1.
Newry
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Newry is a city in Northern Ireland,34 miles from Belfast and 67 miles from Dublin. It had a population of 29,946 in 2011, Newry straddles counties Armagh and Down. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, although there are references to settlements in the area. It is one of Irelands oldest towns, the city is an entry to the Gap of the North, close to the border with the Republic of Ireland. It grew as a town and a garrison and became a port in 1742 when it was linked to Lough Neagh by the first summit-level canal built in Ireland or Great Britain. In 2002, as part of Queen Elizabeths Golden Jubilee celebrations, the name Newry is an anglicization of An Iúraigh, an oblique form of An Iúrach, which means the grove of yew trees. The modern Irish name for Newry is An tIúr, which means the yew tree, an tIúr is an shortening of Iúr Cinn Trá, yew tree at the head of the strand, which was formerly the most common Irish name for Newry. This relates to a story that Saint Patrick planted a yew tree there in the 5th century. The Irish name Cathair an Iúir appears on some signs around the city. In 820, the Danes made one of their earliest irruptions at Newry abbey, from whence they proceeded to Armagh, taking it by storm, todd James Henthorn tells us more in his 1867 Volume, where he tells us the abbey was attacked in 824. A small medieval town was in situ to the North and South of the abbey which was refounded in 1142 by King O Carroll of the Oriel on the request of Saint Malachi. The landing stage of the abbey was situated to the North of the college in Killmorey street, from early times it was the main pier. It stayed as such until the construction of the new canal took place, the abbey was later converted to a collegiate church in 1543, before being surrendered to the crown in 1548. The abbey is seen to be giving its earnings to the crown almost 200 years before this date and it is described as being one of the richest and largest in Ireland. The Vikings attacked the Abbey many time, slaughtering its occupants, the town was granted its first charter between 1157 by High King of Ireland Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn. In 1162 the monastery was attacked and burned to some degree, there is no evidence however as to how much of the abbey was burned in this attack stones dont burn so it was not completely destroyed as may be assumed. De Courcys lordship ensured a safe spell for the abbey after he had several castles in and around Newry. In 1539 an English mercenary, Nicholas Bagenal, fled to Ireland after murdering a man in Leek, Staffordshire, after some time in the employment of the O Neill he reached a high status, was granted a pardon in 1543, and became Marshal of the army
2.
County Down
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County Down is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the northeast of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the southeast shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,448 km² and has a population of about 531,665 and it is also one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland and is within the province of Ulster. The county was archaically called Downshire and it borders County Antrim to the north, the Irish Sea to the east and south, County Armagh to the west, and County Louth across Carlingford Lough to the southwest. In the east of the county is Strangford Lough and the Ards Peninsula, the largest town is Bangor, on the northeast coast. Three other large towns and cities are on its border, Newry lies on the border with County Armagh, while Lisburn. Down contains both the southernmost point of Northern Ireland and the easternmost point of Ireland and it is currently one of only two counties of Ireland to have a majority of the population from a Protestant background, according to the 2001 census. The other is County Antrim to the north, during the Williamite War in Ireland the county was a centre of Protestant rebellion against the rule of the Catholic James II. After forming a force the Protestants were defeated by the Irish Army at the Break of Dromore and forced to retreat. Later the same year Marshal Schombergs large Williamite expedition arrived in Belfast Lough, after laying siege to Carrickfergus Schomberg marched south to Dundalk Camp, clearing County Down and much of the rest of East Ulster of Jacobite troops. Down contains two significant peninsulas, Ards Peninsula and Lecale peninsula, the county has a coastline along Belfast Lough to the north and Carlingford Lough to the south. Strangford Lough lies between the Ards Peninsula and the mainland, down also contains part of the shore of Lough Neagh. Smaller loughs include Lough Island Reavy, the River Lagan forms most of the border with County Antrim. The River Bann also flows through the areas of the county. Other rivers include the Clanrye and Quoile, there are several islands off the Down coast, Mew Island, Light House Island and the Copeland Islands, all of which lie to the north of the Ards Peninsula. Gunn Island lies off the Lecale coast, in addition there are a large number of small islands in Strangford Lough. County Down is where, in the words of the song by Percy French, The mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea. Slieve Donard, at 849 m, is the highest peak in the Mournes, in Northern Ireland, another important peak is Slieve Croob, at 534 m, the source of the River Lagan. An area of County Down is known as the Brontë Homeland, after Patrick Brontë, father of Anne, Charlotte, Emily, Patrick Brontë was born in this region
3.
Goalkeeper (association football)
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Goalkeeper, often shortened to keeper or goalie, is one of the major positions of association football. It is the most specialised position in the sport, the goalkeepers primary role is to prevent the opposing team from successfully moving the ball over the defended goal-line. This is accomplished by the moving into the path of the ball. Within the penalty area goalkeepers are able to use their hands, goalkeepers usually perform goal kicks, and also give commands to their defence during corner kicks, direct and indirect free kicks, and marking. Goalkeepers play an important role in directing on field strategy as they have a view of the entire pitch. If an attacker on the opposing team obstructs the keeper from catching or saving the ball, for example, in a corner, it will normally be a free kick. If a goalkeeper is injured or sent off, a goalkeeper has to take their place. In order to replace a goalkeeper who is sent off, a team usually substitutes an outfield player for the backup keeper and they then play the remainder of the match with nine outfield players. Goalkeepers often have longer playing careers than players, many not retiring until their late thirties or early forties. This can be explained by noting that goalkeepers play a physically demanding position that requires significantly less running. For example, Peter Shilton played for 31 years between 1966 and 1997 before retiring at the age of 47. Because only one player can play in goal and the position is so specialised many professional teams on average especially at the highest level have one player as first-choice for many years, for example Gianlugi Buffon has played as first choice keeper for Juventus for more than 15 years. Petr Cech prior to his move to Aresnal was first choice keeper for Chelsea between 2004 and 2015, the squad number for a first choice goalkeeper is generally number 1. Although this is common, some goalkeepers now wear other numbers when in goal, association football, like many sports, has experienced many changes in tactics resulting in the generation and elimination of different positions. Goalkeeper is the position that is certain to have existed since the codification of the sport. The earliest account of football teams with player positions comes from Richard Mulcaster in 1581, the earliest specific reference to keeping goal comes from Cornish Hurling in 1602. One of these is appointed by lots, to the one side, there is assigned for their guard, a couple of their best stopping Hurlers. Other references to scoring goals begin in English literature in the early 16th century, for example, in John Days play The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, Ill play a gole at camp-ball
4.
Shamrock Rovers F.C.
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Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The clubs senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the club has won the League of Ireland title a record 17 times and the FAI Cup a record 24 times. Shamrock Rovers have supplied more players to the Republic of Ireland national football team than any other club, in All-Ireland competitions, such as the Intercity Cup, they hold the record for winning the most titles, having won seven cups overall. Shamrock Rovers were founded in Ringsend, Dublin, the official date of the clubs foundation is 1899. They won the League title at the first attempt in the 1922–23 season and established themselves as Republic of Ireland most successful club by 1949, winning 44 major trophies. During the 1950s, the club won three League titles and two FAI Cups and became the first Irish team to compete in European competition, playing in the European Cup in 1957. They won the first of four League titles in a row in 1983–84, the club played at Glenmalure Park from 1926 to 1987, when the owners controversially sold the stadium to property developers. Shamrock Rovers spent the next 22 years playing home games at various venues around Dublin and on occasions and they moved into Tallaght Stadium prior to the start of the 2009 season after years of delays and legal disputes, during which time the clubs supporters saved them from extinction. Shamrock Rovers wore green and white striped jerseys until 1926, when adopted the green. Their club badge has featured a football and a shamrock throughout their history, the club has a relatively large support base and shares an intense rivalry with Bohemian Football Club. On 26 August 2011 Rovers became the first Irish side to reach the stages of either of the top two European competitions by beating Partizan Belgrade in the play-off round of the Europa League. The foundation of Shamrock Rovers is disputed amongst supporters of the club, no official documentation of the era exists. Essentially, the dispute is whether the two years of exhibition games were played before or after the registration. In light of the discovery of evidence supporting a date before April 1899 the club opened a 1899 Suite in Tallaght Stadium in February 2017. Shamrock Rovers originate from Ringsend, a Southside inner suburb of Dublin, the name of the club derives from Shamrock Avenue in Ringsend, where the first club rooms were secured. In September 1906, after a few seasons in operation, Rovers withdrew from the First Division of the Leinster Senior League, in 1914, they were resurrected and started playing their matches at Ringsend Park. However, the park became unavailable within two years, the club disbanded and played only exhibition games for the next five years. The following season, the won the League of Ireland title at the first attempt, going 21 games unbeaten
5.
Newry City F.C.
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Newry City Football Club was a Northern Irish football club founded in 1918 and dissolved in 2012. It was based in Newry, County Down and played its matches at the Showgrounds. Club colours were blue and white, the formation of a new club called Newry City Athletic was finalised in March 2013, with the club starting life in the Mid-Ulster Football League for the 2013–14 season. The club was known as Newry Town - it was renamed in 2004. The club was formed in the autumn of 1918 and played its first season in the Newry and District League, the following season, Newry finished second in the league and joined the more competitive and higher standard Portadown and District League in 1921. In 1923, the applied to join the Irish League and on 20 July 1923 the club was admitted on a unanimous vote. The club played originally at the Marshes until the 1946-47 season, when a factory was built on the site, the club used this money to develop a new ground - the Showgrounds - adjacent to the Marshes, which opened at the start of the 1948-49 season. The Irish League was suspended because of the Second World War in 1940, when the Irish League resumed in 1947, it was with twelve rather than fourteen members, Newry and Larne losing their places. Newry played instead in the Irish Intermediate League until 1954, when the league folded due to the loss of members to the Irish League B Division, Newry, along with Dundela and Carrick Rangers failed to be accepted as B Division members and instead joined the Irish Alliance League. Newry were Alliance champions for the three seasons, before eventually securing admission to the B Division in 1957. In 1957-58, the Intermediate Cup was won for the first time, a feat repeated in 1966-67, in 1963, Pat Jennings was sold to Watford for £5,600. Newry won the Southern section of the B Division in 1974-75, a double was achieved in 1980-81, when Town won the B Division and the Intermediate Cup. On the back of this success, the applied to join the Irish League in 1981. The clubs most successful period was the late 1990s, after winning the First Division in the 1997–98 season, the club managed to finish fourth in the Premier Division, thus qualifying for the Intertoto Cup. In this, their first ever appearance in European competition, Newry Town were drawn against the Croatian side Hrvatski Dragovoljac, a 1–0 defeat in Croatia was followed by an historic 2–0 win at home to send the club into the second round. There they met Bundesliga side MSV Duisburg, again, Newry were drawn away in the first leg, coming away with a respectable 2–0 defeat to the German professionals. A 1–0 win at home was not enough to force extra time, since the 1999–2000 season, the club went into decline, culminating in a last-place finish in the league in 2002–03. However, thanks to the restructuring of the Irish Football League they were given the chance to avoid relegation, a 0–0 away draw and a 2–1 home win kept the club in the top flight
6.
Watford F.C.
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Watford Football Club is a professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, that plays in the Premier League, the highest level in the English football league system. Founded in 1881 as Watford Rovers, the club entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, after finishing the 1914–15 season as Southern League champions under the management of Harry Kent, Watford joined the Football League in 1920. The club played at grounds in its early history, before moving to a permanent location at Vicarage Road in 1922. Watford spent most of the half century in the lower divisions of The Football League, changing colours. England manager Graham Taylors tenure at the club saw Watford scale new heights, between Taylors appointment in 1977 and departure in 1987, Watford rose from the Fourth Division to the First Division. The team finished second in the First Division in the 1982–83 season, competed in the UEFA Cup in 1983–84, the club experienced a further one season stint in the top division of English football during the 2006–07 season, under Aidy Boothroyds management. After eight years, Watford are again competing in the Premier League 2015–16 season, Watford is currently owned by the Pozzo family, which also owns Udinese Calcio in Italy and previously Granada CF in Spain. Watford Rovers was formed in 1881 by Henry Groverand, who went on to play for the club as a full-back, Rovers, originally composed entirely of amateur players, held home games at several locations in the town of Watford. The team first competed in the FA Cup in the 1886–87 season, the team became the football section of West Hertfordshire Sports Club in 1890, and consequently moved to a ground on Cassio Road. Renamed as West Hertfordshire in 1893, Rovers joined the Southern Football League in 1896, West Hertfordshire merged with local rivals Watford St. Marys in 1898, the merged team was named Watford Football Club. Following relegation to the Southern League Second Division in 1903, Watford appointed its first manager – former England international and he led Watford to promotion, and kept the team in the division until his departure in 1910. Despite financial constraints, Watford won the Southern League title in the 1914–15 season under his successor, there was a re-election system in place which meant the bottom two teams in each of the two divisions had to apply for re-election to the league. Watford finished outside the top six positions in every season between 1922 and 1934. The Football League was suspended in 1939 due to the Second World War, Football resumed in 1946, with Watford still in the Third Division South. Ron Burgess replaced McBain during that season, and in the following campaign Burgess presided over Watfords first Football League promotion and this team included Fourth Division top scorer Cliff Holton, who scored a club record 42 league goals in the season. Holton was sold to Northampton the following year after another 34 goals, eighteen-year-old Northern Irish goalkeeper Pat Jennings also featured under McGarry, and made his international debut despite being a Third Division player. Furphys rebuilding came to fruition in 1969 with the signing of Barry Endean, Watford secured the Third Division title in April, at home to Plymouth Argyle. A year later Watford reached the FA Cup semi-final for the first time, defeating First Division teams Stoke City, hampered by a lack of funds, however, Furphy eventually joined Blackburn Rovers, to be succeeded by George Kirby
7.
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
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Tottenham Hotspur Football Club /ˈtɒtnəm, -tənəm/, commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English football club located in Tottenham, Haringey, London, that competes in the Premier League. The clubs home stadium is White Hart Lane and their newly developed training ground is in Bulls Cross on the northern borders of the London Borough of Enfield. Founded in 1882, Tottenham won the FA Cup for the first time in 1901, Tottenham were the first club in the 20th century to achieve the League and FA Cup Double, winning both competitions in the 1960–61 season. After successfully defending the FA Cup in 1962, in 1963 they became the first British club to win a UEFA club competition – the European Cup Winners Cup, in 1967, Spurs won the FA Cup for a third time in the 1960s. In the 1970s Tottenham won the League Cup on two occasions and were the winner of the UEFA Cup in 1972, becoming the first British club to win two different major European trophies. In the 1980s Spurs won several trophies, the FA Cup twice, FA Community Shield, in the 1990s the club won the FA Cup and the League Cup. When they won the League Cup once more in 2008, it meant that they had won a trophy in each of the last six decades – an achievement only matched by Manchester United. The clubs Latin motto is Audere est Facere, and its emblem is a cockerel standing upon a football, the club has a long-standing rivalry with nearby neighbours Arsenal, with head-to-head fixtures known as the North London derby. The club was formed in 1882, as Hotspur F. C. and played in the Southern League from 1896 until 1908, when they were elected into the Football League Second Division. Before this promotion Tottenham had won the FA Cup in 1901, since then, Tottenham have won the FA Cup a further seven times, the Football League twice, the Football League Cup four times, the UEFA Cup twice and also the UEFA Cup Winners Cup. The Cup Winners Cup victory in 1963 made Tottenham the first English team to win a UEFA competition, in 1960–61 they became the first team to complete The Double in the 20th century. Tottenham played their first matches at Tottenham Marshes on the public pitches. It was at this ground that Spurs first played archrivals Arsenal, there were occasions on which fights would break out on the marshes in dispute of the teams that were allowed to use the best pitches. Crowd sizes were regularly increasing and a new site was becoming needed to accommodate these supporters, in 1898 the club moved from the marshes to Northumberland Park and charged an admission fee of 3d. They only remained at this ground for a year as in April 1899,14,000 fans turned up to watch Spurs play Woolwich Arsenal. The ground was no able to cope with the larger crowds and Spurs were forced to move to a new larger site 100 yards down the road. The White Hart Lane ground was originally a disused nursery owned by the brewery Charringtons, the landlord spotted the increased income he could enjoy if Tottenham played their matches behind his pub and in 1899 the club moved in. They brought with them the stand they used at Northumberland Park which gave shelter to 2,500 fans, notts County were the first visitors to the Lane in a friendly watched by 5,000 people and provided in £115 in receipts, Spurs won 4–1
8.
Arsenal F.C.
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Arsenal Football Club is a professional football club based in Highbury, London, that plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 League titles,12 FA Cups, Arsenal was the first club from the South of England to join The Football League, in 1893. They entered the First Division in 1904, and have accumulated the second most points. Relegated only once, in 1913, they continue the longest streak in the top division, in the 1930s, Arsenal won five League Championships and two FA Cups, and another FA Cup and two Championships after the war. In 1970–71, they won their first League and FA Cup Double, between 1989 and 2005, they won five League titles and five FA Cups, including two more Doubles. They completed the 20th century with the highest average league position, Herbert Chapman won Arsenals first national trophies, but died prematurely. He helped introduce the WM formation, floodlights, and shirt numbers, Arsène Wenger has been the longest-serving manager and has won the most trophies. His teams set several English records, the longest win streak, the longest unbeaten run, in 1886, Woolwich munitions workers founded the club as Dial Square. In 1913, the crossed the city to Arsenal Stadium in Highbury. They became Tottenham Hotspurs nearest club, commencing the North London derby, in 2006, they moved down the road to the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal earned €435. 5m in 2014–15, with the Emirates Stadium generating the highest revenue in world football, based on social media activity from 2014–15, Arsenals fanbase is the fifth largest in the world. In 2016, Forbes estimated the club was the second most valuable in England, on 1 December 1886, munitions workers in Woolwich, now South East London, formed Arsenal as Dial Square, with David Danskin as their first captain. Named after the heart of the Royal Arsenal complex, they took the name of the complex a month later. Royal Arsenal F. C. s first home was Plumstead Common, though spent most of their time in South East London playing on the other side of Plumstead. Royal Arsenal won Arsenals first trophies in 1890 and 1891, Royal Arsenal renamed themselves for a second time upon becoming a limited liability company in 1893. They registered their new name, Woolwich Arsenal, with The Football League when the club ascended later that year, Woolwich Arsenal was the first southern member of The Football League, starting out in the Second Division and winning promotion to the First Division in 1904. Falling attendances, due to financial difficulties among the munitions workers, businessmen Henry Norris and William Hall took the club over, and sought to move them elsewhere. In 1913, soon after relegation back to the Second Division, Woolwich Arsenal moved to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury and this saw their third change of name, the following year, they reduced Woolwich Arsenal to simply The Arsenal
9.
Everton F.C.
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Everton F. C. /ˈɛvərtən/ is a football club in Liverpool, England, that currently competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club have competed in the top division for a record 114 seasons and won the League Championship nine times, formed in 1878, Everton were founding members of The Football League in 1888 and won their first League Championship two seasons later. The mid-1980s represented their most recent period of sustained success, with two League Championships, an FA Cup, and the 1985 European Cup Winners Cup, the clubs most recent major trophy was the 1995 FA Cup. The clubs supporters are known as Evertonians, Everton have a rivalry with neighbours Liverpool, and the two sides contest the Merseyside derby. The club have been based at Goodison Park in Walton, Liverpool, since 1892, the clubs home colours are royal blue shirts with white shorts and socks. Everton were founded as St Domingos in 1878 so that people from the parish of St Domingos Methodist Church Everton could play year round — cricket was played in summer. The clubs first game was a 1–0 victory over Everton Church Club, the club was renamed Everton in November 1879 after the local area, as people outside the parish wished to participate. The club was a member of the Football League in 1888–89. Everton won the FA Cup for the first time in 1906, the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 interrupted the football programme while Everton were champions, which was something that would again occur in 1939. It was not until 1927 that Evertons first sustained period of success began, in 1925 the club signed Dixie Dean from Tranmere Rovers. In 1927–28, Dean set the record for league goals in a single season with 60 goals in 39 league games. He helped Everton win their third League Championship that season, however, Everton were relegated to the Second Division two years later during internal turmoil at the club. The club quickly rebounded and was promoted at the first attempt, on return to the top flight in 1931–32, Everton wasted no time in reaffirming their status and won a fourth League Championship at the first opportunity. Everton also won their second FA Cup in 1933 with a 3–0 win against Manchester City in the final, the era ended in 1938–39 with a fifth League Championship. Everton were relegated for the time in 1950–51 and did not earn promotion until 1953–54. The club have been a top-flight presence ever since, Evertons second successful era started when Harry Catterick was made manager in 1961. In 1962–63, his season in charge, Everton won the League Championship. In 1966 the club won the FA Cup with a 3–2 win over Sheffield Wednesday, Everton again reached the final in 1968, but this time were unable to overcome West Bromwich Albion at Wembley
10.
Northern Ireland national football team
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The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. From 1882 to 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Football Association of Ireland organises the separate Republic of Ireland national football team. Northern Ireland has competed in three FIFA World Cups, reaching the stage in the 1958 and 1982 tournaments. At UEFA Euro 2016, the team made its first appearance at the European tournament, on 18 February 1882,15 months after the founding of the Irish FA, Ireland made their international debut against England, losing 13–0 in a friendly played at Bloomfield in Belfast. This remains the record defeat for the team, and also Englands largest winning margin, on 25 February 1882, Ireland played their second international, against Wales at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, and an equaliser from Johnston became Ireland’s first ever goal. In 1884, Ireland competed in the inaugural British Home Championship, Ireland did not win their first game until 19 February 1887, a 4–1 win over Wales in Belfast. Between their debut and this game, they had a run of 14 defeats and 1 draw, despite the end of this run, heavy defeats continued. On 3 March 1888, they lost 11–0 to Wales and three weeks later, on 24 March, lost 10–2 to Scotland. Further heavy defeats came on 15 March 1890 when they lost 9–1 to England, on 18 February 1899 when they lost 13–2 to England, in 1899, the Irish FA also changed its rules governing the selection of non-resident players. Before then the Ireland team selected its players exclusively from the Irish League, on 4 March 1899, for the match against Wales, McAteer included four Irish players based in England. The change in policy produced dividends as Ireland won 1–0, in 1920, Ireland was partitioned into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. In 1922, Southern Ireland gained independence as the Irish Free State, amid these political upheavals, a rival football association, the Football Association of Ireland, emerged in Dublin in 1921 and organised a separate league and international team. The Irish FA continued to organise its national team on an all-Ireland basis, between 1928 and 1946, the IFA were not affiliated to FIFA and the two Ireland teams co-existed, never competing in the same competition. On 8 March 1950, however, in a 0–0 draw with Wales at the Racecourse Ground in a FIFA World Cup qualifier, the IFA fielded a team that included four players who were born in the Irish Free State. All four players had played for the FAI in their qualifiers. After complaints from the FAI, FIFA intervened and restricted players eligibility based on the political border. In 1953 FIFA ruled neither team could be referred to as Ireland, decreeing that the FAI team be designated as the Republic of Ireland. Until the 1950s, the competition for Northern Ireland/Ireland was the British Home Championship
11.
Order of the British Empire
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There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order. Recommendations for appointments to the Order of the British Empire were at first made on the nomination of the United Kingdom, the self-governing Dominions of the Empire, nominations continue today from Commonwealth countries that participate in recommending British honours. Most members are citizens of the United Kingdom or the Commonwealth realms that use the Imperial system of honours and awards. Honorary knighthoods are appointed to citizens of nations where the Queen is not head of state, occasionally, honorary appointees are, incorrectly, referred to as Sir or Dame – Bill Gates or Bob Geldof, for example. In particular, King George V wished to create an Order to honour many thousands of those who had served in a variety of non-combatant roles during the First World War, when first established, the Order had only one division. However, in 1918, soon after its foundation, it was divided into Military. The Orders motto is For God and the Empire, at the foundation of the Order, the Medal of the Order of the British Empire was instituted, to serve as a lower award granting recipients affiliation but not membership. In 1922, this was renamed the British Empire Medal, in addition, the BEM is awarded by the Cook Islands and by some other Commonwealth nations. The British monarch is Sovereign of the Order, and appoints all members of the Order. The next most senior member is the Grand Master, of whom there have been three, Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales, Queen Mary, and the current Grand Master, the Duke of Edinburgh. The Order is limited to 300 Knights and Dames Grand Cross,845 Knights and Dames Commander, and 8,960 Commanders. There are no limits applied to the number of members of the fourth and fifth classes. Foreign recipients, as members, do not contribute to the numbers restricted to the Order as full members do. Though men can be knighted separately from an order of chivalry, women cannot, and so the rank of Knight/Dame Commander of the Order is the lowest rank of damehood, and second-lowest of knighthood. Because of this, Dame Commander is awarded in circumstances in which a man would be created a Knight Bachelor, for example, by convention, female judges of the High Court of Justice are created Dames Commander after appointment, while male judges become Knights Bachelor. The Order has six officials, the Prelate, the Dean, the Secretary, the Registrar, the King of Arms, the Bishop of London, a senior bishop in the Church of England, serves as the Orders Prelate. The Dean of St Pauls is ex officio the Dean of the Order, the Orders King of Arms is not a member of the College of Arms, as are many other heraldic officers. From time to time, individuals are appointed to a higher grade within the Order, thereby ceasing usage of the junior post-nominal letters
12.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
13.
FA Cup
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The FA Cup, known officially as The Football Association Challenge Cup, is an annual knockout association football competition in mens domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest association football competition in the world and it is organised by and named after The Football Association. For sponsorship reasons, from 2015 through to 2018 it is known as The Emirates FA Cup. A concurrent womens tournament is held, the FA Womens Cup. A record 763 clubs competed in 2011–12, the tournament consists of 12 randomly drawn rounds followed by the semi-finals and the final. The last entrants are the Premier League and Championship clubs, into the draw for the Third Round Proper, in the modern era, only one non-league team has ever reached the quarter finals, and teams below Level 2 have never reached the final. As a result, as well as who wins, significant focus is given to those minnows who progress furthest, especially if they achieve an unlikely giant-killing victory. Winners receive the FA Cup trophy, of which there have two designs and five actual cups, the latest is a 2014 replica of the second design. Winners also qualify for European football and a place in the FA Community Shield match, in 1863, the newly founded Football Association published the Laws of the Game of Association Football, unifying the various different rules in use before then. On 20 July 1871, in the offices of The Sportsman newspaper, the inaugural FA Cup tournament kicked off in November 1871. After thirteen games in all, Wanderers were crowned the winners in the final, Wanderers retained the trophy the following year. The modern cup was beginning to be established by the 1888–89 season, following the 1914–15 edition, the competition was suspended due to the First World War, and did not resume until 1919–20. The 1922–23 competition saw the first final to be played in the newly opened Wembley Stadium, due to the outbreak of World War II, the competition was not played between the 1938–39 and 1945–46 editions. Having previously featured replays, the modern day practice of ensuring the semi-final and final matches finish on the day, was introduced from 2000 onwards. Redevelopment of Wembley saw the final played outside of England for the first time, the final returned to Wembley in 2007, followed by the semi-finals from 2008. The competition is open to any club down to Level 10 of the English football league system which meets the eligibility criteria, all clubs in the top four levels are automatically eligible. Clubs in the six levels are also eligible provided they have played in either the FA Cup. Newly formed clubs, such as F. C. United of Manchester in 2005–06 and also 2006–07, all clubs entering the competition must also have a suitable stadium
14.
North London derby
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The North London derby is the name of the association football local derby between two north London based teams – Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. Both Arsenal and Tottenham fans have recognised each other as one of their biggest rivals, Arsenal play their home games at the Emirates Stadium in Islington, while Tottenham Hotspur play their home games at White Hart Lane in Haringey. However, the latter will play its UEFA Champions League home games at Wembley Stadium for the 2016/17 campaign, the first meeting between the two teams was a friendly on 19 November 1887, when Arsenal were located in Plumstead, and known as Royal Arsenal. The match was abandoned 15 minutes before it was due to end owing to darkness with Spurs leading 2–1, the first League match between the clubs was in the First Division, on 4 December 1909, Arsenal won 1–0. The two teams first faced each other as north London in a War Relief Fund friendly on 22 August 1914 at White Hart Lane, although Arsenal were in the Second Division and Tottenham in the First, Arsenal won 5–1. They would go on to meet regularly during World War I in the London Combination, the regional wartime competition of the time. The rivalry escalated in 1919 when, after World War I, 19th-placed Chelsea, who would otherwise have been relegated, were allowed to stay and thus they took the first of the two spots. It has been alleged that Arsenal chairman Sir Henry Norris used underhand dealings in order to bring this about. Despite the setback, Tottenham were soon promoted back into the top flight after taking the 1919–20 Second Division title, and the derby was once again regularly contested. The first fully competitive match after Arsenals 1913 move to north London was a First Division match that finished 2–1 to Tottenham. The two sides met in the FA Cup for the first time in the 1948–49 season, when Arsenal won a third round tie 3–0. Since 1950, there has only one season being that of where Spurs and Arsenal have not been in the same division. With being so, this has maintained the rivalry to the present day, several of these comprise those where the course of a title or the journey to a cup final has relied upon the outcome of a derby match. As with any major football rivalry, gloating and banter between the two sets of fans, many of whom work and even together, is commonplace. Arsenal fans have a day related to the north London rivalry. Arsenal fans celebrate St. Totteringhams day, which is the day in the season when Tottenham cannot mathematically finish above Arsenal on the league table. Spurs fans had long before declared 14 April to be St. Hotspur day in honour of Spurs 3–1 win over Arsenal in the 1991 FA Cup semi final, St. Hotspur Day was also celebrated on 14 April 2010, when Spurs beat Arsenal 2–1. Both Spurs and Arsenals fan bases are multi-ethnic, due to the diversity in London
15.
Gaelic football
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Gaelic football, commonly referred to as football or Gaelic, is an Irish team sport. It is played two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kicking or punching the ball into the teams goals or between two upright posts above the goals and over a crossbar 2.5 metres above the ground. Players advance the football, a leather ball, up the field with a combination of carrying, bouncing, kicking, hand-passing. In the game, two types of scores are possible, points and goals, a point is awarded for kicking or hand-passing the ball over the crossbar, signalled by the umpire raising a white flag. A goal is awarded for kicking the ball under the crossbar into the net, positions in Gaelic football are similar to that in other football codes, and comprise one goalkeeper, six backs, two midfielders, and six forwards, with a variable number of substitutes. Gaelic football is one of four sports controlled by the Gaelic Athletic Association, along with hurling and camogie, Gaelic football is one of the few remaining strictly amateur sports in the world, with players, coaches, and managers prohibited from receiving any form of payment. Gaelic football is played on the island of Ireland, although units of the Association exist in other areas such as Great Britain, North America. Outside Ireland, football is played among members of the Irish diaspora. Gaelic Park in New York City is the largest purpose-built Gaelic sports venue outside Ireland, the All-Ireland Senior Championship is considered the most prestigious event in Gaelic football. Under the auspices of the GAA, Gaelic football is a sport, however. Gaelic football was first codified in 1887, although it has purported links to varieties of football played in Ireland. Consequently, the name caid is used by people to refer to present day Gaelic football. Dublin is still known as the football field, the Statute of Galway of 1527 allowed the playing of foot balle and archery but banned hokie—the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves as well as other sports. By the 17th century, the situation had changed considerably, the games had grown in popularity and were widely played. This was due to the patronage of the gentry, now instead of opposing the games it was the gentry and the ruling class who were serving as patrons of the games. Games were organised between landlords with each team comprising 20 or more tenants, wagers were commonplace with purses of up to 100 guineas. The earliest record of a precursor to the modern game date from a match in County Meath in 1670
16.
White Hart Lane
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White Hart Lane is the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club in the Premier League and has a capacity of 36,284. The stadium is located in the Tottenham area in north London, along with housing Tottenham, the stadium, which is known amongst Spurs fans as the Lane, has also been selected for England national football matches and England under-21 football matches. The record attendance remains an FA Cup tie on 5 March 1938 against Sunderland with the attendance being recorded at 75,038, the new stadium has been designed by Populous, which also designed derby rival Arsenals home, the Emirates Stadium. Initial designs were created by KSS Design Group back in 2008, Spurs moved to White Hart Lane in 1899. The club leased and later bought a disused nursery owned by the brewery chain Charringtons to the east of Tottenhams High Road, a local groundsman, John Over, turned the land into a substantial football pitch. The first game at the Lane resulted in a 4–1 home win against Notts County with around 5,000 supporters attending, although normally referred to at the time as the High Road ground in time it became popularly known as White Hart Lane. Redevelopments continued in the 1910s, with the eastern stand replaced with an enlarged concrete stadium. The ground continued to be renovated and in 1925, thanks to the FA Cup win in 1921, the pitch was overlooked by a bronze fighting cock that still keeps an eye on proceedings from the roof of the touchline stands. The venue hosted some of the preliminaries for the 1948 Summer Olympics. 1953 saw the introduction of floodlights with their first use being a friendly against Racing Club de Paris in September of that year and these were renovated again in the 1970s and steadily replaced with new technology since. By this stage, Tottenham were firmly established as one of Englands best clubs which attracted some of the highest attendances in the country on a regular basis. Between the late 1920s and 1972, White Hart Lane was one of very few British football grounds that no advertising hoardings at all. The West Stand was replaced in the early 1980s, however the project took over 15 months to complete with cost overruns causing severe financial implications. This West Stand is parallel with Tottenham High Road and is connected to it by Bill Nicholson Way, the early 1990s saw the completion of the South Stand and the introduction of the first Jumbotron video screen, of which there are now two, one above each penalty area. The renovation of the Members Stand which is reached via Paxton Road was completed in 1998, at the turn of the millennium, after falling behind in stadium capacity, talks began over the future of White Hart Lane and Tottenham Hotspurs home. Over the years, many designs and ideas were rumoured in the media. A move to Wembley Stadium was ruled out by the club, however Spurs bid for the stadium was rejected on 11 February 2011. During the construction of the new Wembley Stadium, White Hart Lane hosted full England international matches, since the opening of the rebuilt Wembley, the Lane has been occasionally used to host England Under-21s international matches years, most notably a 1–1 draw against France Under-21s
17.
EFL Cup
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The EFL Cup, or simply the League Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in mens domestic English football. First held in 1960–61 as the Football League Cup, it is one of the three top domestic competitions in England, alongside the Premier League and FA Cup. It concludes in February, long before the two, which end in May. It was introduced by the league as a response to the popularity of European football. It also took advantage of the roll-out of floodlights, allowing the fixtures to be played as midweek evening games, with the renaming of the Football League as the English Football League in 2016, the tournament was rebranded as the EFL Cup from the 2016–17 season onwards. The tournament is played over seven rounds, with single leg ties throughout, the final is held at Wembley Stadium, it is the only tie in the competition played at a neutral venue and on a weekend. Entrants are seeded in the rounds, and a system of byes based on league level ensures higher ranked teams enter in later rounds. Winners receive the EFL Cup, of which there have been three designs, the current one also being the original, the current holders are Manchester United, who beat Southampton 3–2 in the 2017 final to win their fifth League Cup. Some clubs have fielded a weaker side in the competition. Many of the top English sides, Arsenal and Manchester United in particular, have used the competition to give young players valuable big-game experience. However, in 2010, in response to Arsène Wengers claim that a League Cup win would not end his trophy drought, Alex Ferguson described the trophy as a pot worth winning. The original idea for a League Cup came from Stanley Rous who saw the competition as a consolation for clubs who had already knocked out of the FA Cup. However it was not Rous who came to implement it, the re-organisation of the league was not immediately forthcoming, however, the cup competition was introduced regardless. The trophy was paid for personally by Football League President Joe Richards, Richards was proud of the competition, Richards described the competitions formation as an interim step on the way to the leagues re-organisation. I hope the Press will not immediately assume that the League is going to fall out with the F. A. or anybody else, the time has come for our voice to be heard in every problem which affects the professional game. The League Cup competition was established at a time when match day attendances were dwindling, the league had lost 1 million spectators compared to the previous season. It was established at a time when tensions between the Football League and the Football Association were high, the biggest disagreement was how revenue was shared between the clubs. During the late 1950s, the majority of senior English clubs equipped their grounds with floodlights and this opened up the opportunity to exploit weekday evenings throughout the winter
18.
