.svg) | |
| Head coach | None |
|---|---|
| Captain | None |
| Mostcaps | Billy Liddell Stanley Matthews (2) |
| Top scorer | Wilf Mannion Tommy Lawton Bryan Douglas (2) |
| Home stadium | Various |
| FIFA code | UK GBR |
| FIFA ranking | |
| Current | N/A |
| First international | |
 United Kingdom 6–1Rest of Europe(Glasgow, United Kingdom; 10 May 1947) | |
| Biggest win | |
| United Kingdom 6–1Rest of Europe (Glasgow, United Kingdom; 10 May 1947) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
| United Kingdom 1–4Rest of Europe (Belfast, United Kingdom; 13 August 1955) | |
TheUnited Kingdom national football team is afootball team that represents theUnited Kingdom. Despite football being the most popular sport in the country, the team has not played since 1965, as separate teams represent eachhome nation (England,Scotland,Wales, andNorthern Ireland) in all major internationalfootball tournaments such as theFIFA World Cup andUEFA European Championship, as well as various friendlies. It is the home nations which are FIFA affiliated and not the United Kingdom as a whole.
The United Kingdom national team has only played in friendlies and other ceremonial games. The one place where the United Kingdom has competed in a major football tournament as a whole is at theSummer Olympic Games, where it is represented by theGreat Britain Olympic football team, which despite the name can also include Northern Ireland players, who can choose to represent either the British or Irish teams.
A United Kingdom football team participates regularly at theSummer Universiade football tournament.
When the world's first football association,The Football Association (FA), was formed in 1863, its geographical remit was not clear: there was no specification of whether it covered just England, all of the United Kingdom, theBritish Empire or even the entire world. The question was answered when theScottish Football Association (SFA) was founded in 1873.
The third national football association, theFootball Association of Wales (FAW) was founded in 1876 and a fourth, theIrish Football Association (IFA), was founded in 1880. Football therefore developed with separate associations and national teams for each of thecountries of the United Kingdom or "Home Nations".
Representative international matches between England and Scotland were playedas far back as 1872, and the Home Nations formed theInternational Football Association Board (IFAB) in 1886 to co-ordinate matches between their teams.FIFA was formed by non-British associations in 1904, and by 1913 the Home Nations were in FIFA and FIFA was on the IFAB. In 1921, around the time of thepartition of Ireland, theFootball Association of Ireland (FAI) split from the IFA and disputed its authority.
In 1923, an agreement between the IFAB and FIFA meant the FAI would represent theIrish Free State and the IFANorthern Ireland; also, FIFA agreed that relationships between the Home Nations would be outside its remit.[1] England and Scotland separately played internationals against various European teams, but the Home Nations withdrew from FIFA in 1928, in a dispute over amateurism, and did not rejoin until 1946, missing the first threeWorld Cups.
England have been the only Home Nation to have any major success internationally, winning the1966 World Cup. Scotland have qualified for the final tournaments of eight World Cups and threeEuropean Championships, but have never progressed beyond the group stage of any international tournament. Wales reached the semi-finals of theEuropean Championships in 2016, and Wales have qualified for World Cup finals twice – in1958 and2022 while Northern Ireland have not qualified for a World Cup Finals since1986.
This is sometimes raised as an argument in favour of a single United Kingdom national team: based on statistical analysis. In June 2006, it was estimated that a United Kingdom national team would have had a one-third greater chance of winning the2006 World Cup, than England did at the tournament's outset.[2] Opponents of the plan argue that the existing footballing identities of the fans of the Home Nations should not be sacrificed simply to stand a better chance of success.
There has been limited support for the creation of a permanent British national team. Although often hypothetical in nature, such a proposal has been put forward by prominent government ministers, includingJack Straw[3] andTony Banks.[4] In July 2014, after England performed poorly in the2014 World Cup, Conservative MPLaurence Robertson submitted an early day motion, calling for aUnited Kingdom Football Team.[5][6]
     Great Britain (1947) | Great Britain (1955) |
| The kits worn in the two past matches: • Scotland's blue in 1947. • Northern Ireland's green in 1955. | |
Despite this, the Home Nations have previously united to play two friendly internationals against 'Rest of Europe' representative sides. On both occasions, they included all four Home Nations:England,Scotland,Wales andNorthern Ireland (despite Northern Ireland's participation, both matches were played under the name of 'Great Britain').
The 1947 game, dubbed the 'Match of the Century', was played to celebrate the return of the Home Nations toFIFA, which they had left in 1920.[7] For the match, played at Scotland's Hampden Park in front of 135,000 spectators, the Great Britain side wore a navy blue strip in honour of the host association. The gate receipts, totalling £35,000, helped boost the finances of FIFA, which had been damaged by the lack of competition duringWorld War II.[7] On that occasion, the Great Britain team consisted of:
The 1955 game was played to celebrate theIrish Football Association's seventy-fifth anniversary. For this reason, the match was held at Belfast'sWindsor Park, and the British team took to the field wearing Northern Ireland's green strip. The Great Britain team fielded comprised:
An All British XI played theFootball League atGoodison Park, Liverpool on 4 November 1939. The match, finishing 3-3 was on behalf of theRed Cross Fund, raising £1,214.[12][13]
Two other games were played between Wales and a team representing the rest of the United Kingdom, with players from England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The first match, in 1951, commemorated the seventy-fifth anniversary of theFootball Association of Wales. The second match, in 1969, commemorated theinvestiture of thePrince of Wales. In both cases, the England, Scotland and Northern Ireland select team played under the name of 'Rest of the United Kingdom'.
