British football guide: soccer teams/matches/games in England, Wales and Scotland

	Study, work or travel in the UK. British culture and life.
Homepage	Search	A-Z index	Message Board	Contact us
Britain	Course	Life	Work	Links
English	Prepare	Personal	Travel	Ideas


Buy tickets: Ticketmaster


< Up	Life / Sport / Football
Football (soccer) in the UK


Sections:	Introduction
	UK football
	European football
	World Cup
	Vocabulary
	Further information
	Links

INTRODUCTION

This page gives a brief guide to British football.

In the UK the term football is usually used for the game played by kicking a round ball (the game which is popular in the US, played with an oval ball, is known as "American football"). The term soccer is also used widely, although it should really only be used for professional games, as the word is a short form of the phrase "association football".

Back to top

UK FOOTBALL

You can find information about the main international games from the websites of the national football associations:
- England & Wales: Football Association: http://www.thefa.com
- Scotland: Scottish Football Association: http://www.scottishfa.co.uk
- Northern Ireland: Northern Irish Football Association: http://www.irishfa.com
International games can be sold out quickly. Tickets usually go on sale about 2 months before the game. Tickets for the English team's home games can be bought from the Football Association (FA): the number to call for tickets is 0870 902 0005.

The top teams in England play each other every season (from August until May) in the Premier League (the Premiership). Among the most famous clubs in England are Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal. The teams play each other twice each season (at home and away), and the three teams with the lowest number of points are relegated (into the Championship League). The two divisions below the Championship League are called League One and League Two.

For club games, find out if tickets are available by contacting the football club or by checking its website. People who have bought a season ticket will get tickets first, then members, then non-members. It can be difficult for visitors to get tickets to see the most popular Premiership teams.

The Premiership teams in the 2013/14 season are as follows:

Football club (FC)	Nickname	Location	Name of ground	Website
Arsenal	The Gunners	N London	Emirates Stadium	here
Aston Villa	The Villans	Birmingham	Villa Park	here
Cardiff City	The Bluebirds	Cardiff	Cardiff City Stadium	here
Chelsea	The Blues	London	Stamford Bridge	here
Crystal Palace	The Eagles/Glaziers	London	Selhurst Park	here
Everton	The Toffees	Liverpool	Goodison Park	here
Fulham	The Cottagers	SW London	Craven Cottage	here
Hull City	The Tigers	Hull	KC Stadium	here
Liverpool	The Reds	Liverpool	Anfield	here
Manchester City (Man City)	The Blues/Citizens	Manchester	Maine Road	here
Manchester United (Man Utd)	The Red Devils	Manchester	Old Trafford	here
Newcastle United	The Magpies/The Toon	Newcastle upon Tyne	St James' Park	here
Norwich City	The Canaries	Norwich	Carrow Road	here
Southampton	The Saints	Southampton	St Mary's Stadium	here
Stoke City	The Potters	Stoke	Britannia Stadium	here
Sunderland	The Black Cats/Mackems	Sunderland	Stadium of Light	here
Swansea City	The Swans/Jacks	Swansea	Liberty Stadium	here
Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs)	Spurs/Lilywhites	N London	White Hart Lane	here
West Bromwich Albion (West Brom)	Albion, The Baggies, The Throstles	Newcastle	The Hawthorns	here
West Ham	The Hammers	E London	Boleyon Ground	here

Manchester United

Manchester City

Chelsea

Liverpool

Arsenal

Clubs from all of the football divisions in England and Wales take part in a knockout competition which ends with the FA Cup Final in May.
For more information about the FA Cup, see the Football Association's website: http://www.thefa.com

The FA Cup Final is played at Wembley Stadium (London)

Fans enjoy pre-match celebrations

Entrance to the stadium

Flypast by the Red Arrows before the game starts

Another team competition is the Football League Cup (known as the Carling Cup since 2004). This starts as a knock-out competition. The semi-final is played in two legs (a home game and away game), and the final is played as a single game at a neutral ground.

The top Scottish teams play in the Scottish Premier League. There is also a knockout competition in Scotland to win the Scottish FA Cup. Top Scottish teams include Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Aberdeen and Dundee United. Celtic and Rangers are both based in Glasgow, and Hearts is based in Edinburgh.

Back to top

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

The main competition between top European local teams is the UEFA Champions League (formerly known as the European Cup). The second most important competition is the UEFA Cup. Both of these competitions take place every year.

The European Cup (UEFA European Football Championship) finals take place every 4 years. Matches are between national teams from throughout Europe.

