Portal:English football

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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...)

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The most successful person to manage Manchester United, to date, is Sir Alex Ferguson, who has so far won eleven Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, eight Community Shields, two UEFA Champions League title, one UEFA Super Cup, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and one Intercontinental Cup in his 23-year reign as manager. The club's longest-serving manager is Sir Matt Busby, who had two spells managing the club from 1945 to 1969 and from 1970 to 1971, totalling 24 years, 338 days.

From 1878 to 1914, the team was selected by a committee whose secretary had the same powers and role as a manager has today. There were four secretaries during this period, A. H. Albut, James West, J. Ernest Mangnall and John Bentley.

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Did you know...

...that former England under-21 goalkeeper Lee Grant (pictured) has been described by Owls manager Brian Laws as "probably the most outstanding keeper" in the Championship?

...that Nat Lofthouse was the England football team's highest goalscorer of all-time for eight years?

..that in 2003, aged 70, former English Football League and international soccer referee Pat Partridge took over as linesman in a non-league match he was watching, after the original linesman took over from the injured referee?

...that Charlie Williams, one of the first black football players in Britain after the Second World War and later Britain's first well-known black comedian, responded to heckling by saying: "If you don't shut up, I'll come and move in next door to you"?

...that Bradford City Football Club blamed their FA Cup exit in the 1919–20 season on a pre-game trip to Fry's chocolate works?

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The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup, is an English football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout (single elimination) basis, but unlike the FA Cup, where almost 700 or more teams enter through the preliminaries, only the 92 professinal league clubs —the 20 clubs of the Premiership, and the 72 clubs of The Football League — participate in the competition. Another difference from the FA Cup is that the semi-finals are played over two legs. Currently, apart from the final, if the match ends in 90 minutes with the scores level, the tie would be decided via penalties immediately. Back then, the winners would qualify for the UEFA Cup (Now named the Europa League), if they have not qualified for European competition in some other way. The same format applies, but the winners now would qualify for the UEFA Conference League. If the winner qualifies for the Champions League, the Conference League spot is given to the team that finishes highest in the Premiership, that has not already qualified for a European competition.

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Credit: Flickr user johnthescone

England playing Estonia in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying round Group E match. The match took place at Wembley Stadium in England. England dominated the game and came away with a 3-0 victory with goals from Shaun Wright-Phillips and Wayne Rooney and an own-goal from Taavi Rähn. The victory left England second, five points clear of Russia.