There was also a match played atWembley in 1973 to commemorate the entry of the United Kingdom,Ireland and Denmark into theEuropean Economic Community.[15] This match, called "The Three" v "The Six", involved a select team from those three countries playing against a selection of players from theoriginal six members of the EEC: West Germany, Belgium, Netherlands,Luxembourg, France and Italy.[15]
Ten of the thirteen players used by "The Three" were from the United Kingdom, with onlyJohnny Giles and two Danish players representing the other two countries.[15]Henning Jensen andColin Stein scored as The Three won 2–0.[15]
A Great British team lined up against another Rest of Europe XI in 1965 forStanley Matthews' testimonial. Europe won 6–4.[16] AScotland XI team played a Rest of Great Britain team in atestimonial match forAlan Mullery; Scotland were defeated 3–2 atCraven Cottage on 22 March 1976.[17][18]
USFSA v United Kingdom| 23 April 1916Journées du Poilu Sportif semifinals | USFSA | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | United Kingdom | Boulogne,France |
| Report | Stadium:Pavillon des Princes Attendance: 2500 Referee: Hjord |
vRest of Europe| 10 May 1947Home Nations return toFIFA | United Kingdom | 6–1 | Rest of Europe | Glasgow,Scotland |
Mannion 22',33' (pen.)Steel 35'Lawton 37',82'Parola 74' (o.g.) | Report[20][8] | Nordahl 24' | Stadium:Hampden Park Attendance: 137,000 Referee:George Reader  |
vRest of Europe| 13 August 195575th anniversary of theIrish Football Association | United Kingdom | 1–4 | Rest of Europe | Belfast,Northern Ireland |
| Johnston 25' | Report | Vincent 27' Vukas 77',87',88' | Stadium:Windsor Park Attendance: 35,000 Referee:Jan Bronkhorst  |
vRest of Europe| 28 April 1965Stanley MatthewsTestimonial | United Kingdom | 4–6 | Rest of Europe | Stoke,England |
| Douglas 12',81' Greaves 34'Ritchie 75' | Report | van den Boer 4' Puskás 7',24'Masopust 43'Kubala 63'Henderson 89' | Stadium:Victoria Ground, Attendance: 35,000 Referee:Arthur Ellis |
From the1900 Summer Olympics to the1972 Summer Olympics, and again for the2012 Summer Olympics, the UK has competed in either theOlympic football tournament or its qualifying competition.[21] During the first tournament, played as ademonstration sport at the1900 Summer Olympics but retrospectively accredited by theIOC,Upton Park F.C. represented the UK and won gold. Following this Great Britain won gold medals at the1908 and1912 Games.[22][23]
All 'Great Britain' Olympic football teams were organised byThe Football Association (FA) of England with the acquiescence of the other Home Nations'football associations, and after the FA scrapped the distinction betweenprofessional andamateur players in 1974, no more British Olympic teams were entered.
Although professional players were allowed into the Olympics from 1992, no British teams were entered because the individual home nations, rather than a unified team, participated in the qualifying competition.
The 2012 Summer Olympics were hosted by London, which meant that Great Britain qualified as right of being host nation. After much discussion between the Home Nations and opposition from theNorthern Irish,Scottish andWelsh associations, men's and women's teams organised by the English FA were entered to the 2012 Olympics.[24][25]
For the 2020 Games in Tokyo, an agreement was reached between the four FAs for a women's team to complete in the event. The side reached the quarter finals of the tournament.
The United Kingdom participated as a single team in theSummer Universiade football competition's inaugural (men-only) 1979 edition, when the football tournament was still not official (a UK representative team had also participated in the 1962 Tournoi International Universitaire in Belgium, a historical predecessor to the Universiade tournament).[26] The UK men's team played regularly in the official Universiade tournaments starting in 1985, with their last participation taking place in 2013.[27] The UK men's team won three Universiademedals: twosilver medals in2011 and2013 and abronze medal in1991.
A women's UK team first participated in the Summer Universiade football competition in the 2007 edition. They played in six editions overall, with their last participation taking place in 2017. The UK women's team won two Universiade medals: gold in 2013 and bronze in 2009.[27]
The UK also participates as a single men's team in the annual Challenge Kentish Cup for military personnel, which is the oldest European football cup still in existence.[28] The UK military team plays friendly matches against armed forces teams from other nations, including regular fixtures against a team representing theRepublic of Ireland'sDefence Forces.[29]
A UK women's military team was first formed in 1999, and has played matches against other national women defence forces as well as amateur non-military women's teams.[29]
