England last won the World Cup of football in 1966, beating West Germany on home turf at iconicWembley Stadium in 1966. How will the Three Lions fare at next year’s tournament in Brazil? Hope springs eternal for the England faithful, who are similarly devoted to their home clubs across the nation.
While tours and tickets are available at most stadia across the nation, in Manchester, where league football began in 1888, private events (or better still, tickets to a match) at Manchester United’s Old Trafford or Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium are especially stirring experiences of England’s most popular sport. The city is also home to the group-accessible National Football Museum.
Around 1823, William Webb Ellis, a student at the Rugby School in Warwickshire, picked up and ran with the ball during a football match. Thus was born rugby, the “barbarian’s game played by gentlemen” and another of England’s treasured competitions. Anticipation is building for England’s hosting of the 2015 World Cup (the trophy is named after Ellis), with London’s event-capable Twickenham Stadium at the center of the action.
Liverpool and nearby Southport are at the heart of England’s Golf Coast, which features the world’s highest concentration of championship links courses, including the Royal fairways of Liverpool, Birkdale and Lytham & St Annes.
Offering tours and a museum, Wimbledon is the shrine of British tennis, while event-capable Lord’s Cricket Ground, also in London, is the home of the national sport.
