View source for Football in England

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Use British English|date=November 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox sport overview
| title = Football in England
| image = UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifiers - England v Estonia.jpg
| caption = The [[England national football team]] playing at [[Wembley Stadium]] in 2008
| union = [[The Football Association]] (FA)
| nationalteam = [[England national football team|Men's]]{{·}} [[England women's national football team|women's]]
| country = England
| sport = Association football
| noncountry = 
| nickname = 
| first = {{start date and age|1863}}
| last = 
| registered = 800,000+<ref name="registeredFA">{{cite web |title=Registering Club Players in Whole Game |url=https://www.thefa.com/-/media/thefacom-new/files/get-involved/matchday/registering-club-players-in-whole-game-system.ashx |website=The FA |access-date=26 March 2023 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326184545/https://www.thefa.com/-/media/thefacom-new/files/get-involved/matchday/registering-club-players-in-whole-game-system.ashx |url-status=live }}</ref>
| clubs = [[List of football clubs in England|40,000+ clubs]] (organised into [[English football league pyramid|600+ leagues]])<ref name="registeredFA"/>

<!-- COMPETITIONS -->| national_list = {{Plainlist|
'''Men's competition'''
* [[FIFA World Cup]]
* [[UEFA European Championship]]
* [[UEFA Nations League]]
'''Women's competition'''
* [[FIFA Women's World Cup]]
* [[UEFA Women's Championship]]
* [[UEFA Women's Nations League]]
 }}
| club_list = {{Plainlist|
* '''League:''' <br /> '''Men's competition''' <br />[[Premier League]] <br /> [[EFL Championship]] <br /> [[EFL League One]] <br /> [[EFL League Two]] <br /> [[National League (division)|National League]] <br /> [[National League North]] <br /> [[National League South]] <br /> [[Isthmian League]] <br/> [[Northern Premier League]] <br/> [[Southern Football League]] <br/> [[Northern Premier League|Northern Premier League Premier Division]]<br /> [[Southern Football League#Premier Central|Southern Football League Premier Central]]<br />  [[Southern Football League|Southern Football League Premier South]] <br />  [[Isthmian League | Isthmian League Premier Division]] 
'''Women's competition''' <br /> [[FA Women's Super League]] <br /> [[FA Women's Championship]] <br /> [[FA Women's National League North]] <br /> [[FA Women's National League South]]

* '''Cups:''' <br /> '''Men's competition''' <br /> [[FA Cup]] <br /> [[EFL Cup]] <br />[[FA Community Shield]] <br /> [[EFL Trophy]] <br /> [[FA Trophy]] <br /> [[FA Vase]] <br /> [[FA Inter-League Cup]] <br /> '''Women's competition''' <br /> [[Women's FA Cup]] <br /> [[FA Women's League Cup]] <br /> [[Women's FA Community Shield]]
}}

| intl_list = {{Plainlist|
'''Men's competition'''
* [[FIFA Club World Cup]]
* [[FIFA Intercontinental Cup]]
* [[UEFA Champions League]]
* [[UEFA Europa League]]
* [[UEFA Conference League]] 
* [[UEFA Super Cup]]
'''Women's competition'''
* [[FIFA Women's Club World Cup]]
* [[UEFA Women's Champions League]]
}}
<!-- AUDIENCE RECORDS -->| match = 
| league = 
}}
[[Association football|Football]] is the most popular sport in [[England]].<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2017/02/15/popular-sport-england/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2017/02/15/popular-sport-england/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=What is the most popular sport in England?|work=The Telegraph|date=15 February 2017 |access-date=18 February 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Widely regarded as the birthplace of modern football, the first official rules of the game were established in England in 1863. The country is home to the world's first football league, the oldest national governing body, and the oldest national knockout competition.<ref name=":2" /> With over 40,000 football clubs, England has more teams involved in the sport than any other country. The world's first football club, [[Sheffield F.C.]], and the oldest professional club, [[Notts County F.C.|Notts County]], were both founded in England.<ref name="bbc4433098" />

The influence of the British Empire helped spread football across the globe, shaping the development of the modern [[Laws of the Game (association football)|Laws of the Game]]. England's domestic football scene remains one of the strongest in the world, with the [[Premier League]] ranking among the richest and most popular leagues globally. As of 2024, five of the ten [[Forbes' list of the most valuable football clubs|richest football clubs]] were English.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityam.com/272109/worlds-richest-football-clubs-real-madrid-replace|title=Real Madrid topple Man Utd in Deloitte Football Money League|last=Dalleres|first=Frank|date=2019-01-23|website=cityam.com|language=en|access-date=2019-02-21|archive-date=22 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222042157/http://www.cityam.com/272109/worlds-richest-football-clubs-real-madrid-replace|url-status=live}}</ref> Football remains deeply ingrained in English culture, with 31% of the population expressing an interest in the sport.<ref>{{Cite web |last=TGM Research |title=TGM Global Euro Survey 2024 {{!}} Insights in the UK |url=https://tgmresearch.com/euro-2024-insights-in-uk.html |access-date=2024-06-28 |website=TGM Research |language=en-gb}}</ref>

The [[England national football team]] is one of only eight teams to have won the [[FIFA World Cup]], lifting the trophy once, [[1966 FIFA World Cup|in 1966]]. The team played in the first international match in 1872 and has since qualified for the World Cup 16 times.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> 78% of the British people were interested in following, listening or watching the 2022 FIFA World Cup.<ref>{{cite web | title=16.8 million Brits plan to stream world's biggest football tournament | date=18 November 2022 | url=https://newdigitalage.co/technology/16-8-million-brits-plan-to-stream-worlds-biggest-football-tournament/ }}</ref>

English club teams have also enjoyed success on the European stage, with six clubs winning the [[UEFA Champions League]], previously known as the [[European Cup]].

==History of the men's game==<!-- This section is linked from [[Premier League]] -->
{{Further|History of football in England|Timeline of English football|History of the English football league system|History of the England national football team}}

===Middle Ages===
Football was played in England as far back as [[medieval era|medieval]] times. The first written evidence of a football match came in about 1170, when [[William Fitzstephen]] wrote of his visit to London, "After dinner all the youths of the city goes out into the fields for the very popular game of ball." He also went on to mention that each trade had their own team, "The elders, the fathers, and the men of wealth come on horseback to view the contests of their juniors, and in their fashion sport with the young men; and there seems to be aroused in these elders a stirring of natural heat by viewing so much activity and by participation in the joys of unrestrained youth." Kicking ball games are described in England from 1280.<ref name="spartacus">
{{cite web 
 |title=History of Football 
 |publisher=Spartacus Educational 
 |url=http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fhistory.htm 
 |access-date=16 October 2008 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418122238/http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fhistory.htm 
 |archive-date=18 April 2007
 }}</ref>

In 1314, [[Edward II of England|Edward II]], then the [[Kingdom of England|King of England]], said about a sport of football and the use of [[football (ball)|footballs]], "certain tumults arising from great footballs in the fields of the public, from which many evils may arise."<ref name="spartacus"/> An account of an exclusively kicking "football" game from [[Nottinghamshire]] in the fifteenth century bears similarity to association football.<ref>Magoun, Francis Peabody (1929). Football in Medieval England and Middle-English literature. The American Historical Review, vol 35, No. 1.</ref> By the 16th centuries, references to organised teams and [[goal (sport)|goal]]s had appeared. There is evidence for refereed, team football games being played in English schools since at least 1581.<ref name="spartacus"/> The eighteenth-century [[The Gymnastic Society|Gymnastic Society]] of London is, arguably, the world's first football club.

===19th century developments===
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2020}}
The 19th century saw the codification of the rules of football at several [[Public school (United Kingdom)|public school]]s, with those of [[Rugby School]] (first published 1845) and [[Eton College]] (first published 1847) being particularly influential, in addition to those of [[Harrow School|Harrow]], [[Winchester College|Winchester]] and [[Shrewsbury School|Shrewsbury]].<ref name="curry">{{cite book |first1=Graham |last1=Curry |first2=Eric |last2=Dunning |title=Association Football: A Study in Figurational Sociology |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon, Oxfordshire |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-13-824258-6}}</ref> The need for alumni of different public schools to be able to play against each other resulted in several sets of "compromise laws", often known as [[Cambridge rules]], being drawn up at the [[University of Cambridge]] between the 1830s and the 1860s.<ref name="curry"/>

In the second half of the century, a culture of independent "football clubs" began to thrive. It was through the spread of football in elite social groups that allowed the growth of such clubs. It was common for sons descendant of elite locals to return to their home from school and form their own clubs.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Matthew |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sports History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2017 |isbn=9780197520956 |editor-last=Edelman |editor-first=Robert |edition=1st |pages=184 |language=en |chapter=The Global Spread of Football}}</ref> In 1894, Charles Miller, a young elite son of a Scottish father and Brazilian mother, returned home after his studies in Southampton with a new profound passion for football.<ref>[7] Ibid., 185.</ref> Miller spread this passion of football to his fellow peers in a local athletic club and began to organise local football matches.<ref>[8] Ibid.</ref> More importantly, colleges that trained teachers encouraged educators to spread the passion of football and even set up their own football clubs.<ref>[9] Ibid.</ref> This encouragement of educators to spread the enthusiasm for football aided in the global diffusion of football. For example, William Leslie Poole, a teacher at the English High School in Montevideo, is acknowledged as the founder of the first football club and league in Uruguay.<ref>[10] Ibid.</ref>

Particularly in London and Sheffield, with [[Sheffield FC|Sheffield Football Club]], founded in 1857, is recognised today as the world's oldest surviving independent football club.<ref name="football-first100">{{cite book |last=Harvey |first=Adrian |title=Football, the First Hundred Years: The Untold Story of the People's Game |url=https://archive.org/details/footballfirsthun00harv |url-access=limited |year=2005 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon, Oxfordshire |page=[https://archive.org/details/footballfirsthun00harv/page/n150 126] |isbn=978-0-41-535018-1}}</ref> The example of Sheffield F.C., which published its first set of laws in 1859, soon led to a proliferation of clubs in and around the city playing "[[Sheffield rules]]".<ref name="football-first100" /> Sheffield hosted the world's first multi-team football tournament, the [[Youdan Cup]], in 1867. In general, each football club, school or university tended to have its own rules, which might differ on such fundamental questions as whether to follow the example of Rugby School by allowing the ball to be carried, with players carrying the ball being allowed to be "hacked" (kicked in the shins) by their opponents. The desire of football clubs for a common code was the impetus behind the foundation of the [[Football Association]] (FA) in 1863. Within the FA, there was an acrimonious debate between the "hacking" and "non-hacking" clubs. When the first meetings were held to discuss the FA's laws of football, the "hackers" were in the ascendancy, but the publication of the 1863 set of Cambridge rules (which forbade hacking) enabled the "non-hackers" to prevail and the FA's first [[Laws of the Game (association football)|Laws of the Game]], published in December 1863, banned hacking and carrying the ball.<ref>Harvey, pp. 144–145.</ref> The FA, initially dominated by London-based clubs, saw its influence gradually spread over the country by the success of [[FA Cup]], first contested in the 1871–72 season.

