1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Rome
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Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
3.
Italian Football Federation
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The Italian Football Federation, also known as Federcalcio, is the governing body of football in Italy. It organises the Italian football league, Coppa Italia, Italian national football team, and it is based in Rome, and technical department in Florence, and is a founding member of UEFA and a member of FIFA. The Federation was founded in 1898 when the sport was picking up in the country and it needed a structure to take football. The first presidency was decided in the Piedmontese capital of Turin, when created, this football federation was given a different name, Federazione Italiana Football because all play terms and rules were the same as the official FA rules. In the few years before and after the introduction of the Federation, clubs all over the country from Genoa, Turin, Milan, Naples, Rome, Palermo, and others were forming. The new name approved was Federazione Italiana Giuoco del Calcio and since then this has been the name of the Italian Football Federation, the debut of the Mens National Team was on 15 May 1910, at Arena Civica, wearing a white jersey where Italy defeated France 6–2. The following year, the jersey was introduced on the occasion of the match against Hungary. This Italian Federation was an amateur federation respecting FIFA rules when it became a member in 1905, at the end of World War 1, the federation had seen impressive development and several footballers were judged to be professional players and banned according to FIFA agreements. Foreigners had to live in the country in order to get a residence visa and they had to sign the declaration not being professional players so that FIFA rules were respected because for FIGC they were appearing as amateurs receiving just refunds. It was the beginning of the professionalism in Italy, the Carta di Viareggio reduced the number of foreign players to be fielded to just one per match so that the majority of Hungarians remained jobless and got back to their country. Commissioner Bruno Zauli led the FIGC renovation process, with the establishment of three Leagues and the creation of the Technical and the Youth Sectors, between 1964 and 1980, foreign players were banned from the Italian league, primarily to revive the national team. In December 1998, the FIGC celebrated its centenary at the Stadio Olimpico in a match featuring Italy vs World XI, the FIGC was placed in administration in May 2006 as a result of the 2006 Italian football scandal and was put under the management of Guido Rossi. In May 2006, Rossi was chosen and accepted the role of President of Telecom Italia and this appointment caused angry reactions from club presidents in Italy. On September 19, Rossi resigned his position as Commissioner of FIGC, on September 21, Luca Pancalli, head of the Italian Paralympic Committee, was chosen to replace Rossi. On April 2,2007, a new President was elected, following the 2014 FIFA World Cup Abete resigned and Carlo Tavecchio was elected President of the Federation and Michele Uva as general manager. In support of the activity and with a view of maximum transparency, World Cup,4 times European Football Championship, once Olympics, once Central European International Cup, twice Official site Italy at FIFA site Italy at UEFA site Italian calcio glossary
4.
Seating capacity
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Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats hundreds of thousands of people. The International Fire Code, portions of which have adopted by many jurisdictions, is directed more towards the use of a facility than the construction. It specifies, For areas having fixed seating without dividing arms and it also requires that every public venue submit a detailed site plan to the local fire code official, including details of the means of egress, seating capacity, arrangement of the seating. Once safety considerations have been satisfied, determinations of seating capacity turn on the size of the venue. For sports venues, the decision on maximum seating capacity is determined by several factors, chief among these are the primary sports program and the size of the market area. Seating capacity of venues also plays a role in what media they are able to provide, in contracting to permit performers to use a theatre or other performing space, the seating capacity of the performance facility must be disclosed. Seating capacity may influence the kind of contract to be used, the seating capacity must also be disclosed to the copyright owner in seeking a license for the copyrighted work to be performed in that venue. Venues that may be leased for private functions such as ballrooms and auditoriums generally advertise their seating capacity, seating capacity is also an important consideration in the construction and use of sports venues such as stadiums and arenas. The seating capacity for restaurants is reported as covers, a restaurant that can seat 99 is said to have 99 covers, seating capacity differs from total capacity, which describes the total number of people who can fit in a venue or in a vehicle either sitting or standing. Use of the term public capacity indicates that a venue is allowed to more people than it can actually seat. Again, the total number of people can refer to either the physical space available or limitations set by law
5.
Pier Luigi Nervi
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Pier Luigi Nervi was an Italian engineer. He studied at the University of Bologna and qualified in 1913, dr. Nervi taught as a professor of engineering at Rome University from 1946-61. He is widely known as a engineer and an architect. Pier Luigi Nervi was born in Sondrio and attended the Civil Engineering School of Bologna, after graduation, Nervi joined the Society for Concrete Construction. Nervi spent several years in the Italian army during World War I from 1915–1918 and his formal education was quite similar to that experienced by todays civil engineering student in Italy. From 1961-1962 Nervi was the Norton professor at Harvard University, Nervi began practicing civil engineering after 1923, and built several airplane hangars amongst his contracts. Nervi also stressed that intuition should be used as much as mathematics in design and he borrowed from both Roman and Renaissance architecture while applying ribbing and vaulting to improve strength and eliminate columns. He combined simple geometry and prefabrication to innovate design solutions, Pier Luigi Nervi was educated and practised as a ingegnere edile – in Italy, at the time, a building engineer might also be considered an architect. After 1932, his aesthetically pleasing designs were used for major projects and this was due to the booming number of construction projects at the time which used concrete and steel in Europe and the architecture aspect took a step back to the potential of engineering. Nervi successfully made reinforced concrete the main material of the day. Nervi expounded his ideas on building in four books and many learned papers, archeological excavations suggested that he may have some responsibilities for the Flaminio stadium foundations passing through ancient Roman tombs. Most of his structures are in his native Italy. Nervis first project in the United States was the George Washington Bridge Bus Station and he designed the roof which consists of triangle pieces which were cast in place. This building is used today by over 700 buses and their passengers. Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence Ugolino Golf House, Impruneta, Italy Torino Esposizioni, Turin, Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, VA Pier Luigi Nervi was awarded Gold Medals by the Institution of Structural Engineers, the American Institute of Architects, and the RIBA. He was also awarded the Frank P. Brown Medal of The Franklin Institute in 1957, in 1957, he was awarded the Wilhelm Exner Medal
6.
Unione Rugby Capitolina
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Unione Rugby Capitolina is an Italian rugby union club, based in Rome. The team, initially located in the Acqua Acetosa establishment, was founded in 1996, the initial intent of the team was to focus on the younger rugby players, so the seniores team commenced two years after the foundation of the team, in 1998. Unione Rugby Capitolina won two U, the team also won a U.17 national championship in 2006-2007 in an intense final played against Petrarca Padova. In 2011 the Club won the national championship, this time in the U.16 category. 1998 is the year in which the Club moves to its own establishment in Via Flaminia and inaugurates the seniores team, mainly composed of friends and newcomers. Capitolina, captained by Stefano Montalto and coached by Luca Santaroni, starts from the serie C2 and manages to obtain the promotion to serie C1. The year after another coach joins Santaroni, Marco Iscaro, in the 2005/6 season Capitolina was promoted to Italys highest rugby league, the Super 10, with a perfect winning record of 22 wins and a total of 110 points. They won the playoffs against city rivals Rugby Roma with a 20-9 victory to reach the top Italian rugby league after ten years of existence. Capitolina had been striving to deliver better results both in the league and in the various European trophies that were available. Although with limited success, key investments in infrastructure and players started to have an impact, the First XV activities were brought forward by a 4th division team composed only of Members of the Club, the former ControProgetto
7.
Italy national rugby union team
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The Italy national rugby union team represents the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is known as the Azzurri. Italy has been playing rugby since 1929, and for decades were considered one of the best European teams outside the Five Nations Championship. Since 2000, Italy competes annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Scotland and they were the holders of the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy for 2013, played annually against France. Italy is ranked 14th in the world by the IRB as of 22 April 2016, Italian rugby really came to prominence in 2000 when it was added to the Five Nations, creating the Six Nations. Initially on the end of heavy defeats, the side has grown in competitiveness, recording a fourth-place finish in 2007 and 2013. Italy have also competed at every Rugby World Cup since the first tournament in 1987, the team has developed a reputation for being a consistent middle player at the tournament. Italys showings since 2003 have consistently followed a formula where they managed two wins and two losses during the pool stages, the current head coach is Conor OShea. Number eight Sergio Parisse is their current captain, the first match played by an Italian XV was in 1911 between US Milanese and Voiron of France. On 25 July of the year the Propaganda Committee was formed which in 1928 became the Federazione Italiana Rugby. In May 1929, Italy played their first international losing 9–0 against Spain in Barcelona, post-war, there was a desire to return to normal and Italian rugby union entered a new dimension thanks to the help of Allied troops in Italy. In the 1970s and 1980s rugby union made enormous progress thanks to foreign players. Even foreign coaches were and continue to be chosen for the team, like Bertrande Fourcade. In 1973, the team went on a tour of South Africa. Tours of England and Scotland followed, as well as games against Australia and New Zealand, in 1978, Italy first played Argentina at Rovigo, winning 19-6. Since the mid 1980s, the Italian national side had been pursuing the ambition of playing in an expanded Five Nations Championship, in 1986, Italy hosted an England XV squad in Rome, drawing 15-15. The Azzurri took part in the first-ever Rugby World Cup match against New Zealand on 22 May 1987, the match proved a one-sided affair with New Zealand convincing 70–6 winners against a young Italian side. John Kirwan, later to become the Italian national coach, scored one of the tournament’s greatest-ever tries for the All Blacks, Italy beat Fiji but lost to Argentina and finished third in their pool, failing to make the finals
8.
