Competition Info

• British Home Championship

• 1884-1984

• By the early 1880s England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland were playing each other on a regular basis. In a meeting between the four associations in December 1882 the International Football Association Board (IFAB) was founded which unified the international rules of the game. At the same meeting a British or Home Championship was proposed to replace the friendly matches. It was the first International Football competition in the World and it ran (barring the World Wars) for 100 years.
  Sadly, its demise came about for a variety of reasons; the rise of hooliganism, the Northern Irish Troubles (which caused the cancellation of the 1981 tournament), fixture congestion to name but a few, but mostly because all but the Scotland/England fixture saw declining attendance figures. England pulled out of the 1984-85 Championship and Scotland soon followed. It was replaced for a few years by the Rous Cup.