adityasasidhar/Wikipedia_Cleaned huggingface dataset:
Kicking a ball, in Europe, was described in Britannia (now western Scottish lowlands), in Germania (now Deutchland) and Gallia (now France and northern-central Italy). An evolution goes back to the Middle Ages in Paris. Association football (founded in Richmond, London at the end of 1800) spread to many other parts of Europe, and was brought to the rest of the world with colonization. Today, it is the most popular sport in the world and many people watch it on television, especially the FIFA World Cup that happens every four years.
The word "Poland" was written officially for the first time in 966. In 1569, Poland formed a strong union with Lithuania called the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. At some point in its history, it was the largest state in Europe and became very influential. Eventually, after a slow decline, the Commonwealth collapsed in 1795. Poland regained its independence in 1918 after World War I. In 1921, Poland defeated Soviet Russia in the Polish-Soviet War that started in 1919.
However, Poland lost independence again not long after the beginning of World War II, after suffering a defeat by both the USSR and Nazi Germany. Although the government collapsed, the Polish people fought on by forming the largest and most effective resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Europe. It is most notable for disrupting German supply lines to the Eastern Front of WWII, providing military intelligence to the British, and for saving more Jewish lives in the Holocaust than any other Allied organization or government. After the war, Poland regained "independence" and became a communist country within the Eastern Bloc. The new government was appointed by Joseph Stalin and was under the control of the Soviet Union.
On September 1, 1939, World War II started when Nazi Germany attacked Poland. The Soviet Union attacked Poland on September 17, 1939. Warsaw was defeated on September 28, 1939. Poland was split into two pieces, one half owned by Nazi Germany, the other by the Soviet Union. More than 6 million Polish people died, and half of these people were Jewish. Most of these deaths were part of the Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews and 1.5 poles were killed. At the war's end, Poland's borders were moved west, pushing the eastern border to the Curzon line. The western border was moved to the Oder-Neisse line. The new Poland became 20% smaller by 77,500 square kilometers (29,900 sq mi). The shift forced millions of Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, and Jews to move.
After these events, Poland gradually became a communist country. It was supposedly an independent country, but in reality, the new government was appointed by Joseph Stalin and was also under the control of the Soviet Union. The country was then renamed the People's Republic of Poland. There are many Poles in the neighboring countries Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania (these three countries were part of the Soviet Union until 1991), as well as in other countries. Most Poles outside of Poland are in the United States, especially in Chicago. Germany and the United Kingdom are also home to a large Polish diaspora. The most recent mass emigration of Poles to western countries began after 1989.
The northeastern region is densely wooded, sparsely populated, and lacks agricultural and industrial resources. The geographical region has four hilly districts of moraines and lakes created by moraines. These formed during and after the Pleistocene ice age. The Masurian Lake District is the largest of the four districts and covers much of northeastern Poland.
South of the northeastern region is the regions of Silesia and Masovia, which are marked by the broad ice-age river valleys. The Silesia region has many resources and people. Coal is abundant. Lower Silesia has large copper mining. Masovian Plain is in central Poland. It is in the valleys of three large rivers: Vistula, Bug and Narew.
Poland has a continental climate.
Today 38,038,000 people live in Poland (2011). In 2002 96.74% of the population call themselves Polish, while 471,500 people (1.23%) claimed another nationality. 774,900 people (2.03%) did not declare any nationality. Nationalities, or ethnic groups in Poland are Silesians, Germans (most in the former Opole Voivodeship), Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Russians, Jews, Roma and Belarusians. The Polish language is part of the West Slavic section of the Slavic languages. It is also the official language of Poland. English and German are the most common second languages studied and spoken.
In the past few years, Poland's population has gone down because of an increase in emigration and a sharp drop in the birth rate. In 2006, the census office estimated the total population of Poland at 38,536,869, a very small rise from the 2002 figure of 38,230,080. Since Poland's accession to the European Union, many Polish people have moved to work in Western European countries like the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Some organizations state people have left because of high unemployment (10.5%) and better opportunities for work somewhere else. In April 2007, the Polish population of the United Kingdom had risen to about 300,000 people and estimates predict about 65,000 Polish people living in the Republic of Ireland. However, in recent years strong growth of the Polish economy and the increasing value of Polish currency (PLN) makes many Polish immigrants go back home. In 2007, the number of people leaving the country was lower than people who are coming back. Poland became an attractive place to work for people from other countries (mainly Ukraine).
England is a country in Europe with over sixty cities. It is in a union with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. All four countries are in the British Isles and are part of the United Kingdom (UK).
Although people had lived in England long before, it was a long time before the land was unified. The earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of "Homo antecessor", about 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date to 500,000 years ago.