Via Flaminia
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It leaves Rome, goes up the Val Tevere, strikes into the mountains at Castello delle Formiche, ascends to Gualdo Tadino, goes over the divide at Scheggia Pass,575 m, to Cagli. From there it descends the eastern slope waterways between the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines and the Umbrian Apennines to Fano on the coast and goes north parallel to Highway A1 to Rimini. This route, convenient to ancients, is now far from it due to modern traffic between north Italy and the capital. It was constructed by Gaius Flaminius during his censorship, sources mention frequent improvements being made to it during the imperial period. Triumphal arches were erected in his honour on the bridge and at Ariminum. Vespasian constructed a new tunnel through the pass of Intercisa, in 77, in the Middle Ages it was known as the Ravenna road, as it led to the then more important city of Ravenna. As the SS3 it remains one of the highways from Rome to the Adriatic. A number of battles were therefore fought on or near the Via Flaminia, for example at Sentinum. In the early Middle Ages, the road, controlled by the Eastern Empire, was a civilizing influence, and accounted for much of what historians call the Byzantine corridor. The Via Flaminia starts at Porta del Popolo in the Aurelian Walls of Rome, Via del Corso, from there it descended to Cales, where it turned north-east following the gorges of the Burano. The narrowest pass was crossed by means of a tunnel chiseled out of solid rock and this is the modern Gola del Furlo, the ancient name of which, Intercisa, means cut through with reference to these tunnels. The modern 2‑lane road, the SS3 Flaminia, still uses Vespasians tunnel, the Flaminia emerged from the gorges of the Apennines at Forum Sempronii and reached the coast of the Adriatic at Fanum Fortunae. Thence, it ran north-west through Pisaurum to Ariminum, the total distance from Rome was 210 Roman miles by the older road and 222 by the newer. For an overview of the location of Roman bridges, see List of Roman bridges, giovanni de Butris Ponte del Diavolo at Cavallara near Bastardo Along the eastern branch, Ponte Sanguinaro in Spoleto scant remains of a bridge at Pontebari After the branches rejoin at S. A small stretch of the remains in the ruins of Carsulae where it passes through the impressive Arco di Traiano. The road was used as part of the road race cycling event for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. In Rome it runs past and gives its name to the Stadio Flaminio sports stadium, Roman road Roman bridge Roman engineering Via del Corso Piazza del Popolo 1960 Summer Olympics official report. The Via Flaminia at LacusCurtius Omnes Viae, Via Flaminia on the Peutinger Map This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
9.
Amateur wrestling
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Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of United World Wrestling, Greco-Roman, Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style. A similar style, commonly called collegiate, is practiced in colleges and universities, secondary schools, middle schools, where the style is not specified, this article refers to the international styles of competition on a mat. In February 2013, the IOC voted to remove the sport from the 2020 Summer Olympics onwards, on 8 September 2013, the IOC announced that wrestling would return to the Summer Olympics in 2020. The rapid rise in the popularity of the combat sport Mixed martial arts has increased interest in wrestling due to its effectiveness in the sport. Greco-Roman and freestyle differ in what holds are permitted, in Greco-Roman, in both Greco-Roman and freestyle, points can be scored in the following ways, Takedown, A wrestler gaining control over their opponent from a neutral position. Reversal, A wrestler gaining control over their opponent from a defensive position, exposure or the Danger Position, A wrestler exposing their opponents back to the mat, also awarded if ones back is to the mat but the wrestler is not pinned. Any wrestler stepping out of bounds while standing in the position during a match is penalized by giving their opponent a point. As in the styles, collegiate wrestling awards points for takedowns. Penalty points are awarded in collegiate wrestling according to the current rules, however, the manner in which infractions are penalized and points awarded to the offended wrestler differ in some aspects from the international styles. Collegiate wrestling also awards points for, Near Fall, This is similar to the points given in Greco-Roman. A wrestler scores points for holding their opponents shoulders or scapulae to the mat for several seconds while their opponent is not pinned. Escape, A wrestler getting from a position to a neutral position. This is no longer a way to score in freestyle or Greco-Roman, in the international styles, the format is now two three-minute periods. A wrestler wins the match when they were able to get more points than their opponent or 10 points lead in two rounds, for example, if one competitor get 10-0 lead in first the period, they will win by superiority of points. Only a fall, injury default, or disqualification terminates the match and this format replaced the old format of three two-minute periods played best two out of three. One side effect of the old format was that it was possible for the wrestler to outscore the winner. For example, periods may be scored 3–2, 0–4, 1–0, leading to a score of 4–6
10.
Weight training
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Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles. It utilizes the force of gravity in the form of weighted bars, weight training uses a variety of specialized equipment to target specific muscle groups and types of movement. Sports where strength training is central are bodybuilding, weightlifting, powerlifting, and strongman, highland games, shot put, discus throw, strength training for other sports and physical activities is becoming increasingly popular. Strength training is a term that describes all exercises devoted toward increasing physical strength. Weight training is a type of training that uses weights. Endurance training is associated with aerobic exercise while flexibility training is associated with stretching exercise like yoga or pilates, weight training is often used as a synonym for strength training, but is actually a specific type within the more inclusive category. Contrary to popular belief, weight training can be beneficial for men and women. The genealogy of lifting can be traced back to the beginning of history where humanitys fascination with physical abilities can be found numerous ancient writings. Another Greek, the physician Galen, described strength training using the halteres in the 2nd century. Ancient Greek sculptures also depict lifting feats, the weights were generally stones, but later gave way to dumbbells. The dumbbell was joined by the barbell in the half of the 19th century. Early barbells had hollow globes that could be filled with sand or lead shot, another early device was the Indian club, which came from ancient Persia where it was called the meels. It subsequently became popular during the 19th century, and has made a comeback in the form of the clubbell. The 1960s saw the introduction of exercise machines into the still-rare strength training gyms of the time. Weight training became popular in the 1970s, following the release of the bodybuilding movie Pumping Iron. The specific combinations of reps, sets, exercises, and weights depends on the aims of the performing the exercise. In addition to the principles of strength training, a further consideration added by weight training is the equipment used. Types of equipment include barbells, dumbbells, pulleys and stacks in the form of weight machines, different types of weights will give different types of resistance, and often the same absolute weight can have different relative weights depending on the type of equipment used
11.
Boxing
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Boxing is a combat sport in which two people wearing protective gloves throw punches at each other for a predetermined set of time in a boxing ring. Amateur boxing is both an Olympic and Commonwealth Games sport and is a fixture in most international games—it also has its own World Championships. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of one- to three-minute intervals called rounds, in the event that both fighters gain equal scores from the judges, the fight is considered a draw. In Olympic boxing, due to the fact that a winner must be declared, in the case of a draw - the judges use technical criteria to choose the most deserving winner of the bout. While people have fought in combat since before the dawn of history. The earliest evidence for fist fighting with any kind of gloves can be found on Minoan Crete, in Ancient Greece boxing was a well developed sport and enjoyed consistent popularity. In Olympic terms, it was first introduced in the 23rd Olympiad,688 B. C, the boxers would wind leather thongs around their hands in order to protect them. There were no rounds and boxers fought until one of them acknowledged defeat or could not continue, weight categories were not used, which meant heavyweights had a tendency to dominate. It was the head of the opponent which was primarily targeted, Boxing was a popular spectator sport in Ancient Rome. In order for the fighters to protect themselves against their opponents they wrapped leather thongs around their fists, eventually harder leather was used and the thong soon became a weapon. The Romans even introduced metal studs to the thongs to make the cestus which then led to a more sinister weapon called the myrmex, Fighting events were held at Roman Amphitheatres. The Roman form of boxing was often a fight until death to please the spectators who gathered at such events, however, especially in later times, purchased slaves and trained combat performers were valuable commodities, and their lives were not given up without due consideration. Often slaves were used against one another in a circle marked on the floor and this is where the term ring came from. In AD393, during the Roman gladiator period, boxing was abolished due to excessive brutality and it was not until the late 17th century that boxing re-surfaced in London. Records of Classical boxing activity disappeared after the fall of the Western Roman Empire when the wearing of weapons became common once again, however, there are detailed records of various fist-fighting sports that were maintained in different cities and provinces of Italy between the 12th and 17th centuries. There was also a sport in ancient Rus called Kulachniy Boy or Fist Fighting, as the wearing of swords became less common, there was renewed interest in fencing with the fists. The sport would later resurface in England during the early 16th century in the form of bare-knuckle boxing sometimes referred to as prizefighting. The first documented account of a fight in England appeared in 1681 in the London Protestant Mercury
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.
1960 Summer Olympics
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The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11,1960, in Rome, Italy. Rome had been awarded the organization of the 1908 Summer Olympics, on June 15,1955, at the 50th IOC Session in Paris, France, Rome beat out Lausanne, Detroit, Budapest, Brussels, Mexico City and Tokyo for the rights to host the Games. Tokyo and Mexico City would eventually host the following 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics, Toronto was initially interested in the bidding, but appears to have been dropped during the final bid process. This is the first of five attempts by Toronto from 1960 to 2001, swedish sprint canoeist Gert Fredriksson won his sixth Olympic title. Fencer Aladár Gerevich of Hungary won his sixth gold medal in the team sabre event The Japanese mens gymnastics team won the first of five successive golds. The United States mens national basketball team—led by future Basketball Hall of Famers Walt Bellamy, Jerry Lucas, Oscar Robertson, danish sailor Paul Elvstrøm won his fourth straight gold medal in the Finn class.2 seconds. Wilma Rudolph, US, a polio patient, won three gold medals in sprint events on the track. She was acclaimed as the fastest woman in the world, jeff Farrell, US, won two gold medals in swimming. He underwent an emergency appendectomy six days before the Olympic Trials, abebe Bikila of Ethiopia won the marathon bare-footed to become the first black African Olympic champion. Cassius Clay, US, later known as Muhammad Ali, won boxings light-heavyweight gold medal, ramon Buddy Carr was one of the coaches that led this team to winning gold. Herb Elliott, AUS, won the mens 1500 meters in one of the most dominating performances in Olympic history, rafer Johnson, US, defeated his rival and friend C. K. Yang in one of the greatest Decathlon events in Olympic history. The future Constantine II, last King of Greece won his country a gold in sailing, the Pakistani Mens Field Hockey team broke a run of Indian teams victories since 1928, defeating India in the final and winning Pakistans first Olympic gold medal. Singapore competed for the first time under its own flag, which was to become its national flag after independence, coincidentally, it was the first time an athlete from Singapore won an Olympic medal when Tan Howe Liang won silver in the Weightlifting lightweight category. Wrestlers Shelby Wilson, and Doug Blubaugh, US, won medals in their respective weight classes. South Africa appeared in the Olympic arena for the last time under its apartheid regime and it would not be allowed to return until 1992, after which apartheid in sport had been abolished. Danish cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen collapsed during his race under the influence of Roniacol and it was the second time an athlete died in competition at the Olympics, after the death of Portuguese marathon runner Francisco Lázaro at the 1912 Summer Olympics. Finnish Vilho Ylönen, a shooter, shot a bullseye to a wrong target. Peter Camejo, a 2004 American vice-presidential candidate for the Green Party, the future Queen Sofía of Spain represented her native Greece in sailing events
14.
Michael Jackson
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Michael Joseph Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, actor, and philanthropist. Called the King of Pop, his contributions to music, dance, the eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5. He began his career in 1971. In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music, the popularity of these videos helped bring the television channel MTV to fame. Jacksons 1987 album Bad spawned the U. S and he continued to innovate with videos such as Black or White and Scream throughout the 1990s, and forged a reputation as a touring solo artist. Through stage and video performances, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and his distinctive sound and style has influenced numerous artists of various music genres. Thriller is the album of all time, with estimated sales of 65 million copies worldwide. Jacksons other albums, including Off the Wall, Bad, Dangerous and he is recognized as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time by Guinness World Records. Jackson won hundreds of awards, making him the most awarded recording artist in the history of popular music. He became the first artist in history to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when Love Never Felt So Good reached number nine on May 21,2014. Jackson traveled the world attending events honoring his humanitarianism, and, in 2000, aspects of Jacksons personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of sexual abuse, but the civil case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of child sexual abuse allegations. While preparing for his concert series, This Is It, Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25,2009. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and his personal physician, Jacksons death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and a live broadcast of his public memorial service was viewed around the world. Forbes ranks Jackson as the dead celebrity with earnings of $825 million in 2016. Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29,1958 and his mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovahs Witness. She played clarinet and piano and once aspired to be a country-and-western performer, michaels father, Joseph Walter Joe Jackson, a former boxer, was a steelworker at U. S. Steel
15.
Bad World Tour
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Bad was the first solo concert tour by American recording artist Michael Jackson, launched in support of his seventh studio album Bad. Sponsored by Pepsi and spanning 16 months, the tour included 123 concerts to 4.4 million fans across 15 countries making it the second highest grossing tour of the 80s. In April 1989, the tour was nominated for Tour of the Year 1988 at the inaugural International Rock Awards, on June 29,1987, Jacksons manager Frank DiLeo announced the singers plan to embark on his first solo world concert tour. Sponsored by Pepsi, the began in Japan, marking Jacksons first performances in the country since 1973 as part of The Jackson 5. The first nine scheduled concerts that began on September 12 sold out within hours, over 600 journalists, cameramen and fans waited for Jacksons arrival to the country at Tokyos Narita International Airport. His pet chimpanzee Bubbles, who took a flight, was greeted by more than 300 people. A chartered jumbo jet was used to carry 22 truckloads of equipment, the stage set used 700 lights,100 speakers,40 lasers, three mirrors and two 24-by-18 foot screens. Performers wore 70 costumes, four of which were attached with fiber optic lights, while in Tokyo, Australian pop music critic Ian Molly Meldrum conducted an exclusive interview Jackson and DiLeo that was featured on 60 Minutes in the United States. On September 18, Jackson was handed the Key to the City by Yasushi Oshima and he was accompanied by Bubbles, who was the first animal allowed inside the citys town hall. Jackson dedicated his Japanese concerts to Yoshiaki Hagiwara, a boy who was kidnapped and murdered. Attendance figures for the first 14 dates in Japan totalled a record-breaking 450,000, crowds of 200,000 were what past performers could manage to draw for a single tour. Nippon Television was a co-sponsor with Pepsi for the Japanese dates, Jackson performed five concerts in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in Australia in November. While off stage, he spent time visiting sick children at their homes in the Sydney suburbs, rehearsals for the tours 1988 leg took place at the Pensacola Civic Center in Pensacola, Florida from January 22 to February 18,1988. Vincent Paterson, who had worked with Jackson on several videos, was brought in to choreograph, on the last day of preparation, Jackson allowed 420 school pupils to watch him rehearse after the children made him a rap music video in his honour. The first performances were to begin in Atlanta, yet Pepsi officials objected as the city was home to rival drinks company Coca-Cola, for both Atlanta shows, Jackson gave 100 tickets to the Childrens Wish Foundation for terminally ill children. The first of three concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City in March served as a benefit to raise $500,000 to the United Negro College Fund, Jackson presented a check of $600,000 to the fund. On March 2,1988, Jackson performed at the 30th Annual Grammy Awards, receiving a standing ovation after performing The Way You Make Me Feel. Jacksons album, Bad was also nominated for Album of the Year at the ceremony, Jackson began his European tour in Rome at the Flaminio Stadium on May 23,1988
16.
Dangerous World Tour
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The Dangerous World Tour was the second worldwide solo tour by American recording artist Michael Jackson. The tour, sponsored by Pepsi-Cola, included 69 performances, All profits were donated to various charities including Jacksons own Heal the World Foundation. The tour ran from June 27,1992, to November 11,1993, on February 3,1992 in a Pepsi press conference, it was announced that Jackson would be touring again. The announcement coincided with a new deal between Jackson and Pepsi, with a reported $20 million deal to sponsor the tour and my goal is to gross $100 million by Christmas 1993. I urge every corporation and individual who cares about this planet, the Heal the World Foundation will contribute funds to paediatric AIDS in honour of my friend, Ryan White. The stage used for the required more time to set up than before. Equipment, which in total weighed over 100 tons, required two Boeing 747 jet aircraft and multiple lorries to transport to each venue, for the tours design, Jackson was influenced by the uniform worn by the military. For Jam, the first performance on the set list, Jackson wore two variations of a faux-military uniform, during the 1992 leg, the uniform was a grey-green jacket with a one bolted strap which sparkled with multicolour. The tour also incorporated several stage illusions, the Dangerous era was considered one of Jacksons best. Each concert began with a shown on the big screens showing clips of the Victory Tour. That opening was kick-ass, admired Janet Jackson, im sitting in the sound tower and all the kids are everywhere. And when he jumped out of whatever the hell that thing was, I was yelling so loud and my friend Tina is saying, Jan, theyre looking at you. Because I was going, **** yeah, Mike, why didnt I think of that. When he thought of that ****, he hit it, a similar version of the Toaster stunt was used in the beginning of Jacksons Super Bowl XXVII Halftime Show performance in 1993. During the 1992 leg, the transition from Thriller to Billie Jean was another stage trick, when Jackson walks into two pillars, he secretly switches with a werewolf-masked backup dancer while he changes for Billie Jean. The backup dancer posing as Jackson is placed into a coffin which disappears when dancers posing as skeletons and zombies drape a cloth over the coffin, Jackson appears fully dressed for Billie Jean in the upper stage level as it lowers down. The original set list for the 1992 leg featured The Way You Make Me Feel and Bad, however, these two songs were returned for the first six performances in Tokyo, Japan. During the Europe leg in 1992, MTV was allowed to film backstage, the show was called The Dangerous Diaries and was presented by Sonya Saul
17.
Italy rugby union national team
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The Italy national rugby union team represents the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is known as the Azzurri. Italy has been playing rugby since 1929, and for decades were considered one of the best European teams outside the Five Nations Championship. Since 2000, Italy competes annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Scotland and they were the holders of the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy for 2013, played annually against France. Italy is ranked 14th in the world by the IRB as of 22 April 2016, Italian rugby really came to prominence in 2000 when it was added to the Five Nations, creating the Six Nations. Initially on the end of heavy defeats, the side has grown in competitiveness, recording a fourth-place finish in 2007 and 2013. Italy have also competed at every Rugby World Cup since the first tournament in 1987, the team has developed a reputation for being a consistent middle player at the tournament. Italys showings since 2003 have consistently followed a formula where they managed two wins and two losses during the pool stages, the current head coach is Conor OShea. Number eight Sergio Parisse is their current captain, the first match played by an Italian XV was in 1911 between US Milanese and Voiron of France. On 25 July of the year the Propaganda Committee was formed which in 1928 became the Federazione Italiana Rugby. In May 1929, Italy played their first international losing 9–0 against Spain in Barcelona, post-war, there was a desire to return to normal and Italian rugby union entered a new dimension thanks to the help of Allied troops in Italy. In the 1970s and 1980s rugby union made enormous progress thanks to foreign players. Even foreign coaches were and continue to be chosen for the team, like Bertrande Fourcade. In 1973, the team went on a tour of South Africa. Tours of England and Scotland followed, as well as games against Australia and New Zealand, in 1978, Italy first played Argentina at Rovigo, winning 19-6. Since the mid 1980s, the Italian national side had been pursuing the ambition of playing in an expanded Five Nations Championship, in 1986, Italy hosted an England XV squad in Rome, drawing 15-15. The Azzurri took part in the first-ever Rugby World Cup match against New Zealand on 22 May 1987, the match proved a one-sided affair with New Zealand convincing 70–6 winners against a young Italian side. John Kirwan, later to become the Italian national coach, scored one of the tournament’s greatest-ever tries for the All Blacks, Italy beat Fiji but lost to Argentina and finished third in their pool, failing to make the finals
18.
Six Nations Championship
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The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions are England, having won the 2017 tournament, the Six Nations is the successor to the Home Nations Championship, played between teams from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, which was the first international rugby union tournament. With the addition of France, this became the Five Nations Championship, the winners of the Six Nations Championship are sometimes unofficially referred to in the media as the European Champions or Northern Hemisphere Champions. Since the Six Nations era started in 2000, only Italy and Scotland have failed to win the Six Nations title, although Scotland were the last outright winners of the Five Nations. Played annually, the format of the Championship is simple, each team every other team once. Prior to the 2017 tournament, two points were awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss, unlike many other rugby union competitions the bonus point system has not previously been used. On 30 November 2016, the 6 Nations Committee announced that the point system will be trialled for the 2017 Championship. The system will be similar to the one used in most rugby championships, a review on how well the system worked will take place following the tournament. If a team wins all its games, they are said to have won a Grand Slam, victory by any Home Nation over the other three Home Nations is a Triple Crown. Although this achievement has long been a feature of the tournament, also, the team that finishes at the bottom of the league table is said to have won the Wooden Spoon, although no actual trophy is given to the team. A team which has lost all five matches is said to have been whitewashed, since the inaugural Six Nations tournament in 2000, only England and Ireland have avoided the Wooden Spoon award. Italy are the holders of the most Wooden Spoon awards in the Six Nations era with eleven, however, each of the other five nations has accumulated more than that through competing in previous eras. Several individual competitions take place under the umbrella of the tournament, the oldest such regular competition is for the Calcutta Cup, contested annually between England and Scotland since 1879. It is named the Calcutta Cup as it is made from melted-down Indian Rupees donated by the Calcutta Club, prior to 1994, teams equal on match points shared the championship. Since then, ties have been broken by considering the difference of the teams. The rules of the championship further provide that if teams tie on both points and points difference, the team which scored the most tries wins the championship. Were this decider to be a tie, the teams would share the championship. To date, however, match points and points difference have been sufficient to decide the championship, the winners of the Six Nations are presented with the Championship Trophy
19.
2011 Six Nations Championship
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The 2011 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2011 RBS6 Nations due to the tournaments sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 12th series of the Six Nations Championship. The annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship was contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, the tournament was won by England. Including the competitions previous incarnations as the Home Nations Championship and Five Nations Championship, the biggest development for this season was Irelands opening of their new Aviva Stadium on the former site of Lansdowne Road. The completion of the Aviva ended the IRFUs arrangement with the Gaelic Athletic Association that allowed the team to use the GAAs flagship venue of Croke Park for rugby internationals. Ireland played their first Tests at the Aviva in November 2010, for the first time in its history, the tournament opened with a Friday night fixture. For the first time in a decade, all of the teams had the head coach as in the previous years tournament. This tournament was notable for a major upset, with Italy coming up from the bottom of the table. Despite this upset, Italy would still end up finishing last. The champions were England, who won their first four matches, but were denied the Grand Slam, italys Andrea Masi was named as the Six Nations Player of the Championship, becoming the first Italian player to win the award with 30% of the voting. The runners up were Fabio Semenzato in second, Sean OBrien in third, England won the championship after winning four out of their five matches, losing only one against Ireland meaning they did not achieve a Grand Slam. Due to France defeating Wales in the match of the tournament. Had England beaten Ireland it would have led to their first Grand Slam since 2003, Italy lost their final match against Scotland to claim the wooden spoon for the ninth time since entering the competition in 2000. The teams involved are, See 2011 Six Nations Championship squads, tom Wood made his international debut. Fergus McFadden made his international debut, chris Ashtons four-try performance marked a number of milestones, He became the first player of any nation to score four tries in a Six Nations match since the competition expanded in 2000. He also became the first England player to have scored four tries in a Six Nations, Five Nations and his six tries in the tournament equalled the single-season record in the Six Nations era, shared by Will Greenwood of England and Shane Williams of Wales. Carlo Del Fava earned his 50th cap Alex Corbisiero and Fabio Semenzato made their international debuts, josh Turnbull and Rhys Priestland made their international debuts. Alessandro Zanni and James Hook each earned their 50th caps, dimitri Yachvili earned his 50th cap. Jonny Wilkinsons 52nd-minute penalty for England made him the leading point scorer in international rugby, carlo Festuccia earned his 50th cap This was the first time Italy had ever beaten France at home, and the first time they had won the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy
20.
Italian Rugby Federation
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The Italian Rugby Federation or FIR is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Italy. The FIR has one seat on the 28-member World Rugby Council, there are two fully professional Italian clubs that play in the Pro12, in the European Rugby Champions Cup and in the European Rugby Challenge Cup—Benetton Rugby Treviso and Zebre. On 25 July 1911 a Propaganda Committee was formed to promote the sport of rugby union in Italy, in 1928 this body became the Federazione Italiana Rugby. In 1934 the FIR were founder members of the Fédération Internationale de Rugby Amateur, the FIR joined the International Rugby Football Board, later known as the International Rugby Board and now as World Rugby, in 1987 when they took part in the inaugural World Cup. The Italy national rugby team have played in the Six Nations Championship since 2000. Italy bid to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup came close to winning but lost to England by just three votes
21.
Genoa
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Genoa is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015,594,733 people lived within the administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of Genoa, over 1.5 million people live in the wider metropolitan area stretching along the Italian Riviera. Genoa has been nicknamed la Superba due to its glorious past, part of the old town of Genoa was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2006. The citys rich history in notably its art, music. It is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, Niccolò Paganini, Giuseppe Mazzini, Genoa, which forms the southern corner of the Milan-Turin-Genoa industrial triangle of north-west Italy, is one of the countrys major economic centres. The city has hosted massive shipyards and steelworks since the 19th century, the Bank of Saint George, founded in 1407, is among the oldest in the world and has played an important role in the citys prosperity since the middle of the 15th century. Today a number of leading Italian companies are based in the city, including Fincantieri, Selex ES, Ansaldo Energia, Ansaldo STS, Edoardo Raffinerie Garrone, Piaggio Aerospace, the Genoa area has been inhabited since the fifth or fourth millennium BC. In ancient times this area was frequented and inhabited by Ligures, Phoenicians, Phocaeans, Greeks, and Etruscans. The city cemetery, dating from the 6th and 5th centuries BC, testifies to the occupation of the site by the Greeks, but the fine harbour probably saw use much earlier, perhaps by the Etruscans. In the 5th century BC was founded the first oppidum at the foot of the today called the Castle Hill which now is inside the medieval old town. The ancient Ligurian city was known as Stalia, so referred to by Artemidorus Ephesius and Pomponius Mela, Ligurian Stalia was overshadowed by the powerful Marseille and Vada Sabatia, near modern Savona. Stalia had an alliance with Rome through a foedus aequum in the course of the Second Punic War, the Carthaginians accordingly destroyed it in 209 BC. The town was rebuilt and, after the Carthaginian Wars ended in 146 BC. it received municipal rights, the original castrum thenceforth expanded towards the current areas of Santa Maria di Castello and the San Lorenzo promontory. Trades included skins, wood, and honey, goods were shipped to the mainland, up to major cities like Tortona and Piacenza. Among the archeological remains from the Roman period, an amphitheatre was also found, another theory traces the name to the Etruscan word Kainua which means New City and still another from the Latin word ianua, related to the name of the God Janus, meaning door or passage. The latter is in reference to its position at the centre of the Ligurian coastal arch. The Latin name, oppidum Genua, is recorded by Pliny the Elder as part of the Augustean Regio IX Liguria, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Ostrogoths occupied Genoa
22.
Stadio Olimpico
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The Stadio Olimpico is the main and largest sports facility of Rome, Italy. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city, the structure is an asset of the Italian National Olympic Committee and it is intended primarily for football. The Stadio Olimpico is the stadium of Serie A clubs Lazio and Roma. It was rebuilt for the 1990 FIFA World Cup and it hosted the tournament final, rated an UEFA category four stadium, it has also hosted four European Cup finals, the most recent being the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final. Outside football, the stadium is used by the Italian national rugby union team, occasionally, it hosts concerts and events. Throughout its history, the Stadio Olimpico has undegone several renovations, in its first stages, the Stadio Olimpico was called the Stadio dei Cipressi. It was designed and constructed within the project of the Foro Mussolini which was renamed Foro Italico after the war. Construction work began in 1927 directed by the Turinese engineer Angelo Frisa, the construction was completed in 1932, after a few variations to the original plan. For instance, the construction of stands was not part of the initial plan as, originally. In 1937, the construction of a tier of stairs was started but was interrupted in 1940 due to the outbreak of World War II. In December 1950, the site was reopened for the completion of the stadium. The project was entrusted to the engineer Carlo Roccatelli, a member of the Superior Council of Public Works, at first, the plan was for a stadium with a more complex structure than that actually realised. However, the scarcity of funds and the characteristics of the area led to a less ambitious building. On the death of Roccatelli in 1951, the direction of the work was entrusted to architect Annibale Vitellozzi, the stadium now reached a capacity of about 100,000 people, hence the stadium was known as Stadio dei Centomila, until renamed for the 1960 Olympics. The building was inaugurated on 17 May 1953 with a game between Italy and Hungary. During the 1960 Summer Olympics, the hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Seating at ground level was eliminated with the result of a capacity of 65,000 spectators. Subsequently the stadium hosted several editions of the Italian Championships of Athletics, the 1975 Summer Universiade and it still hosts the annual meeting of the Golden Gala
23.
