UK/England soccer teams/matches/games


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< Up	Life / Sport / Football
Football (soccer) in the UK


Sections:	Introduction
	UK football
	European football
	World Cup
	Vocabulary
	Further information
	Links

INTRODUCTION

This page gives a brief guide to British football.

In the UK the term football is usually used for the game played by kicking a round ball (the game which is popular in the US, played with an oval ball, is known as "American football"). The term soccer is also used widely, although it should really only be used for professional games, as the word is a short form of the phrase "association football".

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UK FOOTBALL

You can find information about the main international games from the websites of the national football associations:
- England & Wales: Football Association: http://www.thefa.com
- Scotland: Scottish Football Association: http://www.scottishfa.co.uk
- Northern Ireland: Northern Irish Football Association: http://www.irishfa.com
International games can be sold out quickly. Tickets usually go on sale about 2 months before the game. Tickets for the English team's home games can be bought from the Football Association (FA): the number to call for tickets is 0870 902 0005.

Michael Owen at Liverpool
(he is now at Newcastle United)

David Beckham at Man United
(he moved to Real Madrid then
to Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007)

Wayne Rooney at Everton
(he is now playing at
Manchester United)

A young Newcastle
United fan

The top teams in England play each other every season (from August until May) in the Premier League (the Premiership). Among the most famous clubs in England are Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. The teams play each other twice each season (at home and away), and the three teams with the lowest number of points are relegated (into the Championship League). The two divisions below the Championship League are called League One and League Two.

For club games, find out if tickets are available by contacting the football club or by checking its website. People who have bought a season ticket will get tickets first, then members, then non-members. It can be difficult for visitors to the UK to get tickets to see the most popular Premiership teams.

The Premiership teams in the 2007/8 season are as follows:

Football club (FC)	Location	Name of ground	Website
Arsenal (The Gunners)	N London	Emirates Stadium	here
Aston Villa	Birmingham	Villa Park	here
Birmingham City	Birmingham	St Andrew's	here
Blackburn Rovers	Blackburn	Ewood Park	here
Bolton Wanderers	Bolton	Reebok Stadium	here
Chelsea	London	Stamford Bridge	here
Derby County (The Rams)	Derby	Pride Park	here
Everton	Liverpool	Goodison Park	here
Fulham	SW London	Craven Cottage	here
Liverpool	Liverpool	Anfield	here
Manchester City (Man City)	Manchester	Maine Road	here
Manchester United (Man Utd)	Manchester	Old Trafford	here
Middlesbrough	Middlesbrough	Riverside Stadium	here
Newcastle United	Newcastle	St James' Park	here
Portsmouth	Portsmouth	Fratton Park	here
Reading	Reading	Madejski Stadium	here
Sunderland	Sunderland	Stadium of Light	here
Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs)	N London	White Hart Lane	here
West Ham (The Hammers)	E London	Boleyon Ground	here
Wigan Athletic	Wigan	JJB Stadium	here

Clubs from all of the football divisions in England and Wales take part in a knockout competition which ends with the FA Cup Final in May.
For more information about the FA Cup, see the Football Association's website: http://www.thefa.com

The FA Cup Final is played at Wembley Stadium (London)

Fans enjoy pre-match celebrations

Entrance to the stadium

Flypast by the Red Arrows before the game starts

Another competition is the League Cup (known as the Carling Cup since 2004). This starts as a knock-out competition. The semi-final is played in two legs (a home game and away game), and the final is played as a single game at a neutral ground.

The top Scottish teams play in the Scottish Premier League. There is also a knockout competition in Scotland to win the Scottish FA Cup. Top Scottish teams include Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Aberdeen and Dundee United.

Click here to subscribe online to: Football magazines
	Wayne Rooney: My Story So Far Author: Wayne Rooney Publisher: HarperSport Date: Jul 2006	Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2006-2007 Authors: Glenda Rollin, Jack Rollin Publisher: Headline Date: August 2006
	Gerrard: My Autobiography Author: Steven Gerrard Publisher: Bantam Press Date: Sep 2006

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

The European Cup finals take place every 4 years. Matches are between national teams from throughout Europe.
The Euro 2008 competition will be held jointly in Austria and Switzerland in June/July 2008.
The Euro 2004 competition was held in Portugal. The final was won 1-0 by Greece (playing Portugal).
Teams are divided into qualifying groups, and play a league system (each team plays each of the other teams once at home and once away, 3 points are awarded for a win and 1 point for a draw). The two teams in each group with the highest number of points go through to the finals (the host country/countries for the finals automatically qualify). In the finals the teams are divided into 4 groups of 4. At first there is a league-style competition and the two top teams in each group go through. This is followed by the knockout rounds: only one game is played in each of these rounds. If the score is even after 90 minutes, a further 30 minutes of extra time is played. If the score is still even the winner is chosen using a penalty shoot-out.
For details see: http://www.uefa.com/Competitions/euro/index.html

The main competition between top European local teams is the UEFA Champions League (formerly known as the European Cup). The second most important competition is the UEFA Cup.

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WORLD CUP

The 2006 World Cup was played in Germany from June 9 - July 9 2006. In the final, Italy beat France (on penalty kicks).
The 2010 World Cup will be played in South Africa.

The official website of the World Cup competition: http://www.fifaworldcup.com
BBC World Cup website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldcup

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VOCABULARY

The goalkeeper (also known as the goalie, or keeper) wears the number 1 shirt. The person's job is to save goals, by stopping the ball from crossing the line under the goalposts. He is allowed to use his hands, but only inside the box (18 yard box or penalty box) marked around the goalposts. If a member of the attacking team touches the ball inside the box (known as handball), or if an attacker is held or tackled unfairly in the box, the attacking team way be awarded a penalty kick (penalty). This gives a member of the attacking team a chance to kick the ball from the edge of the penalty box, with only the goalkeeper defending the goal.

A defender plays mainly in the area in front of his own team's goal. A full-back plays the wider positions, a central defender plays in the middle. Two possible variations are a wing-back, who plays the wider positions at the back but comes forward as well, and a sweeper, whose job is to stay close to the goal area to make the defence stronger.

A midfielder plays mainly in the centre of the field. A winger (or wide midfielder) plays the wider positions, while a central midfielder plays in the middle.

A striker plays mainly in the opposing team's half of the field. The person's main job is to try to score a goal.

The formation of a team depends on the main roles of the players. The most common formation in British football is 4-4-2, meaning 4 defenders, 4 midfielders and 2 strikers.

Positions
(note: numbers/positions vary)

1 : Goalkeeper ("goalie")

Defenders:
2/3 : Centre back
4 : Right back/fullback
5 : Left back/fullback

Midfielders:
6: Inside right or right wing half
7 : Right wing
8: Inside left or left wing half
11: Left wing

Strikers:
9/10 : Centre forward

For more football vocabulary, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/vocabulary/football.shtml

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FURTHER INFORMATION

BBC Sport (football): http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football
Football rules explained: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/rules_and_equipment

UK football headlines:

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LINKS

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