Customs Uncovered: Atherstone Ball Game

Once described as “the most brutal sport in the world”, the Atherstone Ball Game is a traditional event that takes place in Atherstone, Warwickshire, England. It is a centuries-old annual competition associated with Shrovetide Football, with records indicating its occurrence since the early 12th century, making it one of the oldest traditions of its kind in England. The game is played on Shrove Tuesday each year and involves a large, leather ball that is released to the crowd in the town’s main street. On February 13th, 2024, the town recognises what they believe to be the 824th event.

The objective for participants is not to score goals in any traditional sense but to gain possession of the ball and keep it until the end of the game. Kicking off at 2pm and ending at 5pm, the match is characterized by its lack of formal rules and the rough-and-tumble nature of play (putting it mildly), where the ball can be carried, thrown, or kicked. The game is played in public streets, with shops often boarded up to prevent damage, and can attract hundreds of participants and spectators. The winner is the last person to holding the ball when the clock chimes 5pm.

Since there aren’t any rules, and policing such an event is so difficult (see below), the answer must surely be: anybody, if they’re mad enough to. As if this needed underlining any further, shops throughout the town take the precaution of boarding up their windows. Meanwhile, in a gesture that underscores the event’s deep-rooted community spirit, local children are granted early dismissal from school on the day of the game. They are also treated to sweets and pennies before the commencement of the game, fostering a festive atmosphere and ensuring the entire community, including its youngest members, feels involved in this historic event. Let’s just say it’s a day of dichotomies.

The honour of throwing the first ball has, in recent years, been given to a celebrity chosen by the Atherstone Ball Game Committee. Gordon Banks, Jimmy Tarbuck and Annette Badland have all seen action. In 2024, the ball was thrown by Midlands comedian, Josh Pugh.

Yes, the prize for the Atherstone Ball Game winner is the Atherstone Ball itself, a four-pound beast that is filled with water to give it extra heft. Other prizes include a tenner each for anyone who ends up with one of the ribbons tied to the ball, and a smaller prize for anyone who finds the gold coin thrown into the crowd at the beginning of the game.

Kieran Marshall, Lewis Cooper, and Scott Wright emerged as the triumphant team winners of the Atherstone Ball Game 2023. In the preceding year, Josh Sheldon claimed victory in 2022, marking him as the decade’s first winner, following the cancellation of the 2020 event due to a marshal’s illness and the 2021 game’s cancellation amid Covid-19 restrictions. Meanwhile, Jonathan Slesser boasts a record of winning the challenging event four times in previous competitions.

At the close of the 824th Atherstone Ball Game, Alex Young held on to the ball and was subsequently hailed as the winner.

I can see why you’re asking that. You’ve seen the footage, haven’t you? Amazingly, the answer is no. But that doesn’t mean it’s not utterly savage. In recent years, the Atherstone Ball Game has seen its share of incidents: in 2019, a player’s ear was reportedly torn off amidst the chaos of participants exchanging blows in an effort to secure the ball. The following year, in 2020, the event witnessed a marshal needing medical attention and being airlifted to a hospital after falling ill during the game. More alarmingly, the 2023 edition was marred by extreme violence as individuals were recorded engaging in egregious acts of eye-gouging and stomping on one another.