Unofficial British Home Championship

The Home Nations Championship, or British Home Championship, was the first international tournament of association football. The official tournament was last held in 1983/84, but England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have continued to play each other in friendlies and international competition.

This site compiles ongoing results among the nations as on ongoing Unofficial British Home Championship.

History of the British Home Championship
The first-ever international associated football game took place in 1872, ending in a 0-0 draw between England and Scotland. Games between other home nations ((England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland) took place before 1882, when the football associations of the countries met to coordinate a common set of playing rules and arrange an annual international competition.

Illustration of the first international.
England v Scotland, 1972.

The first British Home Championship, or Home Nations Championship, was played in 1883/4 and was won by Scotland. Until the 1920s, all four home nations were part of the same nation-state, the United Kingdom. When the southern counties of Ireland became independent, the Irish Football Association (based in Northern Ireland) continue to select players from the entire Ireland until 1950. Tournaments after 1950 were contested by England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The British Home Championship ran continuously for a century, with breaks for the World Wars and civil unrest in Northern Ireland. The tournament acted as a World Cup qualifying group in 1950 and 1954 and as a Euros qualifying group twice in the 1960s. The rise in stature of these international tournaments led to a diminished interest in a Home Nations Championship and England withdrew from the competition after the 1984 edition (won by Northern Ireland).

A "Nations Tournament" contested in 2011 between Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, was supposed to run as a biennial relaunch of the Home Nations Championship (without England). Limited interest in the competition led to its cancellation after the inaugural edition (won by Republic of Ireland).

Results
England was the most successful country, winning 34 tournaments outright and sharing another 20 wins. Scotland was close behind, with 41 wins (24 outright). Wales won 12 (7 outright) and Northern Ireland 6 (2 outright); before independence for the southern counties, Ireland won two editions (one outright).

Team	Wins total	Wins outright	Shared wins
England	54	34	20
Scotland	41	24	17
Wales	12	7	5
Ireland /  Northern Ireland	8	3	5

The Unofficial British Home Championship
Thought periodic discussions occur around a revamped British Home Championship, the tournament is not scheduled to return to the international football calendar. For now, this unofficial home nations championship is the best thing on offer. We combine the results for the most recent fixture between the home nations into an ongoing points table. When teams play each other, the result of that match replaces the result of their previous encounter. Friendly, tournament qualifying, and tournament fixtures are included. A table is provided for results with and without the Republic of Ireland.