SPORT IN ENGLAND

In England we may have terrible weather but luckily we have some great sports which compensate for this. Here are some summaries of three of the most popular sports in England.

Football

Football has existed in some form in England from the early 13th century, but in this period it was common for players to die from running into one another’s daggers! Luckily this had changed significantly by 1857 when Sheffield F.C. the oldest football team in the world was established (in the city in which I study). The first ever international football match was held in England too against Scottish opposition. Nowadays, the Premier League is perhaps the most watched football league in the world, with teams competing such as Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and of course the mighty Southampton. Last year the league was particularly incredible as outsiders Leicester beat the odds and were crowned champions.

Cricket

Another sport founded in England is cricket which can be traced back to the Tudor times. The game consists of a bat and ball and two sets of wickets. Each team has 11 players and the objective is to score more ‘runs’ than the opposition. There are three forms of the game; test cricket, one-day cricket and T20 cricket. Test cricket is maybe considered to be the most prestigious form of the game, and England’s fiercest rivals in this form of the sport are Australia. However, I would recommend to start by watching the T20 form of the game as it has a quicker pace and a great atmosphere!

Rugby Union

Invented in the town of Rugby in Warwickshire, the sport of rugby union has existed since 1823 and has continued to grow rapidly since this with 1,900 clubs now in existence in England. The England national team have a good reputation as a strong side, and many other teams from the former British Commonwealth also play the sport, such as Australia and New Zealand. The song of the English Rugby Union team is ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’.