
"It was the game of the people. What better way to unite the people after the war than to unify the game?"
-Stanley Rous, Secretary of the FA 1934-1962
1945. The Second World War had ended and soon football across the United Kingdom would return to normal. However Stanley Rous, Secretary of the FA since 1932, was having a bath one cold November night. Sitting reading a newspaper article about football in Britain, Stanley had a thought. A league for the whole of the UK, where teams from Scotland, England and Wales can compete. For weeks after he designed the league before copying and submitting it to the FA and SFA. The FA seemed content with the idea but it took some effort to bring the SFA onside. However in January 1946, after long negotiations, the SFA finally agreed. Starting August 1946, the British League was created.
1945. The Second World War had ended and soon football across the United Kingdom would return to normal. However Stanley Rous, Secretary of the FA since 1932, was having a bath one cold November night. Sitting reading a newspaper article about football in Britain, Stanley had a thought. A league for the whole of the UK, where teams from Scotland, England and Wales can compete. For weeks after he designed the league before copying and submitting it to the FA and SFA. The FA seemed content with the idea but it took some effort to bring the SFA onside. However in January 1946, after long negotiations, the SFA finally agreed. Starting August 1946, the British League was created.
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The layout was basic: 16 teams would compete in the League. 6 teams from Scotland, 8 from England and 2 from Wales. That number was not static by any means though, the bottom 3 teams are relegated to their respective national divisions and the winners of the English and Scottish 1st Divisions enter automatically but the runners up enter play offs to decide who gets the empty space.
The teams in the first season were:
Scotland
Rangers
Hibernian
Celtic
Aberdeen
Dundee
Morton
Wales*
Swansea
Wrexham
England*
Everton
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Charlton Athletic
Middlesbrough
Arsenal
Derby County
Bolton Wanderers
Stoke City
*Figures taken from the 1938-1939 season highest placed from their respective nations
The stage was set for the beginning of the 1946/1947 season. People all over Britain waited for the British League to begin...
"I suppose the best thing about it was that after all, even the Jocks had agreed to it."
The layout was basic: 16 teams would compete in the League. 6 teams from Scotland, 8 from England and 2 from Wales. That number was not static by any means though, the bottom 3 teams are relegated to their respective national divisions and the winners of the English and Scottish 1st Divisions enter automatically but the runners up enter play offs to decide who gets the empty space.
The teams in the first season were:
Scotland
Rangers
Hibernian
Celtic
Aberdeen
Dundee
Morton
Wales*
Swansea
Wrexham
England*
Everton
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Charlton Athletic
Middlesbrough
Arsenal
Derby County
Bolton Wanderers
Stoke City
*Figures taken from the 1938-1939 season highest placed from their respective nations
The stage was set for the beginning of the 1946/1947 season. People all over Britain waited for the British League to begin...
"I suppose the best thing about it was that after all, even the Jocks had agreed to it."
-Theo Kelly, Everton Manager 1939-1951
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So thoughts and suggestions are all welcome. I know that the SFA are quite independent about the way they do things but I decided to have that fierce independence give way to this idea.
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