132-551: The West Cheshire Association Football League (commonly known as the West Cheshire League ) is an English football league in the county of Cheshire , which also includes teams from Merseyside . Its current principal sponsor is Carlsberg , also sponsor of the South West Peninsula League . It has a Division One, Division Two and Division Three. Division One sits at step 7 (or level 11) of
264-471: A hat-trick by Alfredo Di Stéfano. This was Real Madrid's fifth consecutive title, a record that still stands today. Real Madrid's reign ended in the 1960–61 season when bitter rivals Barcelona dethroned them in the first round. Barcelona were defeated in the final by Portuguese side Benfica 3–2 at the Wankdorf Stadium . Reinforced by Eusébio , Benfica defeated Real Madrid 5–3 at
396-932: A 3–2 friendly victory against Budapest Honvéd , Hanot finally managed to convince UEFA to put into practice such a tournament. It was conceived in Paris in 1955 as the European Champion Clubs' Cup. The first European Cup took place during the 1955–56 season. Sixteen teams participated (some by invitation): AC Milan (Italy), AGF Aarhus (Denmark), Anderlecht (Belgium), Djurgården (Sweden), Gwardia Warszawa (Poland), Hibernian (Scotland), Partizan ( Yugoslavia ), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Rapid Wien (Austria), Real Madrid (Spain), Rot-Weiss Essen ( West Germany ), Saarbrücken ( Saar ), Servette (Switzerland), Sporting CP (Portugal), Reims (France) and Vörös Lobogó (Hungary). The first European Cup match took place on 4 September 1955, and ended in
528-556: A 3–3 draw between Sporting CP and Partizan. The first goal in European Cup history was scored by João Baptista Martins of Sporting CP. The inaugural final took place at the Parc des Princes between Stade de Reims and Real Madrid on 13 June 1956. The Spanish squad came back from behind to win 4–3 thanks to goals from Alfredo Di Stéfano and Marquitos , as well as two goals from Héctor Rial . Real Madrid successfully defended
660-509: A Scottish father and Brazilian mother, returned home after his studies in Southampton with a new profound passion for football. Miller spread this passion of football to his fellow peers in a local athletic club and began to organise local football matches. More importantly, colleges that trained teachers encouraged educators to spread the passion of football and even set up their own football clubs. This encouragement of educators to spread
792-416: A deal to ensure tournament sponsors were given priority on television advertisements during matches, ensured that each of the tournament's main sponsors was given maximum exposure. From the 2012–13 knockout phase , UEFA used LED advertising hoardings installed in knockout participant stadiums, including the final. From the 2015–16 season onwards, UEFA has used such hoardings from the play-off round until
924-497: A disastrous 44-day spell as Don Revie's successor at Leeds United, enjoyed even greater success at 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
1056-479: 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 local rivals Everton , who had been league champions in 1963 and FA Cup winners in 1966, began
1188-604: 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 Sir Alf Ramsey's contract after 11 years, following England's failure to qualify for
1320-458: A logo, and the "starball". The starball was created by Design Bridge, a London-based firm selected by TEAM after a competition. TEAM gives particular attention to detail in how the colours and starball are depicted at matches. According to TEAM, "Irrespective of whether you are a spectator in Moscow or Milan, you will always see the same stadium dressing materials, the same opening ceremony featuring
1452-461: A major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game . With over 40,000 association football clubs, England has more clubs involved in the code than any other country. England hosts the world's first club, Sheffield F.C. ; the world's oldest professional association football club, Notts County ; the oldest national governing body, the Football Association ; the joint-oldest national team;
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#17327919649661584-693: 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
1716-667: 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 reach
1848-468: A proliferation of clubs in and around the city playing " Sheffield rules ". 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
1980-527: A result, with the quarter-finals and semi-finals being played as single match knockout ties at neutral venues in Lisbon, Portugal in the summer with the final taking place on 23 August 2020. The following is the default access list. Changes will be made to the access list above if the Champions League or Europa League title holders qualify for the tournament via their domestic leagues. Each year,
2112-419: 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 1984 European Championships , although their best run in any of these competitions was a quarter-final appearance at
2244-469: 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
2376-499: A version of the official trophy : Real Madrid, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Milan and Liverpool. Since 2008, the official trophy has remained with UEFA and the clubs are awarded a replica. The current trophy is 74 cm (29 in) tall and made of silver, weighing 11 kg (24 lb). It was designed by Jürg Stadelmann, a jeweller from Bern , Switzerland, after the original was given to Real Madrid in 1966 in recognition of their six titles to date, and cost 10,000 Swiss francs . As of
