The History of English football is a

long and detailed one, as it is not only

the national sport but England was
where the game was developed and
codified. Football is the most popular
team game in Britain. The British
invented it and it has spread to every
corner of the world.
The Football Association, also
known simply as the FA, is the
governing body of football in
England. Formed in 1863, it is the
oldest football association in the
world and is responsible for
overseeing all aspects of the amateur
and professional game in England.
Football's roots in England has be found in Medieval football, which was played annually
on Shrovetide. It is suggested that this game was derived from those played
in Brittany and Normandy, and could have been brought to England in the Norman Conquest.
These games were violent and largely ruleless. As a result, they were often banned.
England is the origin of nearly all first accounts of features of football:
In 1280 comes the first account of a kicking ball game. This happened at Ulgham,
near Ashington in Northumberland, in which a player was killed as a result of running against an
opposing player's dagger. This confirms that by the 13th century kicking ball games were being
played in England.
In 1314, comes the earliest reference to a game called football when Nicholas de Farndone, Lord
Mayor of the City of London issued a decree on behalf of King Edward II banning football. It was
written in the French used by the English upper classes at the time.
In 1409 King Henry IV of England gives us the first documented use of the English word "football"
when issued a proclamation forbidding the levying of money for "foteball".
At the end of the 15th century comes the earliest description of a football game. This account
in Latin of a football game contains a number of features of modern football and comes
from Cawston, Nottinghamshire, England. It is included in a manuscript collection of the miracles
of King Henry VI of England. Although the precise date is uncertain it certainly comes from
between 1481 and 1500. This is the first account of an exclusively "kicking game"
In 1526 comes the first record of a pair of football boots occurs when Henry VIII of England ordered
a pair from the Great Wardrobe in 1526. Unfortunately these are no longer in existence.
In 1581 comes the earliest account of football as an organised team sport. Richard Mulcaster, a
student at Eton College in the early 16th century and later headmaster at other English schools
provides the earliest references to teams ("sides" and "parties"), positions ("standings"), a referee
("judge over the parties") and a coach "(trayning maister)".

