Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896. The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against Millwall in 1938. Next to Bishop's Park on the banks of the River Thames, it was originally a royal hunting lodge and has a history dating back over 300 years.
Southampton Football Club is an English professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, which competes in the Premier League. Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, before which they were based at The Dell. The club play in red and white shirts. They have been nicknamed "The Saints" because of the club's beginnings as a church football team at St Mary's Church. Southampton share a long-standing South Coast derby rivalry with Portsmouth, in part due to geographic proximity and both cities' respective maritime histories.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the EFL Championship. After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Road since 1917, other than two brief spells at the White City Stadium. They share rivalries with various other clubs, most notably they contest the West London derby.
The Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup, then the league runners-up provide the opposition. The fixture is recognised as a competitive super cup by The Football Association and UEFA.
Wrexham Association Football Club is a Welsh professional association football club based in Wrexham, Wales. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1864, they are the oldest club in Wales and the third oldest professional association football team in the world.
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
George Best was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1968 and came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century vote. Best received plaudits for his playing style, which combined pace, skill, balance, feints, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to get past defenders.
The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest in England and tenth-largest in the United Kingdom.
Paul Scholes is an English football coach, pundit, former player, and co-owner of Salford City. He spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 appearances between 1993 and 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation and one of the greatest Manchester United players of all time.
Old Trafford is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium in the United Kingdom, and the eleventh-largest in Europe. It is about 0.5 miles (800 m) from Old Trafford Cricket Ground and the adjacent tram stop.
Association football culture, or football culture refers to the cultural aspects surrounding the game of association football. As the sport is global, the culture of the game is diverse, with varying degrees of overlap and distinctiveness in each country. In many countries, football has ingrained itself into the national culture, and parts of life may revolve around it. Many countries have daily football newspapers, as well as football magazines. Football players, especially in the top levels of the game, have become role models.
Joseph Anthony Barton is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He made 269 appearances in the Premier League, including 130 for Manchester City. He is currently the manager of League One side Bristol Rovers.
Salford City Stadium is a rugby stadium in Barton-upon-Irwell, England, built to replace Salford rugby league club's ground the Willows for the 2012 season. Sale Sharks rugby union club have also played at the stadium since the 2012–13 season.
Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in 1908. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Their home strip is red shirts with white sleeves and white shorts, their home ground is Highbury Stadium in Fleetwood and the supporters of the club are affectionately known as the Cod Army, which is also used as a nickname for the club alongside The Fishermen, the club's traditional nickname. They contest a rivalry with nearby Blackpool known as the Fylde Coast derby.
Daniel John Higginbotham is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. Born in Manchester, England, he represented Gibraltar in international football.
El Hadji Ousmane Dabo is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Trafford Training Centre is the training ground and academy headquarters of English football club Manchester United F.C. It is near the village of Carrington, Greater Manchester, England, and replaced The Cliff as the club's training ground in 2000. Construction on the complex began in 1999, the main building was opened and the first team moved in in 2000, followed in 2002 by the Academy facility, home to the club's renowned youth system. In 2013, major additions were completed at the complex, including a medical centre and sports science department.
The Arsenal Training Centre, often referred to as its geographical location London Colney in Hertfordshire, is the training ground of Arsenal Football Club. It houses ten full-size pitches, an indoor facility and a medical and rehabilitation centre.
Association football was first codified in 1863 in England, although games that involved the kicking of a ball were evident considerably earlier. A large number of football-related terms have since emerged to describe various aspects of the sport and its culture.
The issue of smoking in association football is a historical controversy. Traditionally, football managers would smoke on the touch-line as well as players smoking away from the pitch. However growing anti-smoking trends have led to a number of restrictions being put in place surrounding them. Smoking is now largely banned from stadiums around the world but some individual players and managers have continued to smoke.
