Professional association football teams from the ceremonial county of East Anglia compete for this unofficial title which is celebrated by fans, pundits/media and the clubs themselves merely as regional prestige/bragging rights etc.. Winning the most recent East Anglian derby and/or finishing as the highest Anglian team in the league pyramid are the two main measures employed by fans/pundits etc. that decide who can claim this title. The main two football clubs vying for the title are Ipswich Town from Suffolk and Norwich City from Norfolk. Both teams regularly compete in the top two tiers in the English football league in recent times and often find themselves in the same league, meaning at least two derby matches will be played during the season as league games, in addition to any cup/play-off games where the two teams may be drawn against each other. Potentially, the holder of the title using the derby game method can change many times during the season. Other league clubs from the region include Colchester United, Peterborough United and Cambridge United. These teams occasionally find themselves in the same league as the aforementioned two protagonists and thus have the opportunity to claim the title for finishing highest in the league. This has only happened in 2007 to Colchester United, the club were awarded a special trophy by Anglia Television to mark the event.
East Anglian derby
When Norwich and Ipswich meet, the match is known as the 'East Anglian derby', first played in 1902. The most recent encounter played on the 10th February 2019 ended in a 3-0 win for Norwich. As of February 2019, Norwich have not been beaten by Ipswich in a competitive derby match since April 2009. The fixture is sometimes referred to as the "Old Farm derby", a humorous reference to the "Glasgow Old Firm derby" and the stereotypical rural nature and farming tradition of East Anglia.
League position
Another commonly employed measure for "Pride of Anglia", and one that encompasses all of the East Anglian teams, is the side finishing as the highest-placed East Anglian team in the English football league system. In 2019 Norwich claimed this position for finishing in first place in the Championship, while Ipswich finished bottom of the Championship; thus, Ipswich received relegation to League One. For the upcoming 2019/2020 season, Norwich will be promoted to the Premier League and by default be the highest-placed club from East Anglia as the only club from East Anglia playing in the highest league possible in English football. It is worth noting that there will be no clubs from East Anglia in the second tier of English football. Whichever East Anglian team finishes the highest in the third tier will be the second-best team from the region. For the upcoming 2019/2020 season, "second place" will be contested by Ipswich, Peterborough and Southend United.
Current status
Norwich finished above Ipswich in the 2018–19 EFL Championship, finishing first, while Ipswich finished 24th and were relegated to League One. All other Anglian teams competed in a lower division. Norwich are the most recent derby match winners, winning the match played on 10 February 2019, 3–0. Currently there are no derby matches scheduled as Norwich and Ipswich play in different divsions and the only way the teams could meet is for a cup game. In conclusion, using the two aforementioned methods, Norwich would be the undisputed Pride of Anglia.