2508-413: A year later. That first relegation place in 1987 had very nearly been occupied by 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 which took place in English football during the second half of the 1980s was a restructuring of the divisions. During
2640-600: Is one of only eight teams to win the FIFA World Cup , having done so once, in 1966 . A total of six English club teams have won the UEFA Champions League , formerly known as the European Cup . Football was played in England as far back as 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
2772-466: Is played from September to January, while the knockout phase begins in February, with matches predominantly played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. After the league phase, a two-legged knockout play-off round is played between teams finishing 9–16 (seeded) and 17–24 (unseeded) in the league phase. Teams finishing in the top eight of the league phase receive a bye to the round of 16 as seeded teams, while
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#17327919649662904-399: Is set to the exclamations 'Die Meister! Die Besten! Les Grandes Équipes! The Champions!'. The anthem's chorus is played before each UEFA Champions League game as the two teams are lined up, as well as at the beginning and end of television broadcasts of the matches. In addition to the anthem, there is also entrance music, which contains parts of the anthem itself, which is played as teams enter
3036-459: Is the most successful club in the tournament's history, having won it 15 times. Madrid is the only club to have won it five times in a row (the first five editions). Only one club has won all of their matches in a single tournament en route to the tournament victory: Bayern Munich in the 2019–20 season. Real Madrid is the current European champion, having beaten Borussia Dortmund 2–0 in the 2024 final for their fifteenth title. The first time
3168-590: Is the most-watched club competition in the world and the third most-watched football competition overall, behind only the UEFA European Championship and the FIFA World Cup . It is one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world and the most prestigious club competition in European football, played by the national league champions (and, for some nations, one or more runners-up) of their national associations. Introduced in 1955 as
3300-492: The Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens (French for European Champion Clubs' Cup ), and commonly known as the European Cup , it was initially a straight knockout tournament open only to the champions of Europe's domestic leagues, with its winner reckoned as the European club champion. The competition took on its current name in 1992, adding a round-robin group stage in 1991 and allowing multiple entrants from certain countries since
3432-602: The 1985 European Cup final due to the Heysel Stadium disaster . "Magic...it's magic above all else. When you hear the anthem it captivates you straight away." — Zinedine Zidane The UEFA Champions League anthem, officially titled simply as "Champions League", was written by Tony Britten , and is an adaptation of George Frideric Handel 's 1727 anthem Zadok the Priest (one of his Coronation Anthems ). UEFA commissioned Britten in 1992 to arrange an anthem, and
3564-461: The 1986 World Cup . UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL ) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs . The competition begins with a round robin league phase to qualify for the double-legged knockout rounds, and a single-leg final. It
3696-548: The 2013 final at Wembley , the chorus was played twice. In the 2018 and 2019 finals, held in Kyiv and Madrid respectively, the instrumental version of the chorus was played, by 2Cellos (2018) and Asturia Girls (2019). In the 2023 final , held in Istanbul, Hungarian pianist Ádám György performed the piano version of the anthem. The anthem has been released commercially in its original version on iTunes and Spotify with
3828-521: The 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. 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
3960-604: The British Isles . However, the FA's resignation from FIFA in 1928 meant that England did not contest any of the first three World Cups . The 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
4092-685: The Ernst-Happel-Stadion to win the 1963–64 season and replicate their local-rival's success. The title stayed in Milan for the third year in a row after Inter beat Benfica 1–0 at their home ground, the San Siro . Under the leadership of Jock Stein , Scottish club Celtic beat Inter Milan 2–1 in the 1967 final to become the first British club to win the European Cup. The Celtic players that day, all of whom were born within 30 miles (48 km) of Glasgow, subsequently became known as
West Cheshire Association Football League - Misplaced Pages Continue
4224-590: The 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 in May 1985 (just before the Heysel tragedy) and Hillsborough in April 1989, resulting in
4356-615: The Football League between 1982 and 1986. Wolverhampton Wanderers found themselves on the verge of closure twice during the 1980s and suffered three successive relegation which pushed them into the Fourth Division in 1986. Their local rivals Birmingham City dropped into the Third Division for the first time in 1989. Sunderland suffered the same fate as Birmingham two years previously, but achieved promotion at
