Boxing Day's Importance to Football

22/12/22 1181

There are many important dates in the football calendar. The FA Cup final, the Champions League final, the opening day and final day of the Premier League season, and the World Cup final, to name but a few.

However, in English football, one of the most important days in the football calendar is Boxing Day.

It is so important to football in England that while the other top European leagues do not resume until the 28th of December this season, following the World Cup, the Premier League is back on the 26th of December, which is Boxing Day.

The first thing to point out is that Boxing Day has nothing to do with the sport of boxing, so do not expect to see any big fights on the 26th of December.

The tradition of playing football matches in Boxing Day can be traced back to the 1800s, so there is historical significance when it comes to playing matches on Boxing in England.

The Premier League did not want to lose that tradition in the 2022/23 season, despite the World Cup ending on the 18th of December.

Boxing Day is a national holiday in the United Kingdom and most people have a day off work. Rather than stay at home with the family, football fans like to get out of the house and what better way to celebrate the festive season than attend a match.

Boxing Day is not reserved for the Premier League and football is played across the whole of the football pyramid in the UK, right down to the amateur leagues.

The first significant football match to be played in England on Boxing Day was between Sheffield United and Hallam in 1860. Following the creation of the old First Division in 1888, Boxing Day fixtures have been a regular occurrence in English football and on the 26th of December 1888, Preston North End beat West Bromwich Albion 5-0 before going on to lift the title that season.

However, the most memorable Boxing Day set of fixtures in the English topflight was played in 1963. Prior to the Boxing Day schedule every season, these results are shown on television because so many of them were extraordinary.

Burnley beat Manchester United 6-1, Fulham beat Ipswich 10-1, Liverpool beat Stoke 6-1, West Bromwich Albion and Spurs shared a 4-4 draw, and Blackburn beat West Ham 8-2.

The main reason fixtures were originally held on Boxing Day was to drive up attendance figures at matches. Most shops now open on Boxing Day but up until recently, shops and businesses would always be closed on the 26th of December.

With nothing else to do, football clubs quickly realised they could fill their grounds by playing matches. It was a fantastic way to increase revenue as even people who did not have a huge interest in football decided to attend a match because there was nothing else to do.

Today, there are plenty of things open on Boxing Day but such is the tradition, fans continue to pack out stadiums.

There would be major uproar if the Premier and Football League decided to cancel Boxing Day football and that is why Boxing Day continues to feature football.