The first day of the annual Royal Shrovetide Football match The annual Royal Shrovetide football game is said to be the world's oldest, largest, longest, and perhaps angriest street football game. The game is played between the Up'ards, those born north of the River Henmore, the river that divides the town, and the Down'ards, those born south of the river. It is played with a hand-painted, cork-filled ball. The pitch is a no man’s land between two watermills, Sturston Mill and Clifton Mill, which serve as the goals at either end of the town about three miles apart. Any number of players may take part in this very thinly refereed game, providing they can claim to be Up'ards or Down'ards.

From The Derbyshire Telegraph:

Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football is said to be the last surviving example of mass football and is one of only a handful of games of its kind to be played annually in the streets of the UK. There are records of mass football being played as early as 1667, but Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide’s origins are unknown due to a fire at the Royal Shrovetide Committee office in the 1890s, which destroyed the earliest records.

But we know the modern game follows a very similar format to how it would have looked centuries ago, with tradition at its core, and sportsmanship and rivalry at its beating heart. Every Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday the town is divided by the Henmore Brook. Traditionally, those born north of the river are Up’ards, and those born south of it are Down’ards.

These two sides lock horns on both days, with the game starting at 2pm when an invited local man is given the honour of “turning up” the ball from a plinth in Shaw Croft Car Park. Unlike a conventional football match, the game takes place over two eight-hour periods, the goals are nearly three miles apart at former mills and there are few rules. It’s better compared to rugby, with a huge, steaming hug at its centre, not unlike a rugby scrum.

While there are literally thousands of people crammed into the small market town during the two days, the number of players actually taking an active role in pushing the game towards their mill is perhaps in the hundreds, with a core of just dozens who were born into Shrovetide and have a chance at getting the ball to a goal.

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The match continues until 10pm. If the goal is scored (goaled) before 6pm a new ball is released and play restarts. However, play ends for the day if a ball is goaled after 6pm. To goal a ball the players must first reach the sites of the former mills, and then jump into the river and hit the ball against a mill stone, mounted in a plinth, three times. And it could take hours for the hug to push all the way to the goals.