Welcome to the Soccer Tavern, where we’re discussing the history, culture, and philosophy of the beautiful game. My name is Dave and in this video, we’re talking about the origin of the soccer term ‘derby’. Pull up a seat & let’s start the discussion.
A derby (pronounced “DAR-bee”) generally means a soccer match between local rivals. It usually refers to a match featuring 2 rivals from the same city or town, such as the North London Derby between Tottenham and Arsenal.
But, the term has evolved a bit to sometimes refer to a match featuring 2 rivals from the same region, such as the Black Country Derby between Wolverhampton and West Bromwich Albion.
The term derby comes from England and actually originated with a horse race. The biggest and most prestigious horse race in England is called “The Derby Stakes” or just simply the “Derby”.
The Derby began in 1780 and was created by the twelfth Earl of Derby named Edward Smith-Stanley. That is where the race got its name.
By the 1840s, ‘derby’ was being used as a noun to refer to any sporting contest. The word was particularly popular to refer to soccer matches and one of the earliest printed uses of the word came from the Daily Express in October of 1914 when it referred to the Liverpool vs Everton match as a local derby.
That is the true origin of the word. Now, there is a second story that the term ‘derby’ comes from the Royal Shrovetide Football Match.
The Royal Shrovetide Football Match is played in the town of Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England and has been played since at least the 12th century. It’s a combined form of rugby and soccer that has few rules and can be very violent.
Due to the game’s intense nature, it resembling the sport of soccer, and the match taking place in Derbyshire, people have made the connection that this is the origin of the term ‘derby’ to refer to an intense, local rivalry match.
Unfortunately, this is simply legend and the real meaning of the word comes from the Derby Stakes horse race.
Now, you know why it’s called a derby. If you have anything else to add to our discussion, please let us know in the comments section below the video.
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