Following that contest, a schedule of international matches between the four home nations gradually developed, the games taking place between January and April of each year.

This schedule (the climax usually being the England v Scotland fixture, the outcome of which was often pivotal in determining the champion) continued without interruption until the First World War.

[7] The championship, although increasingly recognised as such, had no official prize until 1935 (see below), when a trophy for the "British International Championship" was created in honour of the silver jubilee of King George V.[8] The dates of the fixtures varied, but they tended to bunch towards the end of the season (sometimes the entire competition was held in a few days at the end of the season), except between the World Wars, when some fixtures were played before Christmas.

There were a number of reasons for the tournament's demise, including it being overshadowed by the World Cup and European Championships, falling attendances at all but the England v Scotland games, fixture congestion, the rise of hooliganism, the Troubles in Northern Ireland (civil unrest led to the 1980–81 competition being abandoned), and England's desire to play against "stronger" teams.

The British Home Championship trophy remains the property of the Irish FA, as Northern Ireland were the most recent champions.

The Championship was replaced by the smaller Rous Cup, which involved just England, Scotland and, in later years, an invited guest team from South America.

Since then, there have been many proposals to resurrect the British Home Championship, with advocates pointing to rising attendances and a significant downturn in football-related violence.

The 1949–50 British Home Championship was used as a qualification group for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, with the teams finishing both first and second qualifying.

Scotland played England at Hampden Park on 15 April in the final game and lost 1–0 to a goal by Chelsea's Roy Bentley.

The 1953–54 British Home Championship was used as a qualification group for the 1954 FIFA World Cup, with England and Scotland both qualifying.

In the end, the outcome of the entire Championship rested on the final game: England v Scotland at Wembley Stadium in London on 15 April.

The group winners were England, who advanced to the UEFA Euro 1968 quarter-finals where they defeated Spain to qualify for the final tournament, hosted by Italy.

The entire 1980–81 Championship was held in May 1981, which coincided with a large amount of civil unrest in Northern Ireland surrounding the hunger strike in the Maze Prison.

Northern Ireland's two home matches, against England and Wales, were not moved, so both teams refused to travel to Belfast to play.

They cited waning interest in the games, crowded international fixture lists and a sharp rise in hooliganism for their decision.