The Beaker culture arrived around 2,500 BC. They used drinking and food vessels made from clay, and vessels used as reduction pots to smelt copper ores. There was extensive Scandinavian trips to the islands around Scotland, and to Ireland, long before England was a unified country: check Skara Brae for one example.
Subsequently, the House of Plantagenet from Anjou inherited the English throne under Henry II, adding England to the budding Angevin Empire. They reigned for three centuries, some noted monarchs being Richard I, Edward I, Edward III and Henry V.
The period saw changes in trade and legislation, including the signing of the "Magna Carta", an English legal charter. Catholic monasticism flourished. The universities of Oxford and Cambridge were founded with royal patronage. The Principality of Wales became a Plantagenet fief during the 13th century and the Lordship of Ireland was given to the English monarchy by the Pope.
For several centuries the religion of England was Roman Catholicism. The bishops (church leaders) of England and all their churches obeyed the Pope and the church in Rome. During the Protestant Reformation many did not agree with this. In the 1530s, the Pope told King Henry VIII that he could not divorce his wife. Henry VIII made the Church of England (a "Protestant" church) partly so that he could divorce his wife. He made Protestantism the official church in England. For the next 200 years, there was struggle over whether the King (or Queen) of England should be Roman Catholic or Protestant.
Queen Elizabeth I was Henry's second daughter. She was a powerful queen who ruled for more than 40 years. Elizabethan England was the best of the English Renaissance and saw the flowering of art, poetry, music and literature. The era is most famous for its drama, theatre and playwrights. When Queen Elizabeth I died, she had no children.
In 1603 James VI of Scotland (the son of Mary, Queen of Scots) became King James I of England. He called his two countries "Great Britain", but they were still separate countries with their own parliaments and laws, even though they were in personal union because they shared the same monarch.
James' son, Charles I and the English Parliament fought each other in the English Civil War (Scotland and Ireland were involved as well, and the story is complicated!). Oliver Cromwell became leader of the Parliamentary Army (the "Roundheads") and defeated the Royalist Army (the "Cavaliers"). King Charles was beheaded in 1649 and Oliver Cromwell became dictator ("Lord Protector"). When Cromwell died, his son Richard was not strong enough to rule, and Charles II, the son of Charles I, was invited to come to England and be king in 1660.
When King Charles II died, his brother James II was the next king. A lot of people did not like James because he was Roman Catholic. William of Orange was invited to invade England. He was the ruler of part of the Netherlands and husband of Mary, the daughter of King James. Many people welcomed William because he was a Protestant.
James left the country without a fight and Parliament asked William and Mary to become King and Queen together. When Mary II of England died, William ruled alone. Queen Mary's sister Anne became the next queen. While she was queen, England and Scotland were officially joined as one country. This was called the Acts of Union 1707. It also merged their separate parliaments. The parliament in London now included Scottish Members of Parliament ("MPs"), and was called the Parliament of Great Britain.
After this, the history of England becomes the history of Great Britain and United Kingdom. Under the newly formed Kingdom of Great Britain, the Royal Society and the Scottish Enlightenment created innovations in science and engineering. The enormous growth in British overseas trade protected by the Royal Navy paved the way for the British Empire. Domestically it drove the Industrial Revolution, which was a period of profound change in the socioeconomic and cultural conditions in England. Industrialised agriculture, manufacture, engineering and mining became important. New and pioneering road, rail and water networks helped the expansion and development.
The United Kingdom was formed in 1800, when the Irish Parliament merged with the British one. Later on, many in Ireland fought against this merger. The result was the separation of the Republic of Ireland. This is not the whole of Ireland. The rest of the island, Northern Ireland, is now the only part of Ireland still in the UK. England is the only country of UK not to have its own government, Parliament or Assembly, but is governed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Seats in Parliament are mostly decided by the number of electors in the various parts of the UK.
London is the largest city and the capital. The longest river in England is the River Severn. Other large rivers are the Thames (which runs through London), the Trent and the Humber. In geological terms, the Pennines, known as the "backbone of England", are the oldest range of mountains in England, originating from the end of the Paleozoic Era around 300 million years ago. Most of England's landscape consists of low hills and plains, with upland and mountainous terrain in the north and west of the country.
The English Lowlands are in the central and southern regions of the country, consisting of green rolling chalk hills, including the Cotswold Hills, Chiltern Hills, North and South Downs; where they meet the sea they form white chalk exposures such as the cliffs of Dover. This also includes relatively flat plains such as the Salisbury Plain, Somerset Levels, South Coast Plain. The Fens are the natural marshlands once widespread in various parts of England.
The United Kingdom is reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In 2019, the British Parliament became the first national government in the world to officially declare a climate emergency.
