Shrove Tuesday football match in Alnwick all set to return

The game will kick off on Tuesday, February 21, on the Alnwick Pastures.

It is hoped The Duke of Northumberland will drop the ball from the Castle Barbican at 2pm, with the match beginning at around 2.15pm.

Archie Jenkins, committee secretary, said: “The Alnwick game is only one of five Shrove Tuesday games still being played, so the committee are very proud of that and I’m sure the town people are as well.

"A modern day problem is getting enough people to play, but because this year’s game falls in half term we are hopeful that there will be a good turnout.”

Every year people from the town gather at the spot by the castle and are split into two teams, St Paul’s and St Micheal’s, depending on their postcode. The game is then played until one team scores two hales.

Last year, the game was won by St Paul’s, who beat St Michael’s 2-0.

As tradition requires, one hale scorer from last year will kick off this year’s match – Jack Seymour or Steven Temple.

The game has only a few rules with the goals decorated with greenery and standing about 400 yards apart.

The match was first recorded in 1762 and this will be the 193rd game played in the Pastures since 1828.

There have been 38 cancellations since then for various reasons including war, bereavements, fall-outs, foot-and-mouth disease, Covid-19 and bad weather.