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


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


Sections:	Introduction
	European football
	UK 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".

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EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

The European Cup finals take place every 4 years. Matches are between national teams from throughout Europe.
The Euro 2004 competition was held in Portugal. The final was won 1-0 by Greece (playing Portugal).
The Euro 2008 competition is being held jointly in Austria and Switzerland in June 2008.

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.

Matches are shown live on television. Most games are on BBC1 or ITV1, but a few are on other BBC or ITV channels (see the table below for details)
Live commentaries to all games are on BBC Radio 5 Live: http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive (you can listen on a radio, online or on digital TV)
Matches are shown live online at: http://www.euro2008.com

Euro 2008: Group Games

Group	Team 1	Team 2	Team 3	Team 4
A	Switzerland	Czech Republic	Portugal	Turkey
B	Austria	Croatia	Germany	Poland
C	Romania	France	Netherlands	Italy
D	Spain	Russia	Greece	Sweden

Date and time	Group	Teams	Venue	TV Channel
Sat 7 Jun 5pm	A	Switzerland vs Czech Republic	Basle	BBC1
Sat 7 Jun 7:45pm	A	Portugal vs Turkey	Geneva	ITV1
Sun 8 Jun 5pm	B	Austria vs Croatia	Vienna	BBC1
Sun 8 Jun 7:45pm	B	Germany vs Poland	Klagenfurt	BBC1
Mon 9 Jun 5pm	C	Romania vs France	Zurich	BBC1
Mon 9 Jun 7:45pm	C	Netherlands vs Italy	Berne	ITV1
Tue 10 Jun 5pm	D	Spain vs Russia	Innsbruck	BBC1
Tue 10 Jun 7:45pm	D	Greece vs Sweden	Salzburg	ITV1
Wed 11 Jun 5pm	A	Czech Republic vs Portugal	Geneva	ITV1
Wed 11 Jun 7:45pm	A	Switzerland vs Turkey	Basle	BBC2
Thu 12 Jun 5pm	B	Croatia vs Germany	Klagenfurt	ITV1
Thu 12 Jun 7:45pm	B	Austria vs Poland	Vienna	BBC1
Fri 13 Jun 5pm	C	Italy vs Romania	Zurich	ITV1
Fri 13 Jun 7:45pm	C	Netherlands vs France	Berne	BBC1
Sat 14 Jun 5pm	D	Sweden vs Spain	Innsbruck	ITV1
Sat 14 Jun 7:45pm	D	Greece vs Russia	Salzburg	ITV1
Sun 15 Jun 7:45pm	A	Turkey vs Czech Republic	Geneva	ITV4
Sun 15 Jun 7:45pm	A	Switzerland vs Portugal	Basle	ITV1
Mon 16 Jun 7:45pm	B	Austria vs Germany	Vienna	BBC1
Mon 16 Jun 7:45pm	B	Poland vs Croatia	Klagenfurt	BBC3
Tue 17 Jun 7:45pm	C	Netherlands vs Romania	Berne	BBC3
Tue 17 Jun 7:45pm	C	France vs Italy	Zurich	BBC1
Wed 18 Jun 7:45pm	D	Greece vs Spain	Salzburg	ITV1
Wed 18 Jun 7:45pm	D	Russia vs Sweden	Innsbruck	ITV4

Euro 2008: Quarter Finals (QF)

Date and time	Stage	Teams	Venue	TV Channel
Thu 19 Jun 7:45pm	QF1	Winner A vs Runner-up B	Basle	ITV1
Fri 20 Jun 7:45pm	QF2	Winner B vs Runner-up A	Vienna	BBC1
Sat 21 Jun 7:45pm	QF3	Winner C vs Runner-up D	Basle	to be confirmed
Sun 22 Jun 7:45pm	QF4	Winner D vs Runner-up C	Vienna	to be confirmed

Euro 2008: Semi Finals (SF)

