Sport in London - Football

Football

London has a special place in the history of football. The playing of football in London has been well documented since it was first outlawed in 1314. In the sixteenth century the headmaster of St Paul's School Richard Mulcaster is credited with taking mob football and transforming it into organised and refereed team football. The modern game of football was first codified in 1863 in London and subsequently spread worldwide. Key to the establishment of the modern game was Londoner Ebenezer Cobb Morley who was a founding member of The Football Association, the oldest football organisation in the world. Morley wrote to Bell's Life newspaper proposing a governing body for football which led directly to the first meeting at the Freemasons' Tavern in central London of the FA. He wrote the first set of rules of true modern Association football at his house in Barnes. The modern passing game was invented in London in the early 1870s by the Royal Engineers A.F.C..

The most popular spectator sport in London is association football, and London has several of England's leading clubs. Most London clubs are named after the district in which they play (or used to play). Historically the London clubs have not accumulated as many trophies as those from the north-west of England, such as Liverpool and Manchester United, but at present Arsenal (founded at Woolwich Arsenal but playing in Holloway), and Chelsea (who actually play in Fulham) are regarded as two of the Premier League's "big four" alongside Manchester United and Liverpool. In 2003-04 they became the first pair of London clubs to finish first and second in the top flight, with Arsenal winning. In 2004-05 they did so again, this time with Chelsea winning. In 2009–10, three of the top four places were occupied by London sides—Chelsea (champions), Arsenal (3rd) and Tottenham Hotspur (4th). This meant that the 2010–11 season would see three London clubs in the UEFA Champions League for the first time ever. In 2012, Chelsea claimed the first-ever Champions League title for a London club.

London clubs are able to charge higher ticket prices than clubs in other parts of the country (particularly for corporate facilities), and this has swung English football's balance of power towards London. Before Chelsea's recent rise in fortunes the two highest profile London clubs were Arsenal and their long-standing North London rivals Tottenham, both of whom were considered to be members of English football's "big five" for most of the post-war period. The 2012–13 Premier League will feature six London clubs: Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea, plus Fulham, Queens Park Rangers (QPR) and West Ham United.

There are also eight London clubs in the fully professional Football League (the three divisions below the Premiership), namely AFC Wimbledon, Barnet, Brentford, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Dagenham & Redbridge, Leyton Orient and Millwall. Three of the eight clubs have never previously played in the first division—Barnet; Dagenham & Redbridge, which debuted in The Football League in 2007–08; and AFC Wimbledon, which made their Football League debut in 2011–12. AFC Wimbledon was formed in 2002 after Wimbledon F.C. received approval from The FA for their controversial relocation to Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, a move that was eventually made in 2003. The relocated club is now known as Milton Keynes Dons. AFC Wimbledon inherited most of Wimbledon F.C.'s former support, despite playing at a much lower level in the football pyramid. In their first season as a fully professional club in 2010–11, AFC Wimbledon finished second in Conference National and went on to win the playoffs for promotion to The Football League. There are also numerous London clubs playing outside the top four divisions of English football, one or two of which are fully professional and many of which are part-time professional. Hackney Marshes in east London, home to many amateur sides, is reportedly the single largest collection of football pitches in the world.