{{multiple image
|align = right
|direction = vertical
|total_width = 230
|image1 = Harraw school football team 1867.jpg
|caption1 = [[Harrow School]] team of 1867
|image2 = 1stRoyalEngineers.png 
|caption2 = The [[Royal Engineers AFC]] (1872): the [[Combination Game|first passing side]]
}}
Between 1863 and 2021, the FA and Sheffield rules co-existed, with each code at times influencing the other. Several games were played between Sheffield and London teams, using both sets of rules. After several disputes, the two codes were unified in 1877 when the Sheffield Football Association voted to adopt the FA laws, following the adoption of a compromise throw-in law by the FA.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal |quote=It was then formally resolved, ... that the Sheffield Association accept the Clydesdale Amendment and the London Rules" |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meeting_of_the_Sheffield_Football_Association_(Sheffield_Independent)_1877_04_24.png |title=Meeting of the Sheffield Football Association |journal=Sheffield and Rotherham Independent |volume=lxi |issue=5722 |date=24 April 1877 |page=7 |access-date=3 July 2019 |archive-date=24 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200424165851/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meeting_of_the_Sheffield_Football_Association_(Sheffield_Independent)_1877_04_24.png |url-status=live }}</ref> The Sheffield rules had a major influence on how the modern game of [[Association football|football]] developed. Among other things they introduced into the laws of the game are the concepts of [[Corner kick|corners]], and [[Indirect free kick|free kicks]] for fouls.<ref name="Potting shed">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/7059900.stm |title=Potting shed birth of oldest team |date=24 October 2007 |publisher=BBC |access-date=15 March 2008 |archive-date=29 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129111640/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/7059900.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

International football began [[England v Scotland representative football matches (1870–1872)|when teams representing England and Scotland]] met in a match at [[Kennington Oval]] in south London on 5 March 1870. A total of five games were played between the two teams to 21 February 1872, but they are not recognised as official internationals by FIFA because the Scottish players were all London-based and so not fully representative of Scotland as a nation.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

The [[1872 Scotland v England football match|first official international]], [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] v [[England national football team|England]], was played on 30 November 1872 at [[Hamilton Crescent]], the [[West of Scotland Cricket Club]]'s ground in [[Partick]], [[Glasgow]]. It was a 0–0 draw watched by 4,000 spectators.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} On 8 March 1873, England's 4–2 win over Scotland at Kennington Oval was the first-ever victory in international football.<ref name="rsssf.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/eng-intres.html |title=England – International Results |access-date=31 July 2013 |url-status=live |website=[[RSSSF]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625093653/http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/eng-intres.html |archive-date=25 June 2016}}</ref>

The late nineteenth century was dominated by the growing split between the amateur and professional teams, which was roughly aligned along a [[North-South divide (England)|North-South divide]]. Northern clubs were keen to adopt professionalism as workers could not afford to play on an amateur basis, while Southern clubs by the large part stuck by traditional "Corinthian" values of [[Amateur sports|amateurism]]. Eventually, in 1885, the FA legalised professionalism, and when [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] director [[William McGregor (football)|William McGregor]] organised a meeting of representatives of England's leading clubs, this led to the formation of [[English Football League|the Football League]] in 1888. [[Preston North End F.C.|Preston North End]] were inaugural winners in [[1888–89 in English football|1888–89]] and were also the first club to complete the [[Double (association football)#England|double]] of both winning the league and the FA Cup. Aston Villa repeated the feat in [[1896–97 in English football|1896–97]].{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

===Early 20th century: Expanding the league===
The League expanded over the next 25 years as football boomed in England, from one division of twelve clubs in 1888, to two divisions by the [[The Football League 1892–93|1892–93 season]], with a total of 28 clubs and with the gradual addition of more clubs, a total of 40 by [[The Football League 1905–06|1905–06]]. It remained at 40 until the league was suspended after the [[The Football League 1914–15|1914–15 season]] with the outbreak of [[World War I]]. During this time clubs from the [[Northern England|North]] and [[English Midlands|Midlands]] dominated, with Aston Villa, [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]], [[Sheffield Wednesday F.C.|The Wednesday (later renamed Sheffield Wednesday)]] and [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] all winning three or more league titles in the period leading up to World War I. Other clubs to win league titles in this period include [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]], [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] and [[Everton F.C.|Everton]]. London-based clubs enjoyed little success during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the first major trophy being won by a London-based club being [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur's]] [[FA Cup]] triumph in 1901, when they were still a [[Southern Football League]] club, although they were elected to the [[English Football League|Football League]] soon after.

During the war, competitive football was suspended. However, an unofficial "Wartime Football league" was played from [[1915–16 in English football|1915–16]] to [[1918–19 in English football|1918–19]], although the FA Cup was suspended until after the war.

In the [[1920–21 in English football|1920–21 season]] the Football League was expanded, with the new [[Football League Third Division|Third Division]], which expanded the league south of [[Birmingham]], which until then had been sparsely represented in the Football League. Each division had 22 clubs. The [[1921–22 in English football|next season]] the league was again expanded with the Third Division divided into [[Football League Third Division North|North]] (with 20 clubs) and [[Football League Third Division South|South]] (with 22 clubs) sections, making a total of 86 clubs in the Football League. In the [[1923–24 in English football|1923–24 season]] the Third Division North was expanded to 22 clubs, making a total of 88 league clubs.

After half a century of cup finals and internationals being hosted at various venues across England, the national stadium at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley]] was opened in 1923, with the "[[FA Cup Final 1923|White Horse Final]]" being the first FA Cup final to be played there. [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]] defeated [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]] to win this landmark game. Bolton Wanderers would win the FA Cup on three occasions during the 1920s.

The inter-war years were dominated by [[Huddersfield Town F.C.|Huddersfield Town]], [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] and [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]], who won eleven of the eighteen league titles contested between them, with Huddersfield and Arsenal each grabbing a three consecutive titles, and Arsenal taking five in total, as well as two FA Cups. Huddersfield, and then Arsenal, were managed by [[Herbert Chapman]], who moved from Huddersfield to Arsenal after the [[Yorkshire]] club's second successive title, and died just before Arsenal won their third successive title.

By the turn of the 1930s, the national side regularly played against other national teams from outside the [[British Isles]].<ref name="rsssf.com"/> However, the FA's resignation from [[FIFA]] in 1928 meant that England did not contest any of the first three [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]]s. The [[1939–40 in English football|1939–40 season]] was abandoned in September 1939 following the outbreak of [[World War II]]. However, as with World War I, a special wartime league was played throughout the war years, with the FA Cup again suspended. Ten regional "mini-leagues" were initially established in 1939 as well as the [[Football League War Cup]] which ran six seasons from 1939 to 1945 with [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]], Preston North End, [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]], [[Blackpool F.C.|Blackpool]], and [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]] winning the trophy while in 1943–44 Aston Villa and [[Charlton Athletic F.C.|Charlton Athletic]] shared the trophy after drawing 1–1. Various leagues and cups, mostly on a regional basis, were organised throughout the war years for five seasons until the FA Cup resumed in [[1945–46 in English football|1945–46]]. The Football League returned the following season.

===Late 20th century: World War II aftermath===
[[File:DuncanEdwards1.jpg|thumb|[[Duncan Edwards]] was a highly rated midfielder who was one of the eight Manchester United players who died as a result of the [[Munich air disaster]] in 1958.]]
The English national team suffered two shock defeats in the early 1950s: a [[England v United States (1950)|1–0 loss]] to the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]] at the [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950 World Cup]] and a [[England v Hungary (1953)|6–3 defeat]] to [[Hungary national football team|Hungary]] at Wembley in 1953. However, Wolverhampton Wanderers defeated the Hungarian club [[Budapest Honvéd FC|Budapest Honvéd]],<ref name="Wolves vs. Honved">{{cite web |title=Wolves Beat Honved |publisher=British Pathe |access-date=14 June 2006 |url=http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=32905 |archive-date=23 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091123233232/http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=32905 |url-status=live }}</ref> a match which inspired the creation of the [[European Cup]]. [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] were dissuaded from participating in the first season of the European Cup in [[1955–56 European Cup|1955–56]], but Manchester United ignored such advice and went on to reach the [[1956–57 European Cup#Semi-finals|semi-final]] of the [[1956–57 European Cup|1956–57 edition]], losing to the eventual winners [[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid]]. In [[1957–58 European Cup|the following season's European Cup]], Manchester United were involved in the [[Munich air disaster]]: this also affected the national team as three of the players who died – [[Roger Byrne]], [[Tommy Taylor]] and [[Duncan Edwards]] – were established England internationals. Their manager [[Matt Busby]] was seriously injured but survived; he had already taken United to [[FA Cup]] glory in 1948 and another league title triumph in 1952 with an earlier side which featured the likes of [[Johnny Carey]], [[Jack Rowley]] and [[Stan Pearson]].

Two English teams, a [[London XI]] and [[Birmingham City]], both lost to [[FC Barcelona|Barcelona]] in the first two finals of the [[Inter-Cities Fairs Cup]] in 1958 and 1960.

[[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]] were another highly successful English club side during the postwar years. Under the management of [[Stan Cullis]], they were league champions three times and FA Cup winners twice between 1949 and 1960. Although they failed to make a major impact in either of their [[European Cup]] campaigns, they did beat some of European football's most respected club sides in a series of friendlies at [[Molineux Stadium]] during the 1950s. [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] continued their run of success for several years after the resumption of league football, winning two league titles and an FA Cup between 1948 and 1953. Their [[North London]] rivals [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] won the league title for the first time in 1951, and by the end of the decade were challenging for honors once again under new manager [[Bill Nicholson (footballer)|Bill Nicholson]] and captain [[Danny Blanchflower]]. Another London club, [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]], won the league title in 1955. [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] were FA Cup winners three times in the 1950s, while [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]] won back-to-back league titles in the early postwar years.

The Football League was reorganised for the [[1958–59 in English football|1958–59 season]] with Third Divisions North and South discontinued. The top half of each regional Third Division from the previous season formed a new Third Division, while the lower halves formed the new [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]]. Modernisation followed in the 1960s, with revolutions in the game such as the [[George Eastham]] case allowing players greater freedom of movement, and the abolition of the [[maximum wage]] in 1961.

[[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] became the first club to win the Double in the 20th century in [[1960–61 in English football|1960–61]], retained the FA Cup the following season, and then became the first English club to win a European trophy, the [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|Cup Winners' Cup]] in [[1962–63 European Cup Winners' Cup|1962–63]] when they beat [[Atlético Madrid]] 5–1 in the [[1963 European Cup Winners' Cup Final|final]]. Manager [[Bill Nicholson (footballer)|Bill Nicholson]] then built another successful Tottenham side which lifted a further FA Cup in 1967.

The most marked success of the era, however, was [[Alf Ramsey]]'s England team, which won the [[1966 FIFA World Cup]] on home soil after controversially beating [[Germany national football team|West Germany]] 4–2 after [[extra time]], the only time the national team has won the trophy.

In the late 1960s, English clubs dominated the last years of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, with wins for [[Leeds United A.F.C.|Leeds United]], [[Newcastle United]] and [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]. Manchester United became the first English club to win the European Cup in [[1967–68 European Cup|1967–68]] when they beat [[S.L. Benfica|Benfica]] 4–1 at Wembley in [[1968 European Cup Final|the final]]. Liverpool (four), [[Nottingham Forest]] (two), and [[Aston Villa]] (one) won the European Cup in a successful period between 1977 and 1984.