4488-421: The Football League soon after. During the war, competitive football was suspended. However, an unofficial "Wartime Football league" was played from 1915–16 to 1918–19 , although the FA Cup was suspended until after the war. In the 1920–21 season the Football League was expanded, with the new Third Division , which expanded the league south of Birmingham , which until then had been sparsely represented in
4620-657: The Football League Cup and Inter-Cities Fairs Cup . Manchester United also faced competition from their local rivals 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 European Cup Winners' Cup . West Ham United also played
4752-476: The Football League War Cup which ran six seasons from 1939 to 1945 with West Ham United , Preston North End, Wolverhampton Wanderers , Blackpool , and Bolton Wanderers winning the trophy while in 1943–44 Aston Villa and 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
4884-751: The National League System . The top five teams may be eligible for promotion to the North West Counties Football League Division One. After several triumphs in Division One, Cammell Laird was promoted to the North West Counties League in 2004, and its reserve team, which had won Division Two, was promoted to Division One. It was the only team since Vauxhall Motors to be promoted from the league, until Runcorn Town
5016-628: The Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam and kept the title for a second consecutive season . Benfica wanted to repeat Real Madrid's successful run of the 1950s after reaching the showpiece event of the 1962–63 European Cup , but a brace from Brazilian-Italian José Altafini at Wembley gave the spoils to Milan, making the trophy leave the Iberian Peninsula for the first time ever. Inter Milan beat an ageing Real Madrid 3–1 at
5148-477: The University of Cambridge between the 1830s and the 1860s. 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. In 1894, Charles Miller, a young elite son of
5280-551: The 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 World Cup , with Revie defecting to coach the United Arab Emirates side just before this latest disappointment. Things began turn around under his successor Ron Greenwood , who ended
5412-415: The final . Manager 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 West Germany 4–2 after extra time , the only time the national team has won the trophy. In the late 1960s English clubs dominated
West Cheshire Association Football League - Misplaced Pages Continue
5544-473: The " Lisbon Lions ". The 1967–68 season saw Manchester United become the first English team to win the European Cup, beating two-times winners Benfica 4–1 in the final. This final came ten years after the Munich air disaster , which had claimed the lives of eight United players and left their manager, Matt Busby , fighting for his life. In the 1968–69 season , Ajax became the first Dutch team to reach
5676-468: The 'starball' centre circle ceremony, and hear the same UEFA Champions League Anthem ". Based on research it conducted, TEAM concluded that by 1999, "the starball logo had achieved a recognition rate of 94 percent among fans". The UEFA Champions League used to begin with a double round-robin group stage of 32 teams until it evolved into a league phase of 36 teams, which is preceded by two qualification 'streams' for teams that do not receive direct entry to
5808-751: The 16th centuries references to organised teams and goals had appeared. There is evidence for refereed, team football games being played in English schools since at least 1581. The eighteenth-century Gymnastic Society of London is, arguably, the world's first football club. The 19th century saw the codification of the rules of football at several public schools , with those of Rugby School (first published 1845) and Eton College (first published 1847) being particularly influential, in addition to those of Harrow , Winchester and Shrewsbury . 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
5940-415: The 1950s, while Portsmouth won back-to-back league titles in the early postwar years. The Football League was reorganised for the 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 Fourth Division . Modernisation followed in the 1960s, with revolutions in
6072-411: 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 (in 1962) and 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
6204-473: 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 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
6336-461: 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,
6468-485: 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
6600-402: The 1997–98 season. While only the winners of many of Europe's national leagues can enter the competition, the top 5 leagues by coefficient provide four teams each by default, with a possibility for additional spots based on performance during the previous season. Clubs that finish below the qualifying spots are eligible for the second-tier UEFA Europa League competition, and since 2021, for
6732-486: The 2012–13 season, 40 gold medals are presented to the Champions League winners, and 40 silver medals to the runners-up. Starting with the 2024–25 season, the distribution of the prize money is as follows. A large part of the distributed revenue from the UEFA Champions League is linked to the "market pool", the distribution of which is determined by the value of the television market in each nation. For
