Football in the United Kingdom

Football in the United Kingdom is organised on a separate basis in each of the four countries of the United Kingdom, with each having a national football association responsible for the overall management of football within their respective country. There is no United Kingdom national football team. It has been the most popular sport in the United Kingdom since the 1860s.

For details about football in the four countries, see:

This article provides some comparisons concerning football in the different countries.

Each of the countries of the United Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the home nations, has a national football association responsible for the overall management of football within their respective nation: The Football Association, (FA) is responsible for England and the Crown Dependencies and was founded in 1863, The Scottish Football Association (SFA) was founded in 1873 followed by the Football Association of Wales in 1876 and Irish Football Association (IFA) in 1880. They are the world's four oldest national football associations and play an important part in football worldwide as they take up four of the eight seats on the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which determines the Laws of the Game, the other four seats being occupied by FIFA.

There is currently no United Kingdom national football team as separate teams compete in international competition representing England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Some people, such as politician Tony Banks, have argued for the UK having just one team to represent it but all four football associations are very much against such an idea.

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