1883–84 British Home Championship

1883–84 British Home Championship
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)
	1884–85 →

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.

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	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Scotland (C)	3	3	0	10	1	+9	6
2	England	3	2	1	12	2	+10	4
3	Wales	3	1	2	7	8	−1	2
4	Ireland	3	0	3	1	19	−18	0

Source: ^[3]
Rules for classification: 1) Points. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
(C) Champions

Results

26 January 1884

Ireland	0–5	Scotland
		Harrower 12', 86' Gossland 30', 70' Goudie 60'

Ulster Cricket Ground, Belfast

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Thomas Hindle (England)

9 February 1884

Wales	6–0	Ireland
Owen 55', 70' Shaw 20', 68' Eyton-Jones 82' Jones 59'

Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Robert Sloane (England)

23 February 1884

Ireland	1–8	England
McWha 88'		Cursham (x3) Johnson 15' (x2) C. Bambridge (x2) A. Bambridge

Ulster Cricket Ground, Belfast

Attendance: 3,000

Referee: Thomas Lawrie (Scotland)

15 March 1884

Scotland	1–0	England
Smith 7'

Cathkin Park, Glasgow^[1]

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: John Sinclair (Ireland)

17 March 1884

Wales	0–4	England
		Bromley-Davenport 7', 85' Gunn 90' Bailey 75'

Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Attendance: 4,500

Referee: Sydney Broadfoot (Scotland)

29 March 1884

Scotland	4–1	Wales
Lindsay 22' Shaw 49' Kay 65', 87'		Roberts 15'

Cathkin Park, Glasgow

Attendance: 5,000

Referee: Robert M. Sloane (England)

References

^ ^a ^b 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.

Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.

[befored-1] Scotland v England 1884, Before The 'D'...Association Football around the world, 1863-1937, 21 August 2017

[2] "Scotland v. Wales". The Sportsman. London: 8. 29 March 1884.

[3] "British Home Championship 1884–1899". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 8 April 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e British Home Championship
Football in the United Kingdom: England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Competitors	England Ireland / Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Seasons	1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 First World War 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 Second World War 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84
Rous Cup Nations Cup Matches outside the British Home Championship

v t e 1883–84 in Scottish football
« 1882–83 1884–85 »
Domestic cups	Scottish Cup ~~Final~~
Non-Scottish competitions	FA Cup Final
Related to national team	Results British Home Championship
Club seasons
3rd Lanark RV Abercorn Cambuslang Cowlairs Dumbarton Heart of Midlothian Hibernian Kilmarnock Queen's Park Rangers St. Mirren Vale of Leven

v t e 1883–84 in English football
« 1882–83 1884–85 »
FA competitions	FA Cup Qualifying rounds Final
Related to national team	Home Championship
Club seasons	Aston Villa Black Arabs (Bristol Rovers) Bolton Wanderers Newton Heath LYR (Manchester United) Stoke (Stoke City) West Bromwich Albion

v t e 1883–84 in European football
« 1882–83 1884–85 »
Domestic cups	England Ireland Scotland Wales
International competitions	British Home Championship