A Game for Christmas: Football 1914

Any mention of football and World War I will bring forth discussions of the Christmas Truce of 1914 and the mythical football match played between British and German troops in No Man's Land. At the time many denied that a truce had occurred, let alone a football match between the combatants. This talk utilises British Army War Diaries, individual soldier's diaries, letters and newspapers to examine how citizen diplomacy apparently subverted the wishes of higher command, at least temporarily, to possibly have allowed some soldiers to enjoy a game for Christmas.

Iain Adams is the Principal Lecturer at the International Football Institute, a research partnership between The University of Central Lancashire and The National Football Museum. He lectures in sports history and culture and has published papers on the Christmas Truce and the football charges of the Great War.

This event is part of our themed programme. Diplomacy is at the heart of all human interaction. Whether between international states and colonies, monarchs and their ministers, the major players in the theatres of war, kith and kin, or friends and enemies: diplomacy - or lack of it - will play its part. This programme of events aims to reflect the broad spectrum of interpretations of historical diplomacy and the art of peace-making.