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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New Brompton F.C. (later Gillingham F.C.) in 1894.

Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent, currently playing in EFL League Two. As the only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at Priestfield.

The club was founded in 1893 and joined the Football League in 1920. They were voted out of the league in favour of Ipswich Town at the end of the 1937–38 season, but returned to it 12 years later after it was expanded from 88 to 92 clubs. Twice in the late 1980s they came close to winning promotion to the second tier of English football, but a decline then set in and in 1993 they narrowly avoided relegation to the Football Conference. In 2000, the Gills made the second tier for the first and only time by defeating Wigan Athletic in the playoff final, and spent 5 seasons there, with them achieving a club record highest league finish of 11th place in 2002–03. The only honour the club has won at a professional level was the Football League Fourth Division championship in 1963-64.

Did you know...

...that the rivalry between Leeds United ("rose" pictured) and Manchester United football clubs has its roots in the 15th century English civil war, the Wars of the Roses?

...that Sheffield Wednesday Ladies F.C. were formed at the Star Inn public house in Rotherham in 1971 following a charity match between men and women at the pub?

...that Jacqui Oatley is the first female football commentator in the history of BBC football programme Match of the Day?

...that English football referee Gary Willard once had to be given a police safety escort off the pitch after sending off three home team players in a single game?

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

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The Isthmian League is a regional football league covering London and South East England. It is more commonly known by the name of its official title sponsor as the Ryman League, and has in previous years been variously known (in chronological order) as the Rothmans Isthmian League, Berger Isthmian League, Servowarm Isthmian League, Vauxhall-Opel League, Vauxhall League, Diadora League and ICIS League.

The league was founded in 1905, and was strongly dedicated to amateurism. The champions did not even receive a trophy, league policy being that the honour sufficed. Teams less able to compete financially thus gravitated to it rather than the Southern League, while those with ambition and money would move in the opposite direction.

Although the league established itself as one of the strongest leagues in the country, routinely providing the winners of the FA Amateur Cup, it was still seen as being at a lower level than the Southern League and Northern Premier League which were the top regional semi-professional leagues.

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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.