1.
Amateur sports
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Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. The distinction is made between amateur sporting participants and professional sporting participants, who are financially remunerated for the time they spend competing and training, the majority of worldwide sporting participants are amateurs. Modern organized sports developed in the 19th century, with the United Kingdom, sporting culture was especially strong in private schools and universities, and the upper and middle class men who attended these institutions played as amateurs. Opportunities for working classes to participate in sport were restricted by their long six-day work weeks, in the UK, the Factory Act of 1844 gave working men half a day off, making the opportunity to take part in sport more widely available. Working class sportsmen found it hard to top level sport due to the need to turn up to work. On occasion, cash prizes, particularly in competitions, could make up the difference. Proponents of the amateur ideal deplored the influence of money and the effect it has on sports, working class sportsmen didnt see why they shouldnt be paid to play. Hence there were competing interests between those who wished sport to be open to all and those who feared that professionalism would destroy the Corinthian spirit and this conflict played out over the course of more than one hundred years. Corinthian has come to describe the most virtuous of amateur athletes—those for whom fairness, to that end, club rules ensured that crews consisted of amateurs, while no professional or paid hand is allowed to touch the tiller or in any way assist in steering. The earlier origins of the term are somewhat murky, though it must certainly be linked to the Isthmian games of ancient Corinth, it more proximately originates from common slang usage in early 19th century England. The Seawhanaka Yacht Club—founded in 1874—added Corinthian to its name in 1881, the Corinthian Football Club was founded in 1882. The Corinthian Yacht Club was founded in 1886 in Tiburon, California in the United States, the Yale Yacht Club was renamed the Yale Corinthian Yacht Club in 1893. By the early 21st century the Olympic Games and all the team sports accepted professional competitors. However, there are some sports which maintain a distinction between amateur and professional status with separate competitive leagues. The most prominent of these are golf and boxing, in particular, only amateur boxers could compete at the Olympics up to 2016. This may jeopardise their status as amateurs, and if allowed to let slide, where professionals are permitted, it is hard for amateurs to compete against them. Whether this is a triumph of capitalism or an example of corruption depends on the viewers perspective, to some an amateur means an incompetent or also-ran, and to others it means an idealist. To say that the athlete should not be paid can prevent performances only possible for an athlete who is free to pursue the sport full-time without other sources of income, the term shamateurism is used to describe state-sponsored athletes
2.
Canadian football
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In Canada, the term football may refer to Canadian football and American football collectively, or to either sport specifically, depending on context. The two sports have shared origins and are related but have significant differences. Rugby football in Canada originated in the early 1860s, and over time, active teams such as the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats have similar longevity. The CFL is the most popular and only major professional Canadian football league and its championship game, the Grey Cup, is one of Canadas largest sporting events, attracting a broad television audience, though it has been shrinking in recent years. In 2009, about 40% of Canadas population watched part of the game, in 2014, it was closer to 33%, great achievements in Canadian football are enshrined in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame located in Hamilton, Ontario. Other organizations across Canada perform senior league Canadian football during the summer, the first documented football match was a practice game played on November 9,1861, at University College, University of Toronto. One of the participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was Sir William Mulock, a football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play at this stage are unclear. The first written account of a game played was on October 15,1862 and it was between the First Battalion Grenadier Guards and the Second Battalion Scots Fusilier Guards resulting in a win by the Grenadier Guards 3 goals,2 rouges to nothing. In 1864, at Trinity College, Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland, Frederick A. Bethune, the game gradually gained a following, with the Hamilton Football Club formed on November 3,1869. Montreal formed a team April 8,1872, Toronto was formed on October 4,1873, and this rugby-football soon became popular at Montreals McGill University. McGill challenged Harvard University to a game, in 1874 using a game of English rugby devised by the University of McGill. Later both the Ontario and Quebec Rugby Football Union were formed, and then the Interprovincial and Western Interprovincial Football Union, the CRFU reorganized into an umbrella organization forming the Canadian Rugby Union in 1891. The original forerunners to the current Canadian Football League, was established in 1956 when the IRFU and WIFU formed an umbrella organization, and then in 1958 the CFC left The CRFU to become the CFL. The Burnside rules closely resembling American football that were incorporated in 1903 by The ORFU, was an effort to distinguish it from a more rugby-oriented game, the rules were an attempt to standardize the rules throughout the country. The CIRFU, QRFU and CRU refused to adopt the new rules at first, the primary differences between the Canadian and American games stem from rule changes that the American side of the border adopted but the Canadian side did not. The Canadian field width was one rule that was not based on American rules, as the Canadian game was played in wider fields, initially an amateur competition, it eventually became dominated by professional teams in the 1940s and early 1950s. The Ontario Rugby Football Union, the last amateur organization to compete for the trophy, the move ushered in the modern era of Canadian professional football. Canadian football has mostly been confined to Canada, with the United States being the other country to have hosted high-level Canadian football games
3.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
4.
