The Great Britain has a diverse interest in sports, giving birth to sports like cricket and field hockey. A huge majority of people enjoy watching these games, filling entire stadiums. Poker also seems to be getting more attention recently with free online pokies games.

Here are just a few sports that are enjoyed by the vast majority:

Football

Football is immensely popular in Britain. Its origin is ancient and dates back toChina around the 3rd century. However, association football has its origins in England. It is so well-loved that every country in Britain has its own league with professional and semi-professional clubs. There are Sunday leagues as well for non-professionals.

The Premier League is the biggest, which includes 20 elite teams from all three countries as well as Ireland. Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal are the most famous teams. The most popular football championships are the Capitol One Cup and FA Cup.

Rugby

Rugby has a long history in British sports dating back to the 19th century where it was played by the upper class. Later, it developed into one of the major sports. It is sponsored by the government and governed by the Rugby Football League. The sport is divided into Rugby League and Rugby Union, each with different rules for player numbers and advancing the ball.

The Union and League have separate national. The teams play in various matches including Six Nation Championship by Rugby Union and Super League by Rugby League.

Cricket

Anyone who is familiar with cricket knows it is the national game of England. Cricket was first played in the 16th century back when it was considered the gentlemen’s game. During the 18th century, it gained rapid popularity all over the world.

In Britain, there are 18 professional clubs with most being in England. Every summer, these clubs compete for the First Class County Championship including two leagues with matches played over four days. Cricket is more famous in Wales and England as compared to Ireland and Scotland, although these two countries have their own teams.

Netball

Netball is played by two teams of seven players, predominantly women. It evolved from early versions of basketball. The Netball Superleague was established in 1999 in the UK, and the tournaments are broadcasted regularly by Sky Sports.

The tournament runs from February to July, featuring ten teams from Scotland, England and Wales. The players are usually from Wales, Fiji, England, Scotland and New Zealand.

Ice Hockey

Ice Hockey was played in Britain in 1893 for the first time. It was developed in Canada and played between English army veterans. The British Ice Hockey Association was formed in 1914 but replaced in 1999 by the Ice Hockey UK, which is now the governing body. It is affiliated with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

There are two ice hockey teams in Britain:theMen’s National Ice Hockey Team and the Women’s National Ice Hockey Team. The men’s team won the IIHF European Championship in 1910, finished as bronze medalists in the 1924 Winter Olympics and conquered the 1936 Olympics. However, they couldn’t keep up their performance, last qualifying in 1948 for the Olympics. Recently, in 2018, they managed to enter the top level of the Ice Hockey World Championship.

The women’s team was founded in 1989. It participated in the IIHF European Championship and World Women’s Championship and is currently sitting on 23rd in the world rankings.

Rowing

British rowing, known as the Amateur Rowing Association, was founded in 1882. It is a member of the International Rowing Federation and British Olympic Association. The Rowing Association is responsible for the development and progress of global rowing teams in Britain.

The most famous teams are Thames Rowing Club, London Club, Bedford Rowing Club and Kingston Rowing Club.

Tennis

The history of tennis goes back to 11th or 12th century France. In Britain, it was played by the Victorian noblemen and women since 1877. It is governed by the Lawn Tennis Association. The Wimbledon Championship held in Britain is one of the four Grand Slams. The others are the US Open, French Open and Australian Open.

Tennis has a lot of following, especially after the success of Andy Murray in the 2013 Wimbledon. Some of the finest players are Tim Henman, Virginia Wade, Andy Murray, Greg Rusedski, Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha.