vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Metrication in the United States
Measured distances as used in events such as shot put , high jump , and discus throw are , however , often in feet and inches , except at the national and international levels . In 2017 , the Florida High School Athletic Association became the first to buck this trend and use metric measures for field events . The field and court sizes for most popular team sports such as soccer were originally set in non-metric units . This is reflected in American football , in which the playing field is divided into yards , and many important statistics are measured in yards . Similarly , the dimensions for all baseball parks , basketball courts , tennis courts and ice hockey rinks are given in feet , golf courses in yards , auto racing tracks in miles ( or fractions thereof ) , and horse racing in furlongs . The lengths of automobile races in the U.S. are generally set in miles . On the other hand , some sporting equipment , such as skis and poles , is sold in metric units .
Wales
Although football has traditionally been the more popular sport in north Wales , rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness . The Wales national rugby union team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and has also competed in every Rugby World Cup , hosting the tournament in 1999 . The five professional sides that replaced the traditional club sides in major competitions in 2003 were replaced in 2004 by the four regions : Cardiff Blues , Dragons , Ospreys and Scarlets . The Welsh regional teams play in the Pro14 , the Anglo - Welsh Cup , the European Rugby Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup .
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool was the ninth highest - earning football club in the world in 2016 -- 17 , with an annual revenue of € 424.2 million , and the world 's eighth most valuable football club in 2018 , valued at $1.944 billion . The club is one of the best supported teams in the world . Liverpool has long - standing rivalries with Manchester United and Everton .
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham has a large fanbase in the United Kingdom , drawn largely from North London and the Home counties . The attendance figures for its home matches , however , have fluctuated over the years . Five times between 1946 and 1969 , Tottenham had the highest average attendance in England . Tottenham was 9th in average attendances for the 2008 -- 09 Premier League season , and 11th for all Premier League seasons . In the 2017 -- 18 season when Tottenham used Wembley as its home ground , it had the second highest attendance in the Premier League . Historical supporters of the club have included such figures as philosopher A.J. Ayer . There are many official supporters ' clubs located around the world , while an independent supporters club , the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters ' Trust , is officially recognised by the club as the representative for Spurs supporters .
Football
The word football , when used in reference to a specific game can mean any one of those described above . Because of this , much friendly controversy has occurred over the term football , primarily because it is used in different ways in different parts of the English - speaking world . Most often , the word `` football '' is used to refer to the code of football that is considered dominant within a particular region . So , effectively , what the word `` football '' means usually depends on where one says it . Heading
Siberia
Russia 's third most popular sport , bandy , is important in Siberia . In the 2015 -- 16 Russian Bandy Super League season Yenisey from Krasnoyarsk became champions for the third year in a row by beating Baykal - Energiya from Irkutsk in the final . Two or three more teams ( depending on the definition of Siberia ) play in the Super League , the 2016 - 17 champions SKA - Neftyanik from Khabarovsk as well as Kuzbass from Kemerovo and Sibselmash from Novosibirsk . In 2007 Kemerovo got Russia 's first indoor arena specifically built for bandy . Now Khabarovsk has the world 's biggest indoor arena specifically built for bandy , Arena Yerofey . It will be the venue for Division A of the 2018 World Championship .
Lebanon
Water sports have also shown to be very active in the past years , in Lebanon . Since 2012 and with the emergence of the Lebanon Water Festival NGO , more emphasis has been placed on those sports , and Lebanon has been pushed forward as a water sport destination internationally . They host different contests and water show sports that encourage their fans to participate and win big
British Empire
Individual and team sports developed in Britain -- particularly golf , football , cricket , rugby , netball , lawn bowls , hockey and lawn tennis -- were also exported . The British choice of system of measurement , the imperial system , continues to be used in some countries in various ways . The convention of driving on the left hand side of the road has been retained in much of the former empire .
Southern United States
The region is home to numerous decorated and historic college football programs , particularly in the Southeastern Conference ( known as the `` SEC '' ) , Atlantic Coast Conference ( known as the `` ACC '' ) , and the Big 12 Conference . The SEC , consisting entirely of teams based in Southern states , is widely considered to be the strongest league in contemporary college football and includes the Alabama Crimson Tide , the program with the most national championships in the sport 's history . The sport is also highly competitive and has a spectator following at the high school level , particularly in rural areas where high school football games often serve as prominent community gatherings .
Zimbabwe
Other sports played in Zimbabwe are basketball , volleyball , netball , and water polo , as well as squash , motorsport , martial arts , chess , cycling , polocrosse , kayaking and horse racing . However , most of these sports do not have international representatives but instead stay at a junior or national level .
