England

v

Wales

 

International Challenge Trophy, Group A
7.45pm, Wednesday 20 February 2008
St James Park, Exeter City FC

Paul Fairclough's England C Team, which faces Wales next week, has been one of our most successful national sides in recent years.

Last season, for example, they clinched the European Challenge Trophy with a win against Holland at Burton and then won the Four Nations Tournament held in Scotland by five points.

This England team may be one with a new name - but it's one with a long history too, having evolved from the England National Game XI, the England Semi-Professional Team and the old England Amateur Team.

England Amateurs began with a bang in 1906, travelling over to Paris to thump the French 15-0. Most of the players were from Old Boys teams like Old Malvernians and Old Westminsters, with legendary striker Vivian Woodward coming from the latter. Woodward went on to play centre-forward for Spurs and Chelsea and scored 29 goals in 23 matches for the England Senior Team.

The demise of England Amateurs in 1974 was a consequence of The FA Council's decision to abolish the distinction between amateur and professional footballers. A year earlier the team managed by Charles Hughes, which included players like Rod Haider and John Swannell, had completed a five-match tour to Europe without conceding a single goal. The results were 1-0 v Austria, 1-0 v Greece, 0-0 v Italy, 2-0 v Turkey and 0-0 v Yugoslavia.

There followed a period during which non-League players had no opportunity to represent their country.

But, after five years of "FA XI" representative fixtures, an England team took part in an International Semi-Professional Tournament with Scotland, Holland and Italy. Howard Wilkinson was the manager and the players came from the Southern, Northern, Northern Premier and Isthmian Leagues.

England won the Tournament after beating Scotland 5-1 and Holland 1-0, both at Stafford.

"The Semi-Professional XI" became "The National Game XI" in 2001 to reflect the launching of a new FA strategy for "The National Game", i.e. the game below Football League level.

In the first match with the new name England beat USA 2-1 at Stevenage. Then it became "England C" for the current season, because it was felt that the previous name wasn't relevant to the standard at which the team was now playing.

Next up for the England C team is a game against Wales in Exeter. Tickets are on sale now and admission is £5, with £1 for concessions and tickets are available from Exeter City FC either in person or by calling the Ticket Office on 01392 411243. 

Group Booking and Charter Standard School/Club Forms can be downloaded by clicking on the links.

England C Squad

Name

Club

Lance Cronin

Ebbsfleet United

Adam Bartlett

Blyth Spartans

Daniel Gleeson

Cambridge United 

John Brayford

Burton Albion 

Michael Morrison

Cambridge United

Ronnie Henry

Stevenage Borough

Liam Brownhill

Witton Albion

Ricky Holmes

Chelmsford City

Ben Harding

Aldershot Town

Dean Moxey

Exeter City

Russell Penn

Kidderminster Harriers

Lewis Chalmers

Aldershot Town

Mitchell Cole

Stevenage Borough 

Scott Rendell

Cambridge United

Shaun Harrad

Burton Albion

Jeff Goulding**

Fisher Athletic


* Chris Hall replaces Matt Tubbs

** Replaces Chris Hall