Stadio Artemio Franchi (Florence)
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The Stadio Artemio Franchi is a football stadium in Florence, Italy. It is currently the home of ACF Fiorentina, the stadium was temporarily noticed as the host of Italys Six Nations matches from 2012. The old nickname of the stadium was Comunale, when it was first constructed, it was known as the Stadio Giovanni Berta, after a Florentine fascist. The stadium was opened on 13 September 1931 with a match between Fiorentina and Admira Wien, though it took until 1932 for the stadium to be completely finished. The architect is Pier Luigi Nervi and it is one of the most relevant examples of 20th-century architecture in the city, the stadium is built entirely of reinforced concrete with a 70-meter tower that bears the stadiums flagstaff. The tower is called the Tower of Marathon, around the base of the tower, spiral ramps lead from the ground floor to the upper edge of the grandstand. It hosted some of the matches of the 1934 World Cup, in 1945, it hosted the Spaghetti Bowl between American service teams. The stadium was called the Comunale but was renamed after the former FIGC president, Artemio Franchi. The stadium itself underwent renovations for the 1990 FIFA World Cup which included removing the running track, at the World Cup, the ground hosted three matches in Group A and Argentinas penalty shootout win over Yugoslavia in the quarter-finals. The official record attendance is 58,271 on 25 November 1984, david Bowie performed at the stadium during his Glass Spider Tour on 9 June 1987. Madonna performed, with Level 42 as her act, the final show of her Whos That Girl World Tour at the stadium on 6 September 1987. This performance was filmed & later released as a VHS & later as a DVD, titled Ciao and she performed at the stadium again 25 years later on 16 June 2012 to a sold out crowd of 42,434 people during her MDNA Tour. Bruce Springsteen performed on 8 June 2003 at the stadium during his The Rising Tour and on 10 June 2012 for the Wrecking Ball World Tour and it rained for the entire duration of the 2012 concert. On Sunday 23 June 2013, the stadium hosted a Jovanotti concert, Jovanotti is from Cortona, a city relatively close to Florence, and many members of his family were in the audience including his wife, child and parents. The Italy national football team has played at the stadium, the first occasion being on 7 May 1933 in a 2-0 win over Czechoslovakia, the national team played only one game there between 1982 and 2006, a 2-0 friendly win against Mexico on 20 January 1993. On 1 March 2006, they played a friendly against Germany, the stadium hosted two matches in Euro 2012 qualifying, a 5-0 win over the Faroe Islands, and a 1-0 win over Slovenia on 6 September 2011 which was its most recent international hosting. During the match with Faroe Islands, Fabio Quagliarella scored a goal, because Fiorentina fans have such a strong rivalry with Juventus, the fans at the stadium booed Quagliarella. The stadium has hosted international rugby union matches
24.
Florence
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Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the Metropolitan City of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants, Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time. It is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, from 1865 to 1871 the city was the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy. The Historic Centre of Florence attracts 13 million tourists each year and it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture, the city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florences artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in 2008, the city had the 17th highest average income in Italy. Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, it was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe, the language spoken in the city during the 14th century was, and still is, accepted as the Italian language. Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold florin—financed the development of all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years War and they similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome. Florence was home to the Medici, one of European historys most important noble families, Lorenzo de Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family were popes in the early 16th century, Leo X, catherine de Medici married king Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. Marie de Medici married Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future king Louis XIII, the Medici reigned as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, starting with Cosimo I de Medici in 1569 and ending with the death of Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737. The Etruscans initially formed in 200 BC the small settlement of Fiesole and it was built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica. Situated along the Via Cassia, the route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre. Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century, Florence was conquered by Charlemagne in 774 and became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital. The population began to again and commerce prospered
25.
AS Roma
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Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence except for 1951–52, for their 65th season in a row, Roma are competing in Serie A for the 2016–17 season. Roma have won Serie A three times, first in 1941–42 then in 1982–83 and again in 2000–01, as well as winning nine Coppa Italia titles and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. On the European stage Roma won an Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1960–61, coming close to European Cup victory in 1983–84, therefore, Roma is the fourth Italian club by major honours won, behind Juventus, Milan and Inter. Home games are played at the Stadio Olimpico, a venue they share with city rivals Lazio. With a capacity of over 72,000, it is the second largest of its kind in Italy, in September 2009 the club unveiled plans to build a Stadio della Roma in the western suburbs of Rome. Its design was modelled after English football stadiums with the objective being to give fans a view of the pitch. In September 2011, it was announced that the new president, Thomas R. DiBenedetto, had reached an agreement with the mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, to have the new stadium completed by 2016. The purpose of the merger was to give the Italian capital a strong club to rival that of the more dominant Northern Italian clubs of the time. The only major Roman club to resist the merger was S. S. Lazio because of the intervention of the army General Vaccaro, member of the club and executive of Italian Football Federation. An early season in which Roma made a mark was the 1930–31 championship. Captain Attilio Ferraris along with Guido Masetti, Fulvio Bernardini and Rodolfo Volk were highly important players during this period, after a slump in league form and the departure of high key players, Roma eventually rebuilt their squad adding goalscorers such as the Argentine Enrique Guaita. Under the management of Luigi Barbesino, the Roman club came close to their first title in 1935–36, Roma returned to form after being inconsistent for much of the late 1930s, Roma recorded an unexpected title triumph in the 1941–42 season by winning their first ever scudetto title. The eighteen goals scored by local player Amedeo Amadei were essential to the Alfréd Schaffer coached Roma side winning the title, at the time Italy was involved in World War II and Roma were playing at the Stadio del Partito Nazionale Fascista. In the years just after the war, Roma were unable to recapture their league stature from the early 1940s, under future national team manager Giuseppe Viani, promotion straight back up was achieved. After returning to the Serie A, Roma managed to stabilise themselves as a top half club again with such as Egisto Pandolfini, Dino Da Costa. Although Roma were unable to break into the top four during the following decade and their first honour outside of Italy was recorded in 1960–61 when Roma won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup by beating Birmingham City 4–2 in the finals. A few years later Roma won their first Coppa Italia trophy in 1963–64, supporters kept the club going with a fundraiser at the Sistine Theatre and bankruptcy was avoided with the election of a new club president Franco Evangelisti
26.
SS Lazio
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Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian sports club based in Rome, most known for its football activity. The society, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football. Lazio have been Italian champions twice, and have won the Coppa Italia six times, the club had their first major success in 1958, winning the domestic cup. In 1974, they won their first Serie A title, Lazios traditional kit colours are sky blue shirts and white shorts with white socks, the colours are reminiscent of Romes ancient Hellenic legacy. Sky blue socks have also been used as home colours. Their home is the 70,634 capacity Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Roma until the year 2018, when the latter will leave for the Stadio della Roma. Lazio have a rivalry with Roma, with whom they have contested the Derby della Capitale since 1929. Lazio is also a club that participate in 40 sports disciplines in total. Società Podistica Lazio was founded on 9 January 1900 in the Prati district of Rome, in 1927, Lazio was the only major Roman club which resisted the Fascist regimes attempts to merge all the citys teams into what would become A. S. The club played in the first organised Serie A in 1929 and, led by legendary Italian striker Silvio Piola, the 1950s produced a mix of mid and upper table results with a Coppa Italia win in 1958. Lazio was relegated for the first time in 1961 to the Serie B, after a number of mid-table placements, another relegation followed in 1970–71. Lazio improved such successes the following season, ensuring its first title in 1973–74, however, tragic deaths of Re Cecconi and Scudetto trainer Maestrelli, as well as the departure of Chinaglia, would be a triple blow for Lazio. The emergence of Bruno Giordano during this period provided some relief as he finished League top scorer in 1979, Lazio were forcibly relegated to Serie B in 1980 due to a remarkable scandal concerning illegal bets on their own matches, along with Milan. They remained in Italys second division for three seasons in what would mark the darkest period in Lazios history and they would return in 1983 and manage a last-day escape from relegation the following season. The 1984–85 season would prove harrowing, with a pitiful 15 points, in 1986, Lazio was hit with a nine-point deduction for a betting scandal involving player Claudio Vinazzani. The arrival of Sergio Cragnotti in 1992 changed the clubs due to his long-term investments in new players to make the team a Scudetto competitor. A notable early transfer during his tenure was the capture of English midfielder Paul Gascoigne from Tottenham Hotspur for £5.5 million, gascoignes transfer to Lazio is credited with the increase of interest in Serie A in the United Kingdom during the 1990s. Lazio had two more Coppa Italia triumphs in 1998 and 2004, as well as the last ever UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1999 and they also reached the UEFA Cup, but lost 0–3 against Internazionale
27.
Atletico Roma F.C.
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Atletico Roma Football Club was an Italian football club based in Rome, Italy. In 2003-04 Serie C2 it was bought by the family Tulli of Cisco, already owners of Cisco Calcio in Serie D which becomes Lupa Frascati, in 2004-05 Serie C2 Lodigiani was so renamed A. S. The teams colors were red and white, in the season 2005-06 it was renamed A. S. On July 18,2011 it is not admitted by the Federal Council in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, giorgos Pelagias Paolo Di Canio Mauro Esposito Emiliano Moretti Andrea Silenzi Christian Terlizzi Daniel Bogdanović
28.
