Page 151 - Mind, Body & Spirit Number 104 2020/21

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As the war time seasons progressed the FA was forced to become more creative. Ten divisions had proven too many with teams failing to field full teams. In line with safety and logistical concerns the 1940-41 season saw the Wartime League restructured from ten divisions to two, with Northern and Southern Regional Leagues, in the hope that reducing the number of teams would help teams field more guest players. Later, a London League and London War Cup were added due to the popularity of the sport in the capital which, as a measure, proved moderately successful but the standard of football was still questionable compared to the pre-war Leagues. Regardless, the Wartime League gained huge popularity from both players and fans alike who viewed the League as the perfect distraction to the war. Between 1942 and 1945 the Wartime League operated with three divisions split between North, South and West and a League North Cup was established to match the London Cup. Attendances began to soar and the 1943 South League Cup Final between Arsenal and Charlton saw 75,000 football fans cram into Wembley Stadium. The following year saw 85,000 fans watch Charlton defeat Chelsea in the South League Cup Final. Football games had once again become social occasions that allowed people the opportunity to escape from the reality of warfare.
In May 1945 when news broke of the German surrender, people took to the streets to celebrate, families waited for loved ones to return and the British public looked forward to a life free from warfare. For fans of the beautiful game it meant that real football would soon be returning. No longer having to worry about fan safety from aerial attacks, the FA reinstated the FA Cup and things slowly returned to normal and the following year saw the Football League return to its original four pre-war divisions.
If there had been any doubt concerning the important contribution the Army Physical Training Corps made in wartime football, the mere fact that the only official England international trial match to be held after the war was billed as a Football Association XI versus APTC XI, underlined its significance. The game was played at Wembley Stadium on 6th April 1946 in front of 35,000 spectators who watched the APTC win by 5 goals to 3 with Don Welsh scoring 2 goals, Dennis Compton, Tommy Lawton and George Wardle scoring one goal each.
The Wartime League had very few memorable moments as there were no ‘invincible teams,’ no great club rivalries and there was most certainly a drop in the standard of football, yet this hardly mattered to the crowds. The Wartime Leagues provided something far more important, for they offered hope and the opportunity for football fans to forget their woes and feel almost normal, at least for 90 minutes. Conversely, amidst the current Covid-19 restrictions, the resumption of top level football has seen clubs fielding full strength teams but in the eerie atmosphere of near empty stadia. It goes without saying that the importance of football itself pales into insignificance compared to the atrocities of war and the dreadful harm caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but there is little doubt that football has played some part in these most deadly events in recent human history.
Perhaps the words of Pope John Paul II, a lifelong football fan and a useful goalkeeper in his youth, sum it up best “Amongst all unimportant subjects, football is by far the most important.”
FA XI v APTC XI 6th April 1946 at Wembley