UEFA Europa League
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The UEFA Europa League, previously called the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organized by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues, previously called the UEFA Cup, the competition has been known as the UEFA Europa League since the 2009–10 season, following a change in format. For UEFA footballing records purposes, the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League are considered the same competition, in 1999, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup was abolished and merged with the UEFA Cup. For the 2004–05 competition a group stage was added prior to the knockout phase, the 2009 re-branding included a merge with the UEFA Intertoto Cup, producing an enlarged competition format, with an expanded group stage and changed qualifying criteria. The winner enters at least at the round, and will enter the group stage if the berth reserved for the Champions League title holders is not used. The title has been won by 27 different clubs,12 of which have won the more than once. The UEFA Cup was preceded by the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971, the competition grew from 11 teams during the first cup to 64 teams by the last cup which was played in 1970–71. It had become so important on the European football scene that in the end it was taken over by UEFA, the UEFA Cup was first played in the 1971–72 season, with an all-English final of Wolverhampton Wanderers versus Tottenham Hotspur, with Spurs taking the first honours. The title was retained by another English club, Liverpool in 1973, Borussia would win the competition in 1975 and 1979, and reach the final again in 1980. Liverpool won the competition for the time in 1976, beating Club Brugge in the final. During the 1980s, IFK Göteborg and Real Madrid won the competition twice each,1989 saw the commencement of the Italian clubs domination, when Maradonas Napoli beat Stuttgart. The 1990s started with two finals, and in 1992, Torino lost the final to Ajax on the away goals rule. Juventus won the competition for a time in 1993 and Internazionale kept the cup in Italy the following year. 1995 saw a third final, with Parma proving their consistency. The only final with no Italians during that decade was in 1996, Parma won the cup in 1999, which ended the Italian club era. Liverpool won the competition for the time in 2001 and Porto triumphed in the 2003 and 2011 tournaments. In 2004, the cup returned to Spain with Valencia being victorious, either side of Sevillas success, two Russian teams, CSKA Moscow in 2005 and Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2008, had their glory and yet another former Soviet club, Ukraines Shakhtar Donetsk, won in 2009. Atlético Madrid would themselves win twice in three seasons, in 2010 and 2012, the latter in another all-Spanish final, in 2013, Chelsea would become the first Champions League holders to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League the following year
19.
FA Community Shield
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The Football Association Community Shield is English footballs annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition, generally ranked below the FA Cup and League Cup in terms of importance, the fixture is a recognised football super cup. Organised by the Football Association, proceeds from the game are distributed to community-based initiatives and charities around the country, the fixture was first played in the 1908–09 season, replacing the Sheriff of London Charity Shield. The current holders are Manchester United who defeated Leicester City in the 2016 match, the Community Shield evolved from the Sheriff of London Charity Shield that had been introduced in 1898 as a professionals versus amateurs cup. The Football Association Charity Shield, as it was known at the time, was designed to replace the Sheriff of London Charity Shield after the amateur clubs fell out with the FA. The new format was to have the Football League First Division champions play the Southern League champions, the match was drawn 1–1, so the game was replayed when Manchester United won 4–0. This is the only Charity Shield game to go to a replay, both games were played at Stamford Bridge. In 1930 the Football League winner v. FA Cup winner returned, and with a few exceptions, the game had been moved to the start of the season from 1959 onwards. The question of two teams should contest the Shield should one team win both the FA Cup and League continued to linger. In 1971, Arsenal became the team to win the Double since the Shields foundation. Leicester City were invited as Division Two champions to play FA Cup runners-up Liverpool instead and went on to win the trophy, despite finishing the season eleventh, City also contested the 1973 Charity Shield but lost 1-0 to Second Division champions Burnley. In 1974 the then FA secretary, Ted Croker, created the current format with the match being played at Wembley Stadium, and being contested by the reigning League and FA Cup holders. Four drawn games in the 1980s and early 1990s resulted in each holding the trophy for 6 months. With the formation of a new top league, the FA Premier League, as a result, the competition was renamed the Community Shield. Arsenal were the first winners of the renamed Community Shield with a 1–0 victory over Liverpool, the auction was held at The Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, where the England team celebrated the 1966 victory. The Bobby Moore Fund became the FAs new charity partner in July 2016, an official honour in the English game, the Community Shield is regarded to be the first competitive game of the new English football season. However, it has been considered by some to be a minor trophy, the game has been described by some media sources, including Mark Lawrenson, as a glorified friendly. On the other hand, many media, clubs and players continue to recognise the importance of the match as the first official game and trophy of the domestic season
20.
Manchester United F.C.
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Manchester United Football Club is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Nicknamed the Red Devils, the club was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to its current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910. Manchester United have won a record 20 League Titles, a joint-record 12 FA Cups,5 League Cups, the club has also won three European Cups, one UEFA Cup Winners Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup. In 1998–99, the became the first in the history of English football to achieve the treble of the Premier League, the FA Cup. The 1958 Munich air disaster claimed the lives of eight players, in 1968, under the management of Matt Busby, Manchester United became the first English football club to win the European Cup. Alex Ferguson won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles,5 FA Cups and 2 UEFA Champions Leagues, José Mourinho is the clubs current manager, having been appointed on 27 May 2016. As of June 2015, it is the worlds most valuable football brand and it is one of the most widely supported football teams in the world. In August 2012, Manchester United made a public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. The club holds several rivalries, most notably with Liverpool, Manchester City and Leeds United, Manchester United was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club by the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. By 1888, the club had become a member of The Combination. Following the leagues dissolution after only one season, Newton Heath joined the newly formed Football Alliance and this resulted in the club starting the 1892–93 season in the First Division, by which time it had become independent of the railway company and dropped the LYR from its name. After two seasons, the club was relegated to the Second Division, in January 1902, with debts of £2,670 – equivalent to £260,000 in 2017 – the club was served with a winding-up order. The following season began with victory in the first ever Charity Shield, Manchester United won the First Division for the second time in 1911, but at the end of the following season, Mangnall left the club to join Manchester City. In 1922, three years after the resumption of football following the First World War, the club was relegated to the Second Division, relegated again in 1931, Manchester United became a yo-yo club, achieving its all-time lowest position of 20th place in the Second Division in 1934. Gibson, who, in December 1931, invested £2,000, in the 1938–39 season, the last year of football before the Second World War, the club finished 14th in the First Division. Busby led the team to second-place league finishes in 1947,1948 and 1949, in 1952, the club won the First Division, its first league title for 41 years. With an average age of 22, the title winning side of 1956 were labelled the Busby Babes by the media. In 1957, Manchester United became the first English team to compete in the European Cup, despite objections from The Football League, who had denied Chelsea the same opportunity the previous season
21.
Alex Stepney
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Alexander Cyril Alex Stepney is an English former football player who was Manchester Uniteds goalkeeper when they became the first English club to win the European Cup. Stepney had unsuccessful trials with Fulham and joined Tooting & Mitcham United, from there, he was spotted by Millwall, who signed him as an amateur in 1963, but quickly realised his potential and made him a professional within two months of his arrival. Stepney was ever-present for almost three seasons, making 158 appearances, only missing the last game of the 1965–66 season, during this period, he achieved three England under-23 caps. In May 1966, Stepney joined Chelsea for £50,000, Stepney made his debut for United later the same year against Manchester City at Old Trafford which United won 1–0 with a first half goal from Denis Law. With Stepney in goal, Manchester United won the League in 1967, entitling them to entry into the European Cup the following season, a competition which no English club had yet won. Stepney featured throughout Uniteds progress to the final at Wembley, memorably making a late save from Benfica striker Eusébio in the closing stages with the score at 1–1. Eusébio was so astonished at Stepneys save – he caught a vicious close-range shot – that he stopped to applaud the keeper as Stepney threw the ball back into play, United eventually won 4–1 after extra time. Stepney will also be remembered for conceding a goal scored by Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper, Pat Jennings, with Tottenham leading 1–0, Jennings punted the ball upfield from the Stretford End. The ball bounced over the stranded Stepney into the net, although a highly talented keeper, Stepney was a distance down the pecking order when it came to the England team. Gordon Banks was the number one, with Peter Bonetti of Chelsea, Gordon West of Everton. However, when the squad of 27 was announced, Stepney was in, along with Banks, Bonetti and uncapped rookie Peter Shilton. When the final 22 who would travel to Mexico was confirmed, nevertheless, Stepney was clearly the third choice goalkeeper in the squad and the chances of his appearing on the pitch in Mexico were small. England squandered a lead to lose 3–2 and it was Stepney who told the groggy. Stepney was occasionally recalled by Ramsey but would not add to his solitary England cap, with Shilton emerging as the new deputy. For half a season he was replaced by Jimmy Rimmer, by now, with Stepneys former Chelsea manager Tommy Docherty in charge, they bounced back as Division Two champions the following season. During this time, Stepney suffered an injury when he dislocated his jaw barking instructions at his disorganised defence. The next two seasons saw Stepney as the head behind a new, youthful team collated by Docherty courtesy of some astute purchases. During this period, Stepney had to compete with Paddy Roche for a starting position
22.
Football Writers' Association
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The four men formalized a few of the newborn associations rules and regulations within one month. The award was presented at the annual dinner, which was held on the night before the FA Cup Final. The FWA has experienced growth since its inception in 1947. Membership has grown to about four-hundred members, changes in modern journalism have welcomed a more diverse range of members. The Football Writers Association continues to recruit new members openly in the manner as was created by its founders in 1947. The award is the oldest and is considered to be the most prestigious award in British football, the first player to receive the award was Sir Stanley Matthews in 1948. The award has been presented on 69 occasions as of 2015, on one occasion two players shared the award for a season. The award was first given in 1983 to Ron Greenwood, welsh Football Writers Association Scottish Football Writers Association Ice Hockey Journalists UK Professional Footballers Association Official website
23.
Professional Footballers' Association
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The Professional Footballers Association is the trade union for professional association footballers in England and Wales. The worlds oldest professional sport trade union, it has 4,000 members, the aims of the PFA are to protect, improve and negotiate the conditions, rights and status of all professional players by collective bargaining agreements. The PFA is affiliated with the Professional Footballers Association Scotland, the Northern Ireland PFA disbanded in 1995. The PFA was formed on 2 December 1907 as the Association of Football Players and Trainers Union, on that date, Charlie Roberts and Billy Meredith, both of Manchester United, convened the Players Union at Manchester’s Imperial Hotel. This was the attempt to organise a union of professional footballers in England, after the Association Footballers Union. Like the AFU before it, the Players Union intended to challenge the maximum wage, in response, the Union threatened strike action. The Football Association in turn banned players affiliated with the AFPTU before the start of the 1909–10 season, the ban saw membership of the Union fall. However, players from Manchester United refused to relinquish their membership, the Manchester United players were called Outcasts FC. The deadlock swung in favour of the Union when Tim Coleman of Everton came out in support of the Union, colemans intervention resuscitated support for the Union, which regained its strength of numbers. Agreement was reached on official recognition for the Union in exchange for allowing bonus payments to be made to players to supplement the maximum wage, the maximum wage remained for more than another half century. The 1910s saw the Union backing a challenge by Herbert Kingaby against the retain, Kingaby brought legal proceedings against his former employers, Aston Villa, for preventing him from playing. The Players Union funded the proceedings, erroneous strategy by Kingabys counsel resulted in the suit ending disastrously for the Union. The Union were almost ruined financially and membership fell drastically, although membership increased from 300 in 1915 to well over 1000 by 1920 this did not herald a new era of radicalism among the rank-and-file. Inevitably, this financial difficulties at many clubs. Clubs believed their problems were due to players excessive wages rather than over-expansion, in the spring of 1922, they persuaded the League authorities to arbitrarily impose a £1 cut to the maximum wage and force clubs to reduce the wages of players who were on less than the maximum. Legal proceedings backed by the Players Union this time established that clubs could not unilaterally impose a cut in players contracted wages, between 1946 and 1957 the Chairman of the Union was former Portsmouth captain Jimmy Guthrie. In 1956, Jimmy Hill became secretary of the Players Union and he soon changed the unions name to the Professional Footballers Association, changing a blue collar image to one in keeping with the new wave of working-class actors and entertainers. In 1957, Jimmy Hill became chairman of the PFA and campaigned to have the Football Leagues £20 maximum wage scrapped and his Fulham teammate Johnny Haynes became the first £100 player
24.
