Sport plays an important role in British culture, and many people make an emotional investment in their favourite spectator sports. The United Kingdom has given birth to a range of major international sports including: football, rugby, cricket, golf, tennis, badminton, squash, rounders, hockey, boxing, snooker, billiards and curling. As you can probably see, we are a very sporty nation!
The most popular sport in Britain, as in many other countries in the world, is football. The modern global game of football evolved out of traditional football games played in England in the 19th century. English football has a league system which incorporates thousands of clubs, and is topped by four fully professional divisions. The elite Premier League has 20 teams and is the richest football league in the entire world.
Cricket is known to have been played in England in the 16th century and is considered as England's national summer sport. It is a sport that is stereotypically associated with the middle classes and those educated in private schools. It is usually played against teams from countries that used to be in the British Empire. According to statistics, cricket is the third most popular sport in Britain.
Rugby originated from Rugby school in Warwickshire. It is similar to football, but played with an oval ball. Players can carry the ball and tackle each other. The best rugby teams compete in the Super League final each September. For many years Rugby was only played by the rich upper classes, but now it is popular all over the country. There are two different types of rugby - Rugby League, played mainly in the north of England, and Rugby Union, played in the rest of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, together with France and Italy, play in an annual tournament called the Six Nations. American Football is derived from rugby.
