Feb 28, 2017

Since 1667, the day before Lent begins has been a day for a town-wide football match in Ashbourne, northern England.

: Competitors reach for the ball during the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Ashbourne, northern England, on February 28, 2017. The mass-participation ball game involves two teams, whose players are defined by which side of a small brook that bisects the town they were born, aiming to score a goal, which are some three miles apart. The game, which has very few rules, is played over two 8 hour periods on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. Royal Shrovetide Football is believed to have been played annually in Ashbourne since 1667. (AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF)

: Competitors from the opposing teams, the Up’ards and the Down’ards, reach for the ball during the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Ashbourne, northern England, on February 28, 2017. The mass-participation ball game involves two teams, whose players are defined by which side of a small brook that bisects the town they were born, aiming to score a goal, which are some three miles apart. The game, which has very few rules, is played over two 8 hour periods on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. Royal Shrovetide Football is believed to have been played annually in Ashbourne since 1667. (AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF)

: Competitors from the opposing teams, the Up’ards and the Down’ards, vie for the ball during the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Ashbourne, northern England, on February 28, 2017. The mass-participation ball game involves two teams, whose players are defined by which side of a small brook that bisects the town they were born, aiming to score a goal, which are some three miles apart. The game, which has very few rules, is played over two 8 hour periods on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. Royal Shrovetide Football is believed to have been played annually in Ashbourne since 1667. (AFP PHOTO / Oli SCARFF)

: Competitors from the opposing teams, the Up’ards and the Down’ards, reach for the ball during the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Ashbourne, northern England, on February 28, 2017. The mass-participation ball game involves two teams, whose players are defined by which side of a small brook that bisects the town they were born, aiming to score a goal, which are some three miles apart. The game, which has very few rules, is played over two 8 hour periods on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. Royal Shrovetide Football is believed to have been played annually in Ashbourne since 1667. (AFP PHOTO / Oli SCARFF)

: Competitors from the opposing teams, the Up’ards and the Down’ards, reach for the ball during the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Ashbourne, northern England, on February 28, 2017. The mass-participation ball game involves two teams, whose players are defined by which side of a small brook that bisects the town they were born, aiming to score a goal, which are some three miles apart. The game, which has very few rules, is played over two 8 hour periods on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. Royal Shrovetide Football is believed to have been played annually in Ashbourne since 1667. (AFP PHOTO / Oli SCARFF)

: The ball is ‘turned up’ to start the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England on February 28, 2017 between the two opposing team’s, the Up’ards and the Down’ards. The mass-participation ball game involves two teams, whose players are defined by which side of a small brook that bisects the town they were born, aiming to score a goal, which are some three miles apart. The game, which has very few rules, is played over two 8 hour periods on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. Royal Shrovetide Football is believed to have been played annually in Ashbourne since 1667. (AFP PHOTO / Oli SCARFF)

: The ball is caught at the start of the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England on February 28, 2017 between the two opposing team’s, the Up’ards and the Down’ards. The mass-participation ball game involves two teams, whose players are defined by which side of a small brook that bisects the town they were born, aiming to score a goal, which are some three miles apart. The game, which has very few rules, is played over two 8 hour periods on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. Royal Shrovetide Football is believed to have been played annually in Ashbourne since 1667. (AFP PHOTO / Oli SCARFF)

: A competitor holds the ball during the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Ashbourne, northern England, on February 28, 2017. The mass-participation ball game involves two teams, whose players are defined by which side of a small brook that bisects the town they were born, aiming to score a goal, which are some three miles apart. The game, which has very few rules, is played over two 8 hour periods on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. Royal Shrovetide Football is believed to have been played annually in Ashbourne since 1667. (AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF)

: Competitors from the opposing teams, the Up’ards and the Down’ards, reach for the ball during the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Ashbourne, northern England, on February 28, 2017. The mass-participation ball game involves two teams, whose players are defined by which side of a small brook that bisects the town they were born, aiming to score a goal, which are some three miles apart. The game, which has very few rules, is played over two 8 hour periods on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. Royal Shrovetide Football is believed to have been played annually in Ashbourne since 1667. (AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF)

: Competitors from the opposing teams, the Up’ards and the Down’ards, reach for the ball during the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Ashbourne, northern England, on February 28, 2017. The mass-participation ball game involves two teams, whose players are defined by which side of a small brook that bisects the town they were born, aiming to score a goal, which are some three miles apart. The game, which has very few rules, is played over two 8 hour periods on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. Royal Shrovetide Football is believed to have been played annually in Ashbourne since 1667. (AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF)

: Competitors from the opposing teams, the Up’ards and the Down’ards, vie for the ball during the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Ashbourne, northern England, on February 28, 2017. The mass-participation ball game involves two teams, whose players are defined by which side of a small brook that bisects the town they were born, aiming to score a goal, which are some three miles apart. The game, which has very few rules, is played over two 8 hour periods on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. Royal Shrovetide Football is believed to have been played annually in Ashbourne since 1667. (AFP PHOTO / Oli SCARFF)

The annual Shrovetide football match in Ashbourne, northern England