The joint-oldest international football teams in the world are England and Scotland, who played the first ever official international football match in front of 4,000 spectators at the West of Scotland Cricket Club's Hamilton Crescent ground in Partick, Glasgow, on St Andrew's Day (30th November) in 1872. The kick-off was delayed by fog and the game eventually finished 0-0, although Scotland came nearest to scoring when the ball landed on the tape that then served as a crossbar.
Scotland vs England is therefore the oldest international football fixture in the world - and the most played. In total, the two have played each other a total of 111 times, meaning the two great footballing rivals have played each other more times than they have played any other international teams and more times than any other international teams have played each other. England have won 46, Scotland 41, and there have been 24 draws.
Since the Beautiful Game's early days on muddy fields in England and Scotland watched by flat-capped fans drinking Bovril to keep warm on winter afternoons, the game has come a long way and is now the world's foremost team sport.
Now the eyes of the world are fixed on Brazil for the 20th World Cup.
Here, Julian Humphrys marks the occasion with a look at the events that made the game what it is today:
The birth of football: your 60-second guide
Saturday 14th June 2014
BBC History Mag
Julian Humphrys
Despite the rules of football being codified in a London pub in 1863, all the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888 - Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke (renamed Stoke City in 1926), West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers - were Northern or Midlands teams. It wasn't until 1893 that Woolwich Arsenal (who became known as just Arsenal in 1913 when they moved from the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, south London, to Islington in north London) became the first Southern team to join the English Football League
When did football as we know it take shape?
A key moment in the development of the game as we know it came in October 1863, when representatives from a dozen schools and clubs met at the Freemasons’ Tavern in London to form the (English) Football Association (FA) and agree a set of official rules under which they could all play.
What had happened before that?
The game had come a long way from the ‘mob football’ of the Middle Ages when, typically, large groups of men would battle to move a ball from one end of a village to the other.
By the early 19th century, organised matches with clearly defined rules were being played at public schools. However each school - such as Eton - had its own particular code, which made the organisation of competitive matches problematical.
Differences included the amount of handling that was permitted and the question of ‘hacking’ – a medieval survival permitting the kicking of an opponent’s shins. Some schools allowed it and some didn't.
What was agreed in 1863?
Fourteen laws were agreed including pitch length, goal size and an early form of the offside rule. The number of players in a team was not stipulated and it was still possible to claim a ‘fair catch’ (as in modern Australian Rules Football). Hacking was banned – a decision that led the Blackheath Club to walk out in protest.
How did the game develop?
The 1863 laws were not the only ones in force. Attempts had been made at Cambridge to codify the laws and some clubs still played under rules formulated in Sheffield six years earlier, in 1857. In 1877 the two sets of rules were combined.
The first FA Challenge Cup was staged in 1871/72, and the growing popularity of the sport in the north and Midlands was reflected in the formation of the Football League in 1888.
When was the first international match staged?
Matches between English and London-based Scottish players had been played in London between 1870 and 1872.
But the first official international match between two countries was staged at the West of Scotland Cricket Ground in Partick, Glasgow on St Andrew’s Day, 1872. Watched by 4,000 spectators, the match between Scotland and England ended in a 0-0 draw, although Scotland came nearest to scoring when the ball landed on the tape that then served as a crossbar.
The first ever international game ever played, between England and a Scotland representative team played under floodlights at the Kennington Oval in London in 1870, as organised solely by the English FA. However, it is the return leg at the Hamilton Crescent in 1872 (which finished 0-0) that is officially recognised as the first ever international fixture as the two sides were independently picked by the two corresponding Football Associations of England and Scotland
Sketchy business: 4,000 spectators attended the first official international, between England and Scotland at West of Scotland Cricket Club's Hamilton Crescent ground in Partick, Glasgow, on St Andrew's Day Glasgow in 1872, despite the kick-off being delayed by fog
Hallowed turf: West of Scotland Cricket Club's Hamilton Crescent ground in Partick, Glasgow - where the first ever international football match took place - today
Innovators of passing football: Royal Engineers A.F.C.