England has been central to many aspects of the modern world. Global exploration and trade, the British Empire, modern science, modern agriculture, railways, the Industrial Revolution, the development of modern representative democracy. In all these developments England was deeply involved. In some of them, such as the Industrial Revolution, England was the place where modern developments first occurred.
The English language is a West Germanic language spoken in many countries around the world. With around 380 million native speakers, it is the second most spoken language in the world, as a native language. As many as a billion people speak it as a second language. English is an influence on, and has been influenced by, many other languages.
As part of the United Kingdom, the basic political system in England is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system. It has a monarch (meaning a king or queen is the head of that country). The head of state is King Charles III, who is became King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland upon his Mother's death on 9/8/2022, after her historical 70-year reign. The House of Commons is the lower house of the British Parliament in the Palace of Westminster. There are 532 Members of Parliament (MPs) for constituencies in England, out of the 650 total.
The English people are represented by members of Parliament, not ruled by monarchs. After the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector, and the monarchy was disbanded. Although the monarchy was restored after his death, the Crown slowly became the secondary power, and Parliament the first. Members of Parliament (called MPs) were elected, but until the early twentieth century, only men who owned property could vote. In the nineteenth century, more people were given suffrage. But in 1928, all men and women got the vote: this is called "universal suffrage". Parliament is in Westminster in London, but it has power over the whole of the United Kingdom.
England has a mixed market economy. It has adopted many free market principles, yet has an advanced social welfare infrastructure. The official currency in England is the pound sterling, which is the oldest currency in use. England is a leader in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly aerospace, the arms industry, and the software industry.
London is home to the London Stock Exchange, the United Kingdom's main stock exchange and the largest in Europe. It is England's financial centre, with 100 of Europe's 500 largest corporations being based there. London is the largest financial centre in Europe, and as of 2014 is the second largest in the world. Manchester is the largest financial and professional services sector outside London and is the mid tier private equity capital of Europe as well as one of the growing technology hubs of Europe.
The Greater London Built-up Area is by far the largest urban area in England and one of the busiest cities in the world. It is considered a global city and has a population larger than any other country in the United Kingdom besides England itself.
Other urban areas of considerable size and influence tend to be in northern England or the English Midlands. There are 52 settlements which have designated city status in England, while the wider United Kingdom has 70. City status in England is granted by the monarch to a select group of communities.
While many cities in England are quite large, such as Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Bradford, Nottingham, population size is not a prerequisite for city status. Traditionally the status was given to towns with diocesan cathedrals, so there are smaller cities like Wells, Ely, Ripon, Truro and Chichester.
State primary schools and secondary schools exist. These consist of academy schools, community schools, sixth form colleges, further education colleges, grammar schools, foundation schools, faith schools, free schools, studio schools, university technical colleges and city technology colleges. The most common specialist schools are performing arts schools, science schools, maths schools, business schools and technology schools. Independent public or prep schools also exist. Eton College and Harrow School are the best known independent schools.
The National Curriculum was introduced in 1988, to give pupils a broad and balanced curriculum. The school curriculum aims to promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils. Its purpose is to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.
Many prominent people who have reached the top in their fields have been products of English higher education. There have been universities in England since the Middle Ages. Ancient universities started in this time and in the Renaissance. The two oldest and most prestigious universities are Oxford University and Cambridge University. Imperial College, University College London and Manchester University are also highly rated by independent lists. There are now about a hundred universities.
Road traffic in the U.K. drives on the left hand side of the road (unlike the Americas and most of Europe). The driver sits on the right hand side of the vehicle. The road network on the island of Great Britain is extensive, with most main roads dating from Roman and medieval times. The system of motorways is more modern.
The system of rail transport was invented in England, so it has the oldest railway network in the world. It was built mostly during the Victorian era. The extensive railway network covers the entire country. The system of underground railways in London, known as the Tube, has been copied by many other cities around the globe. England is home to the largest airport and is one of the most important international hubs in the world. A system of motorways for road transport exists between some major cities.
The BBC broadcasts in the United Kingdom and other countries on television, radio and the Internet. The BBC also sells its programmes to other broadcasting companies around world. The organisation is run by a group of twelve governors who have been given the job by the King, on the advice of government ministers. The BBC is established under a royal charter, which allows the BBC to broadcast.
National newspapers produced in England include "The Times, The Guardian," "The Daily Telegraph" and the "Financial Times." Magazines and journals published in England that have achieved worldwide circulation include "Nature, New Scientist, The Spectator, NME" and "The Economist".
English culture can be compared with Northern European countries. Humour, tradition and good manners are characteristics commonly associated with being English.
England has a strong sporting heritage, and during the 19th century codified many sports that are now played around the world. Sports originating in England include association football, cricket, rugby union, rugby league, tennis, boxing, badminton, squash, rounders, hockey, snooker, billiards, darts, table tennis, bowls, netball, thoroughbred horseracing, and greyhound racing. It has helped the development of golf, sailing and Formula One car racing.