United Kingdom
The ' Queensberry rules ' , the code of general rules in boxing , was named after John Douglas , 9th Marquess of Queensberry in 1867 , that formed the basis of modern boxing . Snooker is another of the UK 's popular sporting exports , with the world championships held annually in Sheffield . In Northern Ireland Gaelic football and hurling are popular team sports , both in terms of participation and spectating , and Irish expatriates in the UK and the US also play them . Shinty ( or camanachd ) is popular in the Scottish Highlands . Highland games are held in spring and summer in Scotland , celebrating Scottish and celtic culture and heritage , especially that of the Scottish Highlands .
2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids
On 31 October 2007 , The Football Association officially announced its bid to host the event . On 24 April 2008 England finalised a 63 - page bid to host the 2018 World Cup , focusing on the development of football worldwide . On 27 January 2009 , England officially submitted their bid to FIFA . Richard Caborn led England 's bid to stage the event after stepping down as Sports Minister . On 24 October 2008 the Football Association named the Executive Board to prepare the bid , with David Triesman as the bid chairman . Triesman resigned on 16 May 2010 after comments were published where he suggested that Spain would drop their bid if Russia helped bribe referees in the 2010 FIFA World Cup , and was then replaced by Geoff Thompson .
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
: This is the 4th appearance of Russia at the FIFA World Cup ; however , FIFA considers Russia as the successor team of the Soviet Union who themselves qualified on 7 occasions . : Russia 's best result is group stage in 1994 , 2002 and 2014 ; however , FIFA considers Russia as the successor team of the Soviet Union who achieved this result . : Germany between 1951 and 1990 is often referred to as `` West Germany '' , as a separate East German state and team existed then . : This is the 2nd appearance of Serbia at the FIFA World Cup . However , FIFA considers Serbia as the successor team of the Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro national teams , who between them qualified on 10 occasions . : No official third place match took place in 1930 and no official third place was awarded at the time ; both United States and Yugoslavia lost in the semi-finals . However , FIFA lists the teams as third and fourth respectively using the overall records of the teams in the tournament . : In 1978 , the second round was another group stage which involved 8 teams qualified from the first round .
Wales
More than 50 national governing bodies regulate and organise their sports in Wales . Most of those involved in competitive sports select , organise and manage individuals or teams to represent their country at international events or fixtures against other countries . Wales is represented at major world sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup , Rugby World Cup , Rugby League World Cup and the Commonwealth Games . At the Olympics Games , Welsh athletes compete alongside those of Scotland , England and Northern Ireland as part of a Great Britain team .
World Snooker Championship
Barry Hearn has stated on a number of occasions that he wishes for the tournament to remain at the Crucible forever , providing it continues to draw large numbers of visitors and revenue to the city of Sheffield . It was announced live on television , in front of the audience of the 2016 final session , that the Crucible would continue to host the event until 2027 .
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Games have evolved since their inception . Sports and disciplines have been added and some of them , such as Alpine skiing , luge , short track speed skating , freestyle skiing , skeleton , and snowboarding , have earned a permanent spot on the Olympic programme . Some others , including curling and bobsleigh , have been discontinued and later reintroduced ; others have been permanently discontinued , such as military patrol , though the modern Winter Olympic sport of biathlon is descended from it . Still others , such as speed skiing , bandy and skijoring , were demonstration sports but never incorporated as Olympic sports . The rise of television as a global medium for communication enhanced the profile of the Games . It generated income via the sale of broadcast rights and advertising , which has become lucrative for the IOC . This allowed outside interests , such as television companies and corporate sponsors , to exert influence . The IOC has had to address numerous criticisms over the decades like internal scandals , the use of performance - enhancing drugs by Winter Olympians , as well as a political boycott of the Winter Olympics . Nations have used the Winter ( as well as Summer ) Games to proclaim the superiority of their political systems .
Culture of El Salvador
The main sport played by Salvadorans is association soccer . The Estadio Cuscatlán in the capital San Salvador is the largest stadium in Central America , with a capacity of just over 45,000 . The stadium is the home ground of the El Salvador national soccer team , as well as club teams Alianza FC and San Salvador F.C.
2018 FIFA World Cup
The final choice of host cities was announced on 29 September 2012 . The number of cities was further reduced to 11 and number of stadiums to 12 as Krasnodar and Yaroslavl were dropped from the final list . Of the 12 stadiums used for the tournament , 3 ( Luzhniki , Yekaterinburg and Sochi ) have been extensively renovated and the other 9 stadiums to be used are brand new ; $11.8 billion has been spent on hosting the tournament .
Monday Night Football
ESPN 's third season of Monday Night Football was the most - watched program on cable television in 2008 , setting an all - time cable viewership record for the third straight year and drawing that year 's three largest cable household audiences and 13 of the top 15 . In three seasons on ESPN , Monday Night Football has registered seven of the top 10 all - time largest household audiences in cable history , led by the Eagles - Cowboys telecast on September 15 , 2008 , which attracted cable 's largest household audience ever ( an average of 12,953,000 homes ) . ESPN 's 17 MNF telecasts in 2008 averaged an 8.9 rating , representing an average of 8,679,000 households ( 11,962,000 viewers ) , increases of 3 % , 5 % and 7 % , respectively , vs. 2007 ( 8.6 ; 8,277,000 and 11,230,000 ) .
