Sports in Great Britain

The British are known to be great sport-loves, so when they are neither playing, nor watching games, they like to talk about them. Many of the games we play now have come from Britain.

One of the most British games is cricket. It is often played in schools, colleges, universities and by club teams all over the country. Summer isn’t summer without cricket. To many Englishmen cricket is both a game and a standard of behaviour. When they consider anything unfair, they sometimes say: “That isn’t cricket”.

But as almost everywhere else in the world, the game, which attracts the greatest attention is Association football, or soccer. Every Saturday from late August till the beginning of May, large crowds of people support their favourite sides in football grounds. True fans will travel from one end of the country to the other to see their team play. There are plenty of professional and amateur soccer clubs all over Britain. International football matches and the Cup Finals take place at Wembley.

Rugby football is also very popular and mainly amateurs play it. Next to football, the chief spectator sport in British life is horseracing. A lot of people are interested in the races and risk money on the horse, which they think will win. The Derby is perhaps the most famous single sporting event in the whole world.

Britain is also famous for motorcar racing, dog-racing, boat-racing, and even races for donkeys. The famous boat race between the teams of Oxford and Cambridge attracts large crowds of people.

A great number of people play and watch tennis. Tennis tournaments at Wimbledon are known all over the world. The innumerable tennis courts of Britain are occupied by people between the ages of 16 and 60 who show every degree of skill – from practically helpless to the extremely able.

The British also like to play golf, baseball, hockey, and grass-hockey. Various forms of athletics, such as running, jumping, swimming, and boxing are also popular. You can sometimes hear that there are no winter sports in England. Of course the English weather is not always cold enough to ski, skate, or toboggan, but winter is a good season for hunting and fishing.

Indeed sport in one form or another is an essential part of daily life in Britain.