaster as players, police and stewards rushed to aid the injured, it was later continued. The continued match finished 1–1 despite the players' reluctance and repeated pauses to allow police and injured spectators to cross the pitch. After the match the Scottish
Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations...
and English Football Associations
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
decided to void the result, and the match was replayed at Villa Park
Villa Park
Villa Park may mean:United Kingdom* Villa Park, an association football stadium in Birmingham, EnglandUnited States* Villa Park, California, a small city in Orange County* Villa Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County...
. All proceeds from the replay were contribued to the Disaster Fund set up to aid victims of the accident.
Ireland kicked off the tournament in fine style, beating 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...
3–0 in Cardiff with a good performance. Their luck didn't hold out in their second game however, thumped 5–1 by an impressive Scottish side in Greenock. Scotland continued their run of good form against Wales, with another 5–1 victory, setting them up as tournament favourites going into the final games. England had played poorly in their opening matches, drawing 0–0 with Wales and scrambling a 1–0 victory over the Irish. The final match up was marred by tragedy
Tragedy (event)
A tragedy is an event in which one or more losses, usually of human life, occurs that is viewed as mournful. Such an event is said to be tragic....
and the game was eventually relocated to England due to the turmoil in the Scottish football community as a result of the disaster. The match was fiercely fought and ended with a 2–2 draw, sharing the points but giving the trophy to the Scots.
Table
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 4 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | |
| 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | −7 |
The points system worked as follows:
- 2 points for a win
- 1 point for a draw
Results
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