In the 1870s Royal Engineers A.F.C., representing the Corps of Royal Engineers, the "Sappers", of the British Army, was one of the strongest sides in English football, winning the FA Cup in 1875 and being Cup Finalists in four of the first eight seasons of the competition (the first season of the Cup was in 1871-72). In the late 1860s "scientific" team play and ball passing strategies started to evolve, which created the modern game as we know it. Teamwork and passing were the innovation of the Royal Engineers A.F.C. By 1869 they were "work[ing] well together", "backing up" and benefiting from "cooperation". By 1870 the Engineers were the first team to use ball passing strategies: "Lieut. Creswell, who having brought the ball up the side then kicked it into the middle to another of his side, who kicked it through the posts the minute before time was called". Passing was a regular feature of their style and their skills included "turn[ing] the ball" to colleagues and "irreproachable organisation" of forwards and defenders. By early 1872 the Engineers were the first football team renowned for "play[ing] beautifully together". Today Royal Engineers A.F.C. still play.
The England team, circa 1893. On the far left of the back row is stood William McGregor, the founder of the English Football League, the world's first football league
The Scotland team, sporting a fine array of gentlemanly facial fashion, circa 1895
A linesman in very fancy pantaloons marshals the game as England play Scotland at Bramall Lane, Sheffield in 1903
Scotland goalkeeper Jack Lyall prepares to hoof the ball downfield during a match against England at Crystal Palace, south London, 1905. Wembley wasn't built until 1923
Huge crowds swarm into Chelsea's Stamford Bridge in west London for the England-Scotland Home International Championship match, which the home side eventually won 1-0, with Harry Hampton the scorer, 1913. The Home International Championship, also known as the British Home Championship, was an annual football competition contested between the UK's four international football teams - England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (later Northern Ireland) - every year from the 1883-1884 season until it was abolished in the 1983-1984. Due to the fact that Northern Ireland won the last won in 1984, the team's fans still lay claim to them being the British Champions. It is the world's oldest international football tournament.
England captain David Jack shakes hands with his Scottish counterpart, Davie Meiklejohn, over the centre-spot at Wembley as Irish referee Williams McLean oversees, 1930. Who the bloke in the middle is is a mystery
Far below the camera blimp, England play Scotland at Wembley, 1932
The third-oldest international football team in the world is Wales, who played Scotland in their first ever match on 25th March 1876 at Hamilton Crescent in Partick, Glasgow, the home of West of Scotland Cricket Club. Scotland won 4-0 in front of 17,000 fans.
The fourth-oldest international football team is what used to be known as Ireland, but which became the Northern Ireland football team in 1922 when what is now the Republic of Ireland seceded from the UK. On 18th February 1882 Ireland made their international debut against England, losing 13–0 in a friendly played at Bloomfield in Belfast. This remains the record defeat for the team, and also England's largest winning margin.
The birth of football: your 60-second guide | History Extra
Scotland vs England is therefore the oldest international football fixture in the world - and the most played. In total, the two have played each other a total of 111 times, meaning the two great footballing rivals have played each other more times than they have played any other international teams and more times than any other international teams have played each other. England have won 46, Scotland 41, and there have been 24 draws.
Since the Beautiful Game's early days on muddy fields in England and Scotland watched by flat-capped fans drinking Bovril to keep warm on winter afternoons, the game has come a long way and is now the world's foremost team sport.
Now the eyes of the world are fixed on Brazil for the 20th World Cup.
Here, Julian Humphrys marks the occasion with a look at the events that made the game what it is today:
The birth of football: your 60-second guide
Saturday 14th June 2014
BBC History Mag
Julian Humphrys
Despite the rules of football being codified in a London pub in 1863, all the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888 - Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke (renamed Stoke City in 1926), West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers - were Northern or Midlands teams. It wasn't until 1893 that Woolwich Arsenal (who became known as just Arsenal in 1913 when they moved from the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, south London, to Islington in north London) became the first Southern team to join the English Football League
When did football as we know it take shape?
A key moment in the development of the game as we know it came in October 1863, when representatives from a dozen schools and clubs met at the Freemasons’ Tavern in London to form the (English) Football Association (FA) and agree a set of official rules under which they could all play.
What had happened before that?
The game had come a long way from the ‘mob football’ of the Middle Ages when, typically, large groups of men would battle to move a ball from one end of a village to the other.
By the early 19th century, organised matches with clearly defined rules were being played at public schools. However each school - such as Eton - had its own particular code, which made the organisation of competitive matches problematical.
Differences included the amount of handling that was permitted and the question of ‘hacking’ – a medieval survival permitting the kicking of an opponent’s shins. Some schools allowed it and some didn't.
What was agreed in 1863?
Fourteen laws were agreed including pitch length, goal size and an early form of the offside rule. The number of players in a team was not stipulated and it was still possible to claim a ‘fair catch’ (as in modern Australian Rules Football). Hacking was banned – a decision that led the Blackheath Club to walk out in protest.