Melbourne Cricket Ground
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The Melbourne Cricket Ground, also known simply as The G, is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. The MCG is within walking distance of the city centre and is served by the Richmond railway station, Richmond, and it is part of the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct. Since it was built in 1853, the MCG has been in a state of almost constant renewal and it served as the centrepiece stadium of the 1956 Summer Olympics, the 2006 Commonwealth Games and two Cricket World Cups,1992 and 2015. The annual Boxing Day Test is one of the MCGs most popular events, the stadium fills to capacity for the AFL Grand Final. Concerts and other events are also held at the venue. The MCG is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and was included on the Australian National Heritage List in 2005, journalist Greg Baum called it a shrine, a citadel, a landmark, a totem that symbolises Melbourne to the world. Founded in November 1838 the Melbourne Cricket Club selected the current MCG site in 1853 after previously playing at several grounds around Melbourne, the club’s first game was against a military team at the Old Mint site, at the corner of William and Latrobe Streets. The area was subject to flooding, forcing the club to move again and it was not long before the club was forced out again, this time because of the expansion of the railway. The South Melbourne ground was in the path of Victoria’s first steam railway line from Melbourne to Sandridge and this last option, which is now Yarra Park, had been used by Aborigines until 1835. Between 1835 and 1853 it was an agistment area for colonial troopers’ horses, in 1850 it was part of a 200-acre stretch set aside for public recreation extending from Governor La Trobe’s Jolimont Estate to the Yarra River. By 1853 it had become a busy promenade for Melbourne residents, an MCC sub-committee chose the Richmond Park option because it was level enough for cricket but sloped enough to prevent inundation. That ground was located where the Richmond, or outer, end of the current MCG is now, at the same time the Richmond Cricket Club was given occupancy rights to six acres for another cricket ground on the eastern side of the Government Paddock. At the time of the grant the Government stipulated that the ground was to be used for cricket and cricket only. This condition remained until 1933 when the State Government allowed the MCG’s uses to be broadened to other purposes when not being used for cricket. In 1863 a corridor of land running diagonally across Yarra Park was granted to the Hobson’s Bay Railway, the area closest to the river was also developed for sporting purposes in later years including Olympic venues in 1956. The first grandstand at the MCG was the original wooden stand built in 1854. It was during this tour that the MCG hosted the worlds first Test match, in 1881 the original members stand was sold to the Richmond Cricket Club for £55. A new brick stand, considered at the time to be the world’s finest cricket facility, was built in its place, the foundation stone was laid by Prince George of Wales and Prince Albert Victor on 4 July and the stand opened in December that year
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Melbourne
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Melbourne is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in Australia and Oceania. The name Melbourne refers to an urban agglomeration spanning 9,900 km2, the metropolis is located on the large natural bay of Port Phillip and expands into the hinterlands towards the Dandenong and Macedon mountain ranges, Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley. It has a population of 4,641,636 as of 2016, and its inhabitants are called Melburnians. Founded by free settlers from the British Crown colony of Van Diemens Land on 30 August 1835, in what was then the colony of New South Wales, it was incorporated as a Crown settlement in 1837. It was named Melbourne by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Richard Bourke, in honour of the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. It was officially declared a city by Queen Victoria, to whom Lord Melbourne was close, in 1847, during the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, it was transformed into one of the worlds largest and wealthiest cities. After the federation of Australia in 1901, it served as the interim seat of government until 1927. It is a financial centre in the Asia-Pacific region. It is recognised as a UNESCO City of Literature and a centre for street art, music. It was the host city of the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the main passenger airport serving the metropolis and the state is Melbourne Airport, the second busiest in Australia. The Port of Melbourne is Australias busiest seaport for containerised and general cargo, Melbourne has an extensive transport network. The main metropolitan train terminus is Flinders Street Station, and the regional train. Melbourne is also home to Australias most extensive network and has the worlds largest urban tram network. Before the arrival of settlers, humans had occupied the area for an estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years. At the time of European settlement, it was inhabited by under 2000 hunter-gatherers from three indigenous tribes, the Wurundjeri, Boonwurrung and Wathaurong. The area was an important meeting place for the clans of the Kulin nation alliance and it would be 30 years before another settlement was attempted. Batman selected a site on the bank of the Yarra River. Batman then returned to Launceston in Tasmania, in early August 1835 a different group of settlers, including John Pascoe Fawkner, left Launceston on the ship Enterprize
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Summer Olympics
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The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad, first held in 1896, is an international multi-sport event that is hosted by a different city every four years. The most recent Olympics were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the International Olympic Committee organizes the games and oversees the host citys preparations. In each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals are awarded for second place, and bronze medals are awarded for third, the Winter Olympic Games were created due to the success of the Summer Olympics. The Olympics have increased in scope from a 42-event competition with fewer than 250 male competitors from 14 nations in 1896 to 302 events with 10,768 competitors from 204 nations in 2012, eighteen countries have hosted the Summer Olympics. The United States has hosted four Summer Olympics, more than any other nation, four cities have hosted two Summer Olympics, Athens, Paris, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. Tokyo is the first city outside of the Western world to host the Summer Olympics multiple times, asia has hosted the Summer Olympics four times in Japan, South Korea, and China. The only Summer Olympics held in the Southern Hemisphere have been in Australia, the 2016 Games are the first Summer Olympics to be held in South America and the first to be held during the local winter season. Africa has yet to host a Summer Olympics, only five countries—Greece, Australia, France, Great Britain, and Switzerland—have been represented at every Summer Olympic Games. The only country to have won at least one medal at every Summer Olympic Games is Great Britain. The United States leads the medal table. Qualification rules for each of the Olympic sports are set by the International Sports Federations that governs that sports international competition, for individual sports, competitors typically qualify through attaining a certain place in a major international event or on the IFs ranking list. There is a rule that maximum three individual athletes may represent each nation per competition. Nations most often qualify teams for team sports through continental qualifying tournaments, each nation may be represented by no more than one team per competition a team is two people in some sports. The United States has hosted four Summer Olympic Games, more than any other nation, the United Kingdom hosted the 2012 Olympic Games, its third Summer Olympic Games, in its capital London, making London the first city to host the Summer Olympic Games three times. Australia, France, Germany, Greece, and Japan have all hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice. Other countries that have hosted the Summer Olympics are Belgium, Brazil, China, Canada, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, the Soviet Union, asia has hosted the Summer Olympics three times and will host again in 2020. In 2016, Rio de Janeiro hosted the first Summer Olympics in South America, three cities have hosted two Summer Olympic Games, Los Angeles, Paris, and Athens. Stockholm has hosted events at two Summer Olympic Games, having hosted the games in 1912 and the events at the 1956 Summer Olympics—which they are usually listed as jointly hosting
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National Olympic Stadium (Tokyo)
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National Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The stadium served as the stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as being the venue for track. The Japan national football teams matches and major football club cup finals were held at the stadium. The stadiums official capacity was 57,363, but the capacity was only 48,000 seats. Demolition was completed in May 2015, and the site will be redeveloped with a new larger-capacity National Olympic Stadium, the new stadium is set to be the main venue for the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games. The original plans for the new stadium were scrapped in July 2015 by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as a result, the new design will not be ready for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, as originally intended. A new design created by architect Kengo Kuma was chosen in December 2015 to replace the original design and is to be completed in November 2019, the stadium was completed in 1958 as the Japanese National Stadium on the site of the former Meiji Shrine Outer Park Stadium. Its first major event was the 1958 Asian Games, the venue was unscathed by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Yasuhiro Nakamori, international director for the Japanese Olympic Committee. Official website Satellite photo of the stadium from Google Maps Stadiums in Japan, Tokyo National Stadium National Stadium National Stadium, Tokyo
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England national rugby union team
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The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and they are ranked second in the world by the International Rugby Board as of 20 June 2016. England were the first, and to date, the team from the northern hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup. They were also runners-up in 1991 and 2007, the history of the team extends back to 1871 when the English rugby team played their first official Test match, losing to Scotland by one goal. England dominated the early Home Nations Championship which started in 1883, following the schism of rugby football in 1895, England did not win the Championship again until 1910. England first played against New Zealand in 1905, South Africa in 1906, England was one of the teams invited to take part in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and went on to appear in the final in the second tournament in 1991, losing 12–6 to Australia. Following their 2003 Six Nations Championship Grand Slam, they went on to win the 2003 Rugby World Cup – defeating Australia 20–17 in extra time and they again contested the final in 2007, losing 15–6 to South Africa. England players traditionally wear a shirt with a Rose embroidered on the chest, white shorts. Their home ground is Twickenham Stadium where they first played in 1910, the team is administered by the Rugby Football Union. Four former players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, Englands first international match was against Scotland on Monday 27 March 1871. Not only was this match Englands first, but it proved to be the first ever rugby union international. Scotland won the match by a goal and a try to a try, in front of a crowd of 4,000 people at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh. A subsequent international took place at the Oval in London on 5 February 1872 which saw England defeat Scotland by a goal, in those early days there was no points system, it was only after 1890 that a format allowing the introduction of a points system was provided. Up until 1875 international rugby matches were decided by the number of goals scored, in 1875, England played their first game against the Irish at the Oval, winning by one goal, one drop goal and one try to nil, the match was Irelands first ever Test. England defeated Scotland in 1880 to become the first winners of the Calcutta Cup and their first match against Wales was played on 19 February 1881 at Richardsons Field in Blackheath. England recorded their largest victory, defeating the Welsh by seven goals, six tries, in 1889, England played their first match against a non-home nations team when they defeated the New Zealand Natives by one goal and four tries to nil at Rectory Field in Blackheath. In 1890 England shared the Home Nations trophy with Scotland, England first played New Zealand in 1905. The All Blacks scored five tries, worth three points at this time, to win 15–0, England first played France in 1905, and Australia in 1909 when they were defeated 9–3
