By Andrew Warshaw
October 8 – It’s not every day that an official football match is staged in the back garden of the world’s most famous royal residence. In fact it has never happened before.
Hence the nationwide fascination across the UK that surrounded Monday’s one-off special occasion at Buckingham Palace to mark the English Football Association’s 150th anniversary.
The competitive fixture between two of England’s oldest teams – Civil Service FC, set up in October, 1863, and the only surviving founder member of English football’s governing body, and Polytechnic FC, formed in 1875 – was the idea of FA president the Duke of Cambridge.
Prince William joked to the players beforehand that if anyone broke a window they would “answer to” the Queen.
At half-time in the Southern Amateur League fixture, tail-coasted footmen carried water, orange slices and chocolate bars on silver-plated platters on to the pitch for the players.
During the second half, the prince and former England striker Michael Owen joined in a training session with royal staff.
Later at a reception to mark the FA’s Grassroots Heroes Day, Prince William told guests: “Over its 150 years, football has remained a wonderful example of the power of community and of our ability to come together to organise and to enjoy a simple pastime.”
Wembley groundsman Tony Stones worked with royal household gardeners to create a full-sized pitch on the 39-acre Buckingham Palace lawns, more accustomed to garden parties. League Premier League referee Howard Webb, who officiated at the 2010 World Cup final match in South Africa, took charge in the middle.
“I’ve been lucky enough to referee in some of the great cathedrals of the game around the world, but never in a setting like this,” said Webb. Just for the record, Polytechnic FC won 2-1.
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