England as the birthplace of football

Despite the fact that many people unequivocally believe that football was born in England, there are those who dispute this opinion. Even FIFA has stated that the real birthplace of this most popular game on the planet is China, where the ball was played long before the birth of Christ. But this does not change the fact that the birthplace of today’s football is still England, where in the 19th century were established the rules of the game, which are still in force today. So what is football? More specifically, football in England? This is what we will try to find out.

And yet, England!

To be fair, ball was played in Great Britain as far back as the Roman conquest of the island. But this game took its final shape in the 19th century, when the rules were officially approved, namely, the number of players in the team, the size of the football field, etc. It happened like this.

One rainy autumn day in 1863, the captains of the football teams of the capital’s colleges gathered in London’s Freeman Tavern pub. At this fateful meeting and were finally agreed and approved the rules of the game and created the “Football Association of England”, which is the oldest in England, is still in force today. It is noteworthy that the decision on the rules of football was not given easily. There were those who were strongly opposed to the rule, which stated that in football is forbidden to play with their hands. Without waiting for the end, they left the meeting and a little later formed their own union, with their own rules of the game. Thus was born the equally popular game of rugby in England.

The basic rules of football

Number of players	Team composition – 10 players, 1 goalkeeper.
Times	Number of halves – 2, Game time – one and a half hour (two halves of 45 minutes each).
Instruments of play	The ball, the pitch is 90/100 metres and the goal is 2.44/7.32 metres.
Judges	Chief and reserve referees, linesmen, “video assistants”.
Penalties	Penalty kick, penalties, yellow cards, red cards.
Controversial points	In case of a draw, extra time is allowed. If the rules are broken, a penalty is awarded.
Features	Offside, touching the ball with his hand.

First games

The history of English championship games dates back to 1871. At that time the first of the tournaments took place and the cup was awarded. Seventeen years later, the clubs of England and Wales united into a league and held the first season of games with the participation of a dozen clubs.

William McGregor, the owner of the Aston Villa football team, proposed to hold football matches on a regular basis by organising calendar tournaments. The winner of the first games of the season and the winner of the cup was the club Preston, which did not suffer a single defeat either at home or away.

Since then, English football has grown rapidly, gaining more and more popularity. Now there are more than 140 individual leagues and over 480 divisions in Great Britain. More than 7,000 teams, which are part of 5,300 football clubs, take to the football fields.

Modern football in England

Football is the main sporting game for the British, far outstripping another traditional British pastime, cricket.

Over the years, English football has developed its own system, which is difficult for even seasoned fans to understand. The generally accepted structure of this system consists of 11 football divisions. According to this structure, only 1,715 teams officially participate in the football leagues.

And then there’s the darkness. The fact is that there are still an uncounted number of lower leagues, each with at least 22 football teams competing against each other. It’s easy to get confused. Therefore, let’s focus on the self-explanatory. The Premier League, because that’s where the teams of the most titled, legendary clubs play.

English football is represented by four national football teams. In addition to the English, they are the national teams of the Welsh, Scots and Northern Ireland. This is nonsense in the world of football. FIFA, as well as other top football functionaries of the world, look at it through their fingers, rightly believing that England has earned this right, as it is the originator of the game. However, many English fans believe that it would be more correct to unite all the teams into one. Then the unified team would be able to oppose the traditionally strong teams of Brazil and Argentina more successfully.

Premier League

Formed in 1992, it is considered the best league in the world (after the Football National League). The Premier League is part of the English Football Association. With 20 teams, the playing season runs from August to May. During this period, each team manages to play 38 matches.

This league consists of the most famous football teams that play in European cups and other prestigious competitions The Premier League is the dream of many footballers.

Special language

For a simpler understanding of football, a special terminology has developed, which is understood by both players and fans. And since football, as we have already learnt, was “born” in England, it is not surprising that its terminology is of English origin.

Basic English terms in football

“Play-off” games are games where a winner is determined by an elimination method.

“Foul” is a violation of the rules of the game.

“Offside” is an offside position.

“Red card” is a red penalty card marking the removal of a player from the field.

“Penalty spot” – a mark on the pitch eleven metres from the goal for a kick.

The traditions of English football

For most Englishmen, football tradition is sacred. Back in the very early days of the sport in the 19th century, English fans developed an unspoken rule: if you don’t play football, then you’re rooting for it. There was no third option. Nothing has changed now.

Out of several thousand football teams in England, at least one of them represents the neighbourhood, city, region, where this or that Englishman lives. So not to cheer for “your” team means forgetting about your culture and history. The financial side also plays a big role here. Often famous clubs finance even little-known football clubs, just because they have a young talent.

The fan culture, on the other hand, has evolved somewhat. Football fans stopped their madness in English stadiums a long time ago and this was facilitated by the tough actions of law enforcement agencies. Football hooligans have not gone anywhere, but now they try not to attract too much attention and find out their relations in other places. Now there is a relative friendliness at matches, and both elderly people and young people can be seen in the stadiums.

