Anyone who wants to know the oldest written history of English football can find such information dated 1170 in the writings of William Fitzstephen. The code of the rules of the game first appeared in England in 1863. Modern rules came to exist later based on the set of 1863. England has over 40,000 football clubs, and it boasts the first football club, and that is the Sheffield FC. The country also boasts the first professional football club known as Notts Country FC.

The first FA Cup competition was also held in England. At present, one of the most popular series of football competitions in the world is the Premier League football competition. It’s held in England and the league is considered to be the world’s richest Premier League. The National Football Team in England clinched the world football championship once (1966). So far five club teams in England have won the European football cup.

In the 19th century, the Cambridge University set the Cambridge rules for the game. Later, the association football also followed these rules. With the participations of schools such as Shrewsbury, Winchester, Eton, and Harrow the code was altered to a certain extent and an updated set was introduced at Trinity College, Cambridge. However, from 1850 many football clubs, which had no links with schools, set separate codes of rules and started playing football in England.

In 1862, John Charles Thring from Uppingham School also introduced a new set of football rules. Brother of this notable football proponent Rev. Edward Thring encouraged youth to play football to prevent them from indulging in adverse physical activities. The modern style of football passing first came to exist in London and the first national football competition Youdan Cup was held there in 1871. In 1888 Britain hosted the world’s first international competition, on the 5th of March 1870 English National Football team played with Scotland, that was recorded as a 1-1 draw.

The Premier League was formed in 1992 as a result of the split of the Football League. Each season, the Premier League battled for the championships with over 20 clubs. The Football League is the oldest club in this sport, and it is now the second on the ladder of Football clubs in England. It boasts the memberships of 72 football clubs and they work closely with the Premier League.

Besides these leagues, England has many other football clubs including Reserve League, Amateur football league, Non League football and Youth league, to name a few. The most famous football competitions in England include the FA Cup, the Football League Cup, the UEFA Europa League Cup, The FA Inter League Cup and many other country football cups.

The infrastructural facilities for the game of football are well advanced in England. The Wembley Stadium is the national football stadium in England. This large stadium, the largest in the UK and owned by the FA, can accommodate 90,000 football fans. The Old Trafford can accommodate 76,212 spectators and it is the largest stadium owned by a club. The Emirates Stadium can hold 60,355 spectators and the St. James Park can accommodate 52,387 football fans.

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