England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales were placed in qualifying Group 8 of the 1968 Nations Cup, now known as the European Championships. Playing each other home and away this would replace the Home International Championships for the next two seasons.
21st October 1966:ABERFAN - In just five minutes the coal tip above the Welsh village of Aberfan to slid down the mountain and engulfed a farm, several houses and a school. Pupils at Pantglas Junior School were just beginning their first lessons of the day when the rushing landslide of mud and debris flooded into their classrooms. Some children were able to escape, but 116 were killed. Another 28 adults also died. The local community was devastated by the tragedy and the whole country was shocked and saddened when the news hit the headlines.
22nd October 1966: The first round of matches for the Nations Cup Qualifiers began today. ATV London broadcast England's 2-0 win in Belfast against Northern Ireland (almost certainly been wiped) while Match of the Day travelled to Ninian Park, Cardiff for the visit of Scotland's to Wales. This game would almost certainly be cancelled in 2020 but in 1966 the match went ahead as media from around world watched and waited for news of the children buried alive at a school in Aberfan. The players of both teams look distracted as the game struggles to understandably come to live behind the first rolling news story ever seen in UK.
Commentator: Kenneth Wolstenholme