First World War Centenary: Flanders Football Game Planned To Mark Christmas Truce

Flanders Football Game Planned To Mark Centenary Of Christmas Truce

The 100-year anniversary of the Christmas truce during the First World War may be commemorated with a football match in Flanders.

The government is talking to the Football Association and the National Children's Football Alliance about how the 1914 matches in no man's land can be remembered.

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British and German officers in 'No Man's Land' during the unofficial truce, Christmas 1914

Defence Minister Andrew Murrison said a football match was "a no-brainer" adding that such an event would "reach parts of the community that might not get terribly entrenched into this".

Prime Minister David Cameron raised the possibility last year of football matches forming part of an extended series of events to mark the centenaries of key moments during the First World War.

Speaking to The Guardian, Dr Murrison indicated that it was an idea was being pursued although planning was still at an early stage and "discussions are ongoing".

"I think football has a particular part to play because of the totemic significance of the Christmas truce in 1914," he said.

"We have been in touch with Football Association and the National Children's Football (Alliance) to see how this can be done. I know they are enthused and have already clocked the fact that other countries are thinking along similar lines."

He added: "It is clear the Christmas truce is going to be commemorated in a very significant way. It had no real relevance to the outcome of the war but at that deeply, intensely, personal level, it is something that people really do latch on to."