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#17327919649666864-424: The 2019–20 season, Paris Saint-Germain , who were the runners-up, earned nearly €126.8 million in total, of which €101.3 million was prize money, compared with the €125.46 million earned by Bayern Munich, who won the tournament and were awarded €112.96 million in prize money. Like the FIFA World Cup , the UEFA Champions League is sponsored by a group of multinational corporations, in contrast to
6996-456: 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 and Blackpool both fell into the Fourth Division and had to apply for re-election to
7128-479: The Conference and the Football League was increased to two clubs in 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
7260-410: The European Cup final, but they were beaten 4–1 by Milan, who claimed their second European Cup, with Pierino Prati scoring a hat-trick. The 1969–70 season saw the first Dutch winners of the competition. Feyenoord knocked out the defending champions, Milan in the second round, before beating Celtic in the final . In the 1970–71 season , Ajax won the title, beating Greek side Panathinaikos in
7392-410: 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
7524-576: The FA Cup resumed in 1945–46 . The Football League returned the following season. The English national team suffered two shock defeats in the early 1950s: a 1–0 loss to the United States at the 1950 World Cup and a 6–3 defeat to Hungary at Wembley in 1953. However, Wolverhampton Wanderers defeated the Hungarian club Budapest Honvéd , a match which inspired the creation of the European Cup . Chelsea were dissuaded from participating in
7656-522: 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 in November 1983, Everton won
7788-498: 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. The Sheffield rules had a major influence on how
7920-436: The FA legalised professionalism, and when Aston Villa director William McGregor organised a meeting of representatives of England's leading clubs, this led to the formation of the Football League in 1888. Preston North End were inaugural winners in 1888–89 and were also the first club to complete the double of both winning the league and the FA Cup. Aston Villa repeated the feat in 1896–97 . The League expanded over
8052-435: 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
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#17327919649668184-531: The Football League. Each division had 22 clubs. The next season the league was again expanded with the Third Division divided into North (with 20 clubs) and South (with 22 clubs) sections, making a total of 86 clubs in the Football League. In the 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,
8316-725: 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 , 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
8448-536: The Premier League that season. UEFA gave special dispensation for Liverpool to enter the Champions League, giving England five qualifiers. UEFA subsequently ruled that the defending champions qualify for the competition the following year regardless of their domestic league placing. However, for those leagues with four entrants in the Champions League, this meant that, if the Champions League winner fell outside of its domestic league's top four, it would qualify at
8580-563: The Scottish players were all London-based and so not fully representative of Scotland as a nation. The first official international , Scotland v 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. On 8 March 1873, England's 4–2 win over Scotland at Kennington Oval
8712-550: The Second World War. Sources FA Full-Time , Non League Matters Football in England Women's competition Women's competition FA Women's Super League FA Women's Championship FA Women's National League North FA Women's National League South Women's competition Football is the most popular sport in England . England is home to the world's first football league,
8844-416: 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
8976-413: The biggest domestic leagues qualified directly for the tournament group stage. Prior to this, three preliminary knockout qualifying rounds whittled down the remaining teams, with teams starting in different rounds. An exception to the usual European qualification system happened in 2005, after Liverpool won the Champions League the year before, but did not finish in a Champions League qualification place in
9108-545: The champions of two European leagues met was in what was nicknamed the 1895 World Championship , when English champions Sunderland beat Scottish champions Heart of Midlothian 5–3. The first pan-European tournament was the Challenge Cup , a competition between clubs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire . Three years later, in 1900, the champions of Belgium , Netherlands and Switzerland , which were
9240-508: The chest and the left sleeve. Exceptions are made for non-profit organisations, which can feature on the front of the shirt, incorporated with the main sponsor or in place of it; or on the back, either below the squad number or on the collar area. If a club plays a match in a nation where the relevant sponsorship category is restricted (such as France's alcohol advertising restriction), then they must remove that logo from their jerseys. For example, when Rangers played French side Auxerre in
