Project
«Football in Great Britain and
the United Kingdom»
Sports in Great Britain
Not long ago football fans
celebrated the 130th
anniversary of their
favourite sports game. But in
fact the game is much older.
It was probably brought to
England by Roman soldiers
almost two thousand years
ago. They called the game
«Harpastum» and the rules
were much like modern
rugby football.
Rugby football is played by teams of fifteen or
thirteen members. The ball is oval, not round,
and a player is allowed to take the ball in his
hands and run with it. He also allowed to attack
his opponent, to hold him by the shoulders, or
by the legs. Rugby is violent game and it is
highly popular in many regions of their country,
especially in Wales.
But soccer, the game as
played under FIFA rules,
the most widespread. Apart
from the professional, there
are a million and a half
people who play football in
Britain with amateur status.
This well – known to us
game is also Association
Football.
In the early days of the Football League
professionals were not allowed to take part in
the competitions. But many sports clubs secretly
paid their players who played best in the game.
After the match, when players changed into
their ordinary boots, they found the money.
After several years of struggle the league for the
professionals was set.
Sports in the UK
The UK has four teams in
international competitions –
England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland. The only
problem is that the four teams do
not usually play very well!
However, the English Premier
League is one the best in the
world and has some world-famous
clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool and
Manchester United.
A lot of football clubs welcome visitors. Why
not go to Old Trafford, the home of Manchester
United? Further north, in Scotland, is Hampden
Park in Glasgow. It is the oldest international
stadium and has the Scottish National Museum
of Football.
Twickenhan is the home of
England’s rugby team. The
stadium tour and Museum
of Rugby include a visit to
the dressing room plus
audio-visual presentations.
Back in Scotland,
Murrayfield stadium holds
the world record rugby
crowd of 104,000 ( in 1975)
and the stadium now has its
own tour.