Olympic Games
The Olympic Movement consists of international sports federations ( IFs ) , National Olympic Committees ( NOCs ) , and organising committees for each specific Olympic Games . As the decision - making body , the IOC is responsible for choosing the host city for each Games , and organises and funds the Games according to the Olympic Charter . The IOC also determines the Olympic programme , consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games . There are several Olympic rituals and symbols , such as the Olympic flag and torch , as well as the opening and closing ceremonies . Over 13,000 athletes compete at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in 33 different sports and nearly 400 events . The first , second , and third - place finishers in each event receive Olympic medals : gold , silver , and bronze , respectively .
Curling
Today , the sport is most firmly established in Canada , having been taken there by Scottish emigrants . The Royal Montreal Curling Club , the oldest established sports club still active in North America , was established in 1807 . The first curling club in the United States was established in 1830 , and the sport was introduced to Switzerland and Sweden before the end of the 19th century , also by Scots . Today , curling is played all over Europe and has spread to Brazil , Japan , Australia , New Zealand , China , and Korea .
Fox Sports 1
UFC 168 prelims : 1.6 million viewers UFC 182 prelims : 1.0 million viewers UFC 193 prelims : 1.3 million viewers UFC 194 prelims : 1.9 million viewers UFC 195 prelims : 1.0 million viewers UFC 196 prelims : 1.8 million viewers UFC 207 prelims : 1.5 million viewers Soccer
2017 World Series
This series turned out to be the 3rd highest rated since 2005 , trailing only the 2009 World Series and the 2016 World Series . For the second straight year , Game 5 beat out NBC Sunday Night Football in ratings .
Olympic Games
The Games have grown so much that nearly every nation is now represented . This growth has created numerous challenges and controversies , including boycotts , doping , bribery , and a terrorist attack in 1972 . Every two years the Olympics and its media exposure provide unknown athletes with the chance to attain national and sometimes international fame . The Games also constitute an opportunity for the host city and country to showcase themselves to the world .
Russian culture
Soviet gymnasts , track - and - field athletes , weight lifters , wrestlers , boxers , fencers , shooters , chess players , cross country skiers , biathletes , speed skaters and figure skaters were consistently among the best in the world , along with Soviet basketball , handball , volleyball and ice hockey players . Since the collapse of the Soviet Union , Russian athletes have continued to dominate international competitions . The 1980 Summer Olympic Games were held in Moscow while the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2014 Winter Paralympics were hosted by Sochi . Maria
2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids
South Korea bid only for the 2022 World Cup . They were bidding to become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice ; however , the fact that they were co-hosts so recently in 2002 was expected to work against them in their bid . Han Seung - joo , a former South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs , was appointed as the Chairman of the Bidding Committee in August 2009 . He met with FIFA President Sepp Blatter in Zürich , Switzerland . In January 2010 , President Lee Myung - bak visited the headquarters of FIFA in Zurich , Switzerland to meet Sepp Blatter in support of the South Korean bid .
FIFA World Cup
FIFA also organises international tournaments for youth football ( FIFA U-20 World Cup , FIFA U-17 World Cup , FIFA U-20 Women 's World Cup , FIFA U-17 Women 's World Cup ) , club football ( FIFA Club World Cup ) , and football variants such as futsal ( FIFA Futsal World Cup ) and beach soccer ( FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup ) . The latter three do not have a women 's version , although a FIFA Women 's Club World Cup has been proposed .
India
India has hosted or co-hosted several international sporting events : the 1951 and 1982 Asian Games ; the 1987 , 1996 , and 2011 Cricket World Cup tournaments ; the 2003 Afro - Asian Games ; the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy ; the 2010 Hockey World Cup ; the 2010 Commonwealth Games ; and the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup . Major international sporting events held annually in India include the Chennai Open , the Mumbai Marathon , the Delhi Half Marathon , and the Indian Masters . The first Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix featured in late 2011 but has been discontinued from the F1 season calendar since 2014 .
United Kingdom
Golf is the sixth most popular sport , by participation , in the UK . Although The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in Scotland is the sport 's home course , the world 's oldest golf course is actually Musselburgh Links ' Old Golf Course . In 1764 , the standard 18 - hole golf course was created at St Andrews when members modified the course from 22 to 18 holes . The oldest golf tournament in the world , and the first major championship in golf , The Open Championship , is played annually on the weekend of the third Friday in July .
2018 FIFA World Cup
Note : Numbers in parentheses indicate positions in the FIFA World Rankings at the time of the tournament .