9372-504: 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
9504-625: The creation of a continent-wide tournament. In interviews, Jacques Ferran (one of the founders of the European Champions Cup, together with Gabriel Hanot), said that the South American Championship of Champions was the inspiration for the European Champions Cup. After Stan Cullis declared Wolverhampton Wanderers "Champions of the World" following a successful run of friendlies in the 1950s, in particular
9636-560: The deaths of 56 and 97 people respectively. In 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 . The first club to suffer automatic relegation from the Football League was Lincoln City , who were replaced by the GM Vauxhall Conference champions Scarborough , only to regain their league status
9768-443: The decade by securing England's qualification for the 1980 European Championships , the first major tournament England had qualified for in 10 years. 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
9900-469: The eight winning teams from the knockout play-off round will enter the round of 16 draw as unseeded teams. Teams finishing 25th–36th place in the league phase and the eight losers of the knockout play-offs are eliminated from the competition and from European football since it is no longer possible to enter the Europa League from the league phase onwards. After the round of 16 the competition follows
10032-504: 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 lifted the trophy in 1973 at the expense of Leeds United . Three years later, Southampton defeated Manchester United to claim
10164-737: 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. Particularly in London and Sheffield, with Sheffield Football Club , founded in 1857, is recognised today as the world's oldest surviving independent football club. The example of Sheffield F.C., which published its first set of laws in 1859, soon led to
10296-429: The expense of the fourth-placed team in the league. Until 2015–16, no association could have more than four entrants in the Champions League. In May 2012, Tottenham Hotspur finished fourth in the 2011–12 Premier League , two places ahead of Chelsea, but failed to qualify for the 2012–13 Champions League , after Chelsea won the 2012 final . Tottenham were demoted to the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League . In May 2013, it
10428-544: The field. The complete anthem is about three minutes long, and has two short verses and the chorus. Special vocal versions have been performed live at the Champions League final with lyrics in other languages, changing over to the host nation's language for the chorus. These versions were performed by Andrea Bocelli (Italian; Rome 2009 , Milan 2016 and Cardiff 2017 ), Juan Diego Flores (Spanish; Madrid 2010 ), All Angels ( Wembley 2011 ), Jonas Kaufmann and David Garrett ( Munich 2012 ) and Mariza ( Lisbon 2014 ). In
10560-606: The final match in late May or early June. The winner of the Champions League automatically qualifies for the following year's Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup , and the FIFA Club World Cup . Spanish clubs have the most victories (20 wins), followed by England (15 wins) and Italy (12 wins). England has the most winning teams, with six clubs having won the title. The competition has been won by 23 clubs and 13 of them have won it more than once. Real Madrid
10692-464: The final. Since 2021, the UEFA also used Virtual Board Replacement (VBR) technology to offer region-based advertising; regional sponsors are inserted into the hoardings as shown on the broadcast feed in specific regions along with the global sponsors. Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising. However, only two sponsorships are permitted per jersey in addition to that of the kit manufacturer, at
10824-790: The final. the season saw a number of changes, with penalty shoot-outs being introduced, and the away goals rule being changed so that it would be used in all rounds except the final. It was also the first time a Greek team reached the final, as well as the first season that Real Madrid failed to qualify, having finished sixth in La Liga the previous season. Ajax went on to win the competition three years in row (1971 to 1973), which Bayern Munich emulated from 1974 to 1976, before Liverpool won their first two titles in 1977 and 1978. The following seasons saw victories in 1978–79 and 1979–80 for Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest . The following year Liverpool won their third title before Aston Villa continued
10956-524: 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 . It
11088-615: The first attempt to create a cup for national champion clubs of Europe, was played and organised by Swiss club Servette . Held in Geneva , it brought together ten champions from across the continent. The tournament was won by Újpest of Hungary. Latin European nations came together to form the Latin Cup in 1949. After receiving reports from his journalists over the highly successful South American Championship of Champions of 1948, Gabriel Hanot , editor of L'Équipe , began proposing
11220-498: The first season of the European Cup in 1955–56 , but Manchester United ignored such advice and went on to reach the semi-final of the 1956–57 edition , losing to the eventual winners Real Madrid . In 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