The first half of the 1960s saw the promotion of two sides to the First Division who would achieve great success as this level for many years afterwards: [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] (in 1962) and [[Leeds United A.F.C.|Leeds United]] (in 1964). Liverpool, managed by [[Bill Shankly]], won the league title in 1964, two seasons after promotion, and followed this up with their first-ever FA Cup triumph a year later and a further league title in 1966. Among their players was [[Roger Hunt]], who played in attack for England's World Cup winning side of 1966. Leeds United had appointed [[Don Revie]], an [[FA Cup]] winner for [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] as a player in 1956, as their new manager in 1961, and he guided them to promotion in 1964. A year after promotion, they only missed out on the league title on goal average, finally winning it in 1969, by which time they had already won the [[Football League Cup]] and [[Inter-Cities Fairs Cup]].

Manchester United also faced competition from their [[Manchester derby|local rivals]] [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]], who overcame a dismal first half of the decade (which included three seasons in the Second Division) to pip United to the league title in 1968, win the FA Cup in 1969 and claim their first piece of European silverware in 1970 when they lifted the [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners' Cup]].

[[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]] also played a major role in English football in the 1960s. They won their first silverware in 1964 when they won the FA Cup, and went on to win the European Cup Winners' Cup a year later. In 1966, they provided three key players in England's World Cup winning side – goalscorers [[Geoff Hurst]] and [[Martin Peters]] as well as captain [[Bobby Moore]].

Liverpool enjoyed even more success during the 1970s. They won a further league title, [[FA Cup]] and the [[UEFA Cup]] before the retirement of Bill Shankly as manager in 1974. His successor [[Bob Paisley]] took Liverpool to even greater heights; by the end of the decade, he had guided them to three league titles, another [[UEFA Cup]] triumph, and the club's first two European Cups. Liverpool's [[Merseyside derby|local rivals]] [[Everton F.C.|Everton]], who had been league champions in 1963 and FA Cup winners in 1966, began the 1970s by winning another league titles, but failed to add any silverware to their list of honors for the rest of the decade, although they did hold onto their place in the First Division. [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] started the 1970s on a winning note by lifting the penultimate Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, and then became the second team of the 20th century to win the double when they clinched the league title and FA Cup in 1971. Their next major trophy came in 1979, when they fought off a late revival from Manchester United at Wembley to win the FA Cup final 3–2.

Leeds United added a further league title and Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, as well as their first FA Cup, before [[Don Revie]] departed to take over as manager of the [[England national football team]] in the summer of 1974, after the [[Football Association]] terminated [[Alf Ramsey|Sir Alf Ramsey's]] contract after 11 years, following England's failure to qualify for the [[1974 FIFA World Cup|World Cup]].

Although Leeds United were still in the First Division at the decade's end, they failed to win any trophies after Revie left the club. The England team, meanwhile, continued to struggle, failing to qualify for the [[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978 World Cup]], with Revie defecting to coach the [[United Arab Emirates national football team|United Arab Emirates]] side just before this latest disappointment. Things began to turn around under his successor [[Ron Greenwood]], who ended the decade by securing England's qualification for the [[UEFA Euro 1980|1980 European Championships]], the first major tournament England had qualified for in 10 years.

[[Derby County F.C.|Derby County]], promoted to the First Division in 1969 after a lengthy absence, emerged as a force during the 1970s, winning the league title in 1972 under the controversial but effective management of [[Brian Clough]], and again in 1975 under Clough's successor [[Dave Mackay]]. Clough, after a disastrous 44-day spell as Don Revie's successor at Leeds United, enjoyed even greater success at [[Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham Forest]], taking the [[East Midlands]] club to promotion in 1977, the league title and League Cup in 1978 and to a further League Cup and the European Cup in 1979, before retaining their European crown in 1980. During this run of outstanding success, Clough also shelled out British football's first £1million transfer fee for the [[Birmingham City F.C.|Birmingham City]] forward [[Trevor Francis]], who signed for Forest in February 1979. Also among his acquisitions was the goalkeeper [[Peter Shilton]], who went on to win a record of 125 full caps for England.

[[File:Hillsborough Memorial.jpg|thumb|left|Memorial to the 1989 [[Hillsborough disaster]] at the stadium. The disaster resulted in a modernisation of English stadiums.]]
The rise of [[football hooliganism]] marred the game throughout the 1970s and 1980s, which contributed to a decline in match attendance. Other factors in falling attendances were the dismal economic conditions and rising unemployment, which plagued the British economy for most of the 1970s and into the 1980s, with many clubs in the north of England being hit particularly hard.

Many of English football's most famous and successful clubs reached low ebbs during the 1970s and 1980s, in many cases at least partly due to financial problems. [[Preston North End F.C.|Preston North End]] and [[Blackpool F.C.|Blackpool]] both fell into the Fourth Division and had to apply for re-election to the [[Football League]] between 1982 and 1986. [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]] found themselves on the verge of closure twice during the 1980s and suffered three successive relegations, which pushed them into the Fourth Division in 1986. Their local rivals [[Birmingham City F.C.|Birmingham City]] dropped into the Third Division for the first time in 1989. [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]] suffered the same fate as Birmingham two years previously, but achieved promotion at the first attempt and were soon challenging for a return to the First Division, while Wolves ended the decade back in the Second Division after two successive promotions. Bolton Wanderers, four times FA Cup winners, were relegated to the Fourth Division in 1987, but were promoted at the first time of asking.

In August 1974, a Blackpool fan was stabbed to death at the back of the Spion Kop, [[Bloomfield Road]] at Blackpool's home match with [[Bolton Wanderers]].<ref name="Rothmans Yearbook 1975050813">{{cite news|title=Thirty Years Ago|publisher=[[Rothmans International plc]]|year=1975|url=http://www.ynw62.dial.pipex.com/thirty43b.htm|access-date=13 August 2005|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050909181731/http://www.ynw62.dial.pipex.com/thirty43b.htm|archive-date=9 September 2005}}</ref> It was widely reported as being the first hooligan death at an English football match, and other clubs who gained notorious reputations for hooliganism during the 1970s and 1980s included [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]], [[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]], [[West Ham United]], and [[Leeds United A.F.C.|Leeds United]]. The nadir came in May 1985, when Liverpool fans' hooliganism, combined with poor policing and infrastructure, led to the deaths of 39 Juventus fans before the [[1985 European Cup Final|European Cup final]], in the [[Heysel Stadium disaster]]. The sequel to the tragedy was a ban on English clubs in European competitions, which was not lifted for five years. Due to the ban, many English star players transferred to continental clubs. England's ageing and poorly built stadiums were responsible for two disasters, at [[Bradford City stadium fire|Bradford]] in May 1985 (just before the Heysel tragedy) and [[Hillsborough disaster|Hillsborough]] in April 1989, resulting in the deaths of 56 and 97 people respectively.<ref>{{cite book|first=Graham|last=Stewart|title=Bang!: A History of Britain in the 1980s|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7_2TA7ptsvYC|year=2013|publisher=Atlantic Books|pages=320–23|isbn=978-1-78239-137-1 |access-date=29 May 2018|archive-date=6 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806200300/https://books.google.com/books?id=7_2TA7ptsvYC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Clifford Stott and Geoff Pearson, '' Football 'Hooliganism': Policing and the War on the 'English Disease' '' (2007) pp 6–9.</ref>

In [[1986–87 in English football|1986–87]], automatic promotion and relegation between the Football League and non-league was introduced, with the bottom club in the league being relegated to the [[Conference National|Conference]]. The first club to suffer automatic relegation from the Football League was [[Lincoln City F.C.|Lincoln City]], who were replaced by the [[Football Conference|GM Vauxhall Conference]] champions [[Scarborough F.C.|Scarborough]], only to regain their league status a year later. That first relegation place in 1987 had very nearly been occupied by [[Burnley F.C.|Burnley]], league champions 27 years earlier and First Division members until just over a decade earlier, but victory in their final league game of the season secured their league survival.

Another major change that took place in English football during the second half of the 1980s was a restructuring of the divisions. During the 1986 close season, the [[Football League]] decided to reduce the First Division to 21 clubs for the 1987–88 season and finally to 20 clubs for the 1988–89 season, while the Second Division would be increased to 23 and finally to 24 clubs in the process. End-of-season promotion/relegation playoffs were introduced for these two transitional seasons, before the playoffs were established as promotion-only deciders from the end of the 1988–89 season onward, with the previously two-legged final being altered to a single match at Wembley from 1990 onward.

The 1970s saw the [[FA Cup]] won twice by Second Division clubs, the first time in the postwar era that the trophy had been won by a club outside the First Division. First, [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]] lifted the trophy in 1973 at the expense of [[Leeds United A.F.C.|Leeds United]]. Three years later, [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]] defeated [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] to claim the first silverware of their history. In 1980, the trophy was won by a Second Division club for the third time in eight seasons when [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]] triumphed over holders Arsenal.

The 1980s saw five different clubs reach the First Division for the first time. In 1981, [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]] reached the First Division after climbing from the Fourth Division in just four seasons – the fastest rise of any club throughout the league at the time. They topped the First Division more than once during the 1981–82 season before finishing sixth. However, Swansea's successive story was short-lived, and their second season among the elite ended in relegation, and by 1986, they were back in the Fourth Division, having narrowly avoided going out of business. In 1982, Watford reached the First Division under the chairmanship of [[Elton John]], management of [[Graham Taylor]], and with the scoring prowess of [[Luther Blissett]] and [[John Barnes (footballer)|John Barnes]] in attack. They finished runners-up in the league in their first top division season and were FA Cup runners-up in their second, and survived in the First Division until 1988. Taylor later managed the England team, while Barnes went on to help Liverpool win five major trophies and was a regular member of the England side for the second half of the 1980s and into the 1990s. 1985 saw the promotion of Oxford United to the First Division, 23 years after being elected to the Football League. They survived for three seasons in the First Division and won the League Cup in their first season among the elite. An even bigger success story emerged soon after Oxford's First Division arrival, when Wimbledon won promotion to the First Division in 1986, a mere nine years after being elected to the Football League. They quickly established themselves in the First Division, finishing sixth in their first season at this level, and even more impressively won the FA Cup a year later, beating league champions Liverpool 1–0 in the Wembley final. Wimbledon would enjoy the longest stay in the top flight of any of the First Division's new arrivals of the 1980s, retaining their tenancy at this level for 14 years. 1988 saw [[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]] reach the First Division for the first time. Tipped by many to go straight back down, they actually topped the First Division briefly in its early stages before finishing 10th – the lowest position they occupied all season. They briefly went top of the league again during the second month of the following season, but finished the season relegated after just two seasons in the First Division.

Eventually, promotion and relegation between the Conference and the Football League was increased to two clubs in [[2002–03 in English football|2002–03]]. In the 1980s, play-offs were introduced throughout the Football League for promotion each season, with one club each season being promoted via the end-of-season play-offs in addition to those clubs promoted automatically.