The Euro 2016 competition will be held in France from 10 June - 10 July 2016.

For the European Cup finals, teams are divided into qualifying groups and play a league system (each team plays each of the other teams once at home and once away, 3 points are awarded for a win and 1 point for a draw). The two teams in each group with the highest number of points go through to the finals (the host country/countries for the finals automatically qualify). In the finals the teams are divided into 4 groups of 4. At first there is a league-style competition and the two top teams in each group go through. This is followed by the knockout rounds: only one game is played in each of these rounds. If the score is even after 90 minutes, a further 30 minutes of extra time is played. If the score is still even the winner is chosen using a penalty shoot-out.

For further information about Euro 2016, see: http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro

Past events:
The Euro 2012 competition was held jointly in Poland and Ukraine in June 2012. Spain defeated Italy 4-0 in the final.
The Euro 2008 competition was held jointly in Austria and Switzerland in June 2008. Spain defeated Germany 1-0 in the final.
The Euro 2004 competition was held in Portugal. The final was won 1-0 by Greece (playing Portugal).

The qualifying groups for the 2012 competition were as follows:

Group	Team 1	Team 2	Team 3	Team 4
A	Poland	Greece	Russia	Czech Republic
B	Netherlands	Denmark	Germany	Portugal
C	Spain	Italy	Republic of Ireland	Croatia
D	Ukraine	Sweden	France	England

The match schedule was shown below (kick-off times are UK times - the time in Ukraine is 2 hours ahead of the UK, and the time in Poland is 1 hour ahead of the UK):

Date	UK Time	Group/Stage	Teams	Venue
Fri 8th June	5:00pm	A	Poland v Greece	Warsaw
Fri 8th June	7:45pm	A	Russia v Czech Republic	Wroclaw
Sat 9th June	5:00pm	B	Netherlands v Denmark	Kharkiv
Sat 9th June	7:45pm	B	Germany v Portugal	Lviv
Sun 10th June	5:00pm	C	Spain v Italy	Gdansk
Sun 10th June	7:45pm	C	Rep of Ireland v Croatia	Poznan
Mon 11th June	5:00pm	D	France v England	Donetsk
Mon 11th June	7:45pm	D	Ukraine v Sweden	Kiev
Tue 12th June	5:00pm	A	Greece v Czech Republic	Wroclaw
Tue 12th June	7:45pm	A	Poland v Russia	Warsaw
Wed 13th June	5:00pm	B	Denmark v Portugal	Lviv
Wed 13th June	7:45pm	B	Netherlands v Germany	Kharkiv
Thu 14th June	5:00pm	C	Italy v Croatia	Poznan
Thu 14th June	7:45pm	C	Spain v Rep of Ireland	Gdansk
Fri 15th June	5:00pm	D	Sweden v England	Kiev
Fri 15th June	7:45pm	D	Ukraine v France	Donetsk
Sat 16th June	7:45pm	A	Czech Republic v Poland	Wroclaw
Sat 16th June	7:45pm	A	Greece v Russia	Warsaw
Sun 17th June	7:45pm	B	Portugal v Netherlands	Kharkiv
Sun 17th June	7:45pm	B	Denmark v Germany	Lviv
Mon 18th June	7:45pm	C	Croatia v Spain	Gdansk
Mon 18th June	7:45pm	C	Italy v Rep of Ireland	Poznan
Tue 19th June	7:45pm	D	England v Ukraine	Donetsk
Tue 19th June	7:45pm	D	Sweden v France	Kiev
Thu 21st June	7:45pm	QF1	1st Group A v 2nd Group B	Warsaw
Fri 22nd June	7:45pm	QF2	1st Group B v 2nd Group A	Gdansk
Sat 23rd June	7:45pm	QF3	1st Group C v 2nd Group D	Donetsk
Sun 24th June	7:45pm	QF4	1st Group D v 2nd Group C	Kiev
Wed 27th June	7:45pm	SF1	Winner QF1 v Winner QF3	Donetsk
Thu 28th June	7:45pm	SF2	Winner QF2 v Winner QF4	Warsaw
Sun 1st July	7:45pm	Final	Final	Kiev

WORLD CUP

The 2014 World Cup will be played in Brazil in June/July 2014.
32 teams compete, divided into 8 groups of 4.