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France national rugby union team
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The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and they have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams. Eight former French players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame, Rugby was introduced to France in 1872 by the British, and on New Years Day 1906 the national side played its first Test match – against New Zealand in Paris. France played sporadically against the Home Nations until they joined them to form a Five Nations tournament in 1910, France also competed in the rugby competitions at early Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal in 1900 and two silver medals in the 1920s. The national team came of age during the 1950s and 1960s and they won their first Grand Slam in 1968. Since the inaugural World Cup in 1987, France have qualified for the stage of every tournament. They have reached the three times, losing to the All Blacks in 1987 and 2011 and to Australia in 1999. France hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup, where, as in 2003, France traditionally play in blue shirts with white shorts and red socks, and are commonly referred to as les tricolores or les bleus. The French emblem is a golden rooster imposed upon a red shield and their alternative strip is composed of a white shirt and navy blue shorts and socks. Rugby was introduced to France in 1872 by English merchants and students, on 26 February 1890, a French rugby team recruited from the Janson Desailly Lyceum defeated an international team at the Bois de Boulogne. Although France were represented at the 1900 Summer Olympics, their first official test match did not take place till New Years Day,1906 against the New Zealand All Blacks in Paris. France then played intermittently against the Home Nations until they joined them to form the Five Nations tournament in 1910, in 1913 France faced South Africas Springboks for the first time, losing 38–5. France also competed at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics, France were ejected from the Five Nations in 1932 after being accused of professionalism in the French leagues at a time when rugby union was strictly amateur. Forced to play against weaker opposition, France went on a winning streak, France was invited to rejoin the Five Nations in 1939 but did not compete until 1947 as international rugby was suspended during World War II. French rugby came of age during the 1950s and 1960s, they won their first Five Nations championship and their first championship was won in 1954 when they shared the title with England and Wales. France won their first outright Five Nations championship in 1959, they won with two wins, a draw and a defeat, France first toured South Africa winning the test series in 1958. The Springboks also visited Paris in 1961, the test was not completed due to fighting amongst the players. France also toured New Zealand and Australia in 1961 losing both tests against the All Blacks but defeating Australias Wallabies and they won their first Five Nations Grand Slam in 1968 by beating all four other competing teams, and won numerous titles in the following years
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Ireland national rugby union team
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The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship, which they have won twelve times outright, the team also competes every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions. Ireland is also one of the four unions that make up the British and Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions, Irelands highest ever position in the World Rugby Rankings is second, which they reached for the first time in 2015. Dublin University was the first organised football club in Ireland. The club was organised by students who had learnt the game while at public schools in Great Britain, carlow, UCC, and Ballinasloe which amalgamated with Athlone to form Buccaneers. In 1874, the Irish Football Union was formed, Ireland lost their first test match against England 7–0 at the Oval on 15 February 1875. Both teams fielded 20 players in match, as was customary in the early years of rugby union. Irelands first home game was also against England in the year held at the Leinster Cricket Club in Rathmines as Lansdowne Road was deemed unsuitable. The first match at Lansdowne Road was held on 11 March 1878 and it was not until 1881 that Ireland first won a test, beating Scotland at Ormeau in Belfast. Ireland turned up two men short for their game in Cardiff in 1884 and had to borrow two Welsh players, the first victory Ireland had at Lansdowne Road took place on 5 February 1887. It was also their first win over England, by two goals to nil, on the third of March 1888, Ireland recorded their first win over Wales with a goal, a try and a drop goal to nil. In 1894, Ireland followed the Welsh model of using seven backs instead of six for the first time, after victory over England at Blackheath, Ireland won back-to-back matches for the first time when recording their first win over Scotland on 24 February 1894. Ireland went on to beat Wales in Belfast and win the Triple Crown for the first time, in the 1890s, Rugby was primarily a game for the Protestant middle class, the only Catholic in Edmund Forrests 1894 team was Tom Crean. Of the eighteen players used in the three games, thirteen were from three Dublin clubs – Wanderers, Dublin University and Bective Rangers – and the five were from Ulster. Such was the level of interest in the visit of the first All Blacks team to Dublin in November 1905 that the IRFU made the match the first all-ticket rugby international in history, Ireland played only seven forwards, copying the then New Zealand method of playing a rover. The game ended New Zealand 15 Ireland 0, on 20 March 1909, Ireland played France for the first time, beating them 19–8. This was Irelands biggest victory in international rugby at that time, their highest points tally,30 November 1912 was the first time the Springboks met Ireland at Lansdowne Road, the 1906 tour game having been played at Ravenhill. Ireland with seven new caps were overwhelmed by a margin of 38–0
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Scotland national rugby union team
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The Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union, the team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years. As of 27 February 2017, Scotland are fifth in the World Rugby Rankings, the Scottish rugby team dates back to 1871, where they beat England in the first international rugby union match at Raeburn Place. Scotland competed in the Five Nations from the tournament in 1883. In 2000 the competition accepted a sixth competitor, Italy, thus forming the Six Nations, since this change, Scotland have yet to win the competition. Their best finish came in 1991, where they lost to the All Blacks in the third place play-off, Scotland have a strong rivalry with the English national team. They both annually compete for the Calcutta Cup, each year, this fixture is played out as part of the Six Nations, and Scotland last won it in 2008. In December 1870 a group of Scots players issued a letter of challenge in The Scotsman and in Bells Life in London, in front of around 4000 spectators, the Scots won the encounter by a try and a goal to a solitary try scored by England. England later got revenge by winning the match at the Kennington Oval. The Calcutta Cup was donated to the Rugby Football Union in 1878 by the members of the short-lived Calcutta Rugby Club, the members had decided to disband, the cup was crafted from melted-down silver rupees which became available when the Clubs funds were withdrawn from the bank. The Cup is unique in that it is competed for only by England and Scotland. The first Calcutta Cup match was played in 1879 and, since that time, in 1882 the Home Nations Championship, the fore-runner of the modern Six Nations Championship was founded with Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland taking part. Further Triple Crowns wins for Scotland followed in 1901,1903 and 1907, however, Scotlands triumph in 1907 would be the last for eighteen years as the First World War and Englands dominance afterwards would deny them glory. In 1897 land was purchased, by the SFU, at Inverleith, thus the SFU became the first of the Home Unions to own its own ground. The first visitors were Ireland, on 18 February 1899, international rugby was played at Inverleith until 1925. The SFU bought some land and built the first Murrayfield Stadium which was opened on 21 March 1925, in 1925 Scotland already had victories over France at Inverleith, Wales in Swansea and Ireland in Dublin. England, the Grand Slam champions of the two seasons were the first visitors to Murrayfield. 70,000 spectators saw the lead change three times before Scotland secured a 14–11 victory which gave them their first-ever Five Nations Grand Slam
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Wales national rugby union team
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The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy, Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 26 times outright. Wales most recent championship win came in 2013, the governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union, was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. Wales performances in the Home Nations Championship continued to improve, experiencing their first golden age between 1900 and 1911 and they first played New Zealand, known as the All Blacks, in 1905, when they defeated them 3–0 in a famous match at Cardiff Arms Park. Welsh rugby struggled between the two World Wars, but experienced a golden age between 1969 and 1980 when they won eight Five Nations Championships. Wales played in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 where they achieved their best ever result of third, following the sport allowing professionalism in 1995, Wales hosted the 1999 World Cup and, in 2005, won their first Six Nations Grand Slam. That was the first Grand Slam won by a team playing most of the matches away from home, Wales won two more Grand Slams in 2008 and in 2012, and in 2011 came fourth in the Rugby World Cup. Their home ground is the Millennium Stadium, currently known for reasons as Principality Stadium. Eight former Welsh players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame, Rugby union took root in Wales in 1850, when Reverend Rowland Williams became Vice-Principal at St Davids College, Lampeter, where he introduced the sport. Wales played their first international on 19 February 1881, organised by Newports Richard Mullock, Wales played against England, losing by seven goals, one drop goal, on 12 March 1881, the Welsh Rugby Union was formed at The Castle Hotel, Neath. Two years later, the Home Nation Championship – now the Six Nations Championship – was first played, however, rugby in Wales developed and, by the 1890s, the Welsh had developed the four three-quarters formation. This formation – with seven backs and eight forwards, instead of six backs and nine forwards – revolutionised the sport and was adopted almost universally at international. With the four three-quarter formation Wales became Home International Champions for the first time in 1893, Wales next won the Championship in 1900, heralding the first golden age of Welsh rugby which was to last until 1911. They won two more Triple Crowns in 1902 and 1905, and were runners up in 1901,1903 and 1904, when Wales faced New Zealands All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in late 1905 they had not lost at home since 1899. The referee ruled a scrum to Wales and the score did not change, the loss was the All Blacks only loss on their 35-match tour. In 1906, Wales again won the Home Championship, and later that played the South African national side. Wales were favourites to win the match, but instead South Africa dominated in the forwards, two years later, on 12 December 1908, Wales played the touring Australians, the Wallabies, who they defeated 9–6. In 1909, Wales won the Home Championship and then, in 1910 – with the inclusion of France – the first Five Nations and it would be nearly forty years before they achieved a Grand Slam again
37.
