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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Bradford City were formed in 1903 and was elected into Division Two before it had even played a game. Bradford City and Chelsea, in 1905, remain the only teams to be elected into the league before playing a competitive fixture. The club was promoted to Division One when it won the Division Two title in 1907–08. In 1910–11 the club recorded its highest league position of fifth and also won its only major honour when captain Jimmy Speirs lifted the FA Cup after he scored the only goal to defeat Newcastle United 1–0 in the final replay. Bradford City's honours also include the Division Three (North) title in 1928–29 and Division Three crown in 1984–85, as well as the Third Division North Challenge Cup in 1938–39.

Did you know...

...that footballer Francis Lee (pictured) earned his nickname Lee One Pen by setting an English record for the most penalties scored in a single season?

...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 Alex Leake was offered a £10 bribe by Manchester City player Billy Meredith to throw the final match of the 1904–1905 season?

...that footballer Billy Mosforth was a leading exponent of the screw shot, which allows players to bend the ball's trajectory?

...that Stockport County physio Rodger Wylde formed a rock group with player Tom Bennett whilst treating his broken leg?

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The Northern Premier League, known in recent years as the UniBond League under a title sponsorship contract, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference. Due to restructuring, from 2005 onwards its champions have been promoted to the Conference North division rather than the Conference National as was previously the case.

The Northern Premier League was founded in 1968, decades after the other two leagues at what is now the seventh tier of the English football league system, the Southern League and Isthmian League. At that time it was considered to share the fifth tier with these leagues as well as the long-established Northern League.

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The opening ceremony for the 2006 FA Cup Final between Liverpool and West Ham. This was the 125th time the trophy was contested and the last time the final was held in the Millennium Stadium before returning to Wembley in 2007. The score was 3-3 after extra time and the game was decided by a penalty shootout in which Liverpool won the cup for the seventh time in their history.