Liverpool remained the most successful club side in England during the 1980s, winning the league title six times and the FA Cup twice (including the double in 1986). They also won four successive League Cups, and before the Heysel disaster they won the European Cup in 1981 and again in 1984, bringing their total number of victories in European football's biggest competition to four.

Everton also enjoyed a resurgence in the 1980s. Following the appointment of [[Howard Kendall]] as manager in 1981 and the signing of inspirational striker [[Andy Gray (footballer born 1955)|Andy Gray]] in November 1983, Everton won the FA Cup in 1984 and enjoyed even more success a year later, when they lifted the league title and their first European trophy – the European Cup Winners' Cup. Although they failed to win any trophies in 1986, they did finish runners-up to Liverpool in the league and reached the FA Cup final, where they lost 3–1 to their close neighbours, in a season where Gray's successor in attack, [[Gary Lineker]], found the net more than 40 times in all competitions. Despite the sale of Lineker to Barcelona in the summer of 1986, Everton retained their league title the following season.

Manchester United endured a difficult time in the 1970s following the retirement of [[Matt Busby]] as manager. They suffered relegation to the Second Division in 1974, but achieved instant promotion and went on to win the FA Cup in 1977. The 1980s brought more success for the club, who won the FA Cup in 1983 and again in 1985 under the management of [[Ron Atkinson]]. They were captained by [[Bryan Robson]], who also captained the England team for much of the decade, and had been Britain's most expensive footballer on his £1.5million arrival at the club in October 1981. Atkinson was succeeded by [[Alex Ferguson]] as manager in November 1986, but by the end of the decade, United had gone more than 20 years without winning the league title, although they had finished in the top four on no less than seven times during the decade.

Tottenham Hotspur also enjoyed success during the 1970s and 1980s. They won the League Cup twice during the early 1970s as well as the inaugural UEFA Cup in 1972, but suffered relegation to the Second Division in 1977. They achieved instant promotion under recently appointed manager [[Keith Burkinshaw]], who then guided Spurs to back-to-back FA Cups and then another UEFA Cup triumph before stepping down as manager in 1984. Their [[North London]] rivals Arsenal won the League Cup in 1987 and ended their 18-year wait for the league title in 1989, when they beat Liverpool at [[Anfield]] in the final minute of the last game of the season to clinch the championship trophy on goals scored.

The summer of 1988 saw the first £2million+ transfer fees paid by British clubs. Tottenham Hotspur signed 21-year-old [[PFA Young Player of the Year]] [[Paul Gascoigne]] from [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]], before Everton swooped for high-scoring forward [[Tony Cottee]] from West Ham United. After spending an unsuccessful season in Italy with [[Juventus]], [[Ian Rush]] headed back to Liverpool for a second spell with the club he had scored more than 200 goals from during his first spell there.

The England team made considerable progress during the 1980s after the barren performances of the previous decade, qualifying for every major tournament between 1980 and 1990, with the exception of the [[UEFA Euro 1984|1984 European Championships]], although their best run in any of these competitions was a quarter-final appearance at the [[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986 World Cup]].

The post-Hillsborough [[Taylor Report]] forced the conversion of major to [[All-seater stadium|all-seater]], which was a requirement at all clubs in the top divisions by the [[1994–95 in English football|1994–95 season]]. At the same time, the money from television coverage was increasing rapidly, due to England reaching the semi-finals of the [[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990 World Cup]] and a concerted effort to drive out hooliganism reinvigorated the national game. The ban on English clubs in European competitions was lifted in July 1990, although Liverpool still had to serve an additional year, and it would be a further five years before all of the English places in European competitions were restored.

Manchester United marked a winning return for English clubs in European competitions by winning the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1991, having lifted the FA Cup a year earlier. Enjoying a run of success under Alex Ferguson, they clinched the League Cup in the 1991–92 season, although a shortage of goals in the second half of that season did cost them the league title, which was instead won by a resurgent Leeds United. Liverpool also enjoyed a good start to the 1990s, winning their 18th league title in 1990, but were then stunned by the resignation of [[Kenny Dalglish]] as manager in February 1991. His successor [[Graeme Souness]], who had enjoyed great success with the club as a player a decade earlier, guided the Reds to FA Cup glory in 1992.

Arsenal, the 1989 champions of the English First Division, won another league title in 1991, losing just once all season. The FA Cup also headed to North London that year, although it was won by Tottenham Hotspur, who lifted the trophy for a record eighth time.

In the last season of the English Football League being the highest division, Leeds United won their first league title ever since 1974.

=== 1992–present: Premier League era===
[[File:Alex Ferguson.jpg|thumb|Under Scottish manager [[Alex Ferguson]], [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] were the dominant team in the first 20 years of the [[Premier League]]]] 
In the [[1991–92 in English football|1991–92 season]], following two years of widespread speculation about the leading clubs of English football forming a breakaway league from the Football League, the 22 clubs competing in the First Division resigned ''en masse'' from the Football League, forming a new top-level competition, [[Premier League|The FA Premier League]], overseen by the FA, largely to capitalise upon their status as the biggest and most wealthy clubs in the country, and negotiate more profitable [[Broadcasting|television rights]]. The new league came into force for the [[1992–93 in English football|1992–93 season]]. The Football League was consequently reorganised, with the Second, Third and Fourth Divisions renamed as the First, Second and Third Divisions respectively. Thus, the First Division, while still the top level of the Football League, became the second level of the entire [[English football league system]] with the top clubs inheriting the promotion play-off system from the old Second Division. The Premier League was reduced to 20 teams after the 1994–95 season.

The Premier League has been won by seven clubs in its 30 seasons, with [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] winning on 13 occasions. They have set many precedents in the process, becoming the first team to win a second double of the league title and FA Cup in 1996 (their first double being won in 1994), and in 1999 they won a unique [[Treble (association football)|treble]] of the league title, FA Cup and European Cup. English clubs have also won European tournaments since being permitted to compete after the Heysel disaster, the first English team to win the [[UEFA Champions League]] being Manchester United in 1999. The [[2008 UEFA Champions League Final|2008 final]], for the first time, was played between two English teams, Manchester United and Chelsea. Manchester United won the final in Moscow on penalties after a 1–1 draw.

The early Premier League years saw the transfer record fee in English football broken many times in a relatively short period of time, and rise at a rate barely comparable with even that of the late 1970s. The biggest fee paid by an English club during the Football League era was the £2.9million paid by Liverpool for [[Dean Saunders]] in July 1991. The national record was broken the following summer when [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]] paid £3.3million for [[Alan Shearer]]. The national record was broken again in June 1993 when Manchester United signed [[Roy Keane]] for £3.75million. Blackburn then broke the national record in the 1994 close season by signing 21-year-old Norwich City striker [[Chris Sutton]] for £5million. In 1995, the record fee was broken three times in the space of six months. At the turn of the year, [[Andrew Cole|Andy Cole]] arrived at Manchester United in a deal worth £7million. After the season's end, [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] paid £7.5million to [[Inter Milan]] for Dutch forward [[Dennis Bergkamp]], but Bergkamp had just spent days with his new club when Liverpool paid £8.5million for Nottingham Forest striker [[Stan Collymore]]. A year later, Alan Shearer became the most expensive player not only in England but in the world when he left Blackburn Rovers to sign for Newcastle United in a £15million deal. This fee, however, remained unsurpassed for more than four years. Premier League clubs have been increasingly successful at attracting foreign players, particularly since the removal of the limit on fielding players from [[European Union|common market]] countries in the mid-1990s.

The first decade of the premier league was dominated by Manchester United, who won the championship in 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2001, and then won again in 2003 and in 1999 completed a [[continental treble]]. After a hiatus during which United manager Alex Ferguson rebuilt his squad, United went on to win further titles in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013. The first team to interrupt Manchester United's early dominance were Blackburn Rovers, who won the title by a single point in 1995. They had only returned to the top flight of English football in 1992, in time for the new league's formation, after a 26-year exile, bankrolled by the wealth of steel baron owner [[Jack Walker]], who had enabled Blackburn to compete for some of the best players in English football; however, following their title success, their performances declined. Under [[Arsène Wenger]], Arsenal have so far been Premier League champions three times: in 1998, 2002 and 2004. On the first two occasions, they completed the double of the league title and FA Cup, while on the third occasion, they won the title without losing a single league game all season. Chelsea made history in 1997 when they won the FA Cup under Dutch manager [[Ruud Gullit]], the first foreign manager to win a major trophy in English football. They won the European Cup Winners' Cup and League Cup a year later under Gullit's successor [[Gianluca Vialli]], who added a further FA Cup in 2000. Chelsea's biggest successes, however, have come since the arrival of new Russian owner [[Roman Abramovich]] in June 2003 and the appointment of Portuguese coach [[José Mourinho]] as manager 12 months later. Mourinho was in charge for more than three years until his sudden departure from the club in September 2007, before returning for a second spell as manager six years later (which lasted two years before getting sacked in December 2015). In the interim, Chelsea were managed by seven different managers over the course of six seasons, but continued to win trophies on a regular basis. Since Abramovich's takeover of Chelsea, the [[West London (sub region)|West London]] club has been Premier League champions five times, FA Cup winners four times, and League Cup winners three times, and has also won the [[European Cup]] and the [[Europa League]] (formerly the UEFA Cup). [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]], bankrolled since August 2008 by wealthy [[Arab]] owners, ended their 35-year wait for a major trophy by winning the FA Cup in 2011, and then won their first league title in 44 years the following season, both under the management of Italian coach [[Roberto Mancini]]. His Chilean successor [[Manuel Pellegrini]] became the first non-European manager to win a major trophy in English football when he guided City to the Premier League title and the League Cup in 2014. Further titles followed under Spanish coach [[Pep Guardiola]], along with further domestic trophies, including a domestic treble, and in 2023 the [[UEFA Champions League|European Cup]]. After narrowly avoiding relegation the previous season, outsiders Leicester City won an unprecedented league title in 2016, having never previously won the top flight title. The winning squad was worth just one-tenth of that of Manchester City's. For much of the premier league era Liverpool struggled to recapture their form of the previous decades and did not win a league championship until 2020 though in the meantime they won other domestic trophies, the [[UEFA Cup]] and two further [[UEFA Champions League|European Cups]]. Leeds United, the last champions of English football before the creation of the Premier League, played in the first 12 seasons of the Premier League, peaking at third place in 2000, before being relegated in 2004 in the midst of a serious financial crisis which was the direct result of heavy spending on players in the previous few seasons and a failure to net the extra revenue that successful challenges for domestic and European silverware would have brought them. They would not return to the Premier League until more than a decade later, guided by [[Marcelo Bielsa]] to champions of the 2020/2021 EFL championship season.

Since the creation of the Premier League, a number of England's leading clubs have relocated to new stadiums. After several smaller clubs adopted this approach rather than update their ageing homes in the late 1980s and early 1990s, newly promoted [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]] became the first top flight club to relocate to a new stadium when they moved into the [[Riverside Stadium]] for the 1995–96 season, ending a 92-year residence of [[Ayresome Park]]. Two years later, Middlesbrough's north-east rivals [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]] left their historic [[Roker Park]] home for the new 42,000-seat [[Stadium of Light]] (which has since been expanded to hold nearly 50,000 seated fans) on the banks of the [[River Wear]]. Also in 1997, [[Derby County F.C.|Derby County]], [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] and [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]] all moved into new all-seater stadiums.

