British Home Championships

The British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams. With the first competition taking place in the 1883–84 season, it is the oldest international association football tournament. The tournament was abolished following the 1983–84 season.

History

The first international match saw England take on Scotland at the West of Scotland Cricket Club, Partick in 1872. Wales met Scotland for the first time in 1876 and faced England for the first time three years later, in 1879. Ireland hosted England in Belfast in February 1882 before travelling to take on Wales in Wrexham a week later. In 1884, following the first meeting between Ireland and Scotland, the home international championships became a reality.

Individual seasons

The first competition took place in the 1883-84 season. No matches were played between 1914 and 1919 due to the First World War nor between 1939 and 1946 because of the Second World War, although an unofficial home championship was held to celebrate the end of the Second World War in 1945-46.

The 1980-81 season was the only other season which wasn't completed and thus failed to produce a winner. The cause of this cancellation was The Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The championship was scheduled to be played in May 1981 after the termination of the domestic season. On 5 May, however, the Provisional Irish Republican Army hunger strike leader Bobby Sands died in the Maze Prison, invoking a storm of protest and violence by republicans in Northern Ireland.

Thus the FA and FAW, whose teams were scheduled to travel to Windsor Park later in the month, declined to play, rendering the tournament incomplete and void.



1880s    
1883-84 1884-85 1885-86 1886-87 1887-88
1888-89 1889-90      
1890s    
1890-91 1891-92 1892-93 1893-94 1894-95
1895-96 1896-97 1897-98 1898-99 1899-00
1900s    
1900-01 1901-02 1902-03 1903-04 1904-05
1905-06 1906-07 1907-08 1908-09 1909-10
1910s    
1910-11 1911-12 1912-13 1913-14 1919-20
1920s    
1920-21 1921-22 1922-23 1923-24 1924-25
1925-26 1926-27 1927-28 1928-29 1929-30
1930s    
1930-31 1931-32 1932-33 1933-34 1934-35
1935-36 1936-37 1937-38 1938-39  
1940s    
  1946-47 1947-48 1948-49 1949-50
1950s    
1950-51 1951-52 1952-53 1953-54 1954-55
1955-56 1956-57 1957-58 1958-59 1959-60
1960s    
1960-61 1961-62 1962-63 1963-64 1964-65
1965-66 1966-67 1967-68 1968-69 1969-70
1970s    
1970-71 1971-72 1972-73 1973-74 1974-75
1975-76 1976-77 1977-78 1978-79 1979-80
1980s    
1980-81 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84  


Total wins

 Total winsOutright winsShared titles
England543420
Scotland4112417
Wales1275
Ireland / Northern Ireland835

1Scotland's total does not include the unofficial British Victory Home Championship played in 1945–46