Despite having invented the game, The English football team only won the World Cup in 1966. They came close in Italy 1990, losing in the semi-final against West Germany on penalties. The England women's national football team won the UEFA Euro 2022. After winning the 2019 Cricket World Cup, England became the first country to win the World Cups in football, rugby union and cricket.
England is divided into 48 ceremonial counties, which are also known as geographic counties. The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and local politics. The original county structure has its origins in the Middle Ages.
Yorkshire is divided into the East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, Cumberland and Westmorland were combined with a former exclave of Lancashire to form Cumbria, Huntingdonshire merged into Cambridgeshire, and most of Middlesex became part of Greater London.
There is no well-established series of official symbols or flags covering all the counties. From 1889 the newly created county councils could apply to the College of Arms for coats of arms. A recent series of flags, with varying levels of official adoption, have been established in many of the counties by competition or public poll. County days are a recent innovation in some areas. There are seventeen first-class county cricket teams that are based on historical English counties.
Wales is one of the Celtic areas of Britain. The native people of Wales, the Welsh, have their own culture and traditions. They have their own Celtic language, Welsh. Not all Welsh people can speak Welsh, and it is primarily spoken in North Wales. It is mandatory for all children until the age of 16 to learn Welsh in schools. Virtually all Welsh people can speak English. Most speak only English. The Welsh language is an official language alongside English, and has equal official status.
In the past, the words "Wales" and "Welsh" were used to mean anything that the Anglo-Saxons associated with the Celtic Britons. That included Cornwall, Walworth, and Walton, as well as things associated with non-Germanic Europeans like walnuts.
The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru which is the Welsh name for Wales. These words are descended from the Brythonic word "combrogi", meaning "fellow-countrymen"
It took until the 19th Century for Welsh-centric politics to return to Wales. Liberalism in Wales, which was introduced in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was overtaken by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. However, Welsh pride got stronger, and in 1925 Plaid Cymru was made, which was the first political party to campaign for Welsh independence. In 1962, the Welsh Language Society was made to encourage the Welsh language, which had nearly disappeared during the take over by England. A big change was made in 1998, when the first Government of Wales for the country since its addition to the United Kingdom under the Government of Wales Act (1998). This created an Assembly for Wales, known in Welsh as the senedd. The Senedd has responsibility for a range of laws which have been devolved from the main UK government in Westminster. This means the members of the Assembly can change certain laws in Wales to be different from the rest of the UK.
Wales has a coastline which is long. The country itself is large.
The highest mountains in Wales are in Gwynedd, in the north-west. They include Snowdon (""), which is the highest peak in Wales at .
There are three national parks in Wales. They are Snowdonia (), Brecon Beacons (), and Pembrokeshire Coast ().
Welsh people are very proud of their country. The first people in Wales to call themselves 'Welsh' were the Celts. The Celts lived in Wales after the Romans left in the 5th century. The national emblems of Wales are leeks and daffodils.
Although Wales is very close to the rest of Great Britain, and despite most people speaking English, the country has always had a distinct culture. It is officially bilingual in English and Welsh. Over 560,000 people in Wales speak the Welsh language. In some parts of the north and west of the country, particularly in small, rural communities, the majority of people speak Welsh.
From the late 19th century, Wales became famous as the "land of song", and for its Eisteddfod culture festival. At many international sport events, for example the FIFA World Cup, the Rugby World Cup, and the Commonwealth Games, Wales competes on its own, as a separate country. However, at most international events, such at the Olympics, Wales competes with the rest of the Great Britain, and sometimes as the United Kingdom with Northern Ireland included. Rugby Union is strongly associated with Wales as a national sport.
Cardiff International Airport is the only large airport in Wales. It has flights to Europe, Africa and North America. It is about southwest of Cardiff, in the Vale of Glamorgan. Flights between places in Wales run between Anglesey (Valley) and Cardiff, and are operated by the Isle of Man airline called Manx2 Other internal flights operate to northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Cardiff Central is Wales' busiest railway station. The area around Cardiff also has its own rail network. Trains from north to south Wales go through the English towns of Chester and Shrewsbury on the Welsh Marches Line. Most trains in Wales are powered by diesel. However, the South Wales Main Line which is used by trains going from London Paddington to Cardiff and Swansea, is electric.
Scotland (, ) is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Scotland located on the northern third of Great Britain. Many other islands in the British Isles are also part of Scotland. To the south of Scotland is England, the North Sea is to the east, the Atlantic Ocean is to the west and the Irish Sea is to the south-west.
