The National League is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the "Alliance Premier League" from 1979 until 1986. Between 1986 and 2015, the league was known as the "Football Conference".
The J1 League, a.k.a the J.League or the Meiji Yasuda J1 League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Japan Professional Football League system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian professional club football history. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J2 League. It was known as the J.League from 1993 to 1998 before becoming a two-division league, and as J.League Division 1 from 1999 to 2014.
Rochdale Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English league system. Nicknamed 'The Dale', they have played home matches at Spotland Stadium since 1920 and, until 2019, contested derby matches with Bury.
Swansea City Association Football Club is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their home matches at the Swansea.com Stadium since 2005, having previously played at the Vetch Field since the club was founded.
Tokyo Verdy is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club currently competes in the J1 League, following promotion from the J2 League in 2023.
Association football is one of the three most-popular sports in India, the others being cricket and kabaddi. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) recognises the Indian Super League as the national football league of India. The Santosh Trophy is a knock-out competition among Indian states and government institutions.
The Bahrain national football team represents Bahrain in international football and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association, which was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. They have never reached the World Cup, but have twice come within one match of doing so. Bahrain won the FIFA's most improved team award in 2004, and finished fourth in the 2004 Asian Cup, beating Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals but losing to Japan in the semi-finals 4–3. Bahrain then lost to Iran in the third-place match, thus finishing in fourth place overall. Bahrain had a golden year in 2019, winning both the WAFF Championship and the Arabian Gulf Cup for the first time, under the stewardship of Hélio Sousa.
AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United, founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. Currently members of the Southern League Premier Division Central, they play home matches at the New Bucks Head in Wellington, part of the new town of Telford. The club's colours are white and black.
The Japan Professional Football League, commonly shortened to the J.League, and offically known as the Meiji Yasuda J.League for sponsorship with Meiji Yasuda Life, is the men's association football league in Japan. It is responsible for organizing Japan's major professional football tournaments, including the J1, J2 and J3 leagues. Established in 1993 as Asia's first professional football league, it has been one of the most successful leagues in Asia. Originally founded as a single division, in 1999, the second division J2 League was established, followed by the third division J3 League in 2013.
The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The competition is played primarily among clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying slots to the top-tier AFC Champions League, based on the AFC Club Competitions Ranking.
Amalgamated Football Club Sudbury is a football club based in Sudbury, Suffolk, England. The club was formed in 1999 by the merger of Sudbury Town and Sudbury Wanderers, the process giving rise to the name Amalgamated Football Club Sudbury. and went on to win the Eastern Counties League Premier Division five seasons in a row as well as reaching the final of the FA Vase in three successive seasons, records for both competitions. They are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division Central and play at the King's Marsh Stadium in the Ballingdon-Brundon area of Sudbury.
North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane.
Al-Ettifaq Football Club is a professional football club in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. It was established by the merger of three Dammam-based clubs in 1945. Al-Ettifaq were the first Saudi team to win an international title – the 1984 Arab Club Champions Cup. They were also the first to win the Saudi Premier League without any defeats, and the first Saudi team to win the GCC Champions League. Al-Ettifaq have a total of 13 titles to their name. The club also has its own futsal section.
Salman Isa Ghuloom, known to many as just Salman Isa, is a retired Bahraini footballer who played as a winger or a wingback.
AFC Fylde is a professional football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the National League and play at Mill Farm.
Dragan Talajić is a Croatian former footballer who is the head coach of Bahrain national football team. Talajić played as a goalkeeper and is a football manager who has managed many clubs in the Middle East, Thailand and China. He is the winning coach of the 2004 AFC Champions League with Al-Ittihad. For the 2010–11 season Talajić was declared Best Coach of Asia and Best Coach of Arabic football world by Al Jazeera Sport TV, Best Coach of Arabic football world by MBC Sport TV and Best Coach of Jordan by votes of fans and press. In Croatia Football Federation-HNS, Talajić is regarded as the prodigy of the Most successful manager in history by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Tomislav Ivić.
A variety of sports in Bahrain are popular and widespread. Association football is the most popular sport in the country. Other traditionally-popular sports include basketball, volleyball and handball. Sports such as horse racing, mixed martial arts, cricket and rugby union have gained popularity over the past few decades.
Al-Khaldiya Sports Club is a professional football club based in Hamad Town, Bahrain, that competes in the Bahraini Premier League. It is the newest formed football club in Bahrain, established in 2020. Financially it is the richest Bahrain football club and most ambitious. The home ground of the team is Bahrain National Stadium with a capacity of 28,900. The team name Al-Khaldiya ("الخالدية") literally means 'eternity'.