Mulcaster's "footeball" had evolved from the disordered and violent forms of traditional footballalso confirms that in
the 16fth century England football was very popular and widespread: it had attained "greatnes. .. [and was] much
used ... in all places"
Despite this violence continued to be a problem. For example, the parish archives of North Moreton , Oxfordshire for
May 1595 state: "Gunter's son and ye Gregorys fell together by ye years at football. Old Gunter drew his dagger and
both broke their heads, and they died both within a fortnight after."
In 1602 the earliest reference to a game involving passing the ball comes from cornish hurling.
The first references to goals come from England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In 1584 and 1602
respectively,John Norden and Richard Carew referred to "goals" in Cornish hurling. Carew described how goals were
made: "they pitch two bushes in the ground, some eight or ten foote asunder; and directly against them, ten or twelue
[twelve] score off, other twayne in like distance, which they terme their Goales".He is also the first to refer to
goalkeeping.
The first direct references to scoring a goal come from England in the 17th century.
Football continued to be outlawed in English cities, for example the Manchester Lete Roll contains a resolution, dated
12 October 1608. Although football was frequently outlawed in England, it remained popular even with the ruling
classes. For example, during the reign of King James I of England James Howellmentions how Lord Willoughby and
Lord Sunderland enjoyed playing football.
Football continued to be popular throughout 17th century England.
In 1660 comes the first objective study of football, given in Francis Willughby's Book of Sports,written in about
1660. This account is particularly noteworthy as he refers to football by its correct name and is the first to describe
the following: goals and a pitch ("a close that has a gate at either end. The gates are called Goals"), tactics ("leaving
some of their best players to guard the goal"), scoring ("they that can strike the ball through their opponents' goal first
win") and the way teams were selected ("the players being equally divided according to their strength and
nimbleness"). He is the first to describe a law of football: "They often break one another's shins when two meet and
strike both together against the ball, and therefore there is a law that they must not strike higher than the ball". His
book includes the first (basic) diagram illustrating a modern football pitch.
Football continued to be played in the later 17th century, even in cities such as London. The great diarist Samuel
Pepys, for example, states in 1665 that in a London street "the streete being full of footballs".
Football continued to be played in England throughout the 19th
century. England was the first country in the world to develop
codified football, coming about from a desire of its
various public schools to compete against each other.
Previously, each school had its own rules, which may have
dated back to the 15th or 16th centuries. The first attempts to
come up with single codes probably began in the 1840s, with
various meetings between school representatives attempting to
come up with a set of rules with which all would be happy. The
first attempt was The Cambridge Rules, created in 1848; others
developed their own sets, most notably Sheffield F.C. (1855)
and J.C. Thring (1862).These were moulded into one set in
1863 when the Football Association was formed; though some
clubs continued to play under the Sheffield Rules until 1878.
The 1863 rules of the Football Association provides the first
reference in the English Language to the verb to "pass" a ball.
The early Sheffield Rules were particularly important as their
offside system allowed poaching or sneaking and thus
demonstrated the use of the forward pass. he Sheffield Rules of
1862 later included both crossbars and half time and free kicks
were introduced to their code in 1866.
An offside rule had not been included in the 1863 FA rules. Consequently, in the late
1860s "scientific" team play and ball passing strategies started to evolve, which created the modern
game as we know it. Teamwork and passing were the innovation of the Royal Engineers AFC.
Passing was a regular feature of their style and their skills included "turn[ing] the ball" to colleagues
and "irreproachable organisation" of forwards and defenders By early 1872 the Engineers were the
first football team renowned for "play[ing] beautifully together. In the early 1870s the modern
team passing game was invented by the Sheffield FC, Royal Engineers A.F.C. and Scottish players
of the era from Queens Park FC. This was the predecessor to the current passing, defensive game
was known as the Combination Game and was spread around the world by British expatriates.
England was home to the first ever international football match on 5 March 1870. The first match
ended in a draw and was one of a series of four matches between representatives of England and
Scotland at The Oval, London. These matches were arranged by the Football Association, at the
time the only national football body in the world. This period in English football was dominated by
conflict between those who supported professionalism, and those who wanted the game to remain
amateur. Clubs in Scotland and Northern England generally supported a professional game, as
the working class of these regions could not afford to miss work in order to play football.
In Southern England, the game was more popular with the middle class, who supported
"Corinthian" values of amateurism. A number of clubs, such as Blackburn Rovers and Darwen were
accused of employing professionals, and the FA eventually legalised the practice in 1885, in order to
avoid a split.
The new professionals needed more regular competitive football in which they could compete,
which led to the creation of the Football League in 1888 by Aston Villa director William
McGregor. This was dominated by those clubs who had supported professionalism, and the
twelve founding members consisted of six from Lancashire (Blackburn Rovers,
Burnley, Bolton Wanderers, Accrington, Everton and Preston North End) and six from
the Midlands (Aston Villa, Derby County, Notts County, Stoke, West Bromwich
Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers). No sides from the South or London initially
participated. Preston North End won the first ever Football League championship without
losing any of their 22 fixtures, and won the FA Cup to complete the double. In 1892, a
new Division Two was added, taking in more clubs from around the country; Woolwich
Arsenal became the first League club from the capital in 1893; they were also joined
by Liverpool the same year. By 1898, both divisions had been expanded to eighteen clubs.
Other rival leagues on a local basis were being eclipsed by the Football League, though both
the Northern League and the Southern League - who provided the only ever non-league FA
Cup winners Tottenham Hotspur in 1901 - remained competitors in the pre-World War I era.
At the turn of the 20th century, clubs from Sheffield were particularly
successful, with Sheffield United winning a title and two FA Cups, as well as
losing to Tottenham in the 1901 final; meanwhile The Wednesday (later
Sheffield Wednesday) won two titles and two FA Cups, despite being
relegated in 1899 they were promoted the following year. During the first
decade of the 20th century, Manchester City looked to be emerging as
England's top side after winning the FA Cup for the first time in 1904. Instead,
it was City's neighbours United who were the more successful during the early
20th century. They reached the First Division in 1906 and were crowned
league champions two years later. The following year, 1909, they won the FA
Cup and they added another league championship in 1911. Clubs from the
South fared poorly in comparison, though in 1904 Woolwich Arsenal became
the first club from London to be promoted to the First Division, while a slew
of clubs from the capital joined the League (including Clapton Orient,
Chelsea, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur), making it a properly nationwide
competition; both Chelsea and Spurs quickly gained promotion to the top
flight as well.