The capital city of Scotland is Edinburgh on the east coast, but the biggest city is Glasgow on the west coast. The other cities in Scotland are Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Perth, Stirling and Dunfermline. About five million people live in Scotland. Most of the population lives in the Central Belt, an area between the Scottish Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands.
Unlike most of Great Britain, most of Scotland was not part of the Roman Empire (only the southern half of Scotland -then named Caledonia- was under roman control for a century) and did not become part of Anglo-Saxon England. The Kingdom of Scotland started in the 9th century AD. In 1603, James VI of Scotland inherited the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Ireland. In 1707, the parliament of Scotland joined with the parliament of England to become the Parliament of Great Britain. This formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain. This kingdom joined with the Kingdom of Ireland in 1801 to make the modern United Kingdom.
The written history of Scotland begins when the Roman Empire came to the British Isles. The Romans gave Great Britain its name in or . The Romans overcame and controlled what is now England, Wales, and southern Scotland. To the north of the River Forth was "Caledonia", land not fully owned by the Romans).
The Romans had military camps and forts in much of Scotland. In Classical Antiquity, the Romans named the people in Caledonia in . During Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, the people of Caledonia were the Picts. The Roman army left Great Britain in the 5th century, and by the time Roman military had fought many battles with the Picts.
One first minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, led the Scottish National Party's Scottish Government from 2007. in 2014, the Scottish independence referendum ended in a majority (55%) voting against independence from the United Kingdom. Nicola Sturgeon became first minister on 20 November 2014.
The mainland of Scotland makes up of the size of the Great Britain, and is to the northwest of mainland Europe.
The Flag of Scotland is blue with a white diagonal cross (a saltire). This is the cross of Saint Andrew, who is the patron saint of Scotland. Other symbols used for Scotland are the thistle and the unicorn. An image of a red lion "rampant" (standing on its back legs) on a gold background with a red border is the traditional coat of arms of the Scots monarchy.
The official languages of Scotland are English, Scots and Scottish Gaelic. English is spoken by most people in Scotland, while only a small number, mostly in the Western Isles, speaks Scottish Gaelic. Scottish Gaelic began declining in the late Middle Ages when Scottish kings and nobles preferred English.
Football is the most popular sport in Scotland. Three of the big cities, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, have two or three big football teams, and most cities have at least one team. The two most famous teams in Scotland are known as the "Old Firm". These are Celtic and Rangers. These two Glasgow clubs have a lot of history, and are fierce rivals, often causing fights, riots and even murders between the fans. Rangers are world record holders, having won the most amount of league titles of any football team, currently 55.
Golf is a popular sport in Scotland. It is unique, as Scotland is the birthplace of golf. That is certain, but the details are not known for sure. There are many public golf courses where people can play for small fees. Elsewhere in the world, golf is a game for the wealthy.
Sandy Lyle was the first Scottish golfer to win a major title in modern times. Colin Montgomery is one of the best players never to have won a major championship: He finished second in major events five times.
Scotland is also involved with motorsports. Former F1 driver David Coulthard is a thirteen time Grand Prix winner. Jackie Stewart is a 3-time F1 World Champion and regarded as one of the best drivers ever. Jim Clark was a 2-time F1 World Champion and regarded as one of the best ever with Fangio, Schumacher and Senna. Colin McRae was also the 1995 World Rally Champion.
The whole island of Ireland used to be a kingdom, called the Kingdom of Ireland but after the Act of Union in the year 1800, it became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. This stayed until 1922, after a War Of Independence, when Ireland was divided into the Republic of Ireland, the sovereign state that takes up the southern part of the island, and Northern Ireland, which stayed as part of the UK.
Sometimes people use other names for Northern Ireland. Some call it Ulster, a completely politically incorrect name as some parts of Ulster are actually in the Republic of Ireland. Others call it "the North" or "the Six Counties", because they do not want to recognize that a part of Ireland is not fully independent. Northern Ireland is the smallest part of the United Kingdom at 5,345 sq mi.
The only official flag in Northern Ireland is the Union Flag of the United Kingdom. The Ulster Banner, however, is still used as the flag of Northern Ireland by loyalists and unionists, and to represent Northern Ireland internationally in some sporting competitions.
The Belfast Agreement confirmed that while being British citizens, the people of Northern Ireland can also apply for to Irish nationality.
This is a list of English football teams in the Premier League (the top or 1st level league) and the English Football League (which consists of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th levels of leagues in England) and the league for which each team plays.
Celtic were the first British team to win the European Champion Clubs' Cup. Celtic did this in 1967. The final of the European Champion Clubs' Cup was in Lisbon.
Hibernian Football Club were founded in 1875. They play in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh at Easter Road Stadium. Hibernian, or "The Hibees", play in green and white shirts with white shorts and stockings. A traditionally Catholic team, they play in the Scottish Premiership.
