Portal:English football

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

The English Football Portal

The England national football team playing at Wembley.

Football is the most popular sport in England. England is home to the world's first football league, the oldest national governing body, and the oldest national knockout competition. The first modern rules for the game were established in England in 1863. England is one of the oldest national football teams, having played in the first international match in 1872. England won the FIFA World Cup in 1966, and has qualified for the World Cup 16 times. England has more football clubs than any other country, including the world's first club, Sheffield F.C., and the world's oldest professional club, Notts County. England's top domestic league, the Premier League, is one of the most popular and richest leagues in the world. The British Empire's cultural power spread the rules of football to areas of British influence. England the home of football, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association football clubs, England has more clubs involved in the code than any other country. England hosts the world's first club, Sheffield F.C.; the world's oldest professional association football club, Notts County; the oldest national governing body, the Football Association; the joint-oldest national team; the oldest national knockout competition, the FA Cup; and the oldest national league, the English Football League. It also has 31% of the population interested in Football. Today England's top domestic league, the Premier League, is one of the most popular and richest sports leagues in the world, with five of the ten richest football clubs in the world as of 2022.

The England national football team is one of only eight teams to win the FIFA World Cup, having done so once, in 1966. A total of six English club teams have won the UEFA Champions League, formerly known as the European Cup. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article

Manchester United Football Club is an English football club, based at Old Trafford in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and is arguably the most popular football club in the world, with over 330 million supporters worldwide; 5% of the world's population. Average attendances at the club have been higher than any other team in English football for all but six seasons since 1964–65. The club is also one of the most successful in English football; for over thirty years, since the 1986–87 season, they have won 23 major honours, which is more than any other Premier League club. Starting from the 1986–1987 season, Manchester United have won 13 league titles, six FA Cups, five League Cups, two Champions League/European Cups, one Cup Winners' Cup, and one UEFA Cup/Europa League.

However, the two most known managers at Manchester United were two Scots; those two were Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Matt Busby. Ferguson is recognized as the most successful and longest-serving manager that Manchester United had ever had, winning all bar the last one above during his 26 and a half year reign. Busby is also heralded given that he had assembled the team that was so synonymous to his legacy, the "Busby Babes". Busby was also involved in that fateful night when the Munich air disaster occurred, and with half of his squad been wiped out, he felt that he wanted to quit the manager's job through the guilt of that disaster, but continued on and a decade later, after winning two more league titles and a FA Cup, he and United won the European Cup for the first time at Wembley. Busby decided to retire the following season, remaining at the club as a director, but when Wilf McGuinness was sacked in December 1970, he stepped into the manager's seat on an interim basis until United decided on their next permanent manager, which he returned to his role as Director at the end of the 1970-71 season.

For United, they do compete against their neighbors, Manchester City in the Manchester derby, but there are other big rivalries with Leeds United (the Roses rivalry), and Liverpool, with the latter being the biggest nemesis.

More selected articles

Read more

Did you know...

...that despite being organised on St. Andrew's Day, the first official international football match (comic pictured) did not result in a home win?

...that the English footballer David Layne scored 58 goals in 81 games for Sheffield Wednesday F.C. before he was jailed for his involvement in the British betting scandal of 1964?

...that Tommy Sale scored 282 goals during 14 years at the English Football club Stoke City F.C.?

...that Harry Newbould was the first-ever manager of Derby County F.C.?

...that after retiring, former Premier League footballer Adrian Whitbread worked in four different clubs as assistant coach for Martin Allen?

More did you know facts

More at WikiProject Football

Selected competition

The Premier League (officially known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons, colloquially known as The Premiership), is an English professional league for football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. The Premier League is currently contested by 20 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 38 games each.

The competition formed as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 and the first games were played on 15 August that year, following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from The Football League to take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal; The Football League had served as England and Wales' primary football competition since 1888.

More selected competitions

Read more

WikiProjects

Direct relation

Football • England • English football task force

WikiProject Football Task Forces and sub-projects

Selected image

Credit: Flickr user Ray Boosen

Arjen Robben and Petr Čech of Chelsea F.C. parade with the Premier League trophy at the end of the 2005-06 season. This was the second season in a row that Chelsea had won the title.

More selected pictures

Read more