From 1920 to 1923 the Football League expanded further, gaining a new Third
Division (expanding quickly to Division Three South and Division Three North), with all
leagues now containing 22 clubs, making 88 in total. In addition, in 1923Wembley
Stadium opened, and hosted its first Cup final, between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham
United, known today as the "White Horse Final"; Bolton won 20.
During the interwar years, Arsenal and Everton were the two most dominant sides in
English football, although Huddersfield Town did make history in 1926 by becoming the
first team to complete a hat-trick of successive league titles. Arsenal would do the same in
1935. Huddersfield Town and Arsenal's successes were largely down to manager Herbert
Chapman, who first managed Huddersfield in their first two championship seasons in
192324 and 192425, before accepting the offer to manage Arsenal. With Arsenal, he won
the FA Cup once and the League twice in the 1930s, before his sudden death during what
would be a third title-winning season in 193334. Arsenal went on to win the title twice
more during the 1930s, as well as another FA Cup.
Sheffield Wednesday were also successful during the 1930s, winning the 192930 title, the
FA Cup in 1935 and finishing in the top three in all but one season in the period 193036.
In addition, it was during this time that a Welsh side won the FA Cup for the only
time; Cardiff City beating Arsenal 10 in the 1927 Final.
The national team remained strong, but lost their first game to a non-British Isles country in
1929 (against Spain in Madrid) and refused to compete in the initial World Cups.


English football reconvened in the years following the end of World War II, when
most clubs had closed down for a period, with the 194546 FA Cup . the 194647
season, with the first title going to Liverpool.
In the immediate post-war years, Arsenal won another two titles and an FA Cup
but after the second title win in 1953, began to fade considerably and would not
win another trophy for nearly 20 years. Liverpool won a league title as well, but
suffered an even more miserable fate and were relegated to the Second Division
in 1954. Manchester United re-emerged as a footballing force under new
manager Matt Busby. They won the FA Cup in 1948 and the league title in 1952,
the first in the club's history. The other dominant team of the era was
Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves, who had previously spent most of the
interwar period in the lower divisions, won three league titles and two FA Cups
under manager Stan Cullis and captain Billy Wright. Other Midlands sides also
enjoyed success after a barren period, including West Bromwich Albion's FA Cup
win in 1954 (their first trophy in 23 years) and Aston Villa matching them with a
Cup win in 1957 (their first in 37 years). In addition, in 1951 Tottenham Hotspur
became the first team in English football to win the league title immediately after
being promoted, and Chelsea won their first and only league title of the 20th
century in 1955.
One of the most memorable matches of the era was
when Blackpool beat Bolton Wanderers 43 in the 1953 FA Cup Final,
in a match that came to be known as the "Matthews Final", for
Blackpool's mercurial winger Stanley Matthews, even though it
was Stan Mortensen who scored a hat-trick that day; it remains
Blackpool's only major honour.
English football as a whole, however, began to suffer at this time, with
tactical naivety setting in. The national team were humiliated at their
first World Cup in 1950, famously losing to the USA 10. Great
players who rose to prominence during the 1950s include Duncan
Edwards, Tommy Taylor, Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, Bobby
Robson, Norman Deeley, Peter Sillett, Danny Blanchflower, Denis
Compton and Joe Mercer.
While Edwards and Taylor both lost their lives due to the Munich
tragedy, many older players naturally reached the end of their
illustrious careers at around the same time. These include Nat
Lofthouse, Tom Finney, Billy Wright, Stan Mortensen,Bert
Williams and Johnny Carey.
Managers who achieved glory in the first 15 years of postwar English
football include Matt Busby, Tom Whittaker, Stan Cullis, Ted
Drake and Stan Seymour.


Stanley Matthews
The end of the 1950s had seen the beginning of the modernisation of
English football, with the Divisions Three North and South becoming
the national Division Three and Division Four in 1958.
It was Tottenham Hotspur who became the dominant force in English
football in the early 1960s, winning the elusive double of the League
and FA Cup in 1961, retaining the cup in 1962 and becoming the first
British team to win a European trophy.
The English national side showed signs of improving with Alf
Ramsey taking over as head coach following a respectable quarter final
appearance at the 1962 FIFA World Cup. Ramsey confidently
predicted that at the next tournament, England would win the trophy,
and they did just that.
The 1966 World Cup saw England win the World Cup in
a controversial 42 victory over West Germany.
The period also saw the first English successes in European club
football, begun with Manchester United's 41 European Cup victory
over SL Benfica, and Leeds United's Inter-Cities Fairs Cup victory,
both in 1968. Indeed, Leeds' win set off a series of 6 consecutive wins
in the competition (which was renamed the UEFA Cup in 1971) for
English clubs, with the 1972 final being held between two of them,
Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