Habits

The colours of the native flag

An obligatory attribute of an experienced fan at any game is a scarf of a certain colour with the emblem of the “home” club.

Food

No match is without fast food. They eat a lot and often, before and during the match. Families come to the match, so the stadiums offer a very wide range of food. The most widely consumed and traditional drink is, of course, beer.

Gambling

Betting appeared as soon as official tournaments began and interest in the sport was aroused. For many Englishmen betting on games became their main income.

Boxing Day

The most anticipated match of the year takes place on the second day after Christmas, Boxing Day. In past centuries, servants had to serve their masters even on Christmas Day, so the second day was considered a general day off, which all servants took advantage of to go out and celebrate the holiday.

Today is a day when the mass of English people can go to the game with family and friends. The average ticket price is relatively inexpensive and most English people’s budgets can afford it. It is on this day that the largest number of fans gather in the stands of the stadiums. This is a real holiday for the English. Many come to the stadium in Father Christmas costumes. There is an atmosphere of excitement and general merriment in the stands.

For homebodies

For English home fans, the BBC has a special programme called Match of the Day. It is also watched by many English fans. Each programme discusses important events in the world of football.

Fans

English fans are not just active, but even fierce. This is precisely the case when the stable opinion about the English as reserved and cold people is completely disproved. Therefore, it was in the UK that the violent subculture of football fans spread and the phrase “football hooligans” became widely known.

It is not difficult to guess where this attitude and behaviour came from. After all, back in the Middle Ages, when the essence of such games was reduced to the confrontation of two sides, the English had very clear associations with the battles of the past. That’s why in the 1960s, at the peak of fan movements, almost every game in England ended with a grand battle in the stands.

Everything went downhill after the tragedy that happened at the stadium in Belgium during the European Champions Cup final. Then a group of English fans provoked a conflict with Italian fans and forced many them to climb the stadium wall. The latter could not bear the load and collapsed, burying 39 fans under it.

The fan movement has not ceased to exist, but the violence of the past is gone. This is fuelled by the English police, who have set themselves the goal of eradicating fan violence.

Stadiums

The main league matches, since its foundation, have been played in 61 football stadiums. And in general, only the stadiums with a capacity of more than 10000 spectators, there are more than 75 in England. But the list of the largest stadiums, which hold from 50000 to 90000 spectators, is small, there are only 8 of them.

The largest stadiums in England:

• Wembley Stadium, capacity 90,000 spectators;
• Old Trafford Stadium, capacity 75,797 spectators;
• Anfield Stadium, capacity 64,074 spectators;
• Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, capacity 62,062 spectators;
• Emirates Stadium, capacity 60,361 spectators;
• London Stadium, capacity 60,000 spectators;
• Etihad Stadium, capacity 55,097 spectators;
• St James’ Park Stadium, capacity 52,409 spectators.

The largest and most titled of the above, is Wembley Stadium. Its opening took place in 2007. It was built on the site of the old stadium with the same name. “Wembley” – the second largest and capacity stadium in Europe. The national team plays its home matches on the pitch of this stadium.

It is worth saying a few words about the old Wembley Stadium, which was built in 1923 and has existed for almost 85 years. The fact that King George V took part in its opening ceremony is an event that many Englishmen still remember today. The first game was played at the stadium on its opening day.

It was a major cup match between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United. This match in the history of English football received a loud name “White Horse Final”. The fact is that the stadium, which could accommodate no more than 125,000 spectators, accepted a much larger number of spectators and this threatened to disrupt the match. Many fans, having no seats in the stands, crowded at the very edge of the football field. The situation was saved by a London constable called George Schori. He, sitting on a white horse, directed the actions of the police and was able to regulate the flow of spectators, pushing the fans to a safe distance. The match, albeit 45 minutes late, took place.

The price of pleasure

Tickets for England matches are quite affordable. Tickets are sold at discounted prices for children and students. The cost also depends on the seats in the stands.

Average ticket price:

“Arsenal” – from £28.50;

“Aston Villa” – from £48.00;

“Bournemouth” – from £28.00;

“Brentford – from £30.00;

“Brighton” – £30.00-65.00;

“Burnley” – £16.00;

“West Ham” – from £50.00;

“Wolverhampton” – from £35.00;

“Crystal Palace” – from £48.00;

“Liverpool” – from £9.00;

“Manchester City” – from £58.00;

“Manchester United” – from £36.00;

“Newcastle” – from £32.00;

“Nottingham Forest” – from £42.00;

“Tottenham” – from £37.00;

“Fulham” – from £25.00;

“Chelsea” – from £25.00;

“Sheffield United” – from £32.00;

“Everton” – from £55.00.

It should be considered that the frantic demand for tickets unwittingly activates the so-called “grey” market, where you can easily buy tickets for any match, but at higher prices.