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East Anglian derby

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East Anglian derby

The East Anglian derby is a term used to describe football matches held between Norwich City and Ipswich Town, the only Football League clubs in the neighbouring East Anglian counties of Norfolk and Suffolk respectively. In recent years it has sometimes been humorously called the Old Farm derby, a reference to the Old Firm derby played between rival Glasgow clubs Celtic and Rangers, and to the prominence of agriculture in East Anglia. The derby has been described as one of the best derbies in the UK.

Including friendly meetings, there have been 152 instances of the derby overall, with both teams winning 60 times. In competitive meetings, the balance tips towards Norwich, having won 48 to Ipswich's 45. The series began in the early 20th century, when both clubs were amateur organisations, with the first derby between the two professional clubs taking place in 1939. The most recent derby was played on 5 October 2025 at Portman Road, which ended in a 3–1 win for Ipswich. This was the first time in over 16 years that Ipswich won the derby, with their previous win being on 19 April 2009, a 3–2 at Portman Road. Ipswich have not won at Carrow Road since 5 February 2006.

Winning the derby is one measure used to determine which club from the region can declare itself the "Pride of Anglia".

According to the Football Rivalries Report 2008, the East Anglian derby is the second-fiercest rivalry in England, after the Black Country derby between West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers. The report stated, "The gap of 40 miles doesn't make those East Anglia 'Old Farm' derbies any less intense, and this, combined with the regularity and closeness of the games, and the recent fortunes of both clubs, put it ahead of all but one rivalry in League football."

Former referee Keith Hackett said of the East Anglian derby:

"As for the most aggressive atmosphere that I've ever encountered, believe it or not it was at Carrow Road for Norwich v Ipswich Town. There are certain derby fixtures that you always know are going to be highly charged, but the East Anglian derby tops the lot. The players came out of the tunnel as if they were ready for a boxing match. The noise was intense and aggressive."

Rob Hadgraft, who wrote The Old Farm, suggested some reasons for the intensity of the rivalry: "I think it's because each club represents the entire county ... There's only one club in Norfolk, and the same goes for Suffolk ... The people live up to 40 miles apart, so they don't mingle and have pals who support the other lot ... you've got two sets of fans who never really mingle or mix, and there's no proper friendships. They really do despise each other."

The first derby was held between the two clubs on 15 November 1902, when both sides were still playing at an amateur level. The Norfolk & Suffolk League fixture was played in Norwich and finished 1–0 to Norwich City. Norwich turned professional in 1905 with Ipswich following in 1936. Ipswich Town was elected to the Football League in 1938, and the first fully professional league game between the two clubs took place on 2 September 1939 in the Third Division South. Played at Portman Road, the match finished 1–1, although the league was abandoned a few days later following the outbreak of the Second World War.

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