51°29′36″N 0°36′28″W / 51.4932°N 0.6078°W
 Intra-school Eton wall game in progress | |
| First played | 1766 [1] |
|---|---|
| Clubs | Eton College |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | Yes |
| Type | Football ball |
| Venue | Eton College field |
| Presence | |
| Country or region | United Kingdom |
| Olympic | No |
| World Championships | No |
| Paralympic | No |
The Eton wall game is a game that originated at and is still played at Eton College. It is played on a strip of ground 5 metres wide and 110 metres long ("The Furrow") next to a slightly curved brick wall ("The Wall") erected in 1717. It is one of two codes of football played at Eton, the other being the Eton field game.
The traditional and most important match of the year is played on Saint Andrew's Day, as the Collegers (King's Scholars) take on the Oppidans (the rest of the school). Although College has only 70 boys to pick from, compared to the 1250 or so Oppidans, the Collegers have one distinct advantage: access to the field on which the wall game is played is controlled by a Colleger. Despite this, it is usual for them to allow the Oppidans to use it whenever they wish.
At the annual St Andrew's Day match, the Oppidans climb over the wall, after throwing their caps over in defiance of the Scholars, while the Collegers march down from the far end of College Field, arm-in-arm, towards the near end, where they meet the Oppidans.
The wall game is also played on Ascension Day, immediately after a 6 a.m. service on the roof of College Chapel.[2] Various scratch matches are also played throughout the Michaelmas and Lent halves (terms), where boys from different year groups, as well as masters, take part.
- ^ The history of the wall game by Sam Leith on The Gentleman's Journal
- ^ British Pathe film on the Eton wall game