Rugby football
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Rugby is a type of football developed at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, one of many versions of football played at English public schools in the 19th century. The two main types of rugby are rugby league and rugby union, although rugby league initially used rugby union rules, they are now wholly separate sports. Following the 1895 split in rugby football, the two rugby league and rugby union differed in administration only. Soon the rules of rugby league were modified, resulting in two different forms of rugby. After 100 years, in 1995 rugby union joined rugby league, the Greeks and Romans are known to have played many ball games, some of which involved the use of the feet. These games appear to have resembled rugby football, the Roman politician Cicero describes the case of a man who was killed whilst having a shave when a ball was kicked into a barbers shop. Roman ball games already knew the air-filled ball, the follis, episkyros is recognised as an early form of football by FIFA. In 1871, English clubs met to form the Rugby Football Union, in 1892, after charges of professionalism were made against some clubs for paying players for missing work, the Northern Rugby Football Union, usually called the Northern Union, was formed. The existing rugby union authorities responded by issuing sanctions against the clubs, players, after the schism, the separate clubs were named rugby league and rugby union. Rugby union is both a professional and amateur game, and is dominated by the first tier unions, Argentina, Australia, England, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa and Wales. Rugby Union is administered by World Rugby, whose headquarters are located in Dublin and it is the national sport in New Zealand, Wales, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Madagascar, and is the most popular form of rugby globally. The Olympic Games have admitted the seven-a-side version of the game, known as Rugby sevens, there was a possibility sevens would be a demonstration sport at the 2012 London Olympics but many sports including sevens were dropped. In Canada and the United States, rugby union evolved into gridiron football, during the late 1800s, the two forms of the game were very similar, but numerous rule changes have differentiated the gridiron-based game from its rugby counterpart. Rugby league is also both a professional and amateur game, administered on a level by the Rugby League International Federation. International Rugby League is dominated by Australia, England and New Zealand, in Papua New Guinea it is the national sport. Other nations from the South Pacific and Europe also play in the Pacific Cup, distinctive features common to both rugby codes include the oval ball and throwing the ball forward is not allowed, so that players can gain ground only by running with the ball or by kicking it. As the sport of rugby league moved further away from its counterpart, rule changes were implemented with the aim of making a faster-paced. League players may not contest possession after making a tackle, play is continued with a play-the-ball, in league, if the team in possession fails to score before a set of six tackles, it surrenders possession
5.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
6.
Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey
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Albert Henry George Grey, 4th Earl Grey GCB GCMG GCVO PC was a British nobleman and politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the ninth since Canadian Confederation. He was a radical Liberal aristocrat, founder of the Society of Apostles, and Aricles Club, an active and articulate campaigner in late Victorian England he was associated with many of the leading Imperialists seeking change. Albert Grey was born into a noble and political family, though at birth not in line to inherit the earldom. His father General Charles Grey was a brother of the 3rd earl. As General Grey was deceased, the titles descended to his eldest living son Albert, Albert was educated at Harrow School before going up to Trinity, Cambridge, where he graduated MA and LLM. In 1878, he entered politics as a member of the Liberal Party and, after relinquishing a tied vote to his opponent. As administrator in Rhodesia he was responsible to Cecil Rhodes for conduct of the colonys business from 1894 to 1897. On his return in 1899 he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of his native Northumberland, Grey travelled Canada extensively and was active in Canadian political affairs, including national unity, leaving behind him a number of legacies, the most prominent being the Grey Cup. Grey was educated at Harrow School and then Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1877, Grey married Alice Holford, daughter of Robert Stayner Holford, the Member of Parliament for East Gloucestershire. Together, they had five children, one of whom died in early childhood, the elder daughter Mary married the 1st Baron Howick of Glendale. Married Lambert William Middleton of Lowood House, Melrose, Scotland, nephew of Sir Arthur Middleton, 7th Baronet and she was invested as an Officer, Order of the British Empire in 1918, having served as the Commandant of the Dorchester House Hospital for Officers. She was well known for her work with the Red Cross in Russia during WWI and she was an amateur photographer and filmmaker of note, and recorded village life at Darnick and St. Boswells. After her husband died she sold Lowood House and moved to Burley and they had issue of a son and a daughter. Lady Evelyn Alice Grey married Sir Lawrence Evelyn Jones, 4th Bt, M. C. grandson of Sir Willoughby Jones. Eight years later, Grey succeeded his uncle, Henry George Grey, as the 4th Earl Grey and returned to parliament when taking his seat in the House of Lords. Two years later, Grey was also appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland and published a biography of a young relative, Hubert Hervey. The time during which Grey occupied the office was one of increasing immigration, industrialisation. At the request of Sir Robert Baden-Powell, Grey also undertook the role of Chief Scout of Canada and he also journeyed abroad to the Dominion of Newfoundland and several times to the United States to visit President Theodore Roosevelt, with whom Grey developed a strong bond
7.
