Portal:English football

The English Football Portal

The England national football team playing at Wembley Stadium in 2008

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. With over 40,000 football clubs, England has more teams involved in the sport than any other country. The world's first football club, Sheffield F.C., and the oldest professional club, Notts County, were both founded in England.

The influence of the British Empire helped spread football across the globe, shaping the development of the modern Laws of the Game. England's domestic football scene remains one of the strongest in the world, with the Premier League ranking among the richest and most popular leagues globally. As of 2024, five of the ten richest football clubs were English. Football remains deeply ingrained in English culture, with 31% of the population expressing an interest in the sport. (Full article...)

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Gilberto Aparecido da Silva (born October 7, 1976 in Lagoa da Prata, Minas Gerais), commonly known as Gilberto Silva, is a Brazilian footballer. He has played most of his club football for the English club Arsenal, as a defensive midfielder.

Gilberto was raised in a poor family and as a child he balanced playing football with various labour jobs. He began his football career in 1997 with América Mineiro, where good form earned him a move to Atlético Mineiro in 2000. He became a star player for Atlético, playing for three years in the Brazilian Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. He came to particular prominence when he helped the Brazilian national team win the 2002 FIFA World Cup, playing in all seven of Brazil's matches.

In August 2002, for a fee of £4.5 million, he joined Arsenal with whom he won the 2004 FA Premier League, and two FA Cup trophies. In his first five seasons with the club he played 208 games and scored 23 goals. On 19 August 2006 he scored Arsenal's first competitive goal at the newly built Emirates Stadium. He was made vice-captain of Arsenal in 2006 and is contracted to the club until June 2009. In 2007 he was selected as Brazil captain for the Copa América tournament, which Brazil went on to win.

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Did you know...

...that former England under-21 goalkeeper Lee Grant (pictured) has been described by Owls manager Brian Laws as "probably the most outstanding keeper" in the Championship?

...that the former English football player Eric Brook was the all-time record goalscorer for Manchester City F.C. with 178 goals until his tally was surpassed by Sergio Agüero in 2017?

...that England football captain Eddie Hapgood was forced by diplomats to give a Nazi salute before a match with Germany in 1938?

...that Alan Mullery became the first England association football player to be sent off in a full international match during the 1968 European Championship semi-final against Yugoslavia?

...that Chris Woods cost Queens Park Rangers 250,000 pounds from Nottingham Forest in 1979 even though he had never played a League game before his transfer?

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Ceremony at the 2007 shield

The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is an English association football trophy contested in an annual match between the current champions of England (currently the Premiership) and the winners of the FA Cup. It is equivalent to the Super Cups found in many countries. If a team wins The Double (both the league and the FA Cup), then the Double winner plays the runner-up. The match is contested at the beginning of the following season, and has traditionally been played at Wembley Stadium, although it was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales while Wembley has been being rebuilt. The newly built Wembley held the 2007 edition and every other Community Shield since, but there has been only two finals that weren't played there. In 2012, Villa Park (Home of Aston Villa) filled in as the host as Wembley hosted the final of the 2012 Olympic football tournament on the same weekend as the proposed date for the Community Shield, and in 2022, the King Power Stadium (Home of Leicester City) stood in as the replacement venue with Wembley hosting the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 final. This meant that Leicester became the first club to host this fixture more than once aside from Wembley.

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Credit: Public domain

The Sheffield F.C. team in 1890. Sheffield F.C. are regarded as the oldest football club in the world and were awarded the FIFA Order of Merit in 2004 to reflect this. The amateur team played Inter Milan in 2007 to celebrate their 150th anniversary at Bramall Lane with Pele as the guest of honour.

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