A number of clubs that initially chose to convert their existing homes into all-seater stadiums went on to relocate to new stadiums to gain a larger capacity from the turn of the 21st century, particularly those that had progressed throughout the league and attracted a higher demand for tickets since the early 1990s. [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]] relocated to [[St Mary's Stadium]] in 2001 after more than 100 years at [[The Dell, Southampton|The Dell]], with their new 32,000-seat stadium holding more than twice as many fans as their previous home had during its final years, as an all-seater stadium. [[Leicester City F.C.|Leicester City]] relocated to the [[Walkers Stadium]] (now known as the '''King Power Stadium''') in 2002 after 111 years at [[Filbert Street]]. Having originally decided to stay at [[Maine Road]], which was redeveloped to hold 35,000 seated fans by 1995, [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] moved into the [[City of Manchester Stadium]] (built for the [[2002 Commonwealth Games|previous year's Commonwealth games]]) at the start of the 2003–04 season. Arsenal had converted [[Arsenal Stadium|Highbury]] into an all-seater stadium capable of holding just under 39,000 fans by 1993, but within five years the club's owners had decided that such a capacity was inadequate and, after local residents objected to any expansion of Highbury (parts of which were listed structures) and a bid to buy Wembley Stadium from the Football Association was rejected, decided to build a new stadium at nearby [[Ashburton Grove]]. Their new stadium, the [[Emirates Stadium]], was completed in time for the 2006–07 season, holding more than 60,000 spectators. West Ham United moved from the Boleyn Ground into the ~60,000 capacity Olympic Stadium at the end of the 2015–16 season.

The beginning of the new century also saw the construction of a new national stadium at Wembley. The old Wembley Stadium had been converted to an all-seater format by 1989, but its capacity was reduced to 78,000 from its previous capacity of 100,000. By the mid-1990s, plans were afoot for the refurbishment or complete reconstruction of the stadium. The eventual plan was for the old stadium to be demolished and a completely new 90,000-seat stadium to be built in its place. The old stadium finally closed in October 2000, and it was anticipated that the new stadium would be completed in 2003, but a series of delays meant that demolition of the old stadium did not take place for two years after the last game was played, and the new Wembley was not opened until March 2007.

==Men's League system==
{{Main|English football league system}}

The [[English Football League]], established in 1888 as The Football League by [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] director [[William McGregor (football)|William McGregor]] and renamed "English Football League" in 2016, was the first professional football league in the world. Since its founding, however, many other leagues have been founded in England. Sunday leagues are played each weekend by clubs, and the study made by the FA sees to this. Over the years, there has been an increasing effort to link all these leagues together in a [[English football league system#The system|pyramidal structure]], allowing promotion and relegation between different levels. The primary motivation for this drive is to maintain the possibility that any club in England may dream of one day rising to the very top, no matter what status they currently hold. In a study made by [[FIFA]] in 2006, there are around 40,000 clubs registered with the FA, which is 11,000 more than any other country, the closest being the [[Brazilian Football Confederation]], who have 29,000 registered clubs. Even without taking relative population into account, England has more football clubs than any other country in the world.<ref name="fifa-bigcount">
{{cite news
|title = FIFA Big Count 2006: 270 million people active in football
|publisher = [[FIFA]] Communications Division
|page = 12
|date = 31 May 2007
|url = https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/bcoffsurv/bigcount.statspackage%5f7024.pdf|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071001161845/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/bcoffsurv/bigcount.statspackage_7024.pdf|url-status = dead|archive-date = 1 October 2007|access-date = 16 October 2008}}</ref>

Traditionally, men's league fixtures are played on Saturdays at 3pm, although more recently high-profile matches are played across weekend afternoons and evenings to allow [[English football on television|television broadcasts]]. European fixtures are typically played on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

===Premier League===
The [[Premier League]] was founded in 1992 after England's top clubs broke away from the Football League in a successful effort aimed at increasing their income at the expense of clubs in the lower divisions. Links with The Football League were maintained, and each season the bottom three clubs are relegated from the Premier League and replaced by the top three from the [[Football League Championship|Championship]]. The Premier League is contested between 20 clubs each season. Each club in the Premier League in any given season owns one twentieth of a share in the league itself, meaning that they are all supposedly equal owners with equal rights and responsibilities. Some of the famous clubs in the premier league include Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea. The Premier League is widely considered to be the best league in the world.

===English Football League===
Although the oldest league in the world, the [[English Football League]] (EFL) now ranks second in the hierarchy of English football since the split of England's top clubs in 1992 to form the FA Premier League. The EFL has 72 member clubs evenly divided among three divisions, currently named the [[Football League Championship|Championship]], [[Football League One|League One]] and [[Football League Two|League Two]]. Despite the organizational split, promotion and relegation of clubs still take place between the Premier League and the EFL.

===National League===
{{Main|National League System|Non-League football}}

Clubs not playing within either the Premier League or the three levels of the English Football League are commonly stated to be playing "[[non-League football]]". This use of the term non-league can be confusing, as these lower-level clubs do indeed play within organized league structures, but these lower-level leagues are outside of the Premier and English Football Leagues; hence the term "non-league" football.

In recent years, the top few levels have been consolidated into the [[National League System]], operated by the FA. Most clubs in the [[National League (division)|National League]] division are fully professional.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

There is promotion and relegation between League Two and the National League, and for several levels below that, although this becomes more irregular further down the league system. The non-League system is often known as the "pyramid", because the number of leagues at each level begins to increase the further down through the levels, with each league covering a smaller geographic area.

===Amateur===
[[File:Orchard Park playing fields, Hull - geograph.org.uk - 662038.jpg|thumb|right|Many residential areas in England have public football pitches such as these on the [[Orchard Park Estate]] in [[Kingston upon Hull]].]]
Although the FA abandoned a formal definition of "amateur" in the early 1970s, the vast majority of clubs still effectively play as amateurs, with no financial reward.

'''Regional'''

There are three leagues at a regional level: [[Northern Premier League]], [[Isthmian League]] and [[Southern Football League|Southern League]]. Each has a top and multiple, single-level, lower divisions.

'''County'''
[[File:Maine Road vs 1874 Northwich football match (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|A non-league match between [[Maine Road F.C.]] and [[1874 Northwich]] of the [[North West Counties Football League]], part of the ninth level of English football.]]
The various [[County Football Association]]s, which are based roughly on the [[Historic counties of England|historic county boundaries]], are the local governing bodies of football in England. They govern all aspects of [[Sunday league football]]. Not all County Football Associations are run on a county basis. Each armed service has one, for instance, such as the [[Army Football Association]] which administers football within the [[British Army]].

The [[Amateur Football Alliance]] (AFA) is the largest organized amateur competition, being particularly strong in the London area. The AFA is also a County Football Association and as such governs leagues such as the [[Arthurian League]] which contains two former FA Cup winners, [[Old Etonians F.C.|Old Etonians]] who won the FA Cup twice, in [[1879 FA Cup Final|1879]] and [[1882 FA Cup Final|1882]] as well as [[Old Carthusians F.C.|Old Carthusians]] who were FA Cup winners in [[1881 FA Cup Final|1881]].

===Sunday League===
[[File:SundayLeagueFootball.jpg|thumb|left|[[Sunday league football]] (a form of amateur football). Amateur matches often take place in public parks.]]
[[Sunday league football]] in England tends to be lower-level amateur football, which is also sometimes referred to as Pub League due to the number of [[public house]]s that field teams in Sunday leagues. Each local County Football Association governs all aspects of Sunday league football.

===Scaled-down teams===
Smaller-sided versions of the game such as [[Five-a-side football]] are popular. [[Futsal]] is also a growing [[Futsal in England|sport in England]]. These are often played informally, but there are many competitive small-sided leagues running across the country.

===Reserve leagues===
The top division for reserve teams of professional clubs is the [[Premier Reserve League]], which was founded in 1999 and is split into Premier Reserve League North and Premier Reserve League South, both with ten participating teams.

Beneath that operate the [[Central League (England)|Central League]] for Football League clubs' reserve teams in the Midlands and North of England, and the [[Football Combination]] for clubs from the South of England and Wales.

The Central League was formed in 1911 and currently has 28 teams, split into three divisions – Central, North and South. The winners of each division and the best runner-up compete in the end-of-season play-offs to decide the league champions. Whilst the Central League is for Football League reserve teams, the West Division contains a [[Manchester City F.C. Reserves and Academy|Manchester City side]] which uses a mix of reserve team and youth team squad players, and in 2007–08 they were Central League champions. The Central League also organises the Central League Cup, although not all clubs enter the cup.

The Football Combination was formed in 1915 and currently has 30 teams. The Combination is also split into three divisions – East, Central and Wales & East. Whilst the majority of teams are Football League reserve teams, the Combination also currently has the reserve teams of two National League sides, [[Lewes F.C.|Lewes]], and [[Salisbury City F.C.|Salisbury City]]. The Football Combination also organises the Combination Challenge Cup, although not all clubs enter the cup.

There is no promotion and relegation between the reserve team leagues. When a first team is relegated from the Premier League, their reserve team withdraws from the Premier Reserve League to either of the other two leagues and is replaced by the reserve team of the club promoted from the Championship.

Below the professional club reserve leagues, many clubs also operate reserve teams, which play in separate Reserve leagues, such as the [[Lancashire League (football)|Lancashire League]]. Some lower leagues, such as the [[North West Counties Football League]], organised their own reserve leagues. And, at some lower levels of the pyramid, reserve teams play against first teams.

===Youth leagues===
Many club sides have youth teams. The top level of youth football is the [[Premier Academy League]], founded in 1997, which is for all Premier League and Football League clubs that have Academy sides. The league, which currently has 40 clubs, is divided into four groups, each with ten teams. The winners of each group contest the end-of-season play-offs to decide the league champions.

The second-tier youth league is the [[Football League Youth Alliance]], also founded in 1997, in which those Football League clubs that have Centres of Excellence status field their youth teams. The league, which currently has 58 clubs, is divided into four regional conference leagues. The Youth Alliance also operates the annual Youth Alliance Cup.

The [[FA Youth Cup]] is a nationwide cup competition for Under-18 teams organised by the FA. More than 400 clubs enter the FA Youth Cup each season.

