Portal:English football

The English Football Portal

The England national football team playing at Wembley.

Football is the most popular sport in England. Widely regarded as the birthplace of modern football, the first official rules of the game were established in England in 1863. The country is home to the world's first football league, the oldest national governing body, and the oldest national knockout competition. With over 40,000 football clubs, England has more teams involved in the sport than any other country. The world's first football club, Sheffield F.C., and the oldest professional club, Notts County, were both founded in England.

The influence of the British Empire helped spread football across the globe, shaping the development of the modern Laws of the Game. England's domestic football scene remains one of the strongest in the world, with the Premier League ranking among the richest and most popular leagues globally. As of 2024, five of the ten richest football clubs were English. Football remains deeply ingrained in English culture, with 31% of the population expressing an interest in the sport. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article

Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool. The club was a founder member of the Football League in 1888 and have contested more seasons in the top flight of English football than any other. They are one of the top five most successful English clubs in terms of major honours, having won the League Championship nine times, the FA Cup five times and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup once. After winning five League championships and two FA Cups, the club experienced a post-World War II lull until a revival in the 1960s under Harry Catterick. However, their most successful period came in the mid-1980s with Howard Kendall, when Everton won a further two League championships, one FA Cup, and the 1985 European Cup Winners' Cup.

Everton have a notable rivalry with Liverpool F.C., who were formed after a dispute over the rent at Anfield, Everton's old ground, in 1892; since then Everton have been based at Goodison Park as a result of the split. The club have a large fanbase and regularly attract large crowds.

Did you know...

...that the England national football team has only had fifteen managers (Glenn Hoddle pictured) since the position was made a full-time post in 1946?

...that Peter Knowles, a popular English football player, voluntarily ended his football career at the age of 24, after becoming a Jehovah's Witness?

...that the England national football team trained on the football pitch of the Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College, as it is the only one identical to the one in Russia on which they played in October 2007?

...that John Percival, when headmaster of Rugby School, gained the nickname "Percival of the knees" because he was concerned about "impurity" and insisted that boys secure their football shorts below the knee with elastic?

...that Chris Woods cost Queens Park Rangers 250,000 pounds from Nottingham Forest in 1979 even though he had never played a League game before his transfer?

Selected competition

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.

WikiProjects

Direct relation

Football • England • English football task force

WikiProject Football Task Forces and sub-projects

Selected image

Fulham F.C. (in blue) taking on Bolton Wanderers in a game from the 2005 FA Cup. Fulham are the oldest professional football team in London and celebrated their 125th anniversary in 2004.