Sunday league football

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A Sunday league match in Manchester in 2007. Such matches often take place in public parks without spectator accommodation. SundayLeagueFootball.jpg
A Sunday league match in Manchester in 2007. Such matches often take place in public parks without spectator accommodation.

Sunday league football, is a term used in Britain, Ireland and Australia to describe the amateur association football competitions which take place on Sunday rather than the more usual Saturday. The term pub league may also be used, owing to the number of public houses that enter teams. Sunday league football is stereotypically seen as being of far lower quality than Saturday football and involving players who are often unfit or hungover. [1] As a result, the term "Sunday league" can be used to describe a performance at any level of football which is seen as inept or amateurish. [2] [3] Despite this perception some leagues include players who also play at a high level of semi-professional football on Saturdays. [4]

Contents

Sunday leagues are sanctioned by the local County Football Association. Sunday leagues do not form part of the hierarchical English football league system, but Sunday teams can opt to switch to Saturday play and potentially rise up the levels of the league system. The FA Sunday Cup is a national knock-out competition for English Sunday league football teams administered by the FA, which has been staged since 1964. [4]

The most prominent single location for Sunday league football is Hackney Marshes in east London, which has been called the "spiritual home" of Sunday league. [5] The oldest Sunday League in England is the Edmonton & District Sunday Football League, based in North London, which was formed in 1925. [6]

In March 2012, Wheel Power F.C. won 58–0 against Nova 2010 F.C. in the Torbay Sunday League to record what was believed to be the largest victory ever achieved in British football. [7] [8]

Television coverage

In 1991, Danny Baker hosted The Game, a TV series focusing on East London Sunday League matches at Hackney Marshes, on Friday nights on LWT. The title of the show was a spoof of The Match, formerly The Big Match , the banner under which major league matches were televised on ITV at the time. The series ran for six episodes, culminating in the final of the Dick Coppock Cup (for Division Four of the league). [9]

See also

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The Hackney and Leyton Sunday Football League is a football competition based in London, England. It was founded in 1946 and operates under the jurisdiction of the London Football Association, the only English regional association founded by the FA.
The Hackney and Leyton Sunday League is considered a historic league as it has produced many players of the English football, such as England captains Bobby Moore and David Beckham, Jimmy Greaves, Ian Wright, Sol Campbell, Stuart Pearce, Vinnie Jones, Rio Ferdinand and others. Most of the games are played at the Hackney Marshes football complex, the biggest in the world. In 2010 FC Barcelona’s star Lionel Messi arrived at the Marshes to come on as a substitute in an league match as a publicity stunt for Adidas, however, it was quickly cancelled as he was mobbed by fans.

References

  1. ↑ Brooksbank, Pete (November 2017). "We Are Sunday League by Ewan Flynn". When Saturday Comes . Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  2. ↑ Watson, Stuart (24 April 2021). "We're not far off a Sunday League team that has won a cup to play at Portman Road' - Cook on 0-0 draw with AFC Wimbledon". East Anglia Daily Times. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  3. ↑ "Manchester United malaise, pressing and handball – Football Weekly Extra". The Guardian . 5 November 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Happy Sunday". When Saturday Comes . June 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Richman, Gareth (26 November 2013). "In pictures: Hackney Marshes - the spiritual home of Sunday League football". Evening Standard . Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "Edmonton & District Sunday Football League". www.edmontonsundayfootball.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Wheel Power FC race to British record 58-0 win". espn.co.uk. 23 March 2012. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021.
  8. ↑ "Amateur team Wheel Power FC inflict 'heaviest defeat in British history', 58-0". metro.co.uk. 22 March 2012. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012.
  9. ↑ "Danny Baker's 'The Game': the best football programme you've never watched". shortlist.com. 25 May 2017. Archived from the original on 30 May 2017.


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