Governor General of Canada
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The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The commission is for a period of time—known as serving at Her Majestys pleasure—though five years is the normal convention. Beginning in 1959, it has also been traditional to rotate between anglophone and francophone incumbents, once in office, the governor general maintains direct contact with the Queen, wherever she may be at the time. The office began in the 16th and 17th centuries with the Crown-appointed governors of the French colony of Canada followed by the British governors of Canada in the 18th and 19th centuries, subsequently, the office is, along with the Crown, the oldest continuous institution in Canada. Throughout this process of gradually increasing Canadian independence, the role of governor general took on additional responsibilities, finally, in 1947, King George VI issued letters patent allowing the viceroy to carry out almost all of the monarchs powers on his or her behalf. The current governor general is David Johnston, who has served since 1 October 2010, johnstons wife—who is thus the viceregal consort—is Sharon Johnston. The Government of Canada spells the title governor general without a hyphen, the Canadian media still often use the governor-general spelling. As governor is the noun in the title, it is pluralized, thus, governors general, moreover, both terms are capitalized when used in the formal title preceding an incumbents name. The position of general is mandated by both the Constitution Act,1867, and the letters patent issued in 1947 by King George VI. As such, on the recommendation of his or her Canadian prime minister and that individual is, from then until being sworn-in, referred to as the governor general-designate. Besides the administration of the oaths of office, there is no set formula for the swearing-in of a governor general-designate, the governor general will then give a speech, outlining whichever cause or causes he or she will champion during his or her time as viceroy. The incumbent will generally serve for at least five years, though this is only a convention. The prime minister may recommend to the Queen that the viceroy remain in her service for a longer period of time. A governor general may also resign, and two have died in office, the sovereign has unrestricted freedom of choice. We leave that to Her Majesty in all confidence, however, between 1867 and 1931, governors general were appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British Cabinet. Thereafter, in accordance with the Statute of Westminster 1931, the appointment was made by the sovereign with the direction of his or her Canadian ministers only. Until 1952, all governors general were also members of the Peerage or sons of peers. These viceroys spent a limited time in Canada, but their travel schedules were so extensive that they could learn more about Canada in five years than many Canadians in a lifetime
8.
