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.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales |
| Dates | 26 January – 29 March 1884 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Scotland (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  England |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Goals scored | 30 (5 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | 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
| 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 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Wales |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 2 |
| 4 |  Ireland |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 19 | −18 | 0 |
Results
| Wales | 0–4 | England |
|---|---|---|
|
Winning squad
| 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
- Scotland v England 1884, Before The 'D'...Association Football around the world, 1863–1937, 21 August 2017
- "Scotland v. Wales". The Sportsman. London: 8. 29 March 1884.
- "British Home Championship 1884–1899". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
- "British Championships 1884". Scotland Football Stats. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
- Sat 29 Mar 1884 Scotland 4 Wales 1, London Hearts Supporters Club
- Sat 26 Jan 1884 Ireland 0 Scotland 5, London Hearts Supporters Club
- 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.
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}