11352-419: 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 triumphed over holders Arsenal. The 1980s saw five different clubs reach the First Division for the first time. In 1981, Swansea City reached the First Division after climbing from the Fourth Division in just four seasons – the fastest rise of any club throughout
11484-408: The first teams to reach the Champions League group stage after playing in all three qualifying rounds. Real Madrid and Barcelona hold the record for the most appearances in the group stage, having qualified 25 times, followed by Porto and Bayern Munich on 24. Between 1999 and 2008, no differentiation was made between champions and non-champions in qualification. The 16 top-ranked teams spread across
11616-403: The fourth-placed teams were eliminated from the competition. For the next stage – the last 16 – the winning team from one group played against the runners-up from another group, but teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other (see random two-sided matching ). From the quarter-finals onwards, the draw was entirely random, without association protection. The group stage
11748-591: 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 became the first club to win the Double in the 20th century in 1960–61 , retained the FA Cup the following season, and then became the first English club to win a European trophy, the Cup Winners' Cup in 1962–63 when they beat Atlético Madrid 5–1 in
11880-489: The group stage in favour of an expanded league phase. The number of participating teams was increased from 32 to 36 teams. Teams are no longer divided into groups of four teams each but are ranked in a single table. Each team plays eight matches against eight different opponents. For the draw of the league phase, teams are divided into four seeding pots according to their UEFA coefficient . Each team will play against two teams from each pot, one home and one away. The league phase
12012-506: The joys of unrestrained youth." Kicking ball games are described in England from 1280. In 1314, Edward II , then the King of England , said about a sport of football and the use of footballs , "certain tumults arising from great footballs in the fields of the public, from which many evils may arise." An account of an exclusively kicking "football" game from Nottinghamshire in the fifteenth century bears similarity to association football. By
12144-481: The last years of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, with wins for Leeds United , Newcastle United and Arsenal . Manchester United became the first English club to win the European Cup in 1967–68 when they beat Benfica 4–1 at Wembley in 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
12276-455: 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
12408-574: 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
12540-455: The modern game of football developed. Among other things they introduced into the laws of the game are the concepts of corners , and free kicks for fouls. International football began 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
12672-480: The national stadium at Wembley was opened in 1923, with the " White Horse Final " being the first FA Cup final to be played there. Bolton Wanderers defeated 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 , Everton and Arsenal , who won eleven of the eighteen league titles contested between them, with Huddersfield and Arsenal each grabbing
12804-442: 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
12936-610: The next 25 years as football boomed in England, from one division of twelve clubs in 1888, to two divisions by the 1892–93 season , with a total of 28 clubs and with the gradual addition of more clubs, a total of 40 by 1905–06 . It remained at 40 until the league was suspended after the 1914–15 season with the outbreak of World War I . During this time clubs from the North and Midlands dominated, with Aston Villa, Sunderland , The Wednesday (later renamed Sheffield Wednesday) and Newcastle United all winning three or more league titles in
13068-540: The oldest national governing body, and the oldest national knockout competition. The first modern rules for the game were established in England in 1863. England is one of the oldest national football teams, having played in the first international match in 1872. England won the FIFA World Cup in 1966, and has qualified for the World Cup 16 times. England has more football clubs than any other country, including
13200-609: The oldest national knockout competition, the FA Cup ; and the oldest national league, the English Football League . It also has 31% of the population interested in Football . Today England's top domestic league, the Premier League , is one of the most popular and richest sports leagues in the world, with five of the ten richest football clubs in the world as of 2022. The England national football team
13332-601: The only existing leagues in continental Europe at the time, participated in the Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz , thus being dubbed as the "club championship of the continent" by the local newspapers. The Mitropa Cup , a competition modelled after the Challenge Cup, was created in 1927, an idea of Austrian Hugo Meisl , and played between Central European clubs. In 1930, the Coupe des Nations (French: Nations Cup ),
13464-438: The period leading up to World War I. Other clubs to win league titles in this period include Sheffield United , Manchester United and 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's FA Cup triumph in 1901, when they were still a Southern Football League club, although they were elected to
