The Football League XI explained

The English Football League XI was a representative side of the Football League. The team regularly played against the Scottish Football League XI and other national league select teams between 1891[1] and 1976.

For a long period the annual fixture between the English and Scottish leagues was only second in importance to the matches between the two national teams. The fixture declined in importance, however, particularly after regular European club competition was instituted in the 1950s. Later matches were played irregularly and poorly attended, with the last match against the Scottish league being played in March 1976.[2] [3] Other than the Inter-league fixtures, a match was played against the England national team in 1963 as part of the Football Association's centenary celebrations, ending in a 3–3 draw at the Arsenal Stadium.[4] [5]

Aside from one-off exhibition matches against the Glasgow Football Association in 1977 (a 2–1 loss, celebrating the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II)[6] [7] [8] and against a 'World XI' at Wembley (a 3–0 victory, which was part of the League's centenary celebrations),[9] [10] [11] [12] the Football League XI's most recent games have been against the Italian League,[13] which was a regular fixture through the 1990s and was most recently played as an Under-21 fixture in 2006.[14]

Results by opponent

OpponentPWDL%W%D%L
Scottish Football League XI[15] [16] [17] 75421419
/ Irish Football League XI635463
League of Ireland XI171421
Serie A/Serie B13xxxxxx
Southern League XI[18] [19] 6411
Army XI[20] 2200
Football Alliance XI[21] [22] 1010
Belgian League XI[23] 1010
/ Wales & Ireland XI[24] 1100
England[25] 1010
Glasgow XI[26] 1001
All British XI[27] 1010
Rest of the World1100
Totals 170 95 22 53 -->
P – Played; W – Won; D – Drawn; L – Lost

Notes

  1. http://gottfriedfuchs.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-football-league-vs-scottish-league.html The Football League vs The Scottish League – 1890s
  2. Web site: Wed 17 Mar 1976 SFL 0 English Football League 1 . www.londonhearts.com . London Hearts Supporters' Club . 28 February 2014.
  3. Book: Donnelly, Paul . The last inter-league match . First, Last & Only: Football . Hachette UK . 2010 . 9780600622543 . 28 February 2014.
  4. https://www.11v11.com/matches/england-v-football-league-24-may-1963-270278/ England v Football League, 24 May 1963
  5. News: Draw at Highbury. 25 May 1963. The Glasgow Herald. Glasgow. 8. 5 November 2019.
  6. http://partickthistleahistory.wikifoundry.com/page/1977+-+Glasgow+v+English+League It's Spot on Sandy
  7. https://thecelticstar.com/king-kenny-and-the-queens-silver-jubilee-match-glasgow-select-v-english-league-select/amp/ King Kenny and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee match, Glasgow Select v English League Select
  8. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-62904879 The day Queen Elizabeth united Celtic and Rangers
  9. Web site: Supranational Sides . Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats . 8 March 2014.
  10. http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamHons/HonsRepTms.html England Player Honours: International Representative Teams
  11. Web site: 100 years bore: the arduous and elongated Football League centenary celebrations in 1988. 8 May 2017. These Football Times. 25 October 2017.
  12. https://englandmemories.com/2015/08/07/when-the-football-league-took-on-the-world/amp/ When the Football League took on the world…
  13. https://amp.theguardian.com/football/2019/jul/02/serie-a-football-league-best-england-italy When the best of Serie A beat a Football League all-star XI
  14. Web site: Taylor reveals U-21 League squad . BBC Sport . 30 January 2006.
  15. This total includes two Victory Inter-league matches played in 1919 and one match played during the Second World War. In both World Wars, regular league football was suspended.
  16. Web site: Scotland Scores by Team. London Hearts Supporters' Club. 26 November 2011.
  17. http://www.ayresomepark.co.uk/othermatches/representative.htm Football League Representative Matches
  18. Book: Edwards, Leigh . The Official Centenary History of the Southern League . Paper Plane Publishing . . 1993 . 1-871872-08-1 . 17.
  19. http://gottfriedfuchs.blogspot.com/2017/11/ Football League v Southern League
  20. Spiller, R. J. The AFS Book of Inter League Matches. Association of Football Statisticians, p. 86
  21. Spiller, R. J. The AFS Book of Inter League Matches. Association of Football Statisticians, p. 6
  22. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IKREAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pLUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2690%2C1967911 Football: League v. Alliance
  23. https://www.11v11.com/matches/belgian-league-v-football-league-27-september-1967-248223/ Belgian League v Football League, 27 September 1967
  24. Spiller, R. J. The AFS Book of Inter League Matches. Association of Football Statisticians, p. 86
  25. Spiller, R. J. The AFS Book of Inter League Matches. Association of Football Statisticians, p. 87
  26. Spiller, R. J. The AFS Book of Inter League Matches. Association of Football Statisticians, p. 88
  27. News: CLASSIC PLAY AT GOODISON . Liverpool Daily Post . 6 November 1939 . 10 March 2021 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .

External links

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