List of football clubs in France
List of football clubs in Germany
List of football clubs in Italy
List of football clubs in Spain
Cymru Premier
The Cymru Premier is a football league in Wales. It used to be called the Welsh Premier League, and before that it was called the League of Wales. Some large Welsh clubs play in England's Football League.
These are the Welsh football teams that play in the Cymru Premier for the 2023/24 season:
Arsenal have won the First Division and Premier League 13 times and the FA Cup 10 times. They are the only British club to have been the subject of a feature film.
Arsenal are also the team who have gone the longest in the Premier League without being relegated. They were last relegated during WW1 over 100 years ago.
The current manager of Arsenal is Mikel Arteta. The assistant manager is Fredrik Ljungberg. Their new Emirates Stadium was opened on the 27th of October 2006, by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Arsenal also has a women's team called Arsenal Women F.C.. The ladies team is the only team in women's football history to have ever won four trophies in one season. The most famous, and successful, Arsenal manager before Wenger is thought to be Herbert Chapman. Chapman won the First Division with Arsenal twice and the FA Cup once.
Villa have a large rivalry with nearby team Birmingham City. This is called the Second City Derby, and they have been playing against each other since 1879. The team's main home colours are claret and light blue. Their badge is a claret lion (having changed from a yellow lion in 2023). The club is owned by the NWSE group (owned by Egyptian Nassef Sawiris) and American Wes Edens.
The club play in the Championship, their current manager is Lee Bowyer. Their home ground is St.Andrews
Blackburn Rovers F.C. is an English football club. They play at Ewood Park, which is in Blackburn, Lancashire. The manager of the club is Jon Dahl Tomasson.
Blackburn Rovers won the FA Premier League once in the 1994/1995 season. However, in 1999, they were relegated. Blackburn Rovers were then promoted.
Bolton Wanderers F.C. is an English football club. It is based 15 miles north of Manchester. The club plays in the English football league 1, the third tier league in England. Their home is the University of Bolton Stadium. It holds around 28,723 people. Their manager is Ian Evett. At home they play in a white shirt, navy blue shorts & white socks. Away they play in a navy blue shirt, white shorts and navy blue socks.
Chelsea Football Club is an English football club that plays in the Premier League. Their home stadium is Stamford Bridge in Fulham, London.
Everton's current shirt sponsor is Cazoo. They are a British online car retailer based in London, England . Previous shirt sponsors included: Chang Beer (2004-17), Kejian (2002-04), mobile network operator One2one (1997-2002), Printer company Danka (1995-97), and electronics company NEC (1985-95). Everton were the first Premier League team to take off shirt sponsors from their child shirts because they did not like advertising alcohol to children.
When Mohamed Al-Fayed bought Fulham in 1997, it was in the 3rd division of English football Football League One. He put lots of money into the club, and he made good choices about the club. The club won promotion two times, which means that in 2001 it was now in the top division of English Football, the Premier League. The club has been managed by Scott Parker since the 2020/21 season.
Liverpool has had two tragedies in their history. The first was the Heysel Stadium disaster of 1985, which led to the death of 39 Juventus fans and the second was the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, which lead to the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans. The death toll was put up to 97 in 2021 when 55 year old Andrew Devine passed away due to sustaining brain damage during the disaster, meaning he was also unlawfully killed at Hillsborough.
Manchester City Football Club is a rich English football club. The club is coached by Pep Guardiola and the team is currently playing in the English Premier League.
Since Mourinho was fired in the middle of the season, United brought in a temporary manager for the rest of the season. A former player, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer moved from his position at Molde to manage Manchester United. Under Solksjaer, United won 14 of their remaining 19 games that season. This good run meant they qualified for UEFA Champions League that season. United made Solksjaer their permanent manager in March 2019. In 2021, Solksjaer left the club. Former player Michael Carrick became the temporary manager for three games. Ralf Rangnick became the temporary manager until the end of that season. Erik Ten Hag moved to Manchester United from Ajax for the next season. Under Ten Hag, United won the 2022-23 EFL Cup.
The club plays in the Premier League. The manager is Chris Wilder.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English football club in Newcastle upon Tyne. Newcastle play in the Premier League. Currently managed by Eddie Howe since 2021.
On the 24th day of May 2009 which was also the last day of the season, Newcastle were relegated to the second tier of English football, the Coca-Cola Championship. They returned to the top flight of English football, winning the Championship in the 2009/10 season. In the 2010/11 season, they finished mid-table. The club then went on to finish 5th place in the 2011/12 season.
On 17 July 2019, former Sunderland manager Steve Bruce was made manager on a three-year contract. Bruce oversaw 13th and 12th-placed finishes during his first two seasons in charge, both of which were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. On 7 October 2021, after 14 years as owner, Ashley sold the club to a new group of owners. The group was made up of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, RB Sports & Media and PCP Capital Partners.
