14 October 1878: the first football match played under floodlights

The world's first football match under floodlights took place on this day in 1878 at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, as the “Blues” played the “Reds” in an exhibition match.

Bramall Lane © Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Bramall Lane in 2020
(Image credit: © Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Floodlights are an essential part of modern football. And not just for the evening matches, which hold their own special appeal, but for the boring old Saturday afternoon matches too. After all, in the depths of December, the sun sets before the start of the second half, even in London. In Newcastle, you won't even make it to the end of the first half before darkness descends.

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Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.