I got an idea for this thread when I visited the excellent '11v11.com' website, the official site for the Association of Football Statisticians (try saying that after a few drinks). They have a feature called 'Today in History', which lists interesting facts in football history which occurred on today's date in times past. I thought it might be relevant to highlight some of these events and maybe provoke further discussion.
One of the events took place 34 years ago - Jan 20th 1974. Milwall beat Fulham 1-0 with a goal from Brian Clark. So what? Well, this was the first ever league match to be played on a Sunday. Given that Sunday football is routine in many countries, including England, this may not seem that newsworthy. But it was a major event at the time, given that the Football League was such a conservative body and resisted change for as long as they could.
That historic match is also relevant in Northern Ireland. It was only a few months ago that the IFA lifted its 60 year ban on Sunday football, becoming effective from June 1st this year. Now, clubs will be able to play on the 'Sabbath' if they so wish. Although expect staunch opposition from some religious fans of certain clubs. Some clubs may decide that it's not worth the hassle and so maintain the status quo.
So, 34 years later, the IFA are now a little less conservative than their English counterparts across the water.
It's also worth noting that today is the 25th anniversary of Garrincha's tragic death. A flawed genius no doubt. And what's equally as tragic is the fact that we have so little footage of him on camera.
The BBC football website has a touching article on the anniversary.
By the way, would somebody be willing to PM me and explain how to post a link on a forum message?
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