Sheffield - Sport

Sport

Sheffield has a long sporting heritage. In 1857 a collective of cricketers formed the world's first-ever official football club, Sheffield F.C., and the world's second-ever, Hallam F.C., who also play at the world's oldest football ground in the suburb of Crosspool. By 1860 there were 15 football clubs in Sheffield, with the first ever amateur league and cup competitions taking place in the city. There are two professional clubs in the Football League: Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday. Sheffield United play in Football League One and Sheffield Wednesday in the Football League Championship. Rotherham United, who play in Football League Two, did play their home games in the city between 2008 and 2012, having moved to play at Sheffield's Don Valley Stadium in 2008 following a dispute with their previous landlord at their traditional home ground of Millmoor, Rotherham. However, in July 2012, the club moved to the new 12,000 seat New York Stadium in Rotherham. There are also two major non-league sides: Sheffield F.C. and Hallam F.C., although Sheffield now play just outside the city in nearby Dronfield, Derbyshire. Sheffield and Hallam contest what has become known as the Sheffield derby, whilst United and Wednesday contest the Steel City derby. There are also facilities for golf, climbing, and bowling, as well as a newly inaugurated national ice-skating arena (IceSheffield).

Sheffield Eagles RLFC are the city's professional Rugby league team who play their matches at Bramall Lane, where they ground share with owners Sheffield United Football Club. They currently play in the 2nd tier of the professional league, the Championship. Their most successful moment came in 1998, when, against all the odds they defeated Wigan Warriors in the Challenge Cup final, despite being huge underdogs. The team then hit troubled times before reforming in 2003. Since then they have played their rugby in the Championship (second tier). In 2011, they made the playoffs finishing in 5th place. They made the Grand Final, by defeating Leigh, who were huge favourites in a playoff semi final. In the final, they were comprehensively beaten by Featherstone. Sheffield also put in a bid to be a host city for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, but their bid was unsuccessful.

Sheffield is also home to the Sheffield Steelers ice hockey team who play out of the 8,500 seater Sheffield Arena. They play in the 10 team professional Elite Ice Hockey League. Many of Sheffield's sporting facilities were built for the World Student Games, which the city hosted in 1991. They include the Don Valley International Athletics Stadium, the largest athletics stadium in the UK with a capacity of 25,000, Sheffield Arena, and the Ponds Forge international diving and swimming complex. Ponds Forge is also the home of Sheffield City Swimming Club, a local swimming club competing in the speedo league. The Sheffield Ski Village is the largest artificial ski resort in Europe. The city also has three indoor climbing centres. Sheffield was the UK's first National City of Sport and is now home to the English Institute of Sport – Sheffield, where British athletes are training for the 2012 Olympics.

Sheffield also has close ties with snooker, with the city's Crucible Theatre being the venue for the World Snooker Championships. The English Institute of Sport hosts most of the top fencing competitions each year, including the National Championships for Seniors, Juniors (U20's) and Cadets (U17's) as well as the 2011 Senior European Fencing Championships. The English squash open is also held in the city every year. The International Open and World Matchplay Championship bowls tournaments have both been held at Ponds Forge. The city also hosts the Sheffield Tigers rugby union, Sheffield Sharks basketball, Sheffield University Bankers hockey, Sheffield Steelers ice hockey and Sheffield Tigers speedway teams. Sheffield also has many Golf courses all around the city.

Sheffield was selected as a candidate host city by the Football Association (FA) as part of the English 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bid on 16 December 2009. Hillsborough Stadium was chosen as the proposed venue for matches in Sheffield. The bid failed.

The National Hockey League's Stanley Cup was made in Sheffield in 1892.

Sheffield is also home to the Sheffield Steel Rollergirls, a roller derby team.