Portsmouth F.C. is an English football club. They play in EFL League One. Their home stadium is called Fratton Park.
Portsmouth's manager is John Mousinho. The most famous manager was probably Harry Redknapp who took the team to an FA Cup victory in 2008 which subsequently got the team into the UEFA Europa League (then called the UEFA Cup) for the first time. The club has since been hit with financial problems and see themselves in the fourth tier of English football.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club is an English football club. The club plays in the Premier League. Their current stadium is The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London. The captain of Tottenham Hotspur is Son Heung-min and vice-captains are Cristian Romero and James Maddison. The club's nicknames include 'Spurs' and 'The Lilywhites'.
There is also a Tottenham Hotspur women's football club.
Following a poor start to the 2007-2008 season which saw Derby achieve just one win in 14 matches Billy Davies left Derby County FC. Derby were promoted to the Premier League after defeating West Bromwich Albion 1-0 in the finals of the promotion playoffs.
Ipswich Town Football Club (Ipswich Town) is an English football club. It is based in Ipswich, Suffolk County. The club was founded in 1878. The club's home stadium is Portman Road.
Ipswich Town currently play in the EFL Championship, having been promoted from the EFL League One in 2023, after 4 years in the division. The club has won the Football League First Division once, in 1962 and the FA Cup in 1978. They have also been successful in European football. They won the UEFA Cup in 1981 and remain undefeated at Home in UEFA competitions. The current chairman of the club is Mike O'Leary. The current manager is Kieran McKenna. Two of the club's previous managers, Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson, have gone on to manage the England national football team. George Burley went on to manage the Scotland national football team. Ipswich Town remains the only team since the 1800s to win the top tier of the English football league at the first attempt.
In their first season in the Premier League, Ipswich finished fifth; This meant they qualified to play in the UEFA Cup the next season. Although the club played well in the European competition, they were poor in the Premier League. At the end of that season they finished bottom and were relegated to Division One, now called Football League Championship. Ipswich were relegated to League One after the 18/19 season, finishing last in the championship.
One of Ipswich Town's nicknames is "The Blues". This is because the traditional kit the players wear is usually mostly blue. When Ipswich play against other teams who also wear blue, they change to an alternative kit, sometimes called an "away" kit. The "away" kit has been different colours including orange, white, red and black vertical stripes. Currently, the away kit is plain white.
Other sports have been played at Portman Road, including athletics, hockey and American football. The stadium has also been used for events other than sports. It was first used for concerts in 1990 by Tina Turner, and subsequently in following years by Elton John, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Rod Stewart.
Kieran Mckenna is the manager of Ipswich Town. He replaced Paul Cook. Cook joined Ipswich Town in 2021, after Paul Lambert. Lambert' moved to Ipswich Town from Stoke City in the Premier League, where he spent 4 months in charge.
Two managers of Ipswich Town have gone on to become the manager of the England national football team. The first was Sir Alf Ramsey. He also won the World Cup for England in 1966. The second was Sir Bobby Robson who got England to the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup. George Burley became manager of the Scotland national football team in January 2008, for 22 months.
The club plays in the Premier League. It was started in 1895 and its home stadium is the London stadium East London. The club is also called "the Hammers" and "the Irons" because it was started in a London Ironworks. Their main rivals are Millwall and other rivals are Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Arsenal
West Ham currently are managed by David Moyes, their former care-taker manager for the 2017/18 season in Premier League.
Joint chairman David Gold has died aged 87 on 4 January 2023.
Since Wigan Athletic's admission to the Football League in 1978, the club has built up several rivalries, mainly with Bolton Wanderers. They also have a rivalry with Manchester City, due to the two clubs' proximity and and being in the same division for much of the past 30 years.
They were re-founded in 1968 after going bankrupt (having no money) in 1962. They were first founded in 1921. They are thought of a hard working club but having no chance of success. Their nickname is Stanley. They play at the Interlink Express Stadium in Accrington in Lancashire, in England.
AFC Wimbledon is an English football club from London. The club are currently in EFL League One.
AFC Wimbledon were formed in 2002 by fans angry at Wimbledon F.C. moving to Milton Keynes, 70 miles away from South London. They play at Plough Lane in London.
The Solar System formed when a cloud of interstellar dust and gas collapsed under the influence of gravity to form the Sun and planetesimals, and eventually the planets. This gravitational accretion led to the formation of the rocky planets and the gas giants.
Essen (; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: "Esse", () is a German city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is on the Ruhr River and it is near Cologne, Duisburg and Bochum. Essen has 585,000 inhabitants. Together with Dortmund, Essen is the biggest city of the Ruhr area with its 5,000,000 inhabitants. Essen is often called the shopping city ("Einkaufsstadt") because there are so many malls and shops in it.
