1930 British Home Championship
Encyclopedia
The 1930 British Home Championship
was an edition of the annual international football
tournament played between the British Home Nations
. 1930 was the year in which the tournament finally gained a serious rival as the premier international football
competition, with the inception of the 1930 FIFA World Cup
, held in Uruguay
. The Home Nations were not however members of FIFA
due to disputes over the growing professionalism in continental and South American football. As a result they were not able to attend and indicated that even if they were invited they would have no interest in attending, deeming foreign opposition too weak for serious contest. It is interesting to speculate what would have happened had the Home Nations entered the tournament, especially as the tide of world football was changing against Britain. The England
team, which dominated the 1930 championship, had lost to Spain
the year before in the first defeat by a foreign football team, and in the same year they only managed draws with Germany
and Austria
. The Scottish
side, which had won most of the previous ten championships, was likewise unprepared, only playing its first game outside the British Isles in 1929, and being heavily defeated on tour in 1931 by both the Austrians and the Italians
.
The tournament reflected the highly attacking style of play popular in Britain at the time, with very high scoring in all games, the lowest total was three and two games saw seven goals and two more six. The English won all three matches at a canter, scoring fourteen goals and brushing aside their opposition to take the title. The fancied Scots also performed well, winning against Wales
and Northern Ireland
before succumbing to England in the final match. In the decider for last place, the Irish hammered the Welsh seven goals to nil at Windsor Park
, taking third place in an exciting competition which even at this stage many still considered the world's most prestigious.
The points system worked as follows:
----
----
----
----
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 edition of the annual 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 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...
. 1930 was the year in which the tournament finally gained a serious rival as the premier 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...
competition, with the inception of the 1930 FIFA World Cup
1930 FIFA World Cup
The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 July to 30 July 1930...
, held in Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. The Home Nations were not however members of FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
due to disputes over the growing professionalism in continental and South American football. As a result they were not able to attend and indicated that even if they were invited they would have no interest in attending, deeming foreign opposition too weak for serious contest. It is interesting to speculate what would have happened had the Home Nations entered the tournament, especially as the tide of world football was changing against Britain. The 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...
team, which dominated the 1930 championship, had lost to Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
the year before in the first defeat by a foreign football team, and in the same year they only managed draws with Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
and Austria
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
. The Scottish
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...
side, which had won most of the previous ten championships, was likewise unprepared, only playing its first game outside the British Isles in 1929, and being heavily defeated on tour in 1931 by both the Austrians and the Italians
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
.
The tournament reflected the highly attacking style of play popular in Britain at the time, with very high scoring in all games, the lowest total was three and two games saw seven goals and two more six. The English won all three matches at a canter, scoring fourteen goals and brushing aside their opposition to take the title. The fancied Scots also performed well, winning against 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 Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
before succumbing to England in the final match. In the decider for last place, the Irish hammered the Welsh seven goals to nil at Windsor Park
Windsor Park
Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland and the home ground of Linfield F.C. and the Northern Ireland national football team. It is also where the Irish Cup and Irish League Cup finals are played.-History:...
, taking third place in an exciting competition which even at this stage many still considered the world's most prestigious.
Table
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 8 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 17 | −15 |
The points system worked as follows:
- 2 points for a win
- 1 point for a draw
Results
--------
----
----
----