Has football ever taken place in England on Christmas Day?

English football is known for being particularly busy during the Christmas and New Year period.

Fans of Premier League and Football League teams are routinely treated to games on Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, and that almost surreal week in between.

However, no football matches take place on Christmas Day, and for most people, it feels like this has always been the case.

This wasn’t always the case, however. There was in fact a time when Christmas Day was a hotbed of football in England.

So, when was the last time football was played on Christmas Day in England?

English football’s last Christmas Day league game was in 1965

The last English league match to be played on Christmas Day was Blackpool vs Blackburn Rovers in 1965, all of 59 years ago.

Blackpool ran out 4-2 winners over Rovers in the Division One fixture, with future World Cup star Alan Ball among the scorers that day.

Meanwhile, the last time a full league programme of football took place on Christmas Day was 67 years ago, back in 1957.

The introduction of floodlights in the 1950s eased the need to cram fixtures in over the festive period as they could now be played in the evening instead.

When Brentford planned to revive Christmas Day football

There was a movement to bring Christmas Day football back in England in the 1980s, but it failed to gain traction.

In 1983, Brentford planned to play Wimbledon in a third division match kicking-off in an 11am kick-off.

However, both sets of fans protested and the match was played on Christmas Eve instead.

According to The Guardian, ‘there were complaints from both sets of supporters, mainly on religious grounds or because of the lack of public transport.

‘(Then Brentford chairman Martin Lange) had also promised Brentford would never play at home on a Sunday, which is when Christmas Day fell in 1983.

‘That led to objections from local residents and in late November, three weeks after the original announcement, Lange reversed the decision.’

Where you can still find Christmas Day football in the UK

Other parts of the United Kingdom have kept the tradition going for longer.

For instance, the last time football took place in Britain on Christmas Day was in 1976, in the Scottish leagues.

On that day, Clydebank drew 2-2 with St Mirren in a top-of-the-table first division clash and Alloa ran out 2-1 winners at home against Cowdenbeath in the second division.

The only nation in the United Kingdom to still play Christmas Day football is Northern Ireland, when the Steel and Sons Cup Final is traditionally played.