How did the game develop?
The 1863 laws were not the only ones in force. Attempts had been made at Cambridge to codify the laws and some clubs still played under rules formulated in Sheffield six years earlier, in 1857. In 1877 the two sets of rules were combined.
The first FA Challenge Cup was staged in 1871/72, and the growing popularity of the sport in the north and Midlands was reflected in the formation of the Football League in 1888.
When was the first international match staged?
Matches between English and London-based Scottish players had been played in London between 1870 and 1872.
But the first official international match between two countries was staged at the West of Scotland Cricket Ground in Partick, Glasgow on St Andrew’s Day, 1872. Watched by 4,000 spectators, the match between Scotland and England ended in a 0-0 draw, although Scotland came nearest to scoring when the ball landed on the tape that then served as a crossbar.
The first ever international game ever played, between England and a Scotland representative team played under floodlights at the Kennington Oval in London in 1870, as organised solely by the English FA. However, it is the return leg at the Hamilton Crescent in 1872 (which finished 0-0) that is officially recognised as the first ever international fixture as the two sides were independently picked by the two corresponding Football Associations of England and Scotland
Sketchy business: 4,000 spectators attended the first official international, between England and Scotland at West of Scotland Cricket Club's Hamilton Crescent ground in Partick, Glasgow, on St Andrew's Day Glasgow in 1872, despite the kick-off being delayed by fog
Hallowed turf: West of Scotland Cricket Club's Hamilton Crescent ground in Partick, Glasgow - where the first ever international football match took place - today
Innovators of passing football: Royal Engineers A.F.C.
In the 1870s Royal Engineers A.F.C., representing the Corps of Royal Engineers, the "Sappers", of the British Army, was one of the strongest sides in English football, winning the FA Cup in 1875 and being Cup Finalists in four of the first eight seasons of the competition (the first season of the Cup was in 1871-72). In the late 1860s "scientific" team play and ball passing strategies started to evolve, which created the modern game as we know it. Teamwork and passing were the innovation of the Royal Engineers A.F.C. By 1869 they were "work[ing] well together", "backing up" and benefiting from "cooperation". By 1870 the Engineers were the first team to use ball passing strategies: "Lieut. Creswell, who having brought the ball up the side then kicked it into the middle to another of his side, who kicked it through the posts the minute before time was called". Passing was a regular feature of their style and their skills included "turn[ing] the ball" to colleagues and "irreproachable organisation" of forwards and defenders. By early 1872 the Engineers were the first football team renowned for "play[ing] beautifully together". Today Royal Engineers A.F.C. still play.
The England team, circa 1893. On the far left of the back row is stood William McGregor, the founder of the English Football League, the world's first football league
The Scotland team, sporting a fine array of gentlemanly facial fashion, circa 1895
A linesman in very fancy pantaloons marshals the game as England play Scotland at Bramall Lane, Sheffield in 1903
Scotland goalkeeper Jack Lyall prepares to hoof the ball downfield during a match against England at Crystal Palace, south London, 1905. Wembley wasn't built until 1923
Huge crowds swarm into Chelsea's Stamford Bridge in west London for the England-Scotland Home International Championship match, which the home side eventually won 1-0, with Harry Hampton the scorer, 1913. The Home International Championship, also known as the British Home Championship, was an annual football competition contested between the UK's four international football teams - England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (later Northern Ireland) - every year from the 1883-1884 season until it was abolished in the 1983-1984. Due to the fact that Northern Ireland won the last won in 1984, the team's fans still lay claim to them being the British Champions. It is the world's oldest international football tournament.
England captain David Jack shakes hands with his Scottish counterpart, Davie Meiklejohn, over the centre-spot at Wembley as Irish referee Williams McLean oversees, 1930. Who the bloke in the middle is is a mystery
Far below the camera blimp, England play Scotland at Wembley, 1932
The third-oldest international football team in the world is Wales, who played Scotland in their first ever match on 25th March 1876 at Hamilton Crescent in Partick, Glasgow, the home of West of Scotland Cricket Club. Scotland won 4-0 in front of 17,000 fans.
The fourth-oldest international football team is what used to be known as Ireland, but which became the Northern Ireland football team in 1922 when what is now the Republic of Ireland seceded from the UK. On 18th February 1882 Ireland made their international debut against England, losing 13–0 in a friendly played at Bloomfield in Belfast. This remains the record defeat for the team, and also England's largest winning margin.
The birth of football: your 60-second guide | History Extra
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