Sport in London

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London is the prime and capital city of both England and the United Kingdom. It has hosted many major international tournaments and has professional teams in different sports.

Olympic Games

London has hosted the Summer Olympics in 1908 at White City and 1948 at Wembley Stadium. In July 2005 London was chosen to host the Games in 2012, making it the first city in the world to host the Summer Olympics three times.

The 2012 games will see massive development in the East End of London, particularly Stratford, which will be home to the Olympic Village, Olympic Stadium and many major venues. Other events are spread out across the city, from Wembley Stadium in the north-west to Wimbledon in the south.

Commonwealth Games

London hosted the second British Empire Games at White City Stadium in 1934.

Football

London has a special place in the history of Association Football. The playing of football in London has been well documented since it was first outlawed in 1314. In the sixteenth century the headmaster of St Paul's School Richard Mulcaster is credited with taking mob football and transforming it into organised and refereed team football. The modern game of football was first codified in 1863 in London and subsequently spread worldwide. Key to the establishment of the modern game was Londoner Ebenezer Cobb Morley who was a founding member of The Football Association, the oldest football organisation in the world. Morley wrote to "Bell's Life" newspaper proposing a governing body for football which led directly to the first meeting at the Freemason's Tavern in central London of the FA. He wrote the first set of rules of true modern football at his house in Barnes. The modern passing game was invented in London in the early 1870s by the Royal Engineers A.F.C. [cite book |last= Wall|first= Sir Frederick|authorlink= |title= 50 Years of Football, 1884-1934|year= 2005|publisher= Soccer Books Limited|location= |id= ISBN 1-8622-3116-8 ] [ [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fhistory.htm History of Football ] ] .

The most popular spectator sport in London is football, and London has several of England's leading football clubs. Most London clubs are named after the district in which they play (or used to play). Historically the London clubs have not accumulated as many trophies as those from the north-west of England, such as Liverpool and Manchester United, but at present Arsenal (founded at Woolwich Arsenal but currently playing in Holloway), and Chelsea (who actually play in Fulham) are regarded as two of the Premier League's "big four" alongside Manchester United and Liverpool. In 2003-04 they became the first pair of London clubs to finish first and second in the top flight, with Arsenal winning. In 2004-05 they did so again, this time with Chelsea winning.

London clubs are able to charge higher ticket prices than clubs in other parts of the country (particularly for corporate facilities), and this has swung English football's balance of power towards London. Before Chelsea's recent rise in fortunes the two highest profile London clubs were Arsenal and their long-standing North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, both of whom were considered to be members of English football's "big five" for most of the post-war period. The 2008-09 Premier League will feature five London clubs: Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea, plus Fulham and West Ham United.

There are also eight London clubs in the fully professional Football League (the three divisions below the Premiership), namely Barnet, Brentford, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Dagenham & Redbridge, Leyton Orient, Millwall and Queens Park Rangers (QPR). The 2007-08 season was Dagenham & Redbridge's first appearance ever in The Football League. Of the remaining seven clubs, Barnet are the only one who have never previously played in the top division. In a controversial move, Wimbledon left London in 2003 to play in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, changing their name to Milton Keynes Dons; the newly formed AFC Wimbledon inherited most of their support, despite playing at a much lower level in the football pyramid. There are also numerous London clubs playing outside the top four divisions of English football, one or two of which are fully professional and many of which are part-time professional. Hackney Marshes in east London, home to many amateur sides, is reportedly the single largest collection of football pitches in the world.

Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium, in north-west London, is the national football stadium, and is traditionally the home of the FA Cup Final as well as England's home internationals. The old stadium was closed in 2000 in order to be demolished and completely rebuilt, and the new stadium opened in 2007. Cardiff's Millennium Stadium was the venue for FA Cup finals during the reconstruction, while England played at various venues around the country. Wembley was one of the venues for the 1966 FIFA World Cup and the 1996 European Football Championship, and hosted the final of both tournaments. It also was the venue for the European Cup final in 1968, 1978 and 1992. As well as football matches, Wembley has hosted many other sporting events, including the rugby league Challenge Cup final.

