Scoring the Hales

Scoring the Hales (also known as The Alnwick Shrovetide Football Match) is the name of a large scale shrovetide football match played yearly in the English market town of Alnwick, Northumberland.

Once a street contest, it has now moved to a field named The Pastures across the River Aln from Alnwick Castle.

The game has only a few rules and involves large teams of roughly 150 persons on either side.

[2] The original game started with the ball being sent over the barbican of the castle to the crowd assembled below.

[3] The game is won by whichever team is first to score two "hales" or goals.