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Two football games between teams representing England and Scotland took place in March and November 1870. These were the first unofficial international representative matches in any code of football, but they are not recognised as official international games by either FIFA. The first of these matches12 took place on 5 March 1870 at The Oval, London. The second game took place in November.
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Background
The 1870 match was initiated by CW Alcock who placed advertisements in Scottish newspapers, including the Glasgow Herald, challenging players from Scotland to an international match. There was little evidence of any response to the gauntlet he had thrown down. As a result most of the Scottish players in these games were London-based (see Controversy, below). The most notable exception was Robert Smith who was representing Glasgow's Queen's Park3.
At the time of the games, the Football Association was the only existing Football organisation in the world. The Scottish counterpart, the Scottish Football Association, was formed in 1873. As a result, the match was arranged entirely under the auspices of the FA.
The March Match
The game resulted in a 1–1 draw.
The November Match
This match is described by the Scotsman newspaper thus:
"The second of the international [The Scotsman's italics] between the champion players of England and Scotland ... took place on Saturday.. in the presence of an army of spectators so large as to leave hardly a vacant place in the line of ropes which bounded the ground... At three o'clock precisely proceedings were commenced with a kick off by C.E. Nepean on behalf of the Scottish team, the opposition have derived little advantage from the success in securing choice of positions. No time was wasted, and the very outset was productive of no little excitement among the spectators as the English eleven whose organisation was faultless throughout the game, with a united rush drove the ball into the enemy's quarters and the first point of advantage fell to the English in carrying the fight behind the goal line of Scotland. The kick off made matters still worse as only a few moments were allowed to elapse before, by a well executed run down by CW Alcock in conjunction with a final kick from the foot of R.S.F. Walker enforced the surrender of the Scottish goal to the accompaniment of no little cheering from the English portion of the spectators. According to custom the position of the two elevens were then reversed and everything seemed to augur another increase to the score achieved by England as the ball was once more driven into the ground... any Scotch players who may be desirous of assisting their country on that day may communicate with Messrs A F Kinnaird"4
Controversy
After these matches there was resentment in Scotland that their team did not contain more home grown players. Alcock himself was categorical about where he felt responsibility for this fact lay, writing in the Scotsman newspaper:
"I must join issue with your correspondent in some instances. First, I assert that of whatever the Scotch eleven may have been composed the right to play was open to every Scotchman [Alcock's italics] whether his lines were cast North or South of the Tweed and that if in the face of the invitations publicly given through the columns of leading journals of Scotland the representative eleven consisted chiefly of Anglo-Scotians ... the fault lies on the heads of the players of the north, not on the management who sought the services of all alike impartially. To call the team London Scotchmen contributes nothing. The match was, as announced, to all intents and purposes between England and Scotland".5
Alcock then proceeded to offer another challenge with a Scottish team drawn from Scotland and proposed the north of England as a venue. Alcock appeared to be particularly concerned about the number of players in Scottish football teams at the time, adding: "More than eleven we do not care to play as it is with greater numbers it is our opinion the game becomes less scientific and more a trial of charging and brute force... Charles W Alcock, Hon Sec of Football Association and Captain of English Eleven".6.
One reason for the absence of a response to Alcock's challenge may have been different football codes being followed in Scotland at the time. A written reply to Alcock's letter above states: "Mr Alcock's challenge to meet a Scotch eleven on the borders sounds very well and is doubtless well meant. But it may not be generally well known that Mr Alcock is a very leading supporter of what is called the "association game"... devotees of the "association" rules will find no foemen worthy of their steel in Scotland"7.
Subsequent International matches
This was the first of four such internationals organised by the FA to take place between the two nations over the next couple of years, for example England v Scotland (1871).
Eventually, Queen's Park took up Alcock's offer and arranged a match in Glasgow between Scotland and England. This match, in 1872 is currently the earliest international football match recognised by FIFA as official. It was, however, still organised under the umbrella of one official football body, the FA.
It continued to be many years before whole football teams travelled abroad for international games: even in the 1873 England v Scotland game, the first official match in England, only 3 Scottish players were not from English sides8
References
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/asportingnation/article/0012/index.shtml
- ^ <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/991601.cms>
- ^ The Scotsman newspaper, 21 November 1870, page 7
- ^ The Scotsman newspaper, 21 November 1870, page 7
- ^ Charles W Alcock, The Scotsman newspaper, 28 November 1870, page 7
- ^ Charles W Alcock, The Scotsman newspaper, 28 November 1870, page 7
- ^ H>M. The Scotsman newspaper, 1 December 1870, page 12
- ^ Harvey, Adrian in Football The First Hundred Years The Untold Story, Routledge
See also
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 1 December 2008, at 19:53.
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