Many places claim to be the true home of football, not least Sheffield, London and Glasgow. But had events taken a different slant, the title would undoubtedly belong to the capital of Scotland.
   Recently I gave a talk to the FootyCon football history conference in Manchester, in which I explained how, in the first half of the 19th century, Edinburgh was a leading exponent for the type of game that ultimately became association football. But the direction of travel changed dramatically in the summer of 1854, when two sports grounds opened in the same week, each hosting a different code of football. In brief, rugby won and the landscape of sport in the city changed.
   To read my PowerPoint talk detailing what happened and why, click here to open an illustrated pdf and read about a classic case of 'what if'.

To read more about the story of football in Edinburgh, and John Hope's involvement, read 1824: the World's First Foot-Ball Club.