Probably the most popular sport in the UK is football (also called soccer), although rugby
dominates in Wales and Northern Ireland. The football team, Manchester United, is known
all over the world as are many UK footballers, including Ian Wright, Andy Cole, David
Beckham, Michael Owen, and Alan Shearer. The climax of the football season is the English
FA Cup, which is played at Wembley in London, and the Scottish FA Cup, held at Hampden
Park in Glasgow. Rugby is said to have been invented
in the 19th Century when a pupil at Rugby public school picked up the football and ran
with it instead of kicking it. Rugby Union is played in Scotland, Wales and the south of
England, and Rugby League is played in northern England.
One of the most famous sporting events is the Wimbledon
Tennis Championship. Spectators eat strawberries and cream while watching singles and
doubles matches at the All England Club in south-west London.
Scotland is the home of golf and some of the world’s
most celebrated golf courses, such as Muirfield, Troon, and the ‘Royal and Ancient
Golf Club’ at St Andrews. Famous fairways in Northern Ireland include the Royal
Portrush and Royal County Down.
Other popular sports include cricket,
fishing, horse-racing, athletics and golf. Darts is played in pubs (public houses or
inns), which are the focus of social life in villages and towns. Darts is played by both
men and women. The game is played by throwing short metal arrows (or darts) at a circular
board divided into different sections, each of which scores varying amounts of points.
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