Sport in the UK

Sport in the UK

Many of the sports which are popular all over the world today as rugby and football were invented by the British. These sports, as well as others, play an important role in the lives of people in Britain.
Millions of people regularly take part in sports and there are many good facilities available for people to use. All schools in Britain must have a playing field and a gymnasium to encourage young people to participate in sport and lead an active lifestyle.
As well as taking part in sports, people enjoy watching them on television.

Football is played almost every day of the week to meet the demand of TV fans for live matches.
Most towns have their own team and the country's most important teams play in The Premiership and The First Division. Some English teams like Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea are famous all over the world.

Rugby is another important sport in Britain, played with two teams and an oval-shaped ball. Rugby is named after a school in England called Rugby School. Legend has it that one day in 1823 a boy called William Webb Ellis chose to run with the ball rather than kicking it as was the normal way to play in Rugby School football matches.

Cricket is a very typical British sport which is played during the summer. It is played by two teams of eleven players and two umpires. Cricket is also very popular in India and Pakistan because of the influence of The British Empire.

Tennis is another popular summer sport and one of the most famous tennis tournaments in the world takes place in Britain. Wimbledon is the world's oldest tennis tournament (1877); it takes place in England during the month of July. The game is played with two or four players who must hit a small rubber ball with a racket to the other side of the tennis court.