Western Canada
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The capital cities of the four western provinces, from West to East, are, Victoria, Edmonton, Regina and Winnipeg. Except for Winnipeg, which is the largest city in Manitoba, Manitoba established as a province of Canada in 1870, following the enacting of the Manitoba Act. Saskatchewan, Established as province in 1905, with the implementation of the Saskatchewan Act, Alberta, In 1905, the same year as Saskatchewan, Alberta also was established as province. Just like Saskatchewan had the Saskatchewan Act, Alberta had the Alberta Act and this represents 31. 5% of Canadas population. While Vancouver serves as the largest metropolitan area in Western Canada, the following is a list of these areas and their populations as of 2011. Western Canada consists of the four westernmost provinces, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan. It covers 2.9 million square kilometres – almost 29% of Canada’s land area, British Columbia adjoins the Pacific Ocean to the west, while Manitoba has a coastline on Hudson Bay in its northeast of the province. Both Alberta and Saskatchewan are landlocked between British Columbia and Manitoba, the Canadian Prairies are part of a vast sedimentary plain covering much of Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, and southwestern Manitoba. The prairies form a significant portion of the area of Western Canada. The plains generally describes the expanses of flat, arable agricultural land which sustain extensive grain farming operations in the southern part of the provinces. Despite this, some such as the Cypress Hills and Alberta Badlands are quite hilly. In Alberta and British Columbia, the Canadian Cordillera is bounded by the Rocky Mountains to the east, the Canadian Rockies are part of a major continental divide that extends north and south through western North America and western South America. The continental divide also defines much of the border between Alberta and British Columbia, the Columbia and the Fraser Rivers have their headwaters in the Canadian Rockies and are the second- and third-largest rivers, respectively, to drain to the west coast of North America. To the west of their headwaters, across the Rocky Mountain Trench, is a belt of mountains. The coast of British Columbia enjoys an oceanic climate because of the influence of the Pacific Ocean. Winters are typically wet and summers relatively dry and these areas enjoy the mildest winter weather in all of Canada, as temperatures rarely fall much below the freezing mark. The mountainous Interior of the province is drier and has colder winters, Alberta has a dry continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. The province is open to cold Arctic weather systems from the north, winters are generally quite cold, though some areas can experience a phenomenon known as the chinook wind, wherein warm winds raise the winter temperatures temporarily
9.
Rugby union
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Rugby union, known in some parts of the world simply as rugby, is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is between two teams of 15 players using a ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped goalposts on each try line. Historically an amateur sport, in 1995 restrictions on payments to players were removed, World Rugby, originally the International Rugby Football Board and from 1998 to 2014 the International Rugby Board, has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886. Rugby union spread from the Home Nations of Great Britain and Ireland, early exponents of the sport included Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and France. Countries that have adopted rugby union as their de facto national sport include Fiji, Georgia, Madagascar, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Rugby union is played in over 100 countries across six continents, there are 101 full members and 18 associate members of World Rugby. The Rugby World Cup, first held in 1987, takes place four years with the winner of the tournament receiving the Webb Ellis Cup. The Six Nations Championship in Europe and The Rugby Championship in the Southern Hemisphere are major annual competitions. The origin of football is reputed to be an incident during a game of English school football at Rugby School in 1823. Although the evidence for the story is doubtful, it was immortalised at the school with a plaque unveiled in 1895, despite the doubtful evidence, the Rugby World Cup trophy is named after Webb Ellis. Rugby football stems from the form of game played at Rugby School, Old Rugbeian Albert Pell, a student at Cambridge, is credited with having formed the first football team. During this early period different schools used different rules, with pupils from Rugby. Other important events include the Blackheath Clubs decision to leave the Football Association in 1863, despite the sports full name of rugby union, it is known simply as rugby throughout most of the world. The first rugby football international was played on 27 March 1871 between Scotland and England, by 1881 both Ireland and Wales had representative teams, and in 1883 the first international competition, the Home Nations Championship had begun. 1883 is also the year of the first rugby tournament, the Melrose Sevens. During the early history of union, a time before commercial air travel. The first two notable tours both took place in 1888—the British Isles team touring New Zealand and Australia, followed by the New Zealand team touring Europe, All three teams brought new styles of play, fitness levels and tactics, and were far more successful than critics had expected. After Morgan began singing, the crowd joined in, the first time a national anthem was sung at the start of a sporting event, in 1905 France played England in its first international match
10.
International Bowl
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This article is about the defunct NCAA bowl game that was played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. During its run, it was the only bowl game played outside the United States. Each of the four times the game was contested pitted teams from the Big East and Mid-American Conferences, with the Big East winning all four matchups. In 2004, a partnership led by the city of Toronto bid to host a game in Toronto, to help the city recover from its loss of tourism dollars due to the 2003 SARS outbreak. The NCAA sanctioned the new Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, instead, Toronto re-launched its bid in 2005 and was successful, the bowl signed agreements with two Division I conferences to provide teams, The Big East Conference, a BCS conference, and the Mid-American Conference. Both conferences are composed of schools in the American Midwest and Northeast, one Big East member, Cincinnati, is a former member of the MAC. The 2009 International Bowl was notable in that the Buffalo Bulls appeared in the first bowl game in the history of the school. The Bulls turned down their only other bowl invitation, the 1958 Tangerine Bowl, after the bowl could not renew its contract with the BCS member Big East Conference, officials decided to cease the contest. It was hoped that the bowl could be revived later on, the MACs tie in was inherited by the Humanitarian Bowl. In all four editions of the International Bowl, the Big East representative defeated the MAC representative, the International Bowl was played at Rogers Centre. The winner of the International Bowl was presented with a similar in design to the International Bowl logo. A Canadian maple leaf formed the back of the trophy, with a small crystal football set offset to the right, the name of the winning team was placed on a plaque attached to the lower part of the trophy. ESPN carried the International Bowl across its family of networks for the entirety of the bowls history, since the game was in Canada, the network chose to use its Canadian-born commentators or ones that had some connection to Canadian football. With the exception of the playing, a Canadian served as the sideline reporter, Ontario natives Stacey Dales
11.