13596-521: The piece was performed by London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and sung by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields . Stating that "the anthem is now almost as iconic as the trophy", UEFA's official website adds it is "known to set the hearts of many of the world's top footballers aflutter". The chorus contains the three official languages used by UEFA: English, German, and French. The climactic moment
13728-432: 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 continued their run of success for several years after
13860-562: The previous five Champions League, Europa League and Conference League seasons. The higher an association's coefficient, the more teams represent the association in the Champions League, and the fewer qualification rounds the association's teams must compete in. Five of the remaining seven qualifying places are granted to the winners of a four-round qualifying tournament between the remaining 43 or 44 national champions, within which those champions from associations with higher coefficients receive byes to later rounds. The other two are granted to
13992-468: 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 , published in December 1863, banned hacking and carrying the ball. 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. Between 1863 and 2021,
14124-515: The resumption of league football, winning two league titles and an FA Cup between 1948 and 1953. Their North London rivals 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 and captain Danny Blanchflower . Another London club, Chelsea , won the league title in 1955. Newcastle United were FA Cup winners three times in
14256-404: The scoring prowess of Luther Blissett and 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
14388-475: The sense of English dominance in 1982 . In 1982–83, Hamburger SV broke the English dominance. Liverpool regained it in 1983–84 before losing to Juventus (1984–85); Steaua București then won in 1985–86, Porto in 1986–87, PSV Eindhoven in 1987–88; Milan (2), Red Star Belgrade and Barcelona became champions before the competition was re-formulated as the UEFA Champions League . All English clubs were banned for five years (Liverpool for six years) following
14520-431: The single main sponsor typically found in national top-flight leagues. When the Champions League was created in 1992, it was decided that a maximum of eight companies should be allowed to sponsor the event, with each corporation being allocated four advertising boards around the perimeter of the pitch, as well as logo placement at pre- and post-match interviews and a certain number of tickets to each match. This, combined with
14652-418: The third-tier UEFA Conference League . In its present format, the Champions League begins in early July with three qualifying rounds and a play-off round, all played over two legs. The seven surviving teams enter the league phase, joining 29 teams qualified in advance. The 36 teams each play eight opponents, four home and four away. The 24 highest-ranked teams proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with
14784-590: The title for the third consecutive season. In a rematch of the first final, Real Madrid faced Stade Reims at the Neckarstadion for the 1959 final , and won 2–0. West German side Eintracht Frankfurt became the first team not to compete in the Latin cup to reach the European Cup final. The 1960 final holds the record for the most goals scored, with Real Madrid beating Eintracht Frankfurt 7–3 at Hampden Park , courtesy of four goals by Ferenc Puskás and
14916-415: The title of Champions League Theme. In 2018, composer Hans Zimmer remixed the anthem with rapper Vince Staples for EA Sports ' video game FIFA 19 , with it also featuring in the game's reveal trailer. In 1991, UEFA asked its commercial partner, Television Event and Media Marketing (TEAM), to help brand the Champions League. This resulted in the anthem, "house colours" of black and white or silver and
15048-502: The tournament proper. The two streams are divided between teams qualified by virtue of being league champions, and those qualified by virtue of finishing second, third or fourth in their national championship. The number of teams that each association enters into the UEFA Champions League is based upon the UEFA coefficients of the member associations. These coefficients are generated by the results of clubs representing each association during
15180-415: The traditional knockout format with quarter-finals, semi-finals (both two legged and without association draw protection) and then the final at a venue chosen prior to the season. The final is typically held in late May or early June. Prior to the 2024–25 season, the tournament proper began with a group stage of 32 teams, divided into eight groups of four. The draw to determine which teams entered each group
15312-572: The trophy next season in their home stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu , against Fiorentina . After a scoreless first half, Real Madrid scored twice in six minutes to defeat the Italians. In 1958 , Milan failed to capitalise after going ahead on the scoreline twice, only for Real Madrid to equalise. The final, held in Heysel Stadium , went to extra time where Francisco Gento scored the game-winning goal to allow Real Madrid to retain
