Football a nations language

Football is the national sport of England and is a part and parcel of the residents’ daily lives.  Although origins of the game can be traced back to the 1200’s and the 1400’s, it was only in 1871 when the first official tournament was started, namely the FA Cup. By 1888, a football league was successfully started and it is because of these reasons that UK is considered the home of football.

 

 

 

The football league, founded by William McGregor (director of Aston Villa) was the first professional football league. Since then, there have been efforts to merge the various leagues together, in order to form a pyramidal structure, where successful teams get promoted and the poor ones get relegated. This provided equal opportunity to all teams to rise to the top. However, there was a split in 1992, where the highly successful teams formed the FA Premier League, in order to increase their income. Liverpool are the most successful team in the football league, winning it 18 times, whereas Manchester United have dominated the Premier league, winning it no less than 10 times.

 

 

Football in the UK is mostly dominated by this Premier League. Below the Premier League lies the football league which includes 72 clubs divided into 3 divisions, the championship, league 1 and league 2. However, the income of these clubs is marginal, in comparison with the multi-million dollar premier league. Below league 2, lies the conference. As one goes down the pyramid, the number of teams in each league increases.

But the above mentioned leagues are confined only to England. Scotland, Wales and Ireland have their own football leagues too.

 

The Scottish Football Association, founded in 1873 is the second oldest association (after the FA of England). It joined FIFA in 1910 and was one of the members who founded UEFA in 1954. Through the years, the Scottish league has been dominated by mainly two teams, namely Celtic and The Glasgow Rangers. The Wales Football Association is the third oldest and was founded in 1876. The Irish Football association was founded in 1880, and the Football Association of Ireland was founded in 1921

 

 

Despite these numerous associations, it is the premier league that gets maximum representation in European competitions such as the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup.

This vast size and diversity of football in the UK isn’t all that there is to it. Male or female, old or young, healthy or bed-ridden, prince or pauper, almost each and every person in the UK is a die-hard football fanatic.

 

Some may argue that the South Americans have the silkier skills, but in my opinion, nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, beats the passion of football in the United Kingdom.

 

Join in our passion for football by making sure you get the right equipment kits and accessories at www.thefootyshop.co.uk