PFA Players' Player of the Year
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The Professional Footballers Association Players Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the year in English football. The award has been presented since the 1973–74 season and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the trade union. The current holder is Riyad Mahrez, who won the award on 24 April 2016 for his displays throughout the 2015–16 season, the first winner of the award was Leeds United defender Norman Hunter. As of 2013, only Mark Hughes, Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, of the five, only Shearer won his awards playing for two different teams. A shortlist of nominees is published in April and the winner of the award, the award has been presented on 41 occasions as of 2014, with 36 different winners. Premier League Player of the Season The official website of the Professional Footballers Association
25.
Peter Shilton
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Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. The IFFHS ranked Shilton among the top ten keepers of the 20th century in 2000 and his 30-year career includes 11 different clubs, two European Cup finals and more than 1,300 competitive matches. Shilton also represented England at UEFA Euro 1980, the 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 1986 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 1988 and he has the distinction of playing over 100 league games for five different clubs. Shilton did not make his World Cup finals debut until the age of 32, during his time at Nottingham Forest, Shilton won many honours, including the First Division championship, two European Cups, a UEFA Super Cup, and the Football League Cup. Shilton was a 13-year-old pupil at King Richard III Boys School, Leicester and he caught the eye of first-team goalkeeper Gordon Banks, who commented to the coach about how promising he was. Shilton settled into first team thereafter, even managing to score a goal at The Dell against Southampton in October 1967 direct from a clearance at the opposite end of the pitch. The Southampton goalkeeper, Campbell Forsyth, misjudged Shiltons long punt upfield, the Saints lost the game 5–1. It did not go his way, however, as a goal from Manchester Citys Neil Young early in the match was enough to win the game. Despite the many honours and accolades which were to come Shiltons way, despite playing at a lower level, he impressed England manager Alf Ramsey sufficiently to give him his debut against East Germany in November 1970. Little more than six months later, Leicester were promoted back to the First Division, life with Leicester City continued uneventfully as Shiltons England career progressed. His fourth and fifth England caps came towards the end of 1972 before a tragic incident suddenly saw Shilton propelled into the limelight as Englands number one keeper. In October 1972, Gordon Banks was involved in a car crash which resulted in the loss of the sight in one eye, liverpool goalkeeper Ray Clemence was called up to make his debut a month later in Englands opening qualifier for the 1974 World Cup. Shilton ended up with over 100 caps compared to Clemences 61, Shilton in the summer of 1973 kept three clean sheets as England defeated Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Against Scotland Shilton made a right handed save diving to his left from Kenny Dalglishs shot that Shilton considered among his best saves, while drawing with Czechoslovakia earned Shilton his tenth cap – as a warm-up to a crucial World Cup qualifier against Poland in Chorzów a week later. Shilton was selected by Ramsey for the match, walking out behind captain Martin Peters to earn his 15th cap, aside from one incident, Shilton spent most of the game watching the opposing goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski as he kept shot after shot out of Polands net. When the ball finally did get into the net it was at Shiltons end, midway through the second half, Norman Hunter trod on the ball near the touchline and Poland broke away, with Grzegorz Lato feeding the ball across to the onrushing Jan Domarski. As Domarski moved to hit the ball first time, Shilton got into position to attempt to block the shot, domarskis drive, struck beyond defender Emlyn Hughes challenge, was low and not well hit but was aimed inside the near goalpost and very close to Shilton. Shilton needed to deal with the shot but dived late, leaving the shot too close to his body, and Poland scored
26.
Arsenal Stadium
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Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006. It was mainly known as the Highbury Stadium due to its location and was given the nickname of the Home of Football by the club. It was originally built in 1913 on the site of a local recreation ground and was significantly redeveloped twice. The first reconstruction came in the 1930s from which the Art Deco East and West Stands date, the stadium also hosted international matches – both for England and in the 1948 Summer Olympics – and FA Cup semi-finals, as well as boxing, baseball and cricket matches. Its presence also led to the local London Underground station being renamed to Arsenal in 1932, making it the only station on the Underground network to be named after a football club. The lease negotiation also agreed that no matches were to be played on days and that no intoxicating liquor would be sold at the stadium, however. The stadium was built over the summer of that year. It featured a single stand on the side and the other three sides had banked terracing. It opened whilst not fully complete, with Arsenals first match of the 1913–14 season, leicesters Tommy Benfield scored the first goal at the new ground while George Jobey was the first Arsenal player to do so. Highbury hosted its first England match in 1920, the Australian rugby league team suffered the first loss of their 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain at Highbury to an English side 4 points to 5 before approximately 12,000 spectators. Arsenal bought the site outright in 1925, for £64,000. No significant portion of Leitchs original stadium remains today following a series of bold redevelopments during the 1930s, the idea was to create a ground for London that could capture the grandeur of Villa Park, home of Birmingham club Aston Villa. On 5 November the same year the local Tube station was renamed from Gillespie Road to Arsenal, Leitchs main stand was demolished to make way for a new East Stand, matching the West, in 1936. The West Stand cost £45,000 while the East Stand went far over budget and ended up costing £130,000, the North Bank terrace was given a roof and the southern terrace had a clock fitted to its front, giving it the name the Clock End. During the 1948 Summer Olympics, the hosted the football preliminaries. For the next 50 years, the stadium changed little, although during the Second World War the North Bank terrace was bombed and had to be rebuilt, the roof was not restored until 1956. Floodlights were fitted in 1951, with the first floodlit match being a friendly against Hapoel Tel Aviv on 19 September of that year, the floodlights that adorn Dalymount Park, once stood at the Arsenal stadium. They were shipped to Dublin in 1962, the inaugural floodlit match saw Arsenal beat Bohemians 3–8
27.
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
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The UEFA Cup Winners Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA, the first competition was held in the 1960–61 season — but not recognised by the governing body of European football until two years later. The final tournament was held in 1998–99, after which it was absorbed into the UEFA Cup, in the 1985–86 season, English clubs were banned from European competition. Consequently, Manchester United, Everton, Coventry City, Wimbledon, from 1972 onwards, the winner of the tournament progressed to play the winner of the European Cup in the UEFA Super Cup. Since the abolition of the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, the UEFA Super Cup place previously reserved for the Cup Winners Cup winner has been taken by the winner of the UEFA Cup, now UEFA Europa League. The competitions official name was originally the European Cup Winners Cup, in common with other UEFA club tournaments, the away goal applied when aggregate scores was parity. Following the influx of new UEFA member nations during the 1990s, however, if this team also qualified for the European Champions Cup then they would default on their place in the Cup Winners Cup and no other team would replace them. In 1998–99, the final year, Heerenveen of the Netherlands entered the Cup Winners Cup despite only reaching the semi-final of the previous seasons Dutch Cup. This was due to both Dutch Cup finalists Ajax and PSV Eindhoven qualifying for the recently expanded Champions League. The European Cup had proven to be a success and the Fairs Cup had also proven popular – as a result. One proposal was for a tournament based upon the format of the European Cup, but with national cup winners rather than league champions taking part, the inaugural Cup Winners Cup was held in the 1960–61 season and was basically a semi-official pilot tournament. It was essentially only in England, Scotland and to a lesser extent Germany, for the tournaments second season in 1961–62, UEFA took over the running of all aspects of the competition and this time all the clubs eligible to enter accepted the opportunity. By 1968, all UEFA member nations had set up domestic cup competitions due to the success of the Cup Winners Cup, UEFA regarded it as the second most prestigious competition, behind the European Cup and ahead of the Fairs Cup. Nevertheless, many commentators and fans regarded the Cup Winners Cup as weaker than the UEFA Cup, no club managed to retain the Cup Winners Cup, although eight times a winning side followed up their victories with a losing appearance in the following seasons final. After the establishment of the UEFA Champions League in the early 1990s, with the expansion of the Champions League in 1997 to allow more than one team from the highest-ranked member associations to enter, the Cup Winners Cup began to look noticeably inferior. Since then, domestic cup winners who do not otherwise qualify for the Champions League are given a place in the Europa League, the Cup Winners Cup trophy itself is a property of UEFA and it is not assigned to any club. Sport. Soccer Statistics Foundation UEFA website
28.
Football in England
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Today Englands top domestic league, the Premier League, is one of the most popular and richest sports leagues in the world, with six of the ten richest football clubs in the world. The England national football team is one of only 8 teams to win the World Cup, a total of five English club teams have won the UEFA Champions League. Football was played in England as far back as medieval times, kicking ball games are described in England from 1280. An account of an exclusively kicking game from Nottinghamshire in the fifteenth century bears similarity to association football. By the 16th centuries references to organised teams and goals had appeared, there is evidence for refereed, team football games being played in English schools since at least 1581. The eighteenth-century Gymnastic Society of London is, arguably, the worlds first football club, the Cambridge rules, first drawn up at Cambridge University in 1848, were particularly influential in the development of subsequent codes, including association football. The Cambridge Rules were written at Trinity College, Cambridge, at a meeting attended by representatives from Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester, during the 1850s, many clubs unconnected to schools or universities were formed throughout the English-speaking world, to play various forms of football. In 1862, John Charles Thring of Uppingham School also devised a set of rules. These ongoing efforts contributed to the formation of The Football Association in 1863, the Sheffield FA played by its own rules until the 1870s with the FA absorbing some of its rules until there was little difference between the games. A match between Sheffield and Hallam F. C. on 29 December 1862 was one of the first matches to be recorded in a newspaper, on 8 March 1873, the England national teams 4–2 win over Scotland at the Oval was the first ever victory in international football. The late nineteenth century was dominated by the split between the amateur and professional teams, which was roughly aligned along a North-South divide. Northern clubs were keen to adopt professionalism as workers could not afford to play on an amateur basis, preston North End were inaugural winners in 1888–89, and were also the first club to complete the double of both winning the league and the FA Cup. Aston Villa repeated the feat in 1896–97 and it remained at 40 until the league was suspended after the 1914–15 season with the outbreak of World War I. Other clubs to win titles in this period include Sheffield United, Manchester United. During the war, competitive football was suspended, however, an unofficial Wartime Football league was played from 1915–16 to 1918–19, although the FA Cup was suspended until after the war. The next season the league was expanded with the Third Division divided into North and South sections. In the 1923–24 season the Third Division North was expanded to 22 clubs, Bolton Wanderers defeated West Ham United to win this landmark game. Bolton Wanderers would win the FA Cup on three occasions during the 1920s, by the turn of the 1930s, the national side regularly played against other national teams from outside the British Isles
29.
