The Royal Shrovetide Football Match is a bizarre game of football that is played on what is possibly the world's largest 'football pitch' - 3 miles from end-to-end! (Here's a map of the pitch). It has been played since at least the 12th century and involves 300 people on two teams battling to get the ball to the other end of the pitch by kicking, carrying and throwing the ball.
From Wikipedia:
The game is played over two days on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, starting each day at 2.00 pm and lasting until 10.00 pm. If the goal is scored (in local parlance, the ball is goaled) before 5.00 pm a new ball is released and play restarts from the town centre, otherwise play ends for the day.
There are no limits to the number of players and no limits on the play area. It is for this reason that shops in the town are boarded up during the game, and people are encouraged to park their cars away from the main streets.
Also, with there being no limits on the play area, if the ball ends up in the river, everyone has to jump in and carry on playing. In fact, one of the goals is in the water!
As the above image shows, there is very little that stops the game and there are very few rules in existence. The main rules are:-
# Committing murder or manslaughter is prohibited. Unnecessary violence is frowned upon.
# The ball may not be carried in a motorised vehicle.
# The ball may not be hidden in a bag, coat or rucksack etc.
# Cemeteries, churchyards and the town memorial gardens are strictly out of bounds.
# Playing after 10 pm is forbidden.
The video below is from this year's match which took place yesterday. There are lots more photos and videos on the BBC Derbyshire website.
Update: Here's footage of the Ash Wednesday match. Final Score Up'ards 2 - Down'ards 0.