==Men's Cup competitions==
[[File:The FA Cup Trophy in 2008.jpg|thumb|First staged in 1871–72, the [[FA Cup]] is the oldest football tournament in the world]]

There are several cup competitions for clubs at different levels of the football pyramid. The two major cup competitions are the [[FA Cup]] and the [[EFL Cup]], with the winners of the FA Cup qualifying for the [[UEFA Europa League]] and the winners of the EFL Cup qualifying for the [[UEFA Conference League]].
*The [[FA Cup]], first held in 1871, is the oldest national cup competition in the world. It is open to around 600 clubs in levels 1–10 of the football pyramid.
*The [[FA Community Shield]] (formerly Charity Shield), first held in 1908, is a single match played each August between the FA Cup winners and the Premier League champions.
*The [[EFL Cup]] (currently known as the Carabao Cup), first held in 1960, is England's second major cup competition, and is contested by the 92 Premier League and EFL clubs.
*The [[EFL Trophy]] (currently known as the Vertu Trophy<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.efl.com/news/2024/november/21/bristol-street-motors-trophy-renamed-vertu-trophy/ |website=EFL |access-date=6 June 2025|title=Bristol Street Motors Trophy renamed Vertu Trophy - The English Football League|date=21 November 2024 }}</ref>), first held in 1983, is a competition for the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, and 16 Premier League and Championship under-23 sides.
*The [[FA Trophy]], first held in 1969, is for clubs playing in levels 5–8 of the football pyramid (steps 1–4 of the National League System), i.e. the twelve divisions of the National League, the [[Southern Football League]], the [[Isthmian League]] and the [[Northern Premier League]].<ref name="replace">The FA Trophy and FA Vase competitions replaced the [[FA Amateur Cup]], which was the leading competition for amateur non-League teams for many years.</ref>
*The [[FA Vase]], first held in 1974, is for clubs in levels 9–10 of the football pyramid (steps 5–6 of the National League System)<ref name="replace"/>
*The [[FA Inter-League Cup]] (NLS Cup) was formed in the 2003–04 to provide an English representative in the [[UEFA Regions' Cup]]. It is contested by representative sides from leagues at level 11 of the English football pyramid (level 7 of the National League System), which is roughly the county level, together with a few other leagues permitted by the FA. The first winner of the NLS Cup was the [[Mid Cheshire League]], who beat the [[Cambridgeshire County League]] 2–0 in May 2004.
*A number of lower leagues organise their own cup competitions, such as the North West Counties Football League, who run a League Cup and a Division One Trophy.
*Many County Football Associations organise their own cup competitions involving Premier League and Football League clubs as well as non-league clubs in some counties. Most league clubs tend to use reserve or youth teams, whereas non-league clubs will use their first team. County cups include the [[Sheffield and Hallamshire Senior Cup]], which is one of the oldest surviving cup competitions in the world, the Birmingham Senior Cup which began in 1875 with its first final in 1876 making it the oldest known surviving regional football cup competition in the world and which has featured all of the major West Midlands clubs over the years with Aston Villa winning a record number of times, the [[Lancashire Senior Cup]] which is competed for by Premier League and Football League clubs from the [[History of Lancashire|historic county of Lancashire]], including Manchester United, [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]], Liverpool, Everton and [[Burnley F.C.|Burnley]], along with [[Blackburn Rovers]], [[Wigan Athletic F.C.|Wigan Athletic]], Bolton Wanderers, Blackpool, Preston North End, [[Oldham Athletic F.C.|Oldham Athletic]], [[Rochdale F.C.|Rochdale]], [[Bury F.C.|Bury]] and [[Morecambe F.C.|Morecambe]]. The [[Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy]] is for senior non-league clubs in the same county. Everton, Liverpool and Tranmere Rovers enter the [[Liverpool Senior Cup]] using their reserve or youth teams, along with local [[Merseyside]] non-league clubs, such as [[Burscough F.C.|Burscough]] and [[Marine F.C.|Marine]]. Other competitions include the [[London Senior Cup]] and the [[Middlesex Senior Cup]].
*The [[FA Sunday Cup]] began in 1964 and is a national knockout competition for all Sunday league teams. The 2008 final was played at [[Anfield]].<ref name="bbc7360896">{{cite web| title=Hetton Lyons secure FA Sunday Cup| work=Football Live Streaming| date=4 February 2018| publisher=footballstreaming-live.com| url=http://footballstreaming-live.com/other/hetton-lyons-secure-fa-sunday-cup| access-date=4 February 2018| archive-date=5 February 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205072616/http://footballstreaming-live.com/other/hetton-lyons-secure-fa-sunday-cup/| url-status=usurped}}</ref>
*The [[AFA Senior Cup]] is an amateur football competition organised by the Amateur Football Alliance and contested by the first teams of clubs affiliated to the Alliance.
* Although not an FA-affiliated contest, the [[Masters Football]] contest is a contest between former players and is refereed by former Premier League Referees

There have also been a number of other cup competitions which are no longer run:
*[[FA Amateur Cup]] (1893–1974) was for all teams outside the Football League, which in theory, were amateur
*[[Sheriff of London Charity Shield]] (1898–1907, 1931–1934 and 1965–66) was an early predecessor to the Community Shield
*[[Anglo-Italian Cup]] (1970–1973, 1976–1986 and 1992–1996) also involved Italian clubs
*[[Anglo-Italian League Cup]] (1969–1971, 1975–1976) involving FA Cup or League Cup winners and the Coppa Italia winners
*[[Watney Cup]] (1970–1973) was an invitational tournament for select clubs across Football League divisions
*[[Texaco Cup]] (1971–1975) was an invitational tournament also involving teams from Scotland and all Ireland
*[[Anglo-Scottish Cup]] (1975–1981)
*[[Super Cup (English football)|Super Cup]] (1985) 
*[[Full Members Cup]] (1985–1992) was for clubs in levels 1–2 and ended with the Premier League separation.
*The [[Conference League Cup]] (1979–2009) was for clubs in level 5–6 i.e. the three divisions of the Football Conference.

===Current national cup eligibility===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Level!!League(s) !! FA Cup !! EFL Cup !! EFL Trophy!! FA Trophy !! FA Vase
|-
| 1|| Premier League||style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes || style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes || style="background:Orange;"| Academies || style="background:Red;" | No ||style="background:Red;"| No
|-
| 2 || English Football League Championship || style="background:LawnGreen;" | Yes || style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes || style="background:Orange;"| Academies || style="background:Red;" | No ||style="background:Red;"| No
|-
| 3 || English Football League One || style="background:LawnGreen;" | Yes || style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes || style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes || style="background:Red;"| No ||style="background:Red;"| No
|-
| 4 || English Football League Two || style="background:LawnGreen;" | Yes || style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes || style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes || style="background:Red;"| No ||style="background:Red;"| No
|-
| 5|| National League Top Division || style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes || style="background:Red;"| No || style="background:Red;"| No || style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes ||style="background:Red;"| No
|-
| 6|| National League North / South || style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes || style="background:Red;"| No || style="background:Red;"|No || style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes ||style="background:Red;"| No
|-
| 7|| NPL / SFL/ IL Premier Division|| style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes || style="background:Red;"| No || style="background:Red;"| No || style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes ||style="background:Red;"|  No
|-
| 8|| NPL / SFL/ IL Division One|| style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes || style="background:Red;"| No || style="background:Red;"|No || style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes ||style="background:Red;"| No
|-
| 9|| Various|| style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes || style="background:Red;"| No || style="background:Red;"| No || style="background:Red;"| No ||style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes
|-
| 10|| Various|| style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes || style="background:Red;"| No || style="background:Red;"| No || style="background:Red;"| No ||style="background:LawnGreen;"| Yes
|-
| 11|| Various|| style="background:Red;"| No || style="background:Red;"|No || style="background:Red;"| No || style="background:Red;"|No ||style="background:LawnGreen;"|Yes
|-
|}

== Most successful men's clubs ==
{{Main|List of football clubs in England by competitive honours won}}
The most successful men's football club of all time is [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] with a total of 69 competitive honours, closely followed by [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] with 68 honours. The next two most successful are [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] and [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]].

In the all-time league table since 1888–89, Liverpool is once again the most successful club in terms of points achieved. This is followed by Arsenal, [[Everton F.C.|Everton]], Manchester United, and [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]].<ref>{{cite web |title=All-Time English Football Top Flight 1888-89 to 2022-23 |url=https://www.myfootballfacts.com/england_footy/football-league/all-time_top_flight_points_table/ |access-date=19 April 2023 |website=My Football Facts |archive-date=9 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109211806/https://www.myfootballfacts.com/england_footy/football-league/all-time_top_flight_points_table/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==The popularity of Premier League clubs==

Many successful [[Premier League]] clubs are also successful on social media with a large international fanbase. Six of the top 20 most popular football clubs on social media in the world, as of 28 September 2023, are from [[England]]:<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 28, 2023 |title=Social media followers and engagement - top 20 football clubs |url=https://www.footballbenchmark.com/library/social_media_followers_and_engagement_top_20_football_clubs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329081023/https://www.footballbenchmark.com/library/social_media_followers_and_engagement_top_20_football_clubs |archive-date=Mar 29, 2024 |website=Football Benchmark}}</ref>
{{row counter|{| class{{=}}"wikitable sortable"
!#!!Football club!!Country!!Followers
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || [[Real Madrid]] || [[Spain]] || 415 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || [[FC Barcelona]] || [[Spain]] || 391.7 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || '''[[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]''' || [[England]] || 224.5 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || [[Paris Saint-Germain]] || [[France]] || 189.6 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || '''[[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]]''' || [[England]] || 156.3 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || '''[[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]]''' || [[England]] || 151.7 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || [[Juventus]] || [[Italy]] || 147.1 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || '''[[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]]''' || [[England]] || 136.9 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || [[Bayern Munich]] || [[Germany]] || 130.7 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || '''[[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]''' || [[England]] || 104.1 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || '''[[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]]''' || [[England]] || 95.3 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || [[AC Milan]] || [[Italy]] || 70.3 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || [[Inter Milan]] || [[Italy]] || 64.1 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || [[Borussia Dortmund]] || [[Germany]] || 57.1 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || [[Flamengo]] || [[Brazil]] || 52.5 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || [[Atlético Madrid]] || [[Spain]] || 50.9 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || [[Al-Ahly]] || [[Egypt]] || 46.9 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || [[Galatasaray]] || [[Turkey]] || 44.9 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || [[Al-Nassr]] || [[Saudi Arabia]] || 43.8 million
|-
| style{{=}}"text-align:center;"| _row_count || [[AS Roma]] || [[Italy]] || 35.1 million
|-
|} }}

==UEFA qualification==
From the 2015–16 season, the various permutations allow for a maximum of five English clubs to qualify for the UEFA Champions League and five for the UEFA Europa League.<ref>{{cite web|title=How the Europa League winners will enter the Champions League|url=http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=2215121.html |publisher= UEFA Europa League |date=27 February 2015 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228084925/http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=2215121.html|archive-date=28 February 2015}}</ref> From the 2018–19 season, the top four clubs in Europe's four highest ranked leagues qualify directly to the group stages.<ref>{{cite web|title=Evolution of UEFA club competitions for 2018-21 cycle|url=https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/mediaservices/newsid=2399126.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825051827/https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/mediaservices/newsid=2399126.html|archive-date=25 August 2017|date=26 August 2016 |publisher=UEFA}}</ref> These leagues are currently England, [[Serie A|Italy]], [[La Liga|Spain]], [[Bundesliga|Germany]], and [[Ligue 1|France]]. The minimum quota is for four English clubs to qualify for the UEFA Champions League and three for the UEFA Europa League. In the [[2024-25 UEFA Champions League|2024/25 season]], a new Champions League format was introduced which increased the number of teams to 36, and replaced the group stage with a Swiss format.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0268-12157d69ce2d-9f011c70f6fa-1000--new-format-for-champions-league-post-2024-everything-you-ne/|publisher=[[UEFA]]|date=June 12, 2024|title=New format for Champions League post-2024: Everything you need to know}}</ref> This meant that the top two leagues in the [[UEFA coefficients]] received one extra Champions League spot each. This allowed [[Newcastle United]] to qualify to the [[2025-26 UEFA Champions League]], even though they finished fifth in the [[2024–25 Premier League|Premier League]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0297-1d507af6baee-1bdad04be9b9-1000--2025-26-champions-league-who-qualified-for-the-league-phase/|title=2025/26 Champions League: Who qualified for the league phase?|date=August 27, 2025|publisher=[[UEFA]]}}</ref> This season also saw the most teams in the Champions League from a single league (6), Due to [[Tottenham Hotspur]] also winning the [[2024-25 UEFA Europa League|Europa League]]

