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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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Preston North End is a professional football club in the Lancashire town of Preston, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Originally a cricket club, Preston has been based at Deepdale since 1875, and it is known to be football's oldest ground in terms of continuous use by a league club. The club first took up football in 1878 as a winter fitness activity and decided to focus on it in May 1880, when the football club was officially founded.

Preston were one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888, and have appeared in the top flight on 46 occasions, but they have not played at this level since 1961, the year after Tom Finney retired. Finney was revered around Preston, and they had a couple of near misses, whether it be finishing runners-up to Arsenal in 1953 or losing in the 1954 FA Cup final to West Brom. However, what they are mostly known for is that they were the first Double winners and not only did they won the inaugural league championship, they did it without losing a single game, giving them the nickname "The Invincibles", a feat that would be replicated by Arsenal 115 years later, and they won the FA Cup without conceding one goal. The Lilywhites won the title again in 1890 but their only major success since then has been their 1938 FA Cup final victory over Huddersfield Town. Other notable players include Tommy Docherty, Graham Alexander, Paul Gallagher, Alan Kelly Sr., and Bill Shankly, with the latter two commemorated at Deepdale by stands named after them. Finney also has a stand named after him, but also a statute outside the ground.

Traditionally, Preston's main rivalry is with Blackpool, given that the two clubs are 17 miles apart, but there have been other local rivals in the league over the years including Blackburn Rovers, Burnley, Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic.

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Did you know...

...that football referees in England (Howard Webb pictured) officiate at eleven different levels according to ability, activity and age?

...that the first ever golden goal was scored in the Cromwell Cup final at Bramall Lane, Sheffield in 1868, giving Sheffield Wednesday a 1-0 victory?

...that the England football squad for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico contained two players called Gary Stevens?

...that John Percival, when headmaster of Rugby School, gained the nickname "Percival of the knees" because he was concerned about "impurity" and insisted that boys secure their football shorts below the knee with elastic?

...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 Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup, is an English football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout (single elimination) basis, but unlike the FA Cup, where almost 700 or more teams enter through the preliminaries, only the 92 professinal league clubs —the 20 clubs of the Premiership, and the 72 clubs of The Football League — participate in the competition. Another difference from the FA Cup is that the semi-finals are played over two legs. Currently, apart from the final, if the match ends in 90 minutes with the scores level, the tie would be decided via penalties immediately. Back then, the winners would qualify for the UEFA Cup (Now named the Europa League), if they have not qualified for European competition in some other way. The same format applies, but the winners now would qualify for the UEFA Conference League. If the winner qualifies for the Champions League, the Conference League spot is given to the team that finishes highest in the Premiership, that has not already qualified for a European competition.

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Flowers and tributes left at Maine Road in memory of Marc Vivien Foe

Credit: en.wikipedia user Slipperman

Flowers and tributes left in memoriam of Cameroon international Marc-Vivien Foé at Maine Road, home of his former club Manchester City. Foé collapsed in the 71st minute of the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup semifinal between Cameroon and Columbia and later died. Many of his former clubs created memorials in his honour, with Manchester City retiring the number 23 shirt.

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