The 1946–47 British Home Championship was a football tournament played between the British

Home Nations Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...

during the 1946–47 seasons, the first professional football seasons in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

since the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. As seven seasons had passed without regular, organised, professional football, many of the players in the tournament were new to the international stage although a few old hands remained to steer the course of the competition.

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

were especially well endowed in this regard, with such greats as

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while sti ...

and

Tommy Lawton Thomas Lawton (6 October 1919 – 6 November 1996) was an English football player and manager. A strong centre-forward with excellent all-round attacking skills, he was able to head the ball with tremendous power and accuracy. Born in F ...

returning to the fray. Thanks to the efforts of these aging stars, England were able to win this first post-war competition, largely due to an opening 7–2 thrashing of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

were able to achieve a 3–1 victory over

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

in their opener to move into second position. In the second round of matches, Ireland improved sufficiently to hold Scotland to a scoreless draw whilst England set up a commanding lead with a 3–0 defeat of Wales at home. In the final games, Ireland defeated Wales in a close match to take second place whilst England were held to a 1–1 draw by the Scots but nevertheless succeeded in claiming the trophy for themselves.

Table

Results

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References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Home Championship 1946 in British sport 1946–47 in Welsh football 1947 in British sport 1946–47 in English football 1946–47 in Scottish football 1946-47 1946–47 in Northern Ireland association football