Other stadia

*In 2006, Arsenal moved to Emirates Stadium in Lower Holloway. Since 1913 the club had played at Arsenal Stadium in Highbury. Prior to 1913, Arsenal played near the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich.
*Barnet F.C., promoted to Football League Two for the 2005-06 season, play at the Underhill Stadium in Barnet. The stadium is also used for Arsenal reserve games.
*Brentford play at Griffin Park in Brentford.
*Charlton Athletic plays at The Valley in Charlton.
*Chelsea play at Stamford Bridge in Fulham.
*Crystal Palace play at Selhurst Park in South Norwood, south of Crystal Palace.
*Dagenham & Redbridge play at Victoria Road in Dagenham.
*Fulham F.C. play at Craven Cottage in Fulham.
*Leyton Orient play at Brisbane Road in Leyton.
*Millwall F.C. play at the New Den Stadium in Bermondsey. The club, originally founded in Millwall in 1885, moved from The Den in 1993.
*Queens Park Rangers play at Loftus Road in Shepherd's Bush, south of Queens Park. The stadium was also used by Fulham F.C. between 2002 and 2004.
*Tottenham Hotspur play at White Hart Lane in Tottenham.
*West Ham United play at the Boleyn Ground in Upton Park, near West Ham.
*AFC Wimbledon and Kingstonian play at Kingsmeadow in Kingston upon Thames, west of Wimbledon. The stadium was originally owned by Kingstonian, but is now owned by AFC Wimbledon. Before moving to Milton Keynes, Wimbledon F.C. played at Plough Lane in Wimbledon until 1991 and then were tenants of Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park until 2003.
*Bromley FC, who play in the Conference South, play at hayes lane in Bromley, which is in Greater London
*Dulwich Hamlet play at Champions Hill
*Fisher Athletic play at Champions Hill temporarily, while their Surrey Docks Stadium is being refurbished.

Cricket

London has two Test cricket grounds, (a rare distinction in world cricket but perhaps not surprising due to London's size): Lord's and The Oval. Lord's, located in the leafy suburb of St John's Wood, is home of Middlesex CCC and The MCC. Lord's is also the spiritual home of cricket. The Twenty20 Cup, Minor Counties Cricket Championship and many other Championship finals are held at Lord's. The England and Wales Cricket Board's offices are at Lord's Cricket Ground in London.

The Oval in Kennington, home of Surrey CCC, hosted the first FA Cup final and continued to do so (bar 1873) up until 1892. It also hosted England's first home international football match.

Cricket is very well organized and established within London and is the second most popular sport after football. Essex County Cricket Club has formerly used venues throughout London including Ilford, Leyton Cricket Ground, Romford and Billericay. Kent County Cricket Club also regularly play at Beckenham and can seat up to 22,000 with temporary stands.

Rugby Union

Rugby union is also well established in London, especially in the middle-class suburbs to the north and west of the city. Four of the twelve clubs in the Guinness Premiership have London origins. London Irish, Saracens and Wasps share football grounds just outside the boundaries of Greater London (respectively in Reading, Watford and High Wycombe), but in the metropolitan area. Harlequins still play in Greater London at The Stoop. In more recent years, a modern tradition has seen all four London clubs play out of Twickenham during the first round of the Guinness Premiership, in a double-header. Apart from the elite clubs, the London Welsh compete in National Division One.

The English national rugby stadium (Twickenham) is in Twickenham. The English national side play their home matches there during the Six Nations Championship, as well as the November inbound touring nations. The ground also hosted the 1991 Rugby World Cup final, where Australia defeated England. Twickenham hosts the final of the Anglo-Welsh EDF Energy Cup, and has hosted three Heineken Cup finals, most recently in 2007. The stadium is also host to The Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge as well as the English school's Daily Mail Cup final. London was also home to the massive celebrations for the English rugby team when they returned home from Australia after winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup, where Jonny Wilkinson kicked a drop-goal in extra time. An estimated 750,000 gathered in Trafalgar Square to celebrate their arrival.