15444-514: The winners of a three-round qualifying tournament between ten and eleven clubs from the associations ranked 5–6 through 15, which have qualified based upon finishing second, third or fourth in their respective national league. In addition to sporting criteria, any club must be licensed by its national association to participate in the Champions League. To obtain a license, the club must meet certain stadium, infrastructure and finance requirements. In 2005–06 , Liverpool and Artmedia Bratislava became
15576-424: The winning team is presented with the European Champion Clubs' Cup, the current version of which has been awarded since 1967. From the 1968–69 season and prior to the 2008–09 season any team that won the Champions League three years in a row or five times overall was awarded the official trophy permanently. Each time a club achieved this, a new official trophy had to be forged for the following season. Five clubs own
15708-422: The world's first club, Sheffield F.C., and the world's oldest professional club, Notts County. England's top domestic league, the Premier League, is one of the most popular and richest leagues in the world. The British Empire's cultural power spread the rules of football to areas of British influence. England the home of football, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were
15840-423: 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
15972-402: 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 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
16104-406: Was seeded based on each team's UEFA coefficient , and no group could contain more than one club from each association. Each team played six group stage games, meeting the other three teams in its group home and away in a round-robin format. The first place team and the runners-up from each group then progressed to the next round. The third-placed teams entered the Europa League's knockout round and
16236-438: Was decided that, starting from the 2015–16 season (and continuing at least for the three-year cycle until the 2017–18 season ), the winners of the previous season's UEFA Europa League would qualify for the UEFA Champions League, entering at least the play-off round, and entering the group stage if the berth reserved for the Champions League title holders was not used. The previous limit of a maximum of four teams per association
16368-482: Was increased to five, meaning that a fourth-placed team from one of the top three ranked associations would only have to be moved to the Europa League if both the Champions League and Europa League winners came from that association and both finished outside the top four of their domestic league. In 2007, Michel Platini , the UEFA president, had proposed taking one place from the three leagues with four entrants and allocating it to that nation's cup winners. This proposal
16500-420: Was part of Platini's plan to increase the number of teams qualifying directly into the group stage, while simultaneously increasing the number of teams from lower-ranked nations in the group stage. In 2012, Arsène Wenger referred to qualifying for the Champions League by finishing in the top four places in the Premier League as the "4th Place Trophy". The phrase was coined after a pre-match conference when he
16632-461: Was played from September to December, whilst the knockout stage began in February, with matches usually played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. The knockout ties were played in a two-legged format, with the exception of the final. In the 2019–20 season , due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was suspended for five months. The format of the remainder of the tournament was temporarily amended as
16764-410: Was promoted in 2010. In 2014, Vauxhall Motors returned to the league. The league also runs cup competitions. No known league tables found although it is believed that the competition did operate in the period. No known league tables found although it is believed that the competition did operate in the period. All football competitions were suspended in for the seasons from 1940–41 to 1945–46 due to
16896-430: Was questioned about Arsenal's lack of a trophy after exiting the FA Cup . He said "The first trophy is to finish in the top four". At Arsenal's 2012 AGM, Wenger was also quoted as saying: "For me there are five trophies every season: Premier League, Champions League, the third is to qualify for the Champions League..." Beginning with the 2024–25 season, UEFA changed the format of their three club competitions, abandoning
17028-469: Was rejected in a vote at a UEFA Strategy Council meeting. In the same meeting, however, it was agreed that the third-placed team in the top three leagues would receive automatic qualification for the group stage, rather than entry into the third qualifying round, while the fourth-placed team would enter the play-off round for non-champions, guaranteeing an opponent from one of the top 15 leagues in Europe. This
17160-544: 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 Barcelona in the first two finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1958 and 1960. Wolverhampton Wanderers were another highly successful English club side during
17292-443: Was the first-ever victory in international football. 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 . 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 amateurism . Eventually, in 1885
17424-400: 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 , Millwall , West Ham United , and 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
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