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Competition
!Who qualifies
!Notes
|-
|rowspan="5"|[[UEFA Champions League]] group stage
|Club finishing 1st in the Premier League
|
|-
|Club finishing 2nd in the Premier League
|
|-
|Club finishing 3rd in the Premier League
|
|-
|Club finishing 4th in the Premier League
|
|-
|UEFA Champions League Winners
|From the 2018–19 season, the UEFA Champions League Winners will gain entry to the UEFA Champions League in the group stages.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=Evolution of UEFA club competitions from 2018|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0253-0d81c2c9caf3-d5f66f92b4db-1000--evolution-of-uefa-club-competitions-from-2018/ |website=UEFA Champions League  |date=26 August 2016 |access-date=28 August 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828203222/https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2398899.html?iv=true|archive-date=28 August 2018}}</ref>
|-
|rowspan="1"|UEFA Champions League play-off round for non-champions
|UEFA Europa League Winners
|Prior to the 2015–16 season, there was a limit of four clubs from each association entering the Champions League. If a club outside of England's top four won the Champions League, the 4th placed club would be demoted to the Europa League in the following season. This occurred in the 2011–12 season when [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] won the Champions League but only finished sixth in the Premier League. They replaced [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] in the Champions League, who were demoted to the Europa League as the final English representative in the Champions League.

From the 2018–19 season, the UEFA Europa League winners will gain entry to the UEFA Champions League in the group stages.<ref name="auto"/>

From the 2018–19 season, if English clubs win both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, and neither finishes the Premier League in a position that qualifies them for the UEFA Champions League, the following will happen:
* The club that won the UEFA Champions League will go straight into the group stage
* The UEFA Europa League winners will go into the UEFA Champions League group stage
* The club that finished fourth in the Premier League will transfer into the UEFA Europa League
<ref>{{cite web|title=Can Six Premier League Teams Qualify for the 2018/19 Champions League?|url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/can-six-premier-league-teams-qualify-2018-19-champions-league |first1=Rohith |last1=Nair |date=Apr 30, 2018 |website=Sportskeeda |access-date=28 August 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828170431/https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/can-six-premier-league-teams-qualify-2018-19-champions-league|archive-date=28 August 2018}}</ref>
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[UEFA Europa League]] group stage
|FA Cup winners
|If the FA Cup winners qualify for the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europa League via the domestic championship, by Regulation 3.04,<ref name="UEFA 2015-18">{{cite web|title=Regulations of the UEFA Europa League 2015–18 Cycle |publisher=UEFA Europa League |url=http://www.uefa.org/MultimediaFiles/Download/Regulations/uefaorg/Regulations/02/23/69/59/2236959_DOWNLOAD.pdf|access-date=29 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527233412/http://www.uefa.org/MultimediaFiles/Download/Regulations/uefaorg/Regulations/02/23/69/59/2236959_DOWNLOAD.pdf|archive-date=27 May 2015}}</ref> the highest ranking non-qualified league club qualifies, taking the lowest Europa League spot (the League Cup spot – the League Cup inherits the League spot, and the League inherits the FA Cup spot).
|-
|Club finishing fifth in the Premier League
|If the fifth-placed club has already qualified for Europe through the FA Cup, then the next-highest Premier League finishers get this place
|-
|[[UEFA Conference League]] play-off round
|League Cup winners
|If the League Cup winners have already qualified for Europe by a high Premier League finish, then the next highest-finishing Premier League club gets this place
|}

==National teams==
{{Main|England national football team}}
{{see also|Great Britain men's Olympic football team}}

The England national football team represents England in international football. It is one of the two oldest national football teams in the world, the other one being [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]]. England is one of only eight national teams to have won the World Cup and did this in 1966. They are one of the more prominent teams on the global stage, rarely dropping outside of the top ten rankings of both FIFA and Elo. They were the most successful of the [[Home Nations]] in the [[British Home Championship]] with 54 wins (including 20 shared wins) before the competition was suspended in 1984.

There are also a number of other national teams from the [[England national under-16 football team|Under-16 team]] to the [[England national under-21 football team|Under-21 team]], the latter of which is considered to be a feeder team for the national team. In addition, there is an [[England B national football team|England B team]] which occasionally plays games as support for the national team. The [[England C national football team|England C team]] (formerly the England National Game XI and the England Semi-Professional team) represents England at the non-league level. They compete annually in the Four Nations Tournament as well as in [[Exhibition game|friendly matches]] throughout the year.

==Women's football==
{{Main|Women's football in England}}
{{update section|date=August 2019}}
The first recorded women's football match in England was more than 100 years ago. Women's football was very popular for many years, but it was stopped by a ban made by [[the Football Association]] from 1921 to 1962.<ref name="quff">{{cite web|title=Quite unfit for females (1921) |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=15 July 2010 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlrZO-r9KBg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124022902/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlrZO-r9KBg |archive-date=24 January 2010 }}</ref>{{why|date=August 2019}}

Women's football in England is organised into a [[Women's football in England#Pyramid|pyramid system]] similar to the men's game. It has seven tiers, with the [[FA Women's Super League]] (FA WSL), launched in 2011, at the top.<ref name="pyramid_2019">{{cite web |title=Women's Football Pyramid 2018-19 |url=https://www.thefa.com/womens-girls-football/leagues-and-competitions/womens-football-pyramid |publisher=England Football Association |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=28 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228011858/https://www.thefa.com/womens-girls-football/leagues-and-competitions/womens-football-pyramid |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Stadiums==
{{further|List of football stadiums in England}}
[[File:Stretford End, Old Trafford.jpg|thumb|[[Old Trafford]], the home of [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]], is the largest club ground by capacity in England.]]

===Capacity===
[[Wembley Stadium]] is the [[national stadium]] in England. It is also the largest stadium in the country with a capacity of 90,000. It is owned by the FA and stages England home matches, the FA Cup final and semi-finals, the English Football League Cup final, the English Football League Trophy, the FA Trophy, the FA Vase, as well as the Promotion play-off finals of the English Football League and the National League. [[Old Trafford]] with a capacity of 76,212 is the largest club stadium, with the [[Tottenham Hotspur Stadium]] holding 62,850 and [[London Stadium]] holding 62,500. All Premier League clubs play in all-seater stadiums. Most professional clubs have either moved to new purpose-built stadiums or redeveloped their stadium. Even at non-league level there have been big improvements with the likes of [[New Bucks Head]] the home of [[A.F.C. Telford United|Telford United]] with a capacity of 6,300, being one of the best in non-league and [[Princes Park, Dartford|Princes Park]] with a capacity of 4,100, the home of [[Dartford F.C.|Dartford]], one of the most ecologically sound ever built.<ref name="bbc4433098">{{cite news
|title = Football stadium brings club home
|work = [[BBC News]]
|date = 14 November 2005
|url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/4433098.stm
|access-date = 24 September 2008
|archive-date = 12 September 2007
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070912034534/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4433098.stm
|url-status = live
}}</ref>

===Ownership===
Some clubs moved out of their old stadiums into newly developed council-built and owned stadiums, where they are tenants. Clubs include [[Doncaster Rovers F.C.|Doncaster Rovers]] at the [[Keepmoat Stadium]], which is owned by Doncaster Council, and [[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]] at the [[KC Stadium]], which is owned by [[Hull City Council]]. [[Coventry City F.C.|Coventry City]]'s home ground of the [[Ricoh Arena]] was a council-built stadium originally owned jointly by [[Coventry|City Council]] and the [[Alan Higgs|Alan Edward Higgs Charity]], but it has since been purchased by the rugby union club [[Wasps RFC|Wasps]].

===Visiting all league club stadiums===
[[The 92 Club]] is a society, to be a member of which, a person must attend a football match at the stadium of every current Premier League and Football League club in England and Wales.

===Largest English football stadiums by capacity===

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
! scope="col" width="20 | Overall Rank
! scope="col" width=150 | Stadium
! scope="col" width=100 | Location
! scope="col" width=65  | Capacity
!Built
! scope="col" width="125" | Team
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
! scope="row" | [[Wembley Stadium]]
| style="text-align:center;" | [[London]]
| style="text-align:center;" | {{nts|90000}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Presspack |url=http://wembleystadium.com/Press/Presspack/Stats-and-Facts |access-date=27 February 2015 |publisher=Wembley Stadium |archive-date=30 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630101803/http://www.wembleystadium.com/Press/Presspack/Stats-and-Facts |url-status=live }}</ref>
|2007
| [[England national football team]]
|Previously occupied by the older [[Wembley Stadium (1923)]].
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
! scope="row" | [[Old Trafford]]
| style="text-align:center;"| [[Manchester]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|74310}}<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |first= |title=Premier League Handbook 2022/23 |url=https://resources.premierleague.com/premierleague/document/2022/07/19/40085fed-1e9e-4c33-9f14-0bcf57857da2/PL_Handbook_2022-23_DIGITAL_18.07.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104125344/https://resources.premierleague.com/premierleague/document/2022/07/19/40085fed-1e9e-4c33-9f14-0bcf57857da2/PL_Handbook_2022-23_DIGITAL_18.07.pdf |archive-date=4 November 2022 |access-date=9 January 2023 |publisher=Premier League}}</ref>
|1910
| [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
! scope="row" | [[Tottenham Hotspur Stadium]]
| style="text-align:center;" |[[London]]
| style="text-align:center;"|{{nts|62850}}<ref name="capacity">{{Cite news |title=Local: Information for local residents and businesses |publisher=Tottenham Hotspur F.C. |url=https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/the-stadium/local/ |access-date=10 January 2021 |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801090935/https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/the-stadium/local/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|2019
| [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]]
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
! scope="row" | [[London Stadium]]
| style="text-align:center;" |[[London]]
| style="text-align:center;" | {{nts|62500}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 2018 |title=West Ham Capacity Update |url=https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2018/december/21-december/matchday-capacity-now-62500 |access-date=5 July 2019 |website=Whufc.com |publisher=West Ham United |archive-date=26 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126005017/https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2018/december/21-december/matchday-capacity-now-62500 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|2012
|[[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]]
| Previously known as the ''Olympic Stadium''. Regulated capacity reduced from 66,000 to 62,500.
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
! scope="row" | [[Anfield]]
| style="text-align:center;"| [[Liverpool]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|61276}}<ref name=":4">{{cite web | url=https://www.thisisanfield.com/2024/02/12-new-photos-and-video-as-anfield-road-end-nears-full-capacity/ | title=12 new photos and video as Anfield Road End nears full capacity | date=10 February 2024 }}</ref>
|1892
| [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]]
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 6
! scope="row" | [[Emirates Stadium]]
| style="text-align:center;" |[[London]]
| style="text-align:center;" | {{nts|60704}}<ref name=":1" />
|2006
|[[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]
|Known as ''Arsenal Stadium'' for UEFA competitions
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 7
! scope="row" | [[City of Manchester Stadium]]
| style="text-align:center;"| [[Manchester]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|53400}}<ref name=":1" />
|2003
| [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]]
| Commercially known as the ''Etihad Stadium''.
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 8
! scope="row" | [[Everton Stadium]]
| style="text-align:center;"| [[Liverpool]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|52769}}<ref name=":1" />
|2025
| [[Everton F.C.|Everton]]
| Commercially known as the ''Hill Dickinson Stadium''.
|}

==Disasters==
*[[Burnden Park disaster]], 1946
*[[Munich air disaster]], 1958
*[[Bradford City stadium fire]], 1985
*[[Heysel Stadium disaster]], 1985
*[[Hillsborough disaster]], 1989

==Seasons==
The following articles detail the major results and events in each season since 1871–72, when the first organised competition, the FA Cup, was created. Seasons in ''italics'' are wartime  seasons, when official national competition was suspended, although regional football continued.