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
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The club was formed in 1878 and has played at its home ground, The Hawthorns, since 1900. Albion were one of the members of the Football League in 1888 and have spent the majority of their existence in the top tier of English football. They have been champions of England once, in 1919–20 and have been runners-up twice but they have had success in the FA Cup. The first came in 1888, the year the league was founded, and they also won the Football League Cup at the first attempt in 1966. The clubs longest consecutive period in the top division spanned twenty-four years between 1949 and 1973, and from 1986 to 2002 they spent their longest ever spell out of the top division and they currently play in the Premier League. The team has played in blue and white stripes for most of the clubs history. The club was founded as West Bromwich Strollers in 1878 by workers from George Salters Spring Works in West Bromwich, the club joined the Birmingham & District Football Association in 1881 and became eligible for their first competition, the Birmingham Cup. They reached the quarter-finals, beating several longer-established clubs on the way, in 1883, Albion won their first trophy, the Staffordshire Cup. Albion joined the Football Association in the year, this enabled them to enter the FA Cup for the first time in the 1883–84 season. In 1885 the club turned professional, and in 1886 they reached the FA Cup final for the first time and they reached the final again in 1887, but lost 2–0 to Aston Villa. In 1888 the team won the trophy for the first time, as FA Cup winners, they qualified to play in a Football World Championship game against Scottish Cup winners Renton, which ended in a 4–1 defeat. Thus when the Football League started later that year, Albion became one of the founder members. Albions second FA Cup success came in 1892, beating Aston Villa 3–0 and they met Villa again in the 1895 final, but lost 1–0. The team suffered relegation to Division Two in 1900–01, their first season at The Hawthorns and they were promoted as champions the following season but relegated again in 1903–04. The club won the Division Two championship once more in 1910–11, and the season reached another FA Cup Final. Albion won the Football League title in 1919–20 for the time in their history following the end of World War I. The team finished as Division One runners-up in 1924–25, narrowly losing out to Huddersfield Town, in 1930–31, they won promotion as well as the FA Cup, beating Birmingham 2–1 in the final. The Double of winning the FA Cup and promotion has not been achieved before or since, Albion reached the final again in 1935, losing to Sheffield Wednesday, but were relegated three years later
30.
Football League Super Cup
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The Football League Super Cup was a one-off football club competition held in England in the 1985–86 season. Consequently, it generated minimal interest from the clubs involved, with the competitions final postponed until the beginning of the following season due to fixture congestion, the Super Cup was ultimately abolished after only one tournament had been held. Interest in the competition was so low that the Football League initially failed to any form of sponsorship for it. Cable TV sports channel Screensport agreed to sponsor the tournaments final in September 1986, the cups demise was indeed swift, but that had nothing to do with any relaxation of the ban, which eventually lasted until 1990. Ultimately the 1985–86 Super Cup final had to be held over until the season and was finally played in September 1986. Everton however fielded a reserve team in the two-legged final. In any case, later that season they managed to pip Liverpool to the League Championship, regardless, the incident is perhaps fairly indicative of how the players involved felt about the Super Cup competition and its level of prestige. Consequently, the Super Cup was abolished after only one season, the Full Members Cup, another Football League cup competition also launched in 1985 for similar reasons, fared marginally better and ran until 1992. The majority of leading sides opted not to enter this competition, the competition, played over three rounds on a knock-out basis, was won by Arsenal. Everton won 3–1 on aggregate Liverpool won 4–2 on aggregate Liverpool won 7–2 on aggregate The story of the Super Cup
31.
1986 FA Cup Final
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The 1986 FA Cup Final was a Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton at Wembley. The match was played seven days after Liverpool had secured the league title, at this time, Liverpool and Everton were widely regarded as the English leagues leading club sides. Liverpool went on to win this match 3–1, with two goals from Ian Rush, and one from Craig Johnston, after Gary Lineker had put Everton ahead in the first half, Liverpool had already won the First Division title, and so completed the Double. Everton had finished as runners-up to Liverpool in the league. Liverpool, on the hand, were competing in their first FA Cup final for nine years, they had not won it for twelve. As substitute Steve McMahon was unused, Liverpool became the first team to compete in the FA Cup Final without fielding an English player, in April 2006, in aid of The Marina Dalglish Appeal the final was replayed in a charity game at Anfield. Liverpool ran out 1–0 winners, thanks to a goal from John Durnin. LFC History Report BBC Article on the match
32.
Liverpool F.C.
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Liverpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, the club has won 5 European Cups,3 UEFA Cups,3 UEFA Super Cups,18 League titles,7 FA Cups, a record 8 League Cups, and 15 FA Community Shields. The club was founded in 1892 and joined the Football League the following year, the club has played at Anfield since its formation. The club holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably the North West Derby against Manchester United, the clubs supporters have been involved in two major tragedies. The second was the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, where 96 Liverpool supporters died in a crush against perimeter fencing, the team changed from red shirts and white shorts to an all-red home strip in 1964 which has been used ever since. The clubs anthem is Youll Never Walk Alone, Liverpool F. C. was founded following a dispute between the Everton committee and John Houlding, club president and owner of the land at Anfield. After eight years at the stadium, Everton relocated to Goodison Park in 1892, the team won the Lancashire League in its début season, and joined the Football League Second Division at the start of the 1893–94 season. After finishing in first place the club was promoted to the First Division, Liverpool reached its first FA Cup Final in 1914, losing 1–0 to Burnley. Liverpool suffered its second Cup Final defeat in 1950, playing against Arsenal, the club was relegated to the Second Division in the 1953–54 season. Soon after Liverpool lost 2–1 to non-league Worcester City in the 1958–59 FA Cup, the club was promoted back into the First Division in 1962 and won it in 1964, for the first time in 17 years. In 1965, the club won its first FA Cup, in 1966, the club won the First Division but lost to Borussia Dortmund in the European Cup Winners Cup final. Liverpool won both the League and the UEFA Cup during the 1972–73 season, and the FA Cup again a year later, Shankly retired soon afterwards and was replaced by his assistant, Bob Paisley. In 1976, Paisleys second season as manager, the club won another League, the following season, the club retained the League title and won the European Cup for the first time, but it lost in the 1977 FA Cup Final. Liverpool retained the European Cup in 1978 and regained the First Division title in 1979, Paisley retired in 1983 and was replaced by his assistant, Joe Fagan. Liverpool won the League, League Cup and European Cup in Fagans first season, Liverpool reached the European Cup final again in 1985, against Juventus at the Heysel Stadium. Before kick-off, Liverpool fans breached a fence separated the two groups of supporters, and charged the Juventus fans. The resulting weight of people caused a wall to collapse, killing 39 fans. The incident became known as the Heysel Stadium disaster, the match was played in spite of protests by both managers, and Liverpool lost 1–0 to Juventus
33.
Neville Southall
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Neville Southall MBE is a Welsh former international footballer. He has been described as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation and won the FWA Footballer of the Year award in 1985. He joined Bury from Winsford United for a £6,000 fee in 1980, during his teenage years he worked as a binman, waiter and hod carrier. He moved on to Everton for £150,000 in 1981 and he also played in the 1985 and 1989 FA Cup finals, the League Cup final in 1984, and helped Everton to a second place in the league in 1985–86. After leaving Everton in 1998, he became Torquay Uniteds regular goalkeeper for two years and he also made a handful of appearances for numerous other clubs. He played internationally for Wales, winning a record 92 caps between 1982 and 1998, though he did not feature in any international competitions. He is a member of the Gwladys Streets Hall of Fame and he has been named as one of the 100 Greatest Players of the 20th Century by World Soccer magazine. In 1996 Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to football. Since his retirement as a player, Southall has briefly managed Dover Athletic, Hastings United and Margate and he has also worked extensively with disadvantaged children, and set up his own educational consultancy. Born and raised in Llandudno to Fred and Rose Southall, he was the child of three boys. Southall played youth football for his team and the Llandudno Swifts. He was educated at Ysgol John Bright, though left without any qualifications at age 16, at age 14 he toured Germany with the Llandudno Swifts and was offered a chance to play for the youth team of Bundesliga outfit Fortuna Düsseldorf, but decided against the move to Germany. The Swifts were a side that were regularly beaten heavily. As a teenager, Southall had unsuccessful trials at Wrexham, Crewe Alexandra and he aspired to be a postman, and never believed that he would make a living playing football. He then worked as a binman, waiter and hod carrier and he played for Llandudno Town at age 15, before joining Northern Premier League side Bangor City on £10 a week as a semi-professional the following year. Bangor manager Dave Elliott regularly selected veteran goalkeeper Peter Eales ahead of Southall, Everton asked Elliot permission to take Southall on trial, but Elliot left the club shortly after and no trial took place. With Bangor in financial trouble the paid playing staff began to leave the club and he moved on to Cheshire County League club Winsford United at the age of 20. The club won the Cheshire Senior Cup in 1980, and Southall was voted the clubs Player of the Year, Southalls performances attracted the attention of Bury and Wigan Athletic, and he was convinced to sign with Bury after he was personally approached by manager Dave Connor
34.
Wales national football team
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The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales, the body for football in Wales. During their history, Wales have qualified for two international tournaments. They reached the quarter-finals of the 1958 FIFA World Cup and they reached the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2016 after beating Belgium in the quarter-final match on 1 July 2016. This was, therefore, the first time that Wales had reached the semi-final of a major tournament, Wales also progressed through UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying to the quarter-final, which was played on a home and away leg basis but they did not feature in the finals tournament. At all levels including the teams the Welsh national team draws players primarily from clubs in the English football league system. The main professional Welsh clubs play in the English leagues, with some full-time and part-time professional clubs playing in the Welsh football league system. Wales played its first competitive match on 25 March 1876 against Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland took the spoils winning 2–0. Wales first match against England came in 1879 – a 2–1 defeat at the Kennington Oval, London and in 1882 Wales faced Ireland for the first time, the associations of the four Home Nations met in Manchester on 6 December 1882 to set down a set of worldwide rules. This meeting saw the establishment of the International Football Association Board to approve changes to the rules, the 1883–84 season saw the formation of the British Home Championship, a tournament which was played annually between England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, until 1983–84. Wales were champions on 12 occasions, winning seven times whilst sharing the title five times. As a result, Wales did not enter the first three World Cups, in 1932 Wales played host to the Republic of Ireland, the first time they played against a side from outside the four home nations. A year later, Wales played a match outside the United Kingdom for the first time when they travelled to Paris to take on France in a match which was drawn 1–1. The top two teams were to qualify for the finals in Brazil, but Wales finished bottom of the group. The 1950s were an age for Welsh football with stars such as Ivor Allchurch, Cliff Jones, Alf Sherwood, Jack Kelsey, Trevor Ford, Ronnie Burgess, Terry Medwin. Wales made its only World Cup finals tournament appearance in the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, however, their path to qualification was unusual. In the Asian/African qualifying zone Egypt and Sudan had refused to play against Israel following the Suez crisis, as a result, FIFA proclaimed Israel winners of their respective group. However, FIFA did not want a team to qualify for the World Cup finals without actually playing a match and so lots were drawn of all the second placed teams in UEFA
35.
