1883–84 British Home Championship

The 1883–84 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.

1883–84 British Home Championship
Tournament details
Host countryEngland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
Dates26 January – 29 March 1884
Teams4
Final positions
Champions Scotland (1st title)
Runners-up England
Tournament statistics
Matches played6
Goals scored30 (5 per match)
Top scorer(s)England Henry Cursham (3 goals)

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.[1] Finally, Wales played both England and Scotland, losing heavily to each in turn and thus granting Scotland victory in the first British Home Championship. Scotland won the final match, even though many of the best Scottish players were absent playing for Queen's Park FC in the 1884 FA Cup Final, which took place on the same day.[2]

Table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1   Scotland (C) 3 3 0 0 10 1 +9 6
2   England 3 2 0 1 12 2 +10 4
3   Wales 3 1 0 2 7 8 −1 2
4   Ireland 3 0 0 3 1 19 −18 0
Source: [3][4]
Rules for classification: 1) Points. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
(C) Champions

Results

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Ireland  0–5  Scotland
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Thomas Hindle (England)

Wales  6–0  Ireland
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Robert Sloane (England)

Ireland  1–8  England
McWha   88'
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Thomas Lawrie (Scotland)

Scotland  1–0  England
Smith   7'
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: John Sinclair (Ireland)

Wales  0–4  England
Attendance: 4,500
Referee: Sydney Broadfoot (Scotland)

Scotland  4–1  Wales
Roberts   15'
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Robert M. Sloane (England)

Winning squad

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Name Apps/Goals by opponent Total
 
WAL[5]
 
IRE[6]
 
ENG[7]
Apps Goals
John Forbes 1 1 1 3 0
Joe Lindsay 1/1 1 2 1
Frank Shaw 1/1 1 2 1
Walter Arnott 1 1 2 0
William McKinnon 1 1 2 0
Robert S. Brown 1 1 2 0
Sammy Thomson 1 1 2 0
William Harrower 1/2 1 2
James Gossland 1/2 1 2
John Kay 1/2 1 2
John Smith 1/1 1 1
John Goudie 1/1 1 1
James McAulay 1 1 0
Charles Campbell 1 1 0
John McPherson 1 1 0
William Anderson 1 1 0
Robert Christie 1 1 0
John Inglis 1 1 0
John Graham 1 1 0
William Fulton 1 1 0
John Macaulay 1 1 0
Thomas Turner 1 1 0
Michael Paton 1 1 0
Sandy Kennedy 1 1 0
James McIntyre 1 1 0

References

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  1. ^ a b Scotland v England 1884, Before The 'D'...Association Football around the world, 1863–1937, 21 August 2017
  2. ^ "Scotland v. Wales". The Sportsman. London: 8. 29 March 1884.
  3. ^ "British Home Championship 1884–1899". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  4. ^ "British Championships 1884". Scotland Football Stats. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  5. ^ Sat 29 Mar 1884 Scotland 4 Wales 1, London Hearts Supporters Club
  6. ^ Sat 26 Jan 1884 Ireland 0 Scotland 5, London Hearts Supporters Club
  7. ^ Sat 15 Mar 1884 Scotland 1 England 0, London Hearts Supporters Club
  • Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.