# National Five-a-Sides (England)

The Daily Express National Five-a-Sides was an annual indoor football tournament for Football League clubs across England, with Scottish League clubs invited on occasions. The competition was contested between 1968 and 1986 (and televised up to 1983).

## History

The Daily Express sponsored competition was held at Wembley Arena to packed crowds of between 8,000 and 10,000. The competition was a covered by the BBC and highlighted on their Wednesday Sportsnight programme. The last televised edition was in 1983.
There was no coverage of the 1985 edition because of the TV blackout on football in England at the time.
Scottish football teams received invites. Other indoor tournaments popular around this time included Evening Standard London Five-a-Sides (around since 1954) and Guinness Soccer Six (inspired by MISL) competitions. Both the national and London fives tournaments shared a home at the Wembley Arena between 1968 and 1986.
Matches were split in two four minute halves. Time limits for matches increased as the tournament progressed. Though match lengths altered over the years. Any drawn matches were resolved with a penalty shoot-out. The rules included no passbacks to the goalkeeper and the ball must remain below shoulder height.

## Competing teams

* 1974–75: Ipswich Town, Luton Town (East); Chelsea, Leyton Orient, QPR, Tottenham (London) Derby County, Leicester City, Stoke City, Wolves (Midlands); Middlesbrough (North East); Everton, Man City, Man United (North West); Celtic, Rangers (Scotland)
* 1975–76: Leyton Orient, Tottenham (London); Derby County (Midlands) Man City, Man United (North West)
* 1977–78: Ipswich Town (East), Arsenal, Chelsea, QPR, Tottenham, West Ham (London); Aston Villa, Coventry City, Derby County, Notts Forest, Wolves (Midlands); Newcastle United (North East); Everton, Man City, Man United (North West); Celtic (Scotland)
* 1978–79: Ipswich Town (East); Derby County, Wolves (Midlands); Man City, Man United (North West), Southampton (South East)
* 1980–81: Ipswich Town (East); Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Chelsea, QPR, Tottenham (London); Aston Villa, Coventry, Notts Forest, WBA (Midlands); Newcastle United, Sunderland (North East); Man City, Man United (North West); Brighton (South East); Aberdeen (Scotland)
* 1981–82: Ipswich Town (East); Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, QPR, Watford, West Ham (London); Birmingham City, Coventry City, WBA (Midlands); Everton, Man United (North West); Southampton (South East); Celtic, Rangers (Scotland), Swansea City (Wales)
* 1982–83: Ipswich Town, Luton Town (East); Arsenal, QPR, Watford, West Ham (London); Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Coventry City, Notts Forest (Midlands), Sunderland, Newcastle United (North East), Man City, Man United (North West), Southampton (South East); Celtic (Scotland)
* 1986–87: Luton Town, Norwich City (East); Arsenal, Charlton, Tottenham, Watford, West Ham (London); Aston Villa, Coventry City, Notts Forest (Midlands); Man City, Man United (North West); Oxford United, Reading, Southampton (South East); Sheffield United (Yorkshire)

## List of Finals

| Season | Winners | Score | Runners up | Final scorers |
| 1967–68 | Charlton Athletic | 1–0 | Gillingham | Peacock |
| 1968–69 | No competition. Tournament moved from May to November. | No competition. Tournament moved from May to November. | No competition. Tournament moved from May to November. | No competition. Tournament moved from May to November. |
| 1969–70 | Manchester City | 2–1 | Swindon Town | Bell, Young; Rodgers |
| 1970–71 | Manchester United | 2–1 | Tottenham Hotspur | Best (2); Knowles |
| 1971–72 | Southampton | 0–0 (1–0 p) | Leicester City | |
| 1972–73 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2– 2 (4–3 p) | Ipswich Town | Holder (2), Pratt, Pearce; Hamilton (2), Viljoen |
| 1973–74 | Derby County | 3–1 | Celtic | |
| 1974–75 | Leyton Orient | 2–0 | Tottenham Hotspur | Hoadley (2) |
| 1975–76 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3–1 | Tottenham Hotspur | Bailey, Hibbitt, Carr; McNab |
| 1976–77 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2–1 | Stoke City | Daley, Hibbitt; Lumsdon |
| 1977–78 | Ipswich Town | 3–1 | Coventry City | ; Oakey |
| 1978–79 | Crystal Palace | 2–2 Penalties | Chelsea | |
| 1979–80 | Sunderland | 2–0 | Brighton & Hove Albion | Arnott, Buckley |
| 1980–81 | Aston Villa | 3–0 | Chelsea | Evans, Swain, Bremner |
| 1981–82 | Celtic | 1–0 | Southampton | Nicholas |
| 1982–83 | Arsenal | 2–0 | Aston Villa | McDermott, Talbot |
| 1983–84 | Southampton | 3–0 | Aston Villa | Wallace, Moran, Holmes |
| 1984–85 | Watford | 1–0 | Aston Villa | Sterling |
| 1985–86 | Oxford United | 2–2 (1–0 p) | Arsenal | ; Sansom (2) |
| 1986–87 | Norwich City | 5–0 | Manchester City | Putney (2), Culverhouse (2), Gordon |

## Finalists by
### League

| League | Winners | Runners up |
| Football League First Division | 13 | 14 |
| Football League Second Division | 5 | 2 |
| Football League Third Division | 0 | 1 |
| Scottish Premier Division | 1 | 1 |

### Country

| Country | Winners | Runners up |
| England | 18 | 17 |
| Scotland | 1 | 1 |