England is acknowledged to be one of the oldest countries in the modern world and has a long and illustrious history, including the British Empire that seemed to stretch to all corners of the Earth in the 19th Century. The 2006 population stood at almost 51 million, a high percentage of which resided in the capital city, London. England is still somewhat independent of the rest of Europe and still uses the British Pound as its accepted currency, although establishments in some areas of London do accept Euros. The official language of the country is English and has been for a number of years, but few people are bilingual so anyone visiting should brush up on their English in advance!

In terms of football, it is acknowledged as the national sport and is hugely popular. The England football team has had numerous managers over the years and usually ranks high in the FIFA world rankings. As of November 2007, they stood at 11th in the world, with the highest ranking having been 4th in September 2006 and December 1997. The lowest ranking ever was 27th in February 1996 and was considered a national disaster by the general public! The national team plays its home games at Wembley Stadium, which was completely renovated between 2000 and 2006 and now seats 90,000.

In terms of appearances in a world stage, England has attended the World Cup a total of twelve times with the first appearance being in 1950. However, despite that, they have only actually won it once in 1966 in which they played the final against West Germany, ultimately winning 4-2. Aside from that victory, the team’s highest placing was fourth in 1990. Their World Cup record is actually better than their European Championship record because, out of seven appearances, they have only made the semi-finals twice, in 1968 (their first appearance in which they came third) and 1996, without winning through to a final!

Domestic football is played via the Premier League, which took over from the old Division One in 1992 and is also commonly known as The Premiership. The Premier League contains twenty teams that play each other twice a year and play from August through May. There are also two major cup competitions, the FA Cup and the League Cup, the former of which is more prestigious and the latter of which is often referred to as the Carling Cup owing to a sponsorship deal in place at the moment. The FA Cup begins in January for the top teams with the final being played at Wembley Stadium in May, and the League Cup begins in October for the top teams with the final taking place in March.

The major English teams are thought to be Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal. All four were founded in the 19th Century and have played in the top flight for most of their existence. They have also had the best results in recent years. The current Champions are Manchester United, but the other three have vied for and won the title in recent years too, with the exception of Liverpool, who last won it in 1989-90. There are also other big teams that have illustrious histories like Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, but they are not considered to be in the “Big Four” today.