The Nations Cup: A Brief History
Credit:
The Carling Nations Cup may be in its maiden year, but it draws on a rich history of contests between the four nations involved.
Until the partition of Ireland in 1921, the Home Nations Championship (first played in 1883-84) was contested between Scotland, Wales, England and Ireland. After partition, Northern Ireland took the place of the all-island Irish team and the competition continued until the 1983-84 season.
The competition provided all four nations with valuable competitive match experience in an era with fewer qualifying matches and friendlies, but also was the stage for some of football’s most memorable moments in this tiny corner of the Atlantic.
It is most remembered for the many memorable contests it threw up, and particularly the ongoing battle between England and Scotland for supremacy. Though England held the upper hand with 54 tournament wins, Scotland won the Championship 41 times in its 100-year history. Until 1902-03, no other nation finished in the top two in the tournament.
England declined to enter the revived Carling Nations Cup, but the competitive spirit and longevity of the Home Championship is something which it can only aspire to.
Three defining Home Nations moments:
The Ibrox Disaster:
Tragedy struck just nine years into the competition, with 26 fans left dead after terracing collapsed at Ibrox Stadium during the Scotland - England match.
The ‘lost tournament’ of 1981:
The tournament was often a victim to the times it was played in- with competitions cancelled due to both World Wars and, in 1981, because of civil unrest in Northern Ireland due to the ongoing hunger strike by Republican prisoners in the Maze prison.
Scotland’s ‘World Championship Win’:
England went into the 1966-67 Home Championship as hot favourites and world champions. Scotland beat them to it though, leading fans to christen them unofficial world champions- which in turn led to the establishment of the Unofficial World Championships.
Until the partition of Ireland in 1921, the Home Nations Championship (first played in 1883-84) was contested between Scotland, Wales, England and Ireland. After partition, Northern Ireland took the place of the all-island Irish team and the competition continued until the 1983-84 season.
The competition provided all four nations with valuable competitive match experience in an era with fewer qualifying matches and friendlies, but also was the stage for some of football’s most memorable moments in this tiny corner of the Atlantic.
It is most remembered for the many memorable contests it threw up, and particularly the ongoing battle between England and Scotland for supremacy. Though England held the upper hand with 54 tournament wins, Scotland won the Championship 41 times in its 100-year history. Until 1902-03, no other nation finished in the top two in the tournament.
England declined to enter the revived Carling Nations Cup, but the competitive spirit and longevity of the Home Championship is something which it can only aspire to.
Three defining Home Nations moments:
The Ibrox Disaster:
Tragedy struck just nine years into the competition, with 26 fans left dead after terracing collapsed at Ibrox Stadium during the Scotland - England match.
The ‘lost tournament’ of 1981:
The tournament was often a victim to the times it was played in- with competitions cancelled due to both World Wars and, in 1981, because of civil unrest in Northern Ireland due to the ongoing hunger strike by Republican prisoners in the Maze prison.
Scotland’s ‘World Championship Win’:
England went into the 1966-67 Home Championship as hot favourites and world champions. Scotland beat them to it though, leading fans to christen them unofficial world champions- which in turn led to the establishment of the Unofficial World Championships.
About Niall Farrell
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