Rugby League

Rugby league is played in London. It admitted its first top flight professional London club in 1980 in the guise of Fulham, playing at Craven Cottage, the home of Fulham F.C. The club changed its name to London Crusaders and then London Broncos, yet whilst being a member of the elite Super League competition, it ran into financial difficulties and in 2005 it merged with Harlequins to create Harlequins Rugby League.

Another London club in the professional ranks of the game is London Skolars (based in Haringey) who play National League Two.

Amateur and grassroots rugby league has a strong presence in London. Greenwich Admirals (Woolwich), Kingston Warriors (Esher) and South London Storm (Croydon) all play in the Rugby League Conference. Many more clubs and second teams in London and the surrounding area play in the London League.

Rowing

The River Thames is the venue for the Boat Race, held between Oxford and Cambridge universities every year from Putney to Mortlake. In addition there are numerous rowing clubs in London based along the Thames, especially in the Putney area. More than twenty rowing clubs are based on the Thames at Putney Embankment; among the largest are London Rowing Club (the oldest, being established in 1856), Thames Rowing Club, University of London Boat Club, Imperial College Boat Club and Vesta Rowing Club. Leander Club owned a boathouse in Putney from 1867 to 1961. The Putney clubs have produced a plethora of Olympic medallists and Henley winners.

Facilities for rowing are excellent throughout the city, including the state-of-the-art London Regatta Centre, at Royal Albert Dock in the Docklands.

Tennis

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, home of the Wimbledon Championships, is in Wimbledon in south London. London is also home to Queen's Club, a prestigious sports club that hosts the annual Queen's Club Championships. There is also the National Tennis Centre recently opened by the Queen in Roehampton.

Basketball

For years London Towers have been the flagship of London basketball, dominating the domestic British Basketball League (BBL), challenging in the prestigious Euroleague and fighting out a cross-town rivalry with Greater London Leopards. However, early into the new millennium both teams encountered several financial obstacles and soon folded.

After Towers withdrew from the BBL in 2006, lower-league team London United were elected to the top-tier to ensure the capital continued its presence in Britain's only professional league. Yet after just a year they too found themselves falling at financial hurdles and were replaced by another lower-league outfit, London Capital, who now fly the flag for London in the BBL.

In similar fashion, following the demise of the Leopards in 2003, fans set up a new club to replace and carry on the Leopards name. The reincarnated London Leopards today compete in the second-tier English Basketball League.

Other sports

The Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in South London hosts an athletics track and is often use for national meetings. Other athletics venues include Croydon Arena, Mile End Stadium in east London plus Perivale Park and Linford Christie Stadium in the west.

London once had 2 top-level ice hockey teams, the London Knights (UK) (who played at London Arena) and London Racers (who played at the Lee Valley Ice Centre). There are currently no London-based teams in the Elite Ice Hockey League; London does however ice a few teams in the lower-tier English Premier Ice Hockey League and English National Hockey League. The first games of the 2007-08 NHL season were played in London.

Between 1991 and 1998, the London Monarchs competed in American football's NFL Europe, winning the inaugural World Bowl. Today, the London O's are the reigning champions of the British American Football League, with London Blitz also playing in London. The new Wembley Stadium hosted a National Football League regular-season game in 2007, the first outside North America. In addition, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has stated the NFL is considering playing the Super Bowl in London.

Every April since 1981, London has hosted one of the world's largest mass-participation marathons, the London Marathon. [ [http://www.london-marathon.co.uk/site/marathon_history/index.php?page=1 Flora London Marathon - Background ] www.london-marathon.co.uk] The, London Triathlon, the largest triathlon event in the world, also takes place annually.

Other popular sports include field hockey, basketball, baseball (Croydon Pirates are current champions), bowls, snooker, tennis, cycling at Herne Hill Velodrome, swimming, motor-racing at Brands Hatch, golf, darts, racquets, croquet, squash, horse-racing (Epsom and elsewhere), boxing, wrestling, archery, and fox-hunting.

References

External links

* [http://www.londonrl.com/ London rugby league]