The Football League XI

Representative side of the Football League

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

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As of 10:59, 28 February 2014 (UTC)
Opponent  | P  | W  | D  | L  | %W  | %D  | %L

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Scottish Football League XI[note 1][15][16] | 75  | 42  | 14  | 19  | 56  | 18.7  | 25.3
/ Irish Football League XI | 63  | 54  | 6  | 3  | 85.7  | 9.5  | 4.8
League of Ireland XI | 17  | 14  | 2  | 1  | 82.4  | 11.8  | 5.9
Serie A/Serie B | 13  | x  | x  | x  | x  | x  | x
Southern League XI[17][18] | 6  | 4  | 1  | 1  | 66.7  | 16.7  | 16.7
Army XI[19] | 2  | 2  | 0  | 0  | 100  | 0  | 0
Football Alliance XI[20][21] | 1  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 100  | 0
Belgian League XI[22] | 1  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 100  | 0
/ Wales & Ireland XI[23][9] | 1  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 100  | 0  | 0
England[24][4][5] | 1  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 100  | 0
Glasgow XI[25][6][7] | 1  | 0  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 100
All British XI[26] | 1  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 100  | 0
Rest of the World[10][11] | 1  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 100  | 0  | 0

P – Played; W – Won; D – Drawn; L – Lost

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ 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.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ The Football League vs The Scottish League – 1890s, Before The 'D'...Association Football around the world, 1863–1937, 5 April 2014
2. ^ "Wed 17 Mar 1976 SFL 0 English Football League 1". www.londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
3. ^ Donnelly, Paul (2010). The last inter-league match. Hachette UK. ISBN 9780600622543. Retrieved 28 February 2014. `{{cite book}}`: `|work=` ignored (help)
4. ^ a b England v Football League, 24 May 1963, 11v11.com
5. ^ a b "Draw at Highbury". The Glasgow Herald. Glasgow. 25 May 1963. p. 8. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
6. ^ a b It's Spot on Sandy, match report, 1977 (via Partick Thistle History Archive)
7. ^ a b King Kenny and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee match, Glasgow Select v English League Select, The Celtic Star, 12 June 2019
8. ^ The day Queen Elizabeth united Celtic and Rangers, BBC News, 14 September 2022
9. ^ a b "Supranational Sides". Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
10. ^ a b England Player Honours: International Representative Teams, England Football Online
11. ^ a b "100 years bore: the arduous and elongated Football League centenary celebrations in 1988". These Football Times. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
12. ^ When the Football League took on the world…, England Memories, 7 August 2015
13. ^ When the best of Serie A beat a Football League all-star XI, The Guardian, 3 July 2019
14. ^ "Taylor reveals U-21 League squad". BBC Sport. 30 January 2006.
15. ^ "Scotland Scores by Team". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
16. ^ Football League Representative Matches, AyresomePark.co.uk
17. ^ Edwards, Leigh (1993). The Official Centenary History of the Southern League. Halesowen: Paper Plane Publishing. p. 17\. ISBN 1-871872-08-1.
18. ^ Football League v Southern League, Before The 'D'...Association Football around the world, 1863–1937, 27 November 2017
19. ^ Spiller, R. J. The AFS Book of Inter League Matches. Association of Football Statisticians, p. 86
20. ^ Spiller, R. J. The AFS Book of Inter League Matches. Association of Football Statisticians, p. 6
21. ^ Football: League v. Alliance, The Glasgow Herald, 21 April 1891
22. ^ Belgian League v Football League, 27 September 1967, 11v11.com
23. ^ Spiller, R. J. The AFS Book of Inter League Matches. Association of Football Statisticians, p. 86
24. ^ Spiller, R. J. The AFS Book of Inter League Matches. Association of Football Statisticians, p. 87
25. ^ Spiller, R. J. The AFS Book of Inter League Matches. Association of Football Statisticians, p. 88
26. ^ "CLASSIC PLAY AT GOODISON". Liverpool Daily Post. 6 November 1939. Retrieved 10 March 2021 - via British Newspaper Archive.

## External links

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* Matches against the Scottish Football League at London Hearts Supporters Club
* England - Football League - International Results at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

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