During this time, a number of different teams competed for
league and cup success. Manchester City enjoyed success at
the same time as their rivals United, winning the First
Division title for only the second time in 1968, and the FA
Cup the year after that, and a double of the Cup Winners' Cup
and League Cup in 1970.
Players who dominated the English scene during the 1960s
include Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Bobby Charlton, George
Best, Denis Law, Jimmy Greaves, Francis Lee, Jeff
Astle, Gordon Banks and Roger Hunt.
The decade also saw the illustrious careers of many famous
older players drawing to a close. These include Danny
Blanchflower, Harry Gregg, Dennis Viollet, Norman
Deeley, Peter McParland, Noel Cantwell, Bert
Trautmann, Jimmy Adamson, Syd Owen, and the 50-year-
old Stanley Matthews.
Successful managers of the 1960s include Matt Busby, Bill
Nicholson, Harry Catterick, Bill Shankly, Don Revie, Joe
Mercerand and Ron Greenwood.

George Best
Ron Greenwood Joe Mercerand
The 1970s was an odd decade in English football, with the national team disappointing. They failed to qualify for
the 1974and 1978 World Cups and only made the second round in 1982. English club sides, however, dominated on the
continent. Altogether, in the 1970s, English clubs won eight European titles and lost out in four finals.
Chelsea also enjoyed silverware, claiming the FA Cup in 1970 and the Winners Cup a year later. Tottenham were also
successful, with a UEFA Cup and League Cup in 1971 and 1973 respectively,
However, the dominant team in England in this period was Liverpool, winning league titles in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979,
1980, 1982, 1983 and 1984. They also collected three European Cups, three FA Cups and four League Cups, under
Shankly and his successor Bob Paisley, who retired as manager in 1983 to be succeeded by veteran coach Joe Fagan.
The other notably successful teams of the era were Derby County, Nottingham Forest, Everton and Aston Villa.
Everton began the 1970s on a high note as league champions in 1970, but rarely featured in the race for the major
trophies until they won the FA Cup under Howard Kendall in 1984. They added the league title and European Cup
Winners' Cup a year later. Aston Villa had bounced back from relegation to the Third Division in 1970, winning
promotion to the top flight in 1975 and a League Cup the same year, and again in 1977. They went on to win the 1981
league title and the year after won the European Cup, becoming the fourth English club to do so, beating Bayern
Munich 10 in Rotterdam.
Between 1965 and 1974 Leeds had been the most consistent club side in English football, winning two league titles, as
well as five runners-up places, had never finished outside the top four and had reached nine major finals, and 4 other
semi-finals, as well as winning the FA cup in 1972, however this success would end with the departure of Don Revie
for the England national team 1974, and apart from a final flurry in the 1975 European cup final, they won no more
trophies and were relegated in 1982.
Manchester United began to decline that eventually saw them relegated in 1974. However, they were promoted back
the following season, and reached three cup finals in four years (1976, 1977 and 1979), though they only won the 1977
final. United went on to finish second twice during the 1980s and won another FA Cup in 1983, but the league title
continued to elude them - they had not won it since 1967.
Meanwhile, Chelsea were also going through a turbulent time after winning the FA Cup in 1970 and the European Cup
Winners' Cup in 1971. Financial problems and the loss of key players meant they spent most of 1970s and 1980s
bouncing between the First and Second Divisions. In 1983, they only narrowly avoided relegation to the Third Division,
but were promoted the following year.

Portsmouth (league champions in 1949 and 1950) fell into the Fourth Division in 1978
as an almost bankrupt side, but climbed out of it in 1980 and within five years were in
the hunt for a First Division comeback. Derby County were league champions in 1972
and 1975, but a rapid decline saw them fall into the Second Division in 1980 and the
Third Division in 1984.
The period was also marked by some surprise FA Cup wins by lower-division teams
over top-flight sides; these included Sunderland (beating Leeds United in 1973),
Southampton (beating Manchester United in 1976) and West Ham United (beating
Arsenal in 1980). Bobby Robson's Ipswich Town were another successful smaller club,
winning the FA Cup in 1978 and the UEFA Cup in 1981. They also came second in the
league in 1981 and 1982.
Players who dominated the English scene during the 1970s and early 1980s
include Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Peter Shilton, Bryan
Robson, John Wark, Liam Brady, Steve Perryman, Glenn Hoddle and Alan Hansen.
Older players whose careers finished during this time include Bobby Moore, Bobby
Charlton, George Best, Denis Law, Jimmy Greaves, Billy Bremner, Jack
Charlton, Emlyn Hughes, Gordon Banks and Alex Stepney.
Successful managers of this era include Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Don Revie, John
Lyall, Brian Clough, Ron Saunders, Ron Atkinson, Bobby Robson and Keith
Burkinshaw.


