Sports
Built in 1883, Mahalaxmi Racecourse was created out of a marshy land known as Mahalakshmi Flats.Cricket is one of the most popular sport in the city. Due to a shortage of grounds, various modified versions (generally referred to as gully cricket) are played everywhere. Mumbai is also home to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Indian Premier League (IPL). The Mumbai cricket team represents the city in the Ranji Trophy and has won 39 titles, the most by any team. The city is also represented by the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. The city has two international cricket grounds, the Wankhede Stadium and the Brabourne Stadium. The first cricket test match in India was played in Mumbai at Bombay Gymkhana. The biggest cricketing event to be staged in the city so far is the final of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup which was played at the Wankhede Stadium. Mumbai and London are the only two cities to have hosted both a World Cup final and the final of an ICC Champions Trophy which was played at the Brabourne Stadium in 2006.
Football is another popular sport in the city, with the FIFA World Cup and the English Premier League being followed widely. In the I-League (matches in the city are played at the Cooperage Ground), the city is represented by three teams, Mumbai FC, Mahindra United and Air-India. Mumbai is home to the Maratha Warriors, the only team from Maharashtra competing in the Premier Hockey League. When the Elite Football League of India was introduced in August 2011, Mumbai was noted as one of eight cities to be awarded a team for the inaugural season. Named the Mumbai Gladiators, the team's first season will be played in Pune in late 2012, and it will be Mumbai's first professional American football franchise.
Every February, Mumbai holds derby races at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. Mcdowell's Derby is also held in February at the Turf club in Mumbai. In March 2004, the Mumbai Grand Prix was part of the F1 powerboat world championship. and the Force India F1 team car was unveiled in the city, in 2008. The city is planning to build its own F1 track and various sites in the city were being chalked out, of which the authorities have planned to zero down on Marve-Malad or Panvel-Kalyan land. If approved, the track will be clubbed with a theme park and will spread over 400 to 500 acres (202 ha). In 2004, the annual Mumbai Marathon was established as a part of "The Greatest Race on Earth". Mumbai has also played host to the Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open, an International Series tournament of the ATP World Tour, in 2006 and 2007.
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