Around 850, Saint Altfrid founded the "Damenstift", an abbey for women, ruled by a prince abbess. In this time the cathedral of Essen was built. In those days the name of the city was "Assindia" in Latin. Later it changed over "Essendia" and "Essend" to "Essen". 1377 Essen became a "free imperial city". At this time, Essen was just a small city in a region where few people lived. The city became more important when the Industrial Revolution began. In 1811, "Friedrich Krupp" founded a small steel factory in Essen which was fast growing. The city population also grew, and 80 years after the foundation of Krupp's steel work, Essen was a big city with 100,000 inhabitants. Because in the region of the Ruhr River much coal was found, many coal mines were founded in Essen and other near cities. Great industrial families like the "Krupp"s, the "Haniel"s and the "Grillo"s gave money for cultural buildings like the Grillo theatre and the Folkwang museum. Because of its big industry, Essen was destroyed with bombs in the Second World War. Many people gave their lives, and many buildings were destroyed. Not all were rebuilt after WW2. But because the coal mining industry ended mining in Essen in the 1970s (coal from abroad was getting cheaper), the city was getting poor. The "Strukturwandel" (structural change) saved Essen. Old collieries like "Zeche Zollverein" became museums or theatres. In 2003, the universities of Essen and Duisburg joined as the university Duisburg-Essen.
People do indoor gardening inside their house or inside a building. Sometimes indoor gardening is done in greenhouses, which are special buildings where plants are grown. A greenhouse has a transparent glass or plastic roof and walls that let sunlight in. Grow tent is also used for indoor plants. Grow tent helps plant to grow in a more spectacular and develop a friendly environment. Water gardening is growing plants in ornamental water pools and ponds. People doing water gardening plant water lilies and other aquatic plants.
Gardening is related to farming. But farming is done on a much larger scale. A farm may have hundreds of square kilometres of plants and crops. A garden in a person's backyard usually only measures a few square meters. As well, farming is done as a business, to sell the crops, fruit, and vegetables that are produced. Gardening is often done just to produce fruit or vegetables for the gardener's own family. Gardening may be a hobby or a recreation. Gardening for sale is called "market gardening".
Democracy means "rule by the people". There are different ways this can be done:
The type of government where power is in the hands of a single person is called a dictatorship. Democracy is the opposite of a dictatorship. The Soviet Union almost always was a dictatorship, as Russia is today. Dictatorships often act against freedom of expression.
An important source of information is the Democracy Index published by the "Economist" periodical.
Elections are simple: The candidate with the most votes gets elected. Very often, the politicians being elected belongs to a political party. Instead of choosing a person, people vote for a party. The party with the most votes then picks the candidates.
Not everyone can vote in an election. Suffrage is only given to people who are citizens. The young are usually excluded, and some other groups such as prisoners.
For some elections, a country makes voting compulsory. Someone who does not vote and who does not give a good reason, usually has to pay a fine.
In a direct democracy, every adult has the right to vote on individual laws. A modern example of direct democracy is a referendum, which is the name for deciding a law where everyone in the community votes on it. Direct democracies are not usually used to run countries. It is not practical to have everyone voting on everything.
In an indirect, or representative democracy, people choose representatives to make laws for them. These people can be mayors, councilmen, members of Parliament, or other government officials. This is the usual kind of democracy. Large communities like cities and countries use this method, but it may not be needed for a small group.
A term for democracies which are not actually democracies. For example, a constitution of a country may be democratic, but ways are found to interfere with elections. The classic case is Russia, where opposition candidates are not allowed to state their case on any of the state-controlled media. Elections for President are fixed, but the state can claim democratic legitimacy, because in principle other candidates may stand for election. Opposition candidates have no access to the media, and may be harassed in various ways. This is the way all the former parts of the Soviet Union are governed. This does not mean the governments are always bad governments. It does mean that holding "fixed" elections deprives the people of a fair vote. Not surprisingly, these countries have Presidents who are never beaten in an election. They may serve for eight years or longer before retiring. The next leaders are pre-chosen by discussion between the leading families.
The European Parliament says Russia functions as a unitary state despite officially being a federation.
Democracy was developed long ago by the Greeks in classical Athens. There, everyone who was a citizen (not slaves, women, foreigners, and children) got together in one area. The assembly would talk about what kinds of laws they wanted and voted on them. The council would suggest the laws. All citizens were allowed in the assembly.
The council were picked by draws (lottery). The participants in the council would change every year, and the number of people in the council was at the most 500. For some offices, the Athenian citizens would pick a leader by writing the name of their favorite candidate on a piece of stone or wood. The person with the most votes became the leader.