Kenny Dalglish
Bryan Robson
Ron Atkinson
Bobby Robson
During the 1970s and 1980s, the spectre of hooliganism had begun to haunt English football.
The Heysel Stadium disasterwas the epitome of this, with English hooligans mixing with poor
policing and an old stadium to cause the deaths of 39Juventus fans during the 1985 European
Cup final. This led to English teams being banned from European football for five years, and
Liverpool - the club involved - being banned for six.
Even when English teams were re-admitted, it was not until 1995 that they regained all of their
lost places. And it took a while for English teams to re-establish themselves in Europe.
Although Manchester United won the European Cup Winners' Cup in the first season after the
ban was lifted, the European Cup was not won by an English club until 1999 15 years after the
last triumph.
On the field, Liverpool's domination was coming to an end; it also saw the culmination of the
phenomenal rise of Wimbledon.
A number of other small clubs achieved success at this time. Charlton Athletic, who were forced
to leave The Valley and ground-share with West Ham for safety reasons in 1985, won promotion
to the First Division in 1986 after an exile of nearly 30 years. They defied the odds by remaining
at this level until their luck finally ran out and they were relegated in 1990.
In 1986, Wolverhampton Wanderers fell into the Fourth Division for the first time in their
history, and became only the second English team to endure three successive relegations.
Bolton Wanderers, four times FA Cup winners, were relegated to the Fourth Division in 1987,
the same year that Sunderland fell into the Third Division for the first time in their history. Both
teams, however, won promotion at the first attempt.
With Liverpool's fortunes waning, George Graham's Arsenal started to win trophies again, with a
League Cup in 1987 and two league titles, in 1989 and 1991, the former being won in the final
minute of the final game of the season against title rivals Liverpool, with young
midfielder Michael Thomas scoring the crucial goal.


Arsenal would go on to be the first side to pick up the Cup Double in 1993, and followed it with a Cup Winners'
Cup the year after.
Arsenal's neighbours Tottenham were also successful, winning the FA Cup in 199091, with midfielder Paul
Gascoigneproving the hero in the semi-finals against Arsenal before injuring himself in the final against
Nottingham Forest. Tottenham bought Barcelona's high-scoring England striker Gary Lineker in 1989, and he
continued his excellent form over three years at the club before leaving to finish his career in Japan.
Manchester United's six-year trophyless run had ended in 1983 when manager Ron Atkinson (appointed in 1981)
guided them to FA Cup glory. They achieved another triumph two years later, but had still gone without a league
title since 1967. 10 successive league wins at the start of the 198586 season suggested that the title was on its
way back to Old Trafford, but United's form fell away as they finished fourth and Liverpool sealed the title. A
terrible start to the 198687 season cost Atkinson his job in early November, when Alex Ferguson was recruited
from Aberdeen. Ferguson strengthened the squad in the 1987 close season and the first stages of the new season
and things were looking good as Ferguson's first full season as manager saw United finished second behind
runaway champions Liverpool. Further signings after this improvement suggested that the title was even closer
for United, but a series of injuries blighted the side and they finished 11th in 1989. United's wait for silverware
ended in 1990 when they won their 7th FA Cup, and a year later they won the European Cup Winners' Cup, but it
had now been well over 20 years since the league title had been United's.
Despite failure to qualify for Euro 1984 (the first major tournament since the appointment of Bobby Robson as
manager), England continued to improve as the 1980s wore on, losing controversially to Argentina in the 1986
World Cup and unluckily on penalties to Germany in the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup, eventually finishing
fourth. This success for the national team, and the gradually improving grounds, helped to reinvigorate football's
popularity. Attendances rose from the late 1980s and continued to do so as football moved into the business era.
The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the emergence of numerous young players who went on to reach great
heights in the game. These include Paul Gascoigne, David Platt, Matt Le Tissier, Lee Sharpe, Ryan
Giggs and Paul Merson.
Established great players who were still playing the top in the early 1990s include Ian Rush, Peter
Beardsley, Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Neville Southall and Ray Wilkins.
This era also saw many famous names hanging up their boots after long and illustrious careers. These
include Ray Clemence, Gary Bailey, Alan Hansen, Craig Johnston, Norman Whiteside, Andy Gray and Billy
Bonds.
Successful managers of this era include Kenny Dalglish, George Graham, Howard Kendall, Howard
Wilkinson, Alex Ferguson, Bobby Gould, John Lyall, Jim Smith, Maurice Evans and Dave Bassett.

