Sports in Great Britain

The English are great lovers of sport; and they are neither playing nor watching games, they like to talk about them. However, there is important thing about sport in Britain which we must know. As the climate in Britain is favourable, sport can be played all year round; both indoors and outdoors. Today, the big-time sport is professional and famous players can make much money.

Let's take football for example. It is the most popular team game in Britain. It is played at all levels, from children playing in the streets or parks, right up to top international players. Football is played in most of the schools, and there are thousands of amateur teams for young men in all parts of the country. But for most of the public football is a professional game which is watched on Saturday afternoons at the stadium.

Many people play for local clubs or for teams from their work places; however Saturday is the big day for the professionals to play. Some of the stadiums, such as Old Trafford (Manchester), Groodison Park (Everton) and Highburg (Arsenal) are massive and hold between 60 and 100 thousand people. These are always packed on Saturdays.

Professional football is a big business. Every large town has one or more professional clubs. Over eighty professional teams play each week. The best teams are arranged in leagues of 20 at a time. Each team plays all the others both at home and away. They score points if they win or draw. At the end of the season, which runs from autumn through to spring, the team with the most points wins the league cup. The other major football trophy is the F.A. Cup.

Rugby football is played with an oval ball which may be carried in hands. The players of the other team try to stop the man running with the ball by throwing him on the ground. There are fifteen players in each team.

There are two types of rugby in Britain. They both originated at Rugby School, a famous public school in the city of the same name. Rugby Union is the game that many school children learn. It has 15 players on each side and is non-professional. The game at Rugby League is professional with teams all over the country competing for the league trophy.

Cricket is played for six months from spring to the autumn. Although this is a national game. It is not so popular as football. There is an organised league in summer between the best counties in the country and international games are played between England, India, Sri Lanka, West India, Australia and New Zealand each summer.

These are the most popular sports in Britain; however British people play many other sports, including hockey, ice hockey, bowls, croquet; which is played on a lawn by knocking balls through metal hoops. Lacrosse, a French game is similar to hockey. Hurling, an Irish game played also in Scotland which is also similar to hockey.

Curling, a winter sport in Scotland when men throw heavy pucks along special sheets of ice. Tennis is very popular in summer both indoors and outdsoors. The most famous tennis competition in the world is held at Wimbledon in South London each summer.

Sport competitions gather big crowds in Great Britan All people in Great Britan are fond of sport and Englishmen know that if they train hard, sport will make them strong and healthy.

 

Exercise 5. Answer the questions:

1. Why is sport played in Britain all year round?

2. What is the most popular sport in Britain?

3. For what teams do people play?

4. When do the professionals play football?

5. How many professional teams play each week?

6. How can a team win the league cup?

7. What is the other major football trophy?

8. What is the idea of cricket?

9. How long is cricket played?

10. What cricket competitions are organized in summer?

11. How many types of rugby are there in Britain?

12. Where did they originate?

13. How many players does rugby union have?

14. What are the most famous teams in Rugby League?

15. What other sports are played in Britain?

16. What is curling?

17. Where is it played?

18. What is the most famous tennis competition in the world?

19. What country is said to be the home of British golf?

20. What are the most popular sports in your country?

21. Why is sport an important part of school life?