World Rugby
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World Rugby, previously known as the International Rugby Board until 2014, is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sports most recognised and it also organises a number of other international rugby competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series, the World Under 20 Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup. World Rugbys headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland and its membership now comprises 119 national unions. Member countries must each also be members of one of the six regional unions into which the world is divided, Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and the Caribbean, South America, and Oceania. World Rugby was founded as the International Rugby Football Board in 1886 by Scotland, Wales and Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa became full members in 1949. France became a member in 1978 and a further eighty members joined from 1987 to 1999, the body was renamed the International Rugby Board in 1998, and took up its current name in November 2014. In 2009, the International Olympic Committee voted to include rugby sevens in the 2016 Summer Olympics, World Rugby gained membership of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations in 2010. Until 1885 the laws of football were made by England as the founder nation. However, following a try in an international between Scotland and England in 1884, letters were exchanged in which England claimed that they made the laws. Scotland refused to play England in the 1885 Home Nations Championship, following the dispute, the home unions of Scotland, Ireland and Wales decided to form an international union whose membership would agree on the standard rules of rugby football. The three nations met in Dublin in 1886, though no formal regulations were agreed upon, England refused to take part in the founding of the IRFB, stating that they should have greater representation, as they had more clubs. The England Union also refused to accept the IRFB as the recognised lawmaker of the game and this led to the IRFB taking the stance of member countries not playing England until they joined, and no games were played against England in 1888 and 1889. In 1890 England joined the IRFB, gaining six seats while the unions had two each. The same year, the IRFB wrote the first international laws of rugby union, in 1893, the IRFB was faced with the divide between amateurism and professionalism, which was nicknamed the Great Schism. Following the introduction of working men to the game in Northern England, clubs began paying broken time payments to players. Cumberland County Union also complained of another club using monetary incentives to lure players, the IRFB was warned by all the chief clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire that any punishment would lead to the clubs seceding from the union. The debate over broken time payments ultimately caused the 22 leading clubs in Yorkshire and Lancashire to form the Northern Rugby Football Union, the competing unions laws of the game diverged almost immediately, the northern bodys code eventually became known as rugby league football. Englands seats on the IRFB were reduced from six to four in 1911, the three Southern Hemisphere unions were given a second seat each in 1958
12.
National Football League
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The National Football League is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The NFL is one of the four professional sports leagues in North America. The NFLs 17-week regular season runs from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing 16 games, the NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season, the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. S. The NFLs executive officer is the commissioner, who has authority in governing the league. The team with the most NFL championships is the Green Bay Packers with thirteen, the current NFL champions are the New England Patriots, who defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in Super Bowl LI. Another meeting held on September 17,1920 resulted in the renaming of the league to the American Professional Football Association, the league hired Jim Thorpe as its first president, and consisted of 14 teams. Only two of these teams, the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals, remain, the first event occurred on September 26,1920 when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St. Paul Ideals 48–0 at Douglas Park. On October 3,1920, the first full week of league play occurred, the following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans. In 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League, in 1932, the season ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans tied for first in the league standings. This method had used since the leagues creation in 1920. The league quickly determined that a game between Chicago and Portsmouth was needed to decide the leagues champion. Playing with altered rules to accommodate the playing field, the Bears won the game 9–0. Fan interest in the de facto championship game led the NFL, beginning in 1933, the 1934 season also marked the first of 12 seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league. The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure, the NFL was always the foremost professional football league in the United States, it nevertheless faced a large number of rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s. Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference, on top of regional leagues of varying caliber. Three NFL teams trace their histories to these leagues, including the Los Angeles Rams
