Sports in Britain - Football/Soccer

Football has a long history which, like a lot of other sports, started in Britain. The first real rules of the game were based on those used by players at Cambridge University in 1863, which is when the Football Association (FA) was formed. The first international game was played between Scotland and England in 1872 and was a goalless draw. The first floodlit game took place in Sheffield, England, in 1878.

There are a lot of famous football clubs in Britain, some with interesting sounding names. Brighton and Hove Albion for example, Albion is an ancient name for Britain. Of course city, as in Bristol City, means that the club is in a city. Rangers are people that travel in search of honour and plunder - trophies and glory, which is where Glasgow and Queens Park Rangers get their names. United, as in Manchester United or Newcastle United often means that two teams joined together to make one. Newcastle United was formed in 1892 from Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End joining together.

England supporters A lot of teams are best known by their nicknames. Some are known by colours simply because of the colour they play in. Chelsea is known as the Blues and Liverpool as the Reds. West Ham is known as the Hammers because their first players used to be ironworkers. Arsenal is known as the Gunners because their players were originally workers from Woolwich Arsenal, where ammunition was made.

Professional football in the UK is organised into leagues. The top 20 clubs in England play in the FA Premier League and then Divisions One, Two and Three have 24 clubs each in them. The Scottish Premier League has 12 clubs and another 30 play in Divisions One, Two and Three. Three professional Welsh teams play in the Football League and 20 semi-professional clubs in Northern Ireland play in the Irish Football League.

Winning The two most important games in the soccer season are the FA and Worthington (League) Cup games. The League Cup is sponsored by Worthington.

In the English League over 2,000 games are played in a season.

Football players themselves are now big celebrities in the UK and world-wide. Famous British players go to play in other clubs overseas but, the best ones still play for their national UK teams when they compete in international competitions like the World Cup.

The World Cup, the world's most watched sporting event, is played every four years. The tournament was last played in 2002, when Brazil won the championship. It was last played in Britain in 1966. England was champion that year.

Perhaps the most famous British player today is David Beckham who just moved from Manchester United to play for Real Madrid. A soccer movie was even made that had his name in the title; "Bend it Like Beckham". David captains the England team in international games.

Football is governed world-wide by one organisation - FIFA, which stands for Federation Internationale de Football Association.