@Jennifer1984 Said
The FA have confirmed that England will play Scotland on 14 August 2013 as part of the FA's 150th anniversary celebrations.
England vs Scotland is the world's oldest international football fixture, the first game having been played in November 1872. Almost up to the end of the 20th Century it was an annual event, played alternately in London and Glasgow, mostly as part of the British Championship.
To date, the head to head reads: Of 110 matches played, England have won 45, Scotland 41 with 24 matches drawn. England have scored 192 goals to the Scots 169.
Some matches have aroused intense emotions and have even boiled over into outright hostility. In 1967, the Scots beat England 3-2 at Wembley and were the first team to beat England after they had won the world cup. The Scots instantly proclaimed themselves world champions and there was even a demand for England to hand over the Jules Rimet Trophy.
In 1977, the Scots won again at Wembley and their fans then sacked the stadium, smashing seats, ripping up the pitch and tearing down the goals. The Scottish FA refused to apologise for their fans behaviour, claiming it was all "good natured celebration".
After that, FA Secretary Ted Croker declared a ban on Scottish fans, refusing to sell tickets north of the border, but UEFA ordered the FA to give the SFA their allocation and other tickets found their way into Scottish hands via the black market. The taunting banner "So you tried to ban us Mr Croker" appeared at Wembley on the next occasion of the teams playing each other. The FA seethed.
England had its own hooligan problem, but it wasn't so specific to any one fixture. England's problem was more generally widespread, but the Scots fans targeted the two-yearly visit to London. They hated the English and saved their worst behaviour for this match.
The citizens of North London (where Wembley Stadium is sited) protested loud and often about the match. In the past, Scottish fans have broken into shops to steal money and alcohol, mugged passersby for money, smashed up parked cars, fought running battles with police, abused people going about their business, and used residents gardens as toilets. By the 1980's, the two-yearly visit of Scotland would see the area around the Stadium become a ghost town as residents left for the weekend. Many shopkeepers would board their premises up and close until the Scots went home. It really was that bad.
The last regular annual fixture between the two countries took place in 1989 after which the FA bowed to pressure from residents groups, the police and the government. The tradition of the game was no longer worth the social consequences of having the Scots in town, even if it was only every other year.
Since then there have been only three matches between the teams, all of them as part of the European Championship.
During this hiatus, both English and Scottish fans have been fairly successful in re-inventing themselves as peaceful ambassadors for their nations' football teams. Official travel clubs, with stringent penalties meted out to those who break the rules, and court-issued banning orders keeping known troublemakers away from matches have been very successful in breaking the cycle of violence.
The FA say this match will be a one-off, but some fan groups are already suggesting that it could pave the way for re-instating the game as an annual fixture. The Celtic nations have, in recent years, attempted to resume the British Championship but England declined to take part claiming their fixture schedule was already too crowded, though many believe it was to avoid having the Scots come back to London. England's non-participation made the resumed British Championship unattractive to the sports broadcasters and the whole thing has been regarded pretty much a flop.
I'm sure next year's fixture will be eagerly awaited by fans of both countries. Whether the residents of North London have cause to regret it is yet to be seen.
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