British Home Championship

The British Home Championship (also known as the Home International Championship) was an annual football competition contested between the UK's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (Ireland before 1921-1922), from the 1883-1884 season until the 1983-1984 season.

Format and rules

The competition was contested with each team playing the other three once each (making for a total of three matches per team and six matches in total). Generally (but not always), the teams would play either one or two matches at home and the remainder away, with home advantage between two teams alternating each year (so if England played Scotland at home one year, they would play them away the next).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A team would receive two points for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. From these points, a league table was constructed and whoever was top at the end of the competition was declared the winner. If two or more teams were equal on points, that position in the league table was shared (as was the Championship if it occurred between the top teams). From the 1978-1979 Championship onwards, however, goal difference (total goals scored minus total goals conceded) was used to differentiate between teams level on points. If goal difference could still not separate them, then total goals scored was used.

Related Topics:
1978 - 1979

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~