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Football is the most popular sport inEngland. 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 modernLaws of the Game. England's domestic football scene remains one of the strongest in the world, with thePremier League ranking among the richest and most popular leagues globally. As of 2024, five of the tenrichest football clubs were English. Football remains deeply ingrained in English culture, with 31% of the population expressing an interest in the sport. (Full article...)
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When he was first appointed on 22 September 1996, much of the English press and his own players weren't that excited, but on his first full season, 1997-98, he became the first foreign manager to win the league title in England, giving Arsenal their first title for seven years. They would also complete the double, defeatingNewcastle Utd 2-0 in the1998 FA Cup Final.
After that first successful full season, Wenger and Arsenal would go on to win another double in2002, and win their third league championship under his management in2004, but this was also the first season since the inaugural season of the Football League where a team went through the entire season unbeaten, nicknaming the 2004 team asThe Invincibles. Arsenal would also later eclipsed Nottingham Forest's record of 42 league matches unbeaten and went seven more matches before finally losing, albeit in controversial circumstances, in24 October 2004.
In2006, Wenger guided Arsenal to their first ever European Cup Final, though they lost to Barcelona 3-1, despite scoring first. This season also marked the final season atHighbury, as they moved to Ashburton Grove, officially named theEmirates Stadium in the summer. For the rest of his tenure, Wenger prioritized the club's finances in order to meet costs, but this resulted in a nine-year spell without winning a trophy, before Wenger guided the Gunners to three FA Cups in four seasons (2014-2017), making him the most winningest manager in the FA Cup.
In the league however, by 2017-18, Arsenal were going sideways, likely to miss out on the top 4 yet again, he announced he would step down as Arsenal manager after the season concluded. His final home game was a 5–0 win against Burnley on 6 May, where he received a standing ovation before the game and was gifted the gold mini-replica Premier League trophy he won during the 2003–04Invincibles season as a departing gift from Arsenal, and he officially concluded his tenure with a 1–0 away win againstHuddersfield.
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Until1974, football players were either professionals or amateurs. Professionals were paid to play by their clubs, and the only cup competitions such clubs were allowed to enter were theFA Cup and, for clubs outsideThe Football League, theFA Trophy. Amateurs, on the other hand, did not get paid by their clubs, and such clubs had their own cup competition, theFA Amateur Cup.
Football •England •English football task force
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| Credit: Flickr userRay Boosen |
Arjen Robben andPetr Čech ofChelsea F.C. parade with thePremier League trophy at the end of the2005-06 season. This was the second season in a row that Chelsea had won the title.
Leagues
Cups
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