Twickenham Stadium
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Twickenham Stadium is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, south west London, England. Owned by the body of rugby union in England, the Rugby Football Union. The RFU headquarters are based in the stadium and it is the second largest stadium in the UK, after Wembley Stadium, and the fourth largest in Europe. Twickenham is often referred to as the home of rugby union, the stadium, owned and operated by the RFU, hosts rugby union fixtures year round. It is the home of the English rugby union team, who nearly all their home games at the stadium. Twickenham hosts Englands home Six Nations matches, as well as inbound touring teams from the Southern Hemisphere, apart from its relationship with the national team, Twickenham is the venue for a number of other domestic and international rugby union matches. It is also the venue for the final of the Aviva Premiership as well as the season-opening London Double Header, Big Game, anglo-Welsh Cup, Heineken Cup and Champions Cup finals have also been held here in the past. Sold out Tests against New Zealand and South Africa at Crystal Palace saw the RFU realise the benefit of owning their own ground. Committee member William Williams and treasurer William Cail led the way to purchasing a 10.25 acre market garden in Twickenham in 1907 for £5,500 12s 6d, the first stands were constructed the following year. Before the ground was purchased, it was used to grow cabbages, after further expenditure on roads, the first game, between Harlequins v. Richmond, was played on 2 October 1909, and the first international, England v. Wales, on 15 January 1910. At the time of the English-Welsh game, the stadium had a capacity of 20,000 spectators. During World War I the ground was used for cattle, horse, king George V unveiled a war memorial in 1921. In 1926, the first Middlesex Sevens took place at the ground, in 1927 the first Varsity Match took place at Twickenham for the first time. On 19 March 1938, BBC Television broadcast the England – Scotland match from Twickenham, in 1959, to mark 50 years of the ground, a combined side of England and Wales beat Ireland and Scotland by 26 points to 17. Coming into the last match of the 1988 season, against the Irish, the Twickenham crowd had only seen one solitary England try in the previous two years, and at half-time against Ireland they were 0–3 down. During the second half a remarkable transformation took place and England started playing a game many had doubted they were capable of producing. A 0–3 deficit was turned into a 35–3 win, with England scoring six tries and this day also saw the origins of the adoption of the negro spiritual Swing Low, Sweet Chariot as a terrace song. In the 35–3 win against Ireland, three of Englands tries were scored by Chris Oti, a player who had made a reputation for himself that season as a speedster on the left wing
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Stade de France
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The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 81,338 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe, the stadium is used by the France national football team and French rugby union team for international competition. Originally built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the name was recommended by Michel Platini. On 12 July 1998, France defeated Brazil 3–0 in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final contested at the stadium, the facility also hosted the Race of Champions auto race in 2004,2005, and 2006. The stadium hosted the 2003 World Championships in Athletics and since 1999 it has hosted the annual Meeting Areva athletics meet and it also hosted some matches at UEFA Euro 2016, including the final, where France lost to Portugal by 1-0 after extra-time. Domestically, the Stade de France serves as a secondary home facility of Parisian rugby clubs Stade Français and Racing Métro 92, the facility is owned and operated by the Consortium Stade de France. The discussion of a stadium in France came about as a result of the countrys selection to host the 1998 FIFA World Cup on 2 July 1992. As a result of the selection, the country and the France Football Federation made a commitment to construct an 80 and it was the first time in over 70 years since the construction of the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir that a stadium in France was being constructed for a specific event. Due to the magnitude and importance of the facility, the Council of State was allowed first hand approach to how the stadium would be constructed and paid for. The stadiums design was handled by the team of architects composed of Michel Macary, Aymeric Zublena, Regembal Michel, and Claude Costantini who were associated with CR SCAU Architecture. The stadium was ready for construction following the governments selection of manufacturers, Bouygues, Dumez, and SGE. With only 31 months to complete the stadium, construction commenced on 2 May 1995, the laying of the first cornerstone took place five months later on 6 September. After over a year of construction, over 800, 000m ² of earthworks had been created, the installation of the roof, which cost €45 million, and the mobile platform also took more than a year to complete. During the developmental phase, the stadium was referred to in French as the Grand Stade, on 4 December 1995, the Ministry of Sport launched a design competition to decide on a name for the stadium. The stadium was named the Stade de France after the Ministry heard a proposal from French football legend Michel Platini. The stadium was inaugurated on 28 January 1998 as it hosted a match between France and Spain. The total cost of the stadium was approximately €290 million, the national rugby teams first match in the facility was contested five days after its opening, on 2 February, with France earning a 24–17 win over England in front of 77,567 spectators. Philippe Bernat-Salles converted the first ever try at the stadium scoring it in the 11th minute of play, on 24 May 2000, the Stade de France hosted the 2000 UEFA Champions League Final
39.
Aviva Stadium
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The Aviva Stadium is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,700 spectators. The decision to redevelop the stadium came after plans for both Stadium Ireland and Eircom Park fell through, Aviva Group Ireland signed a 10-year deal for the naming rights in 2009. The stadium, located adjacent to Lansdowne Road railway station, officially opened on 14 May 2010, the stadium is Irelands first, and only, UEFA Elite Stadium and in 2011, it hosted the Europa League Final. It also hosted the inaugural Nations Cup, as well as the home fixtures of the national rugby team, national football team. The joint venture has a 60-year lease on the stadium, on expiry the stadium will return to the ownership of the IRFU. The northern end of the stadium, due to its proximity to local housing, the North Stand is to be the away stand for football internationals. There is one basement level and seven storeys of floors including ground level, the premium level holds 10,000 spectators, while the box level holds 1,300. The remaining 38,700 seats are shared between the top and bottom tiers, the stadiums roof is designed to undulate in a wave-like manner so as to avoid blocking light to local residences. The stadium was opened on 14 May 2010 by then Taoiseach Brian Cowen. In 2011, the stadium won a British Construction Industry Award, Irelands first international game was on 6 November 2010 against South Africa, with the Springboks winning 23–21. The game drew a crowd of 35,515, mainly due to a backlash by Ireland supporters over the IRFUs controversial ticketing strategy for the November Test series, initially, the IRFU announced that tickets to the November Tests would only be sold as packages for all four matches. Single-game tickets were to be only for the Samoa and Argentina Tests. On 1 November, the IRFU backed away from this plan amid heavy criticism from clubs that had problems selling the packages in a difficult economy. The winner of the promotion, John Baker of Ennis, was successful, the first official points at the Aviva were scored by Ulsters Craig Gilroy with a try in the O2 Challenge. The stadium also hosts home games for Leinster when the RDS Arenas smaller capacity doesnt satisfy demand. Leinster won their home game in the Aviva against Munster 13-9, in the Magners League season. This league record was exceeded on 29 March 2014 when Leinster again beat Munster, 22-18, Leinster won their first Heineken Cup game in the Aviva 24–8, against Clermont Auvergne in a pool game during the 2010–11 season. During Leinsters successful run to the Heineken Cup title that season, they took their quarter-final and semi-final matches to the Aviva, defeating Leicester Tigers, ulster took their 2012 Heineken Cup semi-final to the Aviva as well, defeating Edinburgh
40.
Murrayfield Stadium
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Murrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity is 67,800 which makes it the largest stadium in Scotland, although mainly a rugby union stadium, Murrayfield has in the past hosted American football, rugby league and association football matches and music concerts. Murrayfield is located near to Murrayfield Ice Rink, Murrayfield Curling Rink and it is named after the area of Edinburgh it is located in, Murrayfield. Despite the line running adjacent to the stadium, the closest railway station to the stadium is Haymarket, interchange with the Edinburgh Trams is available at Haymarket and Edinburgh Park. Edinburgh Waverley station is a walk from the St Andrew Square tram stop. Murrayfield Stadium tram stop is located close to the turnstiles on Roseburn Street, access to the platform is by a flight stairs. As part of crowd-management measures, ticketing machines are situated at the bottom of the staircase, the stadium is served by Lothian Bus services 12,22,26,31 and the Airlink along Corstorphine Road, though post-match traffic congestion is common along this route. The SRU identified 19 acres of land at Murrayfield, purchasing this from Edinburgh Polo Club at Murrayfield, a stand and three embankments were constructed, which took two years. Previous internationals had been played at Inverleith, on 21 March 1925 England were the first team to visit Murrayfield, with 70,000 people watching Scotland beat them to win their first Five Nations Championship Grand Slam. During the Second World War the ground at Murrayfield was offered to the nation and was taken over by the Royal Army Service Corps, during the war years the armed forces sports authorities managed to arrange two Scotland v. England services internationals each year, on a home-and-away basis. Scotlands home matches were played at Inverleith for the first two years with a return to Murrayfield in 1944 after that grounds derequisition, murrayfields record attendance of 104,000 was set on 1 March 1975 when Scotland defeated Wales 12–10 during the 1975 Five Nations Championship. This attendance stood as a record until 1999. In October 1991 another debenture scheme was launched, to finance a more comprehensive redevelopment of the West Stand, in 1994, Murrayfield completed a £50-million renovation where floodlights were installed for the first time. In October 2012, SRU chief executive Mark Dodson told the BBC that it was seeking a name sponsor for Murrayfield. We would like to see if we can monetise that and it would be crazy for us not to look at using our single biggest piece of inventory to drive revenue. We want to get the price for it. In addition, Dodson indicated that the SRU was actively seeking a site for a new stadium with a capacity of 10,000 to 15,000 as a future home for Edinburgh Rugby. The pitch was damaged by nematodes in the lead up to the 2013 autumn internationals and this led the SRU to replace the grass with a Desso surface from the start of the 2014 season
41.
Millennium Stadium
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The Millennium Stadium, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Principality Stadium, is the national stadium of Wales, located in Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby team and has also staged games of the Wales national football team. It also hosted six FA Cup finals and several other high-profile football fixtures while Wembley Stadium was being redeveloped, the stadium is owned by Millennium Stadium plc, a subsidiary company of the Welsh Rugby Union. The stadium was designed by a led by architects Bligh Lobb Sports Architecture. WS Atkins were the engineers, and the building contractor was Laing. The total construction cost of the stadium was £121 million, of which the Millennium Commission funded £46 million, with a total seating capacity of 74,500, it is the third-largest stadium in the Six Nations Championship behind the Stade de France and Twickenham. It is also the second-largest stadium in the world with a retractable roof and was the second stadium in Europe to have this feature. Listed as a category four stadium by UEFA, the stadium was chosen as the venue for the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final, due to take place on 3 June 2017. In 2015, the Welsh Rugby Union announced a 10-year sponsorship deal with the Principality Building Society that saw the renamed as the Principality Stadium from early 2016. Until 1969, Cardiff RFC and Wales both played their matches on the same pitch at Cardiff Arms Park, but all this changed in the 1969–70 season. By 7 April 1984 the National Stadium was officially opened, however, in 1994, a redevelopment committee was set up to consider redeveloping the National Stadium, and by 1995 the WRU had been chosen to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup. France was also about to build the Stade de France, which would have a capacity of more than 80,000 for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The original capacity of the National Stadium was 65,000,11,000 of 53,000 capacity was on the East Terrace and the conversion to an all-seater stadium would have reduced the stadium capacity still further to just 47,500. It was only visible from across the River Taff in the west. Access to the ground was very restricted with the main entrance being a narrow opening in Westgate Street to the east which was shared by both vehicles and spectators alike. The options for the new stadium included adding a third tier to the existing National Stadium, the committee eventually chose a new stadium on the same site but with considerable increase in its capacity. It would also involve moving the alignment of the stadium from west-east to north-south and this was the option supported by the Millennium Commission. It would become the fourth redevelopment of the Cardiff Arms Park site and it was also decided that the new stadium should have a sliding roof to accommodate a multi-use venue, with a grass pitch for rugby and football
