Football in England

thumb Football is the most popular sport in England. 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. Quotes After dinner all the youths of the city goes out into the fields for the very popular game of ball. William FitzStephen ca. 1170 quoted in "Early History of Football", The Encylopedia of British Football All that was missing to have made it a really smart 1972 middle-class party would have been a few reefers, but footballers wouldn't touch such things. Some footballers might have moved into the middle classes but there are two things they won't have at their parties — drugs and homosexuals. Hunter Davies, The Glory Game (1972), p.230 The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning. It's nothing of the kind. The game is about glory. It's about doing things in style. With a flourish, it's about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom. Danny Blanchflower quoted in Hunter Davies, The Glory Game (1972), p.266 A slum sport played in slum stadiums, increasingly watched by slum people, who deter decent folk from turning up. English football described in a May 1985 Sunday Times editiorial quoted in "'Quarantine our sad, sick game': how Heysel tragedy changed English football", The Guardian No words can adequately express the horror and revulsion which I and millions of British people felt at the scenes of violence which we witnessed at last night’s European Cup final in Brussels. These terrible events have brought shame and disgrace on those responsible and on their country. They never should have happened. It is the thugs who destroy football. Margaret Thatcher quoted in "Britain Takes Steps to Avert Soccer Riots : Orders Ban on Alcohol on Buses, at Stadiums", Los Angeles Times (May 31, 1985) You were kind of an outlier if you even liked football and you were a girl in England. So to come over here and have that opportunity? I've always said America is the land of opportunity. It certainly was for me. Jill Ellis, as quoted in "U.S. Coach Jill Ellis' choices put her on the path to Women's World Cup" (1 June 2015), by Kevin Baxter, The Los Angeles Times, California External links Association football in England Category:Association football Category:Sport in England