When Did Goal Nets Start?

An unclear history

When Did Goal Nets Start?

It’s hard to believe, but there was a time when football was not played with goal nets.

I imagine that it was similar to the way American football used to be played. The ball would be kicked into the stands, the crowd would have to throw or punch the ball back to the field, and referees would have to guess as to whether a goal was actually scored or not.

The big question, though, is when the nets first came about.

I was under the impression that they were first used for a North-South trial match on January 17, 1891:

From The Roker Report

The problem, though, is that the date of this friendly is clearly wrong. January 17, 1891 was a Saturday, and newspapers confirm that regular league matches were played that day.

Actually, that North - South trial match was held on January 12, a Monday:

From The Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, January 13, 1891, page 3

It seems that the goal nets were an instant hit:

From The Liverpool Daily Post, January 17, 1891, page 6

And it turns out that Simon Inglis’ book Football Grounds of Britain confirms that January 12, 1891 is the correct date:

Page 273

While it took 13 more months for full Football Association sanction for the goal nets, it’s clear that they were used in other matches in early 1891. For example:

From The Liverpool Daily Post, January 15, 1891, page 6

I’m not certain about the “earlier trials in Liverpool” mentioned in the book. That might take a bit more digging.