Played annually in the Derbyshire town of Ashbourne every Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday (typically mid to late February), Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football is an exciting and dramatic event considered to be one of the oldest forms of football in the world.

Each year, the town’s streets, fields, and streams become packed with thousands of players and spectators who follow the match, drawing attention from all around the globe.

What is Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football?
Unlike a typical football match, Shrovetide Football is much longer, played over two eight-hour periods. The goals are set three miles apart, and the game has very few rules. Rather than kicking the ball, players push it through a giant ‘hug.’ There’s no fixed pitch; instead, the entire town becomes the field, with businesses and shops boarding up their windows in preparation.

When did it begin?
Shrovetide Football has been played almost every year since at least 1667, though its exact origins are unknown, as records were destroyed in a fire. It’s the biggest event in the Ashbourne calendar, and it was even played during the First World War by soldiers from Ashbourne stationed in France.

The game earned its “royal” title after Edward VIII, then Prince of Wales, attended and opened the match in 1928.

When does Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football start and finish?
The game kicks off at 2pm on both Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday when the ball is ‘turned up’ from a stone plinth at Shaw Croft car park in the heart of Ashbourne.

The ball is thrown into the air and into the ‘hug’ by the ‘turner up,’ a respected local figure chosen for the task. Notable past ‘turner-ups’ include Prince Charles and The Duke of Devonshire.

Once the game begins, players push the ball toward their goal by battling the opposing team. The match continues until 10pm. If a goal is scored before 5pm, a new ball is ‘turned up,’ and the game continues. If a goal is scored after 5pm, the match ends for the day.