George Best
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George Best was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. In 1968 he won the European Cup with Manchester United, and was named the European Footballer of the Year, the Irish Football Association described him as the greatest player to ever pull on the green shirt of Northern Ireland. After making his debut for United aged 17, he scored 179 goals from 470 appearances over 11 years, One of the greatest dribblers of all time, his playing style combined pace, skill, balance, feints, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders. Best unexpectedly quit United in 1974 at age 27, but returned to football for a number of clubs around the world in short spells, until retiring in 1984 and these issues affected him on and off the field, at times causing controversy. He said of his career, I spent a lot of money on booze, birds, after football, he spent some time as a football analyst, but his financial and health problems continued into his retirement. He died in 2005, age 59, due to complications from the drugs he needed to take after a liver transplant in 2002. Best was married twice, to two models, Angie Best and then Alex Best. His son Calum Best was born in 1981 from his first marriage, before he died, Best was voted 8th in the World Soccer 100 greatest football players of the 20th century election in 1999 and was voted 16th in the IFFHS World Player of the Century election in 1999. He was on the six man short list for the BBCs Sports Personality of the Century in 1999, Best was one of the inaugural 22 inductees into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004 he was voted 19th in the public UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll and was named in the FIFA100 list of the worlds greatest living players, former Brazilian footballer Pelé stated, “George Best was the greatest player in the world. Best was once quoted as saying, “Pelé called me the greatest footballer in the world and that is the ultimate salute to my life. ”On what would have been his 60th birthday, Belfast City Airport was renamed the George Best Belfast City Airport. According to the BBC, Best was remembered by mourners at his funeral held in Belfast as the beautiful boy beautiful game. Mark Garnett and Richard Weight have explored the enduring appeal of George Best, George Best was the first child of Richard Dickie Best and Anne Best. He was born on 22 May 1946 and grew up in Cregagh, Best was brought up in the Free Presbyterian faith. His father was a member of the Orange Order and as a boy George carried the strings of the banner in his local Cregagh lodge, in his autobiography, Best mentioned how important the order was to his family. Best had four sisters, Carol, Barbara, Julie and Grace, Bests father died on 16 April 2008, at the age of 88, in the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald, Northern Ireland. Bests mother Anne died from alcoholism-related cardiovascular disease in 1978, at the age of 55, in 1957, the academically gifted Best passed the 11 plus and went to Grosvenor High School, but he soon played truant as the school specialised in rugby. Best then moved to Lisnasharragh Secondary School, reuniting him with friends from primary school and he grew up supporting Glentoran and Wolverhampton Wanderers
36.
1986 FIFA World Cup
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The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format, Mexico was selected as the new host in May 1983. This was the third FIFA World Cup tournament in succession that was hosted by a Hispanophonic country, in addition to Spain hosting in 1982, Argentina was captained by the 25-year old Diego Maradona, who played a large part in his teams success. Maradona scored the Hand of God goal, as well as another voted Goal of the Century and these were two of the five goals that Maradona scored during the tournament, and he also created another five for his team-mates. Argentina beat West Germany 3–2 in the final at Mexico Citys Estadio Azteca, total attendance was 2,394,031, an average per match of 46,039. Canada, Denmark and Iraq made their first appearances at the final stage, the 1986 World Cup saw the appearance of the phenomenon dubbed the Mexican wave, which was popularised worldwide after featuring during the tournament. The format of the changed from 1982, with the second round being played on a knock-out basis rather than groups. The 24 teams qualified were divided into six groups of four, the top two teams and the four best third-place finishers from the six groups advanced to the knockout round of 16 teams. Colombia was originally chosen as hosts by FIFA in June 1974, however, the Colombian authorities eventually declared in November 1982 that they could not afford to host the World Cup under the terms that FIFA demanded because of economic concerns. Mexico was selected on 20 May 1983 as the replacement hosts, beating the bids of Canada and the United States and this second World Cup in Mexico came 16 years after the first one in 1970. For the design of the logo an unofficial motto was adopted, the official mascot of the 1986 World Cup was Pique, a jalapeño pepper, characteristic of Mexican cuisine, with a moustache, a Colimote sombrero, and Mexican football team colours. Its name comes from picante, Spanish for spicy peppers and sauces, the character caused a degree of controversy within Mexico for its ethnic stereotypes. Three teams qualified for the World Cup for the first time, Canada, Denmark, Canada clinched its spot after winning the final match against Honduras 2–1 in St. Johns, Newfoundland. Iraq played all their matches on neutral ground because of the Iran–Iraq War. South Korea qualified for the first time since 1954, Paraguay for the first time since 1958, as of 2016, this was the last time that Hungary, Canada, Iraq and Northern Ireland qualified for the finals. The Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, the largest stadium used for the tournament, hosted 9 matches, Mexico City hosted 13 total matches, the Olimpico Universitario Stadium hosted 4 matches. The Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara hosted 7 matches, and the Cuauhtémoc Stadium in Puebla hosted 5 matches, all of the venues listed hosted knockout round matches except the ones in Nezahualcoyotl, Irapuato, Zapopan, Toluca and the Estadio Tecnologico in Monterrey. Morocco and Portugal played in Guadalajara while Spain and Algeria played in Monterrey, for a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see 1986 FIFA World Cup squads
37.
Brazil national football team
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The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international mens association football. Brazil is administered by the Brazilian Football Confederation, the body for football in Brazil. They have been a member of the FIFA since 1923 and member of the CONMEBOL since 1916, Brazil is the most successful national football team in the FIFA World Cup with five championships,1958,1962,1970,1994 and 2002. Brazil is the national team to have played in all World Cup editions without any absence nor need for playoffs. The seleção is also the most successful team in the FIFA Confederations Cup with four titles,1997,2005,2009 and 2013. They have also won their continental championship. Brazil is the national team to have won the World Cup on four different continents, once in Europe, once in South America, twice in North America. They also share with Spain a record of 35 consecutive international matches undefeated, a common quip about football is, Os ingleses o inventaram, os brasileiros o aperfeiçoaram. Brazil won 2–0 with goals by Oswaldo Gomes and Osman, though it is claimed that the match was a 3–3 draw, in contrast to its future success, the national teams early appearances were not brilliant. Other early matches played during that time include several friendly games against Argentina, Chile, however, led by the goalscoring abilities of Arthur Friedenreich, they were victorious at home in the South American Championships in 1919, repeating their victory, also at home, in 1922. In 1930, Brazil played in the first World Cup, held in Uruguay in 1930, the squad defeated Bolivia but lost to Yugoslavia, being eliminated from the competition. They lost in the first round to Spain in 1934 in Italy, Brazil were the only South American team to participate in this competition. After being victorious in a third South American Championship in 1949 Brazil first achieved prominence when it hosted the 1950 FIFA World Cup. The team went into the last game of the round, against Uruguay at Estádio do Maracanã in Rio. Uruguay, however, won the match and the Cup in a known as the Maracanazo. The match led to a period of national mourning, Brazil reached the quarter-final, where they were beaten 4–2 by tournament favourites Hungary in one of the ugliest matches in football history, known as the Battle of Berne. For the 1958 World Cup, Brazil were drawn in a group with England and they beat Austria 3–0 in their first match, then drew 0–0 with England. Before the match, coach Vicente Feola made three substitutions that were crucial for Brazil to defeat the Soviets, Zito, Garrincha and Pelé
38.
Pat Jennings Jr.
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Patrick Jennings, commonly known as Pat Jennings, Jr. is a footballer currently a goalkeeping coach/goalkeeper with League of Ireland club St Patricks Athletic. He is the son of Northern Irelands most capped international, Pat Jennings, Jennings started his career at Tottenham Hotspur before joining UCD in January 2001 on a Sports Management Soccer Scholarship. He moved north to Derry City after several seasons at Belfield Park and he unsuccessfully tried to displace first choice keeper David Forde, but rejected offers to leave the club at the end of the 2005 season. The game went to penalties and Jennings saved all of the Shelbournes attempts, with the departure of Forde to Cardiff City at the end of the 2006 season, Jennings began the 2007 season as Derry coach Pat Fenlons first-choice goalkeeper despite the signing of Ola Tidman. Pat joined Sligo on loan for the 2008 season, Jennings signed for Shamrock Rovers in July 2010 but never played competitively. In March 2011 he signed for Glenavon until the end of the 2010/11 season, on his debut he scored an own goal. In March 2012 he joined Athlone Town, Jennings signed for St Patricks Athletic as a goalkeeper coach to goalkeepers Brendan Clarke and Dave Ryan for the 2013 season. Ryan picked up an injury towards the end of pre-season and Jennings was signed up as the third choice goalkeeper on 6 March. With Pats sub keeper Rene Gilmartin picking up an injury in a Setanta Cup game, Jennings played in the 2014 Leinster Senior Cup Final on 9 September 2014, as Pats beat Longford Town 2–1 to become champions. His next appearance came on 22 September 2015 in the 2015 Leinster Senior Cup Semi-final vs Dundalk
39.
League of Ireland
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The League of Ireland, together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was used to refer to a single division league. However today the League of Ireland features four divisions – the Premier Division, the First Division, an U19 Division, the League of Ireland has always worked closely with the FAI and in 2006 the two bodies formally merged. All the divisions are currently sponsored by Airtricity and as a result the league is known as the SSE Airtricity League. In 2007, it one of the first leagues in Europe to introduce a salary cap. The leagues most successful club is Shamrock Rovers who have won 17 titles, together with Dundalk, Bohemians and Shelbourne they are one of four clubs in the league to feature a golden star above their badge in recognition of winning ten titles. Bohemians are the club in the league to have played every season in the top division. The League of Ireland was founded in 1921 as a division known as the A Division. The first season featured eight teams, all from County Dublin, the teams that competed in the first season were Bohemians, Dublin United, Frankfort, Jacobs, Olympia, St. Jamess Gate, Shelbourne and YMCA. The eight founding members had spent the 1920–21 season playing in the Leinster Senior League, Bohemians and Shelbourne had played in the 1919–20 Irish League. St Jamess Gate were the inaugural champions, Gate also went on to complete a treble having already won both the 1921–22 FAI Cup and 1921–22 Leinster Senior Cup. In 1922–23 the league was expanded to twelve clubs, among the new members were Shamrock Rovers, who finished as champions, and Athlone Town who became the first team from outside of County Dublin to compete in the league. Together with fellow Dublin clubs teams, Bohemians and Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers would go onto dominate the league during the 1920s, in 1924–25 Bray Unknowns and Fordsons became the second and third teams from outside of County Dublin to join the league. Fordsons also became the first team from Munster to play in the league, the league continued to expand numerically and geographically during its first two decades of existence. In 1926–27 Dundalk were elected to the league and in 1932–33 became the first club from outside of County Dublin to win the title, Dundalk were subsequently joined by Waterford in 1930–31, Cork Bohemians in 1932–33, Sligo Rovers in 1934–35 and Limerick F. C. in 1937–38. In 1936–37, Sligo Rovers became the club from outside of County Dublin to win the title. During The Emergency/Second World War era Cork United emerged as the leagues strongest team, the club won five league titles between 1940–41 and 1945–46, including three in succession. However they subsequently resigned from the league in 1948, the 1950s was marked by the emergence of St Patricks Athletic and the re-emergence of Shamrock Rovers
40.
University College Dublin A.F.C.
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University College Dublin Association Football Club, known commonly as UCD, is the football team of University College Dublin. They play in the League of Ireland, the club, founded in 1895 was elected to the league in 1979 under the management of Dr. Tony ONeill. Since the 2008 season they have played at the UCD Bowl, the Students play in sky blue and navy. University College Dublin A. F. C. was founded in 1895 as the Catholic University Medical School Football Club and they began playing regular games the following year. A First XI played College games against other Universities and a Second XI entered outside competitions, the club was founder members of the Leinster Junior League in 1896 and reached the semi-finals of the Leinster Senior Cup in 1897. The club became University College Dublin when the new University annexed the Medical school in 1908, UCD won the inaugural Intervarsities competition, the Collingwood Cup, in 1914 and added the Irish Intermediate Cup the following year beating Portadown 2–1 in a replayed final. The game took place in Windy Arbour and the Hoops won 6–2, in 1945 they won the FAI Intermediate Cup when UCD beat fellow future League of Ireland members Cobh Ramblers 4–2 in the final. UCD appeared in the FAI Cup in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, a second invitation to join the League of Ireland was accepted on 22 July 1979, when Cork Celtic were expelled for not having their financial affairs in order. Their first competitive game was on 26 August losing to Drogheda United 2–1 in the FAI League Cup. Theo Dunne was appointed first team coach, and apart from a spell at Home Farm 1990–1994. Dr. Tony ONeill who was manager when the club joined the League remained in that role until his untimely death from cancer in October 1999. However, important changes within the club in 1983 marked an upturn in fortunes. The previously amateur club turned semi-pro, and players outside of the college were allowed to represent the first team and this is still the situation today, although in practice most of the players are either students or ex-students. By the end of the 1983–84 season, UCD had won the FAI Cup, Shamrock Rovers werent to lose another game in the competition for over three years – until they lost to UCD in 1988. That win saw UCD qualify for European competition – the European Cup Winners Cup – for the first time. The draw pitted them against Everton, then one of the sides in England and boasting players of the calibre of Neville Southall, Kevin Sheedy, Graham Sharp, Peter Reid. The home leg was played in Tolka Park and a crowd of 9,000 – many times UCD’s average league crowd – saw the Students come away with a scarcely believable 0–0 draw. Another remarkable performance was to two weeks later as a solitary Graham Sharp goal gave Everton a 1–0 win
41.
