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. 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	L	GF	GA	GD
Scotland	6	3	3	0	10	1	+9
England	4	3	2	1	12	2	+10
Wales	2	3	1	2	7	8	−1
Ireland	0	3	0	3	1	19	−18

The points system worked as follows:

2 points for a win
1 point for a draw

Results

Ireland v Scotland

26 January 1884

Ireland	0–5	Scotland
		12', 86' William Harrower 30', 70' James Gossland 60' John Goudie

Ulster Cricket Ground, Belfast
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Thomas Hindle (England)

Wales v Ireland

9 February 1884

Wales	6–0	Ireland
William Pierce Owen 2 Edward Shaw 2 Arthur Eyton-Jones Robert Albert Jones

Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Ireland v England

23 February 1884

Ireland	1–8	England
William McWha		Henry Cursham 3 Edward Johnson 2 Charles Bambridge 2 Arthur Bambridge

Ulster Cricket Ground, Belfast

Scotland v England

15 March 1884

Scotland	1–0	England
John Smith 7'

Cathkin Park, Glasgow
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: John Sinclair (Ireland)

Wales v England

17 March 1884

Wales	0–4	England
		William Bromley-Davenport 2 Billy Gunn Norman Bailey

Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Scotland v Wales

29 March 1884

Scotland	4–1	Wales
Joseph Lindsay 22' Frank Shaw 49' John Kay 65', 87'		15' Robert Roberts

Cathkin Park, Glasgow
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Robert M. Sloane (England)

References

Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.

British Home Championship

Football in the United Kingdom: England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales

Competitors	England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales

Seasons	1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 First World War 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 Second World War 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84

Rous Cup Nations Cup Matches outside the British Home Championship

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