‘ First’ rivals match

THE first football international, everyone knows, was played in Glasgow on November 2 0 , 187 2 , between Scotland and England.

But really, the first clash between the two countries took place more than two years earlier, on March 5, 1870.

Andy Mitchell, in his book First Elevens: The Birth Of International Football, reveals that this game does not appear in any official records because it was organised by the Football Association without any input from Scotland – the “visiting” team comprised solely players with Scottish roots living in London.

( He points out that there was some contention that a number of the Scottish players were chosen for fairly “loose” reasons, such as having a shooting estate in the Highlands or a fondness for whisky, but adds: “My research shows that all of them – with the possible exception of one late replacement – had genuine Scottish heritage.

“They would all have qualified for Scotland under modern regulations, which allow for eligibility based on birth back to grandparent level.”

There were five such “unofficial” contests over the next couple of years before the fixture was established on a more conventional basis – the first of the accepted internationals being the 1872 match here in Glasgow ( pictured below).

Arthur Kinnaird, therefore, who played a key role in the 1870 match, and who helped to choose the team with civil servant James Kirkpatrick, can claim to be Scotland’s first ever team manager.

The game ended 1- 1.