Stage	Date	UK Time	Venue	Team 1	Team 2	Station
Group A	12 Jun	9:00 PM	Sao Paulo	Brazil	Croatia	ITV
Group A	13 Jun	5:00 PM	Natal	Mexico	Cameroon	ITV
Group B	13 Jun	8:00 PM	Salvador	Spain	Netherlands	BBC
Group B	13 Jun	11:00 PM	Cuiaba	Chile	Australia	ITV
Group C	14 Jun	5:00 PM	Belo Horizonte	Colombia	Greece	BBC
Group C	14 Jun	2:00 AM	Recife	Côte d'Ivoire	Japan	ITV
Group D	14 Jun	8:00 PM	Fortaleza	Uruguay	Costa Rica	ITV
Group D	14 Jun	11:00 PM	Manaus	England	Italy	BBC
Group E	15 Jun	5:00 PM	Brasilia	Switzerland	Ecuador	ITV
Group E	15 Jun	8:00 PM	Porto Alegre	France	Honduras	BBC
Group F	15 Jun	11:00 PM	Rio De Janeiro	Argentina	Bosnia and Herzegovina	BBC
Group F	16 Jun	8:00 PM	Curitiba	Iran	Nigeria	BBC
Group G	16 Jun	5:00 PM	Salvador	Germany	Portugal	ITV
Group G	16 Jun	11:00 PM	Natal	Ghana	USA	BBC
Group H	17 Jun	5:00 PM	Belo Horizonte	Belgium	Algeria	ITV
Group H	17 Jun	11:00 PM	Cuiaba	Russia	Korea Republic	BBC
Group A	17 Jun	8:00 PM	Fortaleza	Brazil	Mexico	BBC
Group A	18 Jun	11:00 PM	Manaus	Cameroon	Croatia	ITV
Group B	18 Jun	8:00 PM	Rio De Janeiro	Spain	Chile	BBC
Group B	18 Jun	5:00 PM	Porto Alegre	Australia	Netherlands	ITV
Group C	19 Jun	5:00 PM	Brasilia	Colombia	Côte d'Ivoire	BBC
Group C	19 Jun	11:00 PM	Natal	Japan	Greece	BBC
Group D	19 Jun	8:00 PM	Sao Paulo	Uruguay	England	ITV
Group D	20 Jun	5:00 PM	Recife	Italy	Costa Rica	BBC
Group E	20 Jun	8:00 PM	Salvador	Switzerland	France	ITV
Group E	20 Jun	11:00 PM	Curitiba	Honduras	Ecuador	ITV
Group F	21 Jun	5:00 PM	Belo Horizonte	Argentina	Iran	ITV
Group F	21 Jun	11:00 PM	Cuiaba	Nigeria	Bosnia and Herzegovina	BBC
Group G	21 Jun	8:00 PM	Fortaleza	Germany	Ghana	BBC
Group G	22 Jun	11:00 PM	Manaus	USA	Portugal	BBC
Group H	22 Jun	5:00 PM	Rio De Janeiro	Belgium	Russia	BBC
Group H	22 Jun	8:00 PM	Porto Alegre	Korea Republic	Algeria	ITV
Group A	23 Jun	9:00 PM	Brasilia	Cameroon	Brazil	ITV
Group A	23 Jun	9:00 PM	Recife	Croatia	Mexico	ITV
Group B	23 Jun	5:00 PM	Curitiba	Australia	Spain	ITV
Group B	23 Jun	5:00 PM	Sao Paulo	Netherlands	Chile	ITV
Group C	24 Jun	9:00 PM	Cuiaba	Japan	Colombia	BBC
Group C	24 Jun	9:00 PM	Fortaleza	Greece	Côte d'Ivoire	BBC
Group D	24 Jun	5:00 PM	Natal	Italy	Uruguay	ITV
Group D	24 Jun	5:00 PM	Belo Horizonte	Costa Rica	England	ITV
Group E	25 Jun	9:00 PM	Manaus	Honduras	Switzerland	BBC
Group E	25 Jun	9:00 PM	Rio De Janeiro	Ecuador	France	BBC
Group F	25 Jun	5:00 PM	Porto Alegre	Nigeria	Argentina	ITV
Group F	25 Jun	5:00 PM	Salvador	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Iran	ITV
Group G	26 Jun	5:00 PM	Recife	USA	Germany	BBC
Group G	26 Jun	5:00 PM	Brasilia	Portugal	Ghana	BBC
Group H	26 Jun	9:00 PM	Sao Paulo	Korea Republic	Belgium	ITV
Group H	26 Jun	9:00 PM	Curitiba	Algeria	Russia	ITV
Second-round 1	28 Jun	5:00 PM	Belo Horizonte	Winner Group A	Runner-up Group B	tba
Second-round 2	28 Jun	9:00 PM	Rio De Janeiro	Winner Group C	Runner-up Group D	tba
Second-round 3	29 Jun	5:00 PM	Fortaleza	Winner Group B	Runner-up Group A	tba
Second-round 4	29 Jun	9:00 PM	Recife	Winner Group D	Runner-up Group C	tba
Second-round 5	30 Jun	5:00 PM	Brasilia	Winner Group E	Runner-up Group F	tba
Second-round 6	30 Jun	9:00 PM	Porto Alegre	Winner Group G	Runner-up Group H	tba
Second-round 7	01 Jul	5:00 PM	Sao Paulo	Winner Group F	Runner-up Group E	tba
Second-round 8	01 Jul	9:00 PM	Salvador	Winner Group H	Runner-up Group G	tba
Quarter-final 1	04 Jul	9:00 PM	Fortaleza	Winner Second-round 1	Winner Second-round 2	tba
Quarter-final 2	04 Jul	5:00 PM	Rio De Janeiro	Winner Second-round 5	Winner Second-round 6	tba
Quarter-final 3	05 Jul	9:00 PM	Salvador	Winner Second-round 3	Winner Second-round 4	tba
Quarter-final 4	05 Jul	5:00 PM	Brasilia	Winner Second-round 7	Winner Second-round 8	tba
Semi-final 1	08 Jul	9:00 PM	Belo Horizonte	Winner Quarter-final 1	Winner Quarter-final 2	tba
Semi-final 2	09 Jul	9:00 PM	Sao Paulo	Winner Quarter-final 3	Winner Quarter-final 4	tba
Play-off	12 Jul	9:00 PM	Brasilia	Loser Semi-final 1	Loser Semi-final 2	tba
Final	13 Jul	8:00 PM	Rio De Janeiro	Winner Semi-final 1	Winner Semi-final 2	tba