{|class="wikitable"
|'''1870s:'''
|&nbsp;
|[[1871–72 in English football|1871–72]]
|[[1872–73 in English football|1872–73]]
|[[1873–74 in English football|1873–74]]
|[[1874–75 in English football|1874–75]]
|[[1875–76 in English football|1875–76]]
|[[1876–77 in English football|1876–77]]
|[[1877–78 in English football|1877–78]]
|[[1878–79 in English football|1878–79]]
|[[1879–80 in English football|1879–80]]
|-
|'''1880s:'''
|[[1880–81 in English football|1880–81]]
|[[1881–82 in English football|1881–82]]
|[[1882–83 in English football|1882–83]]
|[[1883–84 in English football|1883–84]]
|[[1884–85 in English football|1884–85]]
|[[1885–86 in English football|1885–86]]
|[[1886–87 in English football|1886–87]]
|[[1887–88 in English football|1887–88]]
|[[1888–89 in English football|1888–89]]
|[[1889–90 in English football|1889–90]]
|-
|'''1890s:'''
|[[1890–91 in English football|1890–91]]
|[[1891–92 in English football|1891–92]]
|[[1892–93 in English football|1892–93]]
|[[1893–94 in English football|1893–94]]
|[[1894–95 in English football|1894–95]]
|[[1895–96 in English football|1895–96]]
|[[1896–97 in English football|1896–97]]
|[[1897–98 in English football|1897–98]]
|[[1898–99 in English football|1898–99]]
|[[1899–1900 in English football|1899–1900]]
|-
|'''1900s:'''
|[[1900–01 in English football|1900–01]]
|[[1901–02 in English football|1901–02]]
|[[1902–03 in English football|1902–03]]
|[[1903–04 in English football|1903–04]]
|[[1904–05 in English football|1904–05]]
|[[1905–06 in English football|1905–06]]
|[[1906–07 in English football|1906–07]]
|[[1907–08 in English football|1907–08]]
|[[1908–09 in English football|1908–09]]
|[[1909–10 in English football|1909–10]]
|-
|'''1910s:'''
|[[1910–11 in English football|1910–11]]
|[[1911–12 in English football|1911–12]]
|[[1912–13 in English football|1912–13]]
|[[1913–14 in English football|1913–14]]
|[[1914–15 in English football|1914–15]]
|''[[1915–16 in English football|1915–16]]''
|''[[1916–17 in English football|1916–17]]''
|''[[1917–18 in English football|1917–18]]''
|''[[1918–19 in English football|1918–19]]''
|[[1919–20 in English football|1919–20]]
|-
|'''1920s:'''
|[[1920–21 in English football|1920–21]]
|[[1921–22 in English football|1921–22]]
|[[1922–23 in English football|1922–23]]
|[[1923–24 in English football|1923–24]]
|[[1924–25 in English football|1924–25]]
|[[1925–26 in English football|1925–26]]
|[[1926–27 in English football|1926–27]]
|[[1927–28 in English football|1927–28]]
|[[1928–29 in English football|1928–29]]
|[[1929–30 in English football|1929–30]]
|-
|'''1930s:'''
|[[1930–31 in English football|1930–31]]
|[[1931–32 in English football|1931–32]]
|[[1932–33 in English football|1932–33]]
|[[1933–34 in English football|1933–34]]
|[[1934–35 in English football|1934–35]]
|[[1935–36 in English football|1935–36]]
|[[1936–37 in English football|1936–37]]
|[[1937–38 in English football|1937–38]]
|[[1938–39 in English football|1938–39]]
|''[[1939–40 in English football|1939–40]]''
|-
|'''1940s:'''
|''[[1940–41 in English football|1940–41]]''
|''[[1941–42 in English football|1941–42]]''
|''[[1942–43 in English football|1942–43]]''
|''[[1943–44 in English football|1943–44]]''
|''[[1944–45 in English football|1944–45]]''
|''[[1945–46 in English football|1945–46]]''
|[[1946–47 in English football|1946–47]]
|[[1947–48 in English football|1947–48]]
|[[1948–49 in English football|1948–49]]
|[[1949–50 in English football|1949–50]]
|-
|'''1950s:'''
|[[1950–51 in English football|1950–51]]
|[[1951–52 in English football|1951–52]]
|[[1952–53 in English football|1952–53]]
|[[1953–54 in English football|1953–54]]
|[[1954–55 in English football|1954–55]]
|[[1955–56 in English football|1955–56]]
|[[1956–57 in English football|1956–57]]
|[[1957–58 in English football|1957–58]]
|[[1958–59 in English football|1958–59]]
|[[1959–60 in English football|1959–60]]
|-
|'''1960s:'''
|[[1960–61 in English football|1960–61]]
|[[1961–62 in English football|1961–62]]
|[[1962–63 in English football|1962–63]]
|[[1963–64 in English football|1963–64]]
|[[1964–65 in English football|1964–65]]
|[[1965–66 in English football|1965–66]]
|[[1966–67 in English football|1966–67]]
|[[1967–68 in English football|1967–68]]
|[[1968–69 in English football|1968–69]]
|[[1969–70 in English football|1969–70]]
|-
|'''1970s:'''
|[[1970–71 in English football|1970–71]]
|[[1971–72 in English football|1971–72]]
|[[1972–73 in English football|1972–73]]
|[[1973–74 in English football|1973–74]]
|[[1974–75 in English football|1974–75]]
|[[1975–76 in English football|1975–76]]
|[[1976–77 in English football|1976–77]]
|[[1977–78 in English football|1977–78]]
|[[1978–79 in English football|1978–79]]
|[[1979–80 in English football|1979–80]]
|-
|'''1980s:'''
|[[1980–81 in English football|1980–81]]
|[[1981–82 in English football|1981–82]]
|[[1982–83 in English football|1982–83]]
|[[1983–84 in English football|1983–84]]
|[[1984–85 in English football|1984–85]]
|[[1985–86 in English football|1985–86]]
|[[1986–87 in English football|1986–87]]
|[[1987–88 in English football|1987–88]]
|[[1988–89 in English football|1988–89]]
|[[1989–90 in English football|1989–90]]
|-
|'''1990s:'''
|[[1990–91 in English football|1990–91]]
|[[1991–92 in English football|1991–92]]
|[[1992–93 in English football|1992–93]]
|[[1993–94 in English football|1993–94]]
|[[1994–95 in English football|1994–95]]
|[[1995–96 in English football|1995–96]]
|[[1996–97 in English football|1996–97]]
|[[1997–98 in English football|1997–98]]
|[[1998–99 in English football|1998–99]]
|[[1999–2000 in English football|1999–2000]]
|-
|'''2000s:'''
|[[2000–01 in English football|2000–01]]
|[[2001–02 in English football|2001–02]]
|[[2002–03 in English football|2002–03]]
|[[2003–04 in English football|2003–04]]
|[[2004–05 in English football|2004–05]]
|[[2005–06 in English football|2005–06]]
|[[2006–07 in English football|2006–07]]
|[[2007–08 in English football|2007–08]]
|[[2008–09 in English football|2008–09]]
|[[2009–10 in English football|2009–10]]
|-
|'''2010s:'''
|[[2010–11 in English football|2010–11]]
|[[2011–12 in English football|2011–12]]
|[[2012–13 in English football|2012–13]]
|[[2013–14 in English football|2013–14]]
|[[2014–15 in English football|2014–15]]
|[[2015–16 in English football|2015–16]]
|[[2016–17 in English football|2016–17]]
|[[2017–18 in English football|2017–18]]
|[[2018–19 in English football|2018–19]]
|[[2019–20 in English football|2019–20]]
|-
|'''2020s:'''
|[[2020–21 in English football|2020–21]]
|[[2021–22 in English football|2021–22]]
|[[2022–23 in English football|2022–23]]
|[[2023–24 in English football|2023–24]]
|[[2024–25 in English football|2024–25]]
|[[2025–26 in English football|2025–26]]
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|English football}}
*[[Football in London]]
*[[English football league system]]
*[[Football in the United Kingdom]]
*[[Football records in England]]
*[[List of English football champions]]
*[[Timeline of English football]]
*[[English football on television]]
*[[Football refereeing in England]]
*[[List of football stadiums in England]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Bebber, Brett. ''Violence and Racism in Football: Politics and Cultural Conflict in British Society, 1968–1998'' (2016).
* Boyle, Raymond, and Richard Haynes, eds. ''Power play: Sport, the media and popular culture'' (Edinburgh UP, 2009).
* Davies, Hunter. ''Davies The Glory Game'' (2nd ed. 2000) on the Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs)
* Harvey, Adrian. ''Football, the First Hundred Years: The Untold Story of the People's Game.''  (2005). 
* Haynes, Richard. "A pageant of sound and vision: football's relationship with television, 1936–60." ''international journal of the history of sport'' 15.1 (1998): 211–226.
* Huggins, Mike. "Association Football, Betting, and British Society in the 1930s: The Strange Case of the 1936 'Pools War'." ''Sport History Review'' 44 (2013): 99–119.
* Taylor, Matthew. ''The association game: a history of British football'' (Routledge, 2013).
* Tyler, Martin and Phil Soar. ''Encyclopaedia of British Football.'' (HarperCollinsWillow, 1987).
* Winner, David. ''Those Feet: A Sensual History of English Football'' (Bloomsbury, 2005)

==External links==
*[http://www.nonleague.co.uk/leagues/england/ All levels of English football from Non League UK] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113133404/http://www.nonleague.co.uk/leagues/england/ |date=13 November 2014 }}
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football Latest football news, fixtures and results from the BBC]
*[http://www.league321.com/england-football.html  League321.com] – English football league tables, records & statistics database.

{{Men's football in England}}
{{Women's football in England}}
{{Football in the United Kingdom}}
{{Football in Europe}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Football in England}}
[[Category:Football in England| ]]