Date and time	Stage	Teams	Venue	TV Channel
Wed 25 Jun 7:45pm	SF1	Winner QF1 vs Winner QF2	Basle	to be confirmed
Thu 26 Jun 7:45pm	SF2	Winner QF3 vs Winner QF4	Vienna	to be confirmed

Euro 2008: Final

Date and time	Stage	Teams	Venue	TV Channel
Sun 29 Jun 7:45pm	Final	Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2	Vienna	BBC1

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 2008 Champions League final was between Manchester United and Chelsea. Manchester United won 6-5 on penalties; the game was 1-1 after extra time.
The 2008 UEFA Cup final was between Zenit (from St. Petersburg, Russia) and Rangers (from Glasgow, Scotland). Zenit won the game 2-0.

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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.

Michael Owen at Liverpool
(he is now at Newcastle United)

David Beckham at Man United
(he moved to Real Madrid then
to Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007)

Wayne Rooney at Everton
(he is now playing at
Manchester United)

A young Newcastle
United fan

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, 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 the UK to get tickets to see the most popular Premiership teams.

The 2007/8 Premier League title was won by Manchester United. Chelsea were second, Arsenal were third and Liverpool were fourth. The top 4 teams qualify to play in the next Champions League competition. Everton were fifth and qualify to play in the next Uefa Cup competition. Reading, Birmingham City and Derby County were the bottom three teams and were relegated to League One. The teams from the Championship League who have been promoted to the Premier League are West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Hull City. The Premiership teams in the 2008/9 season will be as follows:

Football club (FC)	Location	Name of ground	Website
Arsenal (The Gunners)	N London	Emirates Stadium	here
Aston Villa	Birmingham	Villa Park	here
Blackburn Rovers	Blackburn	Ewood Park	here
Bolton Wanderers	Bolton	Reebok Stadium	here
Chelsea	London	Stamford Bridge	here
Everton	Liverpool	Goodison Park	here
Fulham	SW London	Craven Cottage	here
Hull City (The Tigers)	Hull	KC Stadium	here
Liverpool	Liverpool	Anfield	here
Manchester City (Man City)	Manchester	Maine Road	here
Manchester United (Man Utd)	Manchester	Old Trafford	here
Middlesbrough	Middlesbrough	Riverside Stadium	here
Newcastle United	Newcastle	St James' Park	here
Portsmouth	Portsmouth	Fratton Park	here
Stoke City	Stoke	Britannia Stadium	here
Sunderland	Sunderland	Stadium of Light	here
Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs)	N London	White Hart Lane	here
West Bromwich Albion	Birmingham	The Hawthorns	here
West Ham (The Hammers)	E London	Boleyon Ground	here
Wigan Athletic	Wigan	JJB Stadium	here

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.
The 2008 FA Cup Final was between Portsmouth and Cardiff City. Portsmouth won 1-0, and qualify to play in the next Uefa Cup competition.
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 competition is the 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 2008 Carling Cup was won by Tottenham Hotspur, who qualify to play in the next Uefa Cup competition.

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.
The 2008 Scottish Premier League title was won by Celtic, who qualify to play in the next Champions League competition. Rangers were second and go into the qualifying rounds for the Champions League competition. Motherwell were third and qualify to play in the next Uefa Cup competition. The 2008 Scottish FA Cup was won by Rangers.

Click here to subscribe online to: Football magazines
	Wayne Rooney: My Story So Far Author: Wayne Rooney Publisher: HarperSport Date: Jul 2006	Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2006-2007 Authors: Glenda Rollin, Jack Rollin Publisher: Headline Date: August 2006
	Gerrard: My Autobiography Author: Steven Gerrard Publisher: Bantam Press Date: Sep 2006

WORLD CUP

The 2006 World Cup was played in Germany from June 9 - July 9 2006. In the final, Italy beat France (on penalty kicks).
The 2010 World Cup will be played in South Africa.

The official website of the World Cup competition: http://www.fifaworldcup.com
BBC World Cup website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldcup

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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

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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:

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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

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