A very well known part of British life is Football. For the newbie to the game it can be a little confusing understanding how football in the UK works. The first thing to understand is that no matter how hard you try you won’t know it all. However, some knowledge will help you when chatting with the locals. In this article we make understanding Football easy – so you’ll know exactly what to say when in the pub!
The Three Major Leagues
The first thing to know about Football in the UK is that there are three major leagues: Premier League, The Championship and League One. The Premier League forms the top division. Whilst The Championship forms the second division and League One the third division. Teams from The Championship fight to win promotion with the top three teams advancing into the Premier League. The lower three teams then from the Premier League are relegated to The Championship. They also have a playoff competition but let’s not get too technical at this stage.
The Premier League
The Premier League is what you will hear about the most. It’s a table based tournament where the top twenty teams in the country play each other twice. There’s a total of 38 matches every year. They’re awarded points depending whether they win, lose, or draw. The league is dominated by a few wealthy teams including, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham. With other teams from around the UK making up the middle and lower parts of the top division. Teams play for three major domestic trophies including The Premier League, The FA Cup, and the Carabao Cup throughout the season.
Understanding Football – Tournaments
Both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup are knock-out tournaments that do not just include the top teams in the country, but also a lot of lower league teams. This makes for some very entertaining viewing as they give it their all to win against the major teams, showing they have what it takes to compete at the highest level. As well as domestic competitions the biggest trophy is called the UEFA Champions League. This competition pitches the best teams from Spain, France, the UK and across Europe. They play against each other to fight for what is known as one of the biggest trophies in world football, with the winner being regarded as the best team in the world.
The Brits absolutely love their Football! Next time you get the chance to tag along to a game or just to head down to the local pub to watch a clash between the big teams, be sure not to miss it!