The official website of the World Cup competition: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup

Past events:
The 2010 World Cup was played in South Africa. In the final, Spain beat the Netherlands in extra time.
The 2006 World Cup was played in Germany. In the final, Italy beat France (on penalty kicks).

Back to top

VOCABULARY

The goalkeeper (also known as the goalie, or keeper) wears the number 1 shirt. The person's job is to save goals, by stopping the ball from crossing the line under the goalposts. He is allowed to use his hands, but only inside the box (18 yard box or penalty box) marked around the goalposts. If a member of the attacking team touches the ball inside the box (known as handball), or if an attacker is held or tackled unfairly in the box, the attacking team way be awarded a penalty kick (penalty). This gives a member of the attacking team a chance to kick the ball from the edge of the penalty box, with only the goalkeeper defending the goal.

A defender plays mainly in the area in front of his own team's goal. A full-back plays the wider positions, a central defender plays in the middle. Two possible variations are a wing-back, who plays the wider positions at the back but comes forward as well, and a sweeper, whose job is to stay close to the goal area to make the defence stronger.

A midfielder plays mainly in the centre of the field. A winger (or wide midfielder) plays the wider positions, while a central midfielder plays in the middle.

A striker plays mainly in the opposing team's half of the field. The person's main job is to try to score a goal.

The formation of a team depends on the main roles of the players. The most common formation in British football is 4-4-2, meaning 4 defenders, 4 midfielders and 2 strikers.

Positions
(note: numbers/positions vary)

1 : Goalkeeper ("goalie")

Defenders:
2/3 : Centre back
4 : Right back/fullback
5 : Left back/fullback

Midfielders:
6: Inside right or right wing half
7 : Right wing
8: Inside left or left wing half
11: Left wing

Strikers:
9/10 : Centre forward

For more football vocabulary, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/vocabulary/football.shtml

Back to top

FURTHER INFORMATION

BBC Sport (football): http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football
Football rules explained: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/rules_and_equipment

UK football headlines:

BBCi: Javascript is not available
on this browser

LINKS

Sport in the UK: Life/Sport
Monthly guide to events in the UK: Ideas/Events

Visit Liverpool: Travel/Tours/England/Liverpool
Visit Manchester: Travel/Tours/England/Manchester
Visit Newcastle: Travel/Tours/England/Newcastle
Visit Glasgow: Travel/Tours/Scotland/Glasgow

Home page: Home

Back to top

© UK Student Life 2002-2014

* Search this website (www.ukstudentlife.com) or the web: