1977 British Home Championship
Encyclopedia
The 1977 British Home Championship
exemplified a new era in Home Nations
football during its final game, when jubilant Scottish fans invaded the pitch at Wembley Stadium following their team's surprise victory. Unlike a similar occasion in the 1967 British Home Championship
, family football
had given way to hooliganism and extensive damage was done to the stadium and riots in London
throughout the night followed the occasion. It was events like this which eventually led to the tournament's cancellation in 1984.
The tournament itself was an open affair, with an opening victory for England
cancelled out by a Scottish
win over Northern Ireland
and English defeat to Wales
. The Welsh stood a good chance of winning the tournament outright for the first time since 1937, but could not beat the Irish in their final match, and ended up in a rare second place position. The Scots and English thus faced each other in the final match knowing the winner would take the trophy, the Scots achieving a victory on England's home ground to take the trophy for the second year in a row and demonstrate their dominance in British football. The match was followed by a mass pitch invasion by Scottish supporters.
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...
exemplified a new era in 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...
football during its final game, when jubilant Scottish fans invaded the pitch at Wembley Stadium following their team's surprise victory. Unlike a similar occasion in the 1967 British Home Championship
1967 British Home Championship
The 1967 British Home Championship has remained famous in the memories of British Home Nations football fans ever since the dramatic climatic match at Wembley Stadium, where an unfancied Scottish team beat England on the same turf they had won the 1966 FIFA World Cup a year before...
, family 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...
had given way to hooliganism and extensive damage was done to the stadium and riots in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
throughout the night followed the occasion. It was events like this which eventually led to the tournament's cancellation in 1984.
The tournament itself was an open affair, with an opening victory for 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...
cancelled out by a 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...
win over 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...
and English defeat to 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...
. The Welsh stood a good chance of winning the tournament outright for the first time since 1937, but could not beat the Irish in their final match, and ended up in a rare second place position. The Scots and English thus faced each other in the final match knowing the winner would take the trophy, the Scots achieving a victory on England's home ground to take the trophy for the second year in a row and demonstrate their dominance in British football. The match was followed by a mass pitch invasion by Scottish supporters.
Table
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | |
| 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 |
The points system worked as follows:
- 2 points for a win
- 1 point for a draw
Results
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