Ryan Giggs David Beckham Rio Ferdinand
Alex Ferguson Arsne Wenger
In England, as in Europe in general, the early first decade of the 21st century saw the financial bubble
burst, with the collapse of ITV Digital in May 2002 leaving a hole in the pockets of the Football League
clubs who had relied on their television money to maintain high wages.
At the same time, the country's richest clubs continued to grow, with the wages of top players increasing
further.
Manchester United's outstanding success has continued, though to a slightly lesser degree than the
success they had previously enjoyed. Arsenal won a third Double in 2002 and clinched the title in 2004
without losing a single league game all season. In 2003 and 2005, when they missed out on the title, they
had the FA Cup as compensation. United still managed to win another FA Cup in 2004 and the League
Cup in 2006, as well as league titles in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2007. Chelsea's success continued to grow,
with Roman Abramovich - a Russian oligarch - purchasing Chelsea in a 150m takeover in 2003.
Abramovich, whose move to England made him the country's richest man (he has since been overtaken),
made substantial transfer funds available to manager Claudio Ranieri. After finishing second in 2004,
Chelsea won the League Cup and league title under Ranieri's replacement Jos Mourinho in 2005, and
another title in 2006
While unable to challenge for the league title, Liverpool achieved success in other competitions,
including a treble of League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup in 2001. Another League Cup followed in
2003, but the biggest triumph of the decade so far was a Champions League win in 2005, with a
memorable comeback from 30 down against AC Milan in the final; Liverpool became the second club
since the Heysel ban to take the trophy.
The England national team during this time became managed by a non-English national for the first time
in their history when Sven-Gran Eriksson took charge. He achieved respectable results in international
tournaments, going out to eventual winners Brazil in the 2002 World Cup.

The 200607 season saw Manchester United win the Premier League title for
the first time in four years, with Chelsea finishing second (their failure to win a
third successive title compensated for in the shape of success in both domestic
cups), Liverpool finishing third and Arsenal fourth, while Tottenham Hotspur,
Everton and Bolton Wanderers achieved UEFA Cup qualification.
Manchester United became the receipts of the world's biggest transfer fee during
the 2009 close season when they soldCristiano Ronaldo, widely regarded as one
of the best football players in the world (behind Lionel Messi), to Real
Madrid of Spain for 80million.
Star players rising to prominence this era have included Wayne
Rooney (Everton, Manchester United and England), Thierry
Henry (Arsenal and France), Frank Lampard (Chelsea and England), Steven
Gerrard (Liverpool and England) and Joe Cole(West Ham United, Chelsea and
England).
Michael Owen, Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Sol
Campbell are some of the prominent players still active in the game during the
first decade of the 21st century after rising to fame during the 1990s, though
Beckham has not played in England since 2003.
Legendary players whose illustrious careers have come to an end during this
decade include Alan Shearer, Dennis Bergkamp, Denis Irwin, Paul Ince and Roy
Keane.
Successful managers of this era include Alex Ferguson, Jos Mourinho, Arsne
Wenger, Roberto Mancini, Grard Houllier, and Rafael Bentez.

Wayne Rooney Thierry Henry
Frank Lampard
Steven Gerrard
Roberto Mancini
Rafael Bentez
As the decades replaced each other the football game
changed too. There were many big changes in the style
of play after association football became an organized
sport. The rules of football have been ever changing.
With the advent of full-time professionals in the early
1990s, and the consequent speeding up of the game, the
five meter off-side distance between the two teams
became 10 meters, and the replacement rule was
superseded by various interchange rules, among other
changes.
Today, the word 'football' is used in different ways in
different parts of the English-speaking world. Most
often, the word is used to refer to the code of football
that is considered dominant within a particular region.