Derry City F.C.
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Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it was reinstated a few weeks later but demoted to the First Division, the second tier. The club are the League of Irelands only participant from Northern Ireland, the clubs home ground is the Brandywell Stadium and the players wear red and white striped shirts from which its nickname, the Candystripes, derives. Others refer to the club as the Red and White Army or abbreviate the name to Derry or City, the club, founded in 1928, initially played in the Irish League, the domestic league in Northern Ireland, and won a title in 1964–65. In 1971, security concerns related to the Troubles meant matches could not be played at the Brandywell, the team played home fixtures 30 miles away in Coleraine. After 13 years in football, it joined the League of Irelands new First Division for 1985–86. Derry won the First Division title and achieved promotion to the Premier Division in 1987, the club won a domestic treble in 1988–89, the only League of Ireland club so far to do so. Derry City was granted entry into the Irish League in 1929 as professionals and was given permission by the Londonderry Corporation to use the municipal Brandywell Stadium, the clubs first significant success came in 1935 when it lifted the City Cup. It repeated the feat in 1937, but did not win major trophy until 1949. This led to the clubs first entry into European competition, in the 1964–65 UEFA Cup Winners Cup, in which it was beaten by Steaua Bucharest 5–0 on aggregate. The club won the 1964–65 Irish League and subsequently became the first Irish League team to win a European tie over two legs, beating FK Lyn 8–6 on aggregate in the 1965–66 European Cup. Derry did not complete the round, as the Irish Football Association declared its ground was not up to standard. Derry suspected sectarian motives, as it played in a mainly nationalist city, the IFA, Belfast-based, was dominated by Protestants and it was widely suspected that it would rather have been represented by a traditionally unionist team. Relations between the club and IFA quickly deteriorated, despite the social and political unrest, Derry reached the Irish Cup final in 1971, in which it was beaten 3–0 by Distillery. As the republican locality surrounding the Brandywell saw some of the worst violence and this situation lasted from September 1971 until October 1972 when, faced with dwindling crowds and dire finances, the club formally requested permission to return to the Brandywell. Continuing without a ground was seen as unsustainable and on 13 October 1972 Derry withdrew from the league amidst a perception that it was forced out. The club continued as a team during the 13-year-long flim flam years, playing in the local Saturday morning league. Each time, the club nominated the Brandywell as its home ground
42.
NIFL Premiership
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At the end of the season, the champion club is presented with the Gibson Cup. The current Premiership format was introduced for the 2008–09 season after the League system for Northern Ireland was re-organised. The top flight was reduced in size from 16 to 12 clubs, included on the not only of their performance in the 2007–08 season. Finance – based on solvency, debt management and cash-flow projection, the Premiership remained under IFA control for five seasons until the creation of the Northern Ireland Football League in 2013, when it became the NIFL Premiership. Each team plays a total of 38 fixtures during the season, each team initially plays every other team three times for a total of 33 fixtures per team. The post-split fixtures are usually arranged in such a way as to result in the teams in each half playing each other twice at home and twice away. After the split, teams in the top six cannot finish lower than 6th place, the League campaign begins in August and continues until late April or early May. Most fixtures are played on Saturday afternoons, with fixtures on Friday evenings. Traditionally, there are Bank Holiday afternoon fixtures on Boxing Day, New Years Day, three points are awarded for a win, and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss, points can be deducted for breaches of rules e. g. fielding an ineligible player. The teams are first and foremost ranked by number of points, the team with the most points at the end of the season wins the championship. A tiebreaker other than goal difference has not been required since the 1961–62 season, the league champions qualify for the following seasons UEFA Champions League, with the league runners-up and Irish Cup winners qualifying for the UEFA Europa League. If, however, the Irish Cup winners have qualified for Europe by finishing as champions or runners-up in the league. In order to compete in any of these European competitions, however, in the event that a team qualifies without such a licence, lower-placed teams may take their place. A new method of Europa League qualification was introduced for the 2015–16 season, the play-offs are seeded, with the two higher-placed qualifiers given home advantage when facing the two lower-placed qualifiers in the semi-finals. The two semi-final winners then meet in the final, if, however, the Irish Cup winners finish lower than seventh in the league, all five teams that finish in third to seventh will qualify for the play-offs. This will require an additional match to be played by the two lowest-placed qualifiers in sixth and seventh, with the winner joining the other three clubs in the semi-finals. Additionally, the two highest-placed teams in the Premiership also qualify automatically for the next seasons all-Ireland Setanta Cup, the third and fourth-placed teams may also qualify if either or both of the winners of the Irish Cup and League Cup have qualified via the League
43.
Glenavon F.C.
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Glenavon Football Club is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1889, hails from Lurgan and plays its matches at Mourneview Park. Club colours are blue and white, Gary Hamilton has been player-manager of the Lurgan Blues since December 2011 following the resignation of Marty Quinn. Their matches are known as the Mid-Ulster Derby and Glenavons current player-manager Gary Hamilton played for Portadown before joining the Lurgan Blues, mcBrides reign lasted seven months before he was relieved of his managerial duties with Glenavon at the bottom of the IFA Premiership. The Director of Football, Alan Fraser, was relieved from his duties. The club chairman is Adrian Teer, Glenavon was the first provincial club to win the Irish League title and also the first provincial club to do the league and cup double. The latter triumph made them the first Northern Irish team to enter the European Cup. Glenavon has had a number of talented and famous players, none more so than Wilbur Cush and Jimmy Jones, the club then suffered a relatively poor spell during the early 2000s, which culminated in relegation to the second tier in the 2003–04 Irish League season. This was followed up by a 9th-place finish in the 2012–13 season, following on from this cup triumph was a successful 2014–15 season. Even more success was to follow, as the club claimed a 2nd Irish Cup win in three years, defeating David Healys Linfield 2–0 in the final, Glenavon was the first Northern Irish team to enter the European Cup. In their first tie they drew AGF of Denmark, drawing 0–0 at home, Glenavon achieved some more notable results in Europe in the 1990s. In the 1992–93 season, they drew both legs of their Cup Winners Cup tie with Royal Antwerp and lost on penalties, in 1995–96 they reached the first round proper of the UEFA Cup, and were beaten by Werder Bremen. Mourneview Park is now considered to be one of the best grounds in the Irish League, along the side of the pitch runs the Geddis Stand and on the other side the newly built Glenfield Road Stand. One end of the ground has the Crescent Stand, and at the end the Hospital End remains undeveloped. In addition to Glenavons home matches, the stadium is also a regular host for Northern Ireland under-21 matches, due to ongoing renovation of Windsor Park, Mourneview Park was chosen as the venue for Linfields home ties in the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality, Glenavon FCs Academy consists of teams at Under 7, Under 8, Under 9, Under 10, Under 11, Under 12, Under 13, Under 14, Under 15 and Under 16. There is also an Under 19 team which comes under the auspices of the Senior Club, gordons first task was to bring ex Glenavon legend Stephen McBride back to the club as the Academy head coach. The Glenavon FC Academy is now headed by Ryan Prentice, the Academy currently has three UEFA A Licence and two UEFA B Licence coaches
44.
Broxbourne
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It is located 17.1 miles north north-east of Charing Cross in London and about a mile north of Wormley and south of Hoddesdon. The town is near to the River Lea which forms the boundary with Essex and is 4.5 miles north of the M25 motorway, to the west of the town are Broxbourne Woods, a National Nature Reserve. The Prime Meridian passes to the east of Broxbourne, the name Broxbourne is believed to derive from the Old English words brocc and burna meaning Badger stream. Broxbourne grew up on the Great Cambridge Road, now known as the A10, a number of old houses and inns dating from the 16th to the 19th century still line the High Street. The Manor of Broxbourne is described in the Domesday Book, which mentions Broxbourne Mill, the manor was held in the time of Edward the Confessor by Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, but had passed into Norman hands following the Conquest. King John granted the manor to the Knights Hospitallers until the Dissolution, the parish church of St Augustine was entirely rebuilt in the 15th century, although a 12th-century Purbeck marble font survives. The interior has a number of monuments and brasses dating from the 15th to the 19th century, the three stage tower has a belfry with a peal of eight bells, three of which are dated 1615. The New River which passes through the centre of the town, was constructed in the early 17th century, Broxbourne railway station was built in 1840. Several of the lakes form part of the Lee Valley Regional Park. Broxbourne was a parish in the Ware Rural District from 1894 to 1935. The former area of Hoddesdon Urban District merged with that of Cheshunt Urban District to form the Borough of Broxbourne in 1974, the local Member of Parliament is Charles Walker MP, who is from the conservative party. Broxbourne now forms one of thirteen wards of the borough, returning three councillors, Broxbourne has two Non-League football clubs Broxbourne Borough V. & E. F. C. and London Lions F. C. who both play at Goffs lane. As part of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, Spitalbrook was chosen as the venue for whitewater canoe, on 8 October 2007 the Olympic Delivery Authority announced that due to contamination risks at the planned Spitalbrook site, an alternative site six miles south was being investigated. Subsequently, on 16 April 2008 it was announced that the venue would be built at nearby Waltham Cross, the venue was initially known as Broxbourne White Water Canoe Centre and later officially named Lee Valley White Water Centre. Sir Edward Thackeray, recipient of the Victoria Cross Broxbournes Hedgegrove Farm was home to Dina St Johnston, Charles Deville Wells, known as ″the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo. He was baptised by the Rev. Francis Thackeray, who was an uncle of the writer William Makepeace Thackeray, Broxbourne railway station The Broxbourne School
45.
Hertfordshire
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Hertfordshire is a county in southern England, bordered by Bedfordshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Buckinghamshire to the west and Greater London to the south. For government statistical purposes, it is placed in the East of England region, in 2013, the county had a population of 1,140,700 living in an area of 634 square miles. Four towns have between 50,000 and 100,000 residents, Hemel Hempstead, Stevenage, Watford and St Albans. Hertford, once the market town for the medieval agricultural county derives its name from a hart. Elevations are high for the region in the north and west and these reach over 240m in the western projection around Tring which is in the Chilterns. The countys borders are approximately the watersheds of the Colne and Lea, hertfordshires undeveloped land is mainly agricultural and much is protected by green belt. The countys landmarks span many centuries, ranging from the Six Hills in the new town of Stevenage built by local inhabitants during the Roman period, Leavesden filmed much of the UK-based $7.7 Bn box office Harry Potter film series and has the countrys studio tour. Saint Alban, a Romano-British soldier, took the place of a Christian priest and was beheaded on Holywell Hill and his martyrs cross of a yellow saltire on a blue background is reflected in the flag and coat of arms of Hertfordshire. Hertfordshire is well-served with motorways and railways, providing access to London. The largest sector of the economy of the county is in services, Hertfordshire was the area assigned to a fortress constructed at Hertford under the rule of Edward the Elder in 913. Hertford is derived from the Anglo-Saxon heort ford, meaning deer crossing, the name Hertfordshire is first recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 1011. Deer feature in many county emblems, there is evidence of humans living in Hertfordshire from the Mesolithic period. It was first farmed during the Neolithic period and permanent habitation appeared at the beginning of the Bronze Age and this was followed by tribes settling in the area during the Iron Age. 293 the first recorded British martyrdom is believed to have taken place. Saint Alban, a Romano-British soldier, took the place of a Christian priest and was beheaded on Holywell Hill. His martyrs cross of a saltire on a blue background is reflected in the flag. He is the Patron Saint of Hertfordshire, with the departure of the Roman Legions in the early 5th century, the now unprotected territory was invaded and colonised by the Anglo-Saxons. By the 6th century the majority of the county was part of the East Saxon kingdom