American football
The dominant form of football at the time was played at the collegiate level , but the upstart NFL received a boost to its legitimacy in 1925 when an NFL team , the Pottsville Maroons , defeated a team of Notre Dame all - stars in an exhibition game . A greater emphasis on the passing game helped professional football to further distinguish itself from the college game during the late 1930s . Football in general became increasingly popular following the 1958 NFL Championship game , a match between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants that is still referred to as the `` Greatest Game Ever Played '' . The game , a 23 -- 17 overtime victory by the Colts , was seen by millions of television viewers and had a major impact on the popularity of the sport . This , along with the innovations introduced by the new American Football League ( AFL ) in the early 1960s , helped football to become the most popular sport in the United States by the mid-1960s .
Football
There is archival evidence of `` foot - ball '' games being played in various parts of Australia throughout the first half of the 19th century . The origins of an organised game of football known today as Australian rules football can be traced back to 1858 in Melbourne , the capital city of Victoria .
Friends
In the U.S. , 52.5 million viewers watched the finale on May 6 , 2004 , making it the most - watched entertainment telecast since the Seinfeld finale in 1998 . Although not the most - watched episode of the series , the finale was the fourth most - watched series finale in television history , only behind the finales of M * A * S * H , Cheers and Seinfeld , which were respectively watched by 105 , 80.4 and 76.2 million viewers . The retrospective episode was watched by fewer than 36 million viewers , and the finale was the second most - watched television broadcast of the year in the United States , only behind the Super Bowl . Following the finales of Friends and Frasier , media critics speculated about the fate of the sitcom genre . Expressed opinions varied between a signalling of the end of the sitcom genre , a small decline in the large history of the genre , and a general reduction of scripted television in favor of reality shows .
Fox Sports 1
The reports indicated that Fox planned on converting one of these niche sports channels , Speed -- which focused on auto racing and other motorsports , as well as motorsports - related specialty programs , into the new Fox Sports 1 due to its established reach on U.S. pay television providers ( Speed maintained a subscriber base of 81 million homes with cable , IPTV or satellite service by 2012 ) , which would result in the reduction of the channel 's commitment to NASCAR and other motorsports coverage .
England at the FIFA World Cup
Jump up ^ Jones , Ken ( 4 December 1997 ) . `` Football : It is possible to forget that England 's overall World Cup record is nothing much to shout about - Sport '' . The Independent . Archived from the original on 22 November 2014 . Retrieved 11 March 2015 . Jump up ^ 2006 FIFA World Cup TV Coverage Archived 14 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine . ( PDF ) , FIFA.com , Retrieved on 6 June 2007 Jump up ^ `` The full list of records broken by England at The euros '' . Goal.com. 25 June 2014 . Archived from the original on 24 September 2015 . Retrieved 11 March 2015 . Jump up ^ `` BBC Sport - World Cup 2014 : Roy Hodgson hopeful for England 's future '' . bbc.co.uk. 24 June 2014 . Archived from the original on 27 December 2014 . Retrieved 11 March 2015 . Jump up ^ `` Copies of old newspapers reveal England 's World Cup myth - The British Newspaper Archive Blog '' . 15 June 2014 . Archived from the original on 15 June 2014 . Jump up ^ `` 1962 FIFA World Cup Chile TM - Matches - England - Argentina - FIFA.com '' . FIFA.com . Archived from the original on 23 May 2018 . Retrieved 3 July 2018 . Jump up ^ `` 1962 FIFA World Cup Chile TM - Matches - England - Bulgaria - FIFA.com '' . FIFA.com . Archived from the original on 26 December 2017 . Retrieved 3 July 2018 . Jump up ^ `` 1962 FIFA World Cup Chile TM - Matches - Brazil - England - FIFA.com '' . FIFA.com . Archived from the original on 23 May 2018 . Retrieved 3 July 2018 . Jump up ^ `` FIFA World Cup TM Archive - FIFA.com '' . FIFA.com . Archived from the original on 23 May 2018 . Retrieved 3 July 2018 . Jump up ^ `` England and Poland football teams played to a 1 : 1 draw , 17 October 1973 '' . eu-football.info . Archived from the original on 6 October 2014 .
Olympic Games
By 2016 , the Olympic Games will have been hosted by 44 cities in 23 countries , but by cities outside Europe and North America on only eight occasions . Since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul , South Korea , the Olympics have been held in Asia or Oceania four times , a sharp increase compared to the previous 92 years of modern Olympic history . The 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro were the first Olympics for a South American country . No bids from countries in Africa have succeeded .
4K resolution
In February 2016 , Univision trialed 4K by producing a closed circuit telecast of a football friendly between the national teams of Mexico and Senegal from Miami in the format . The broadcast was streamed privately to several special viewing locations . Univision aimed to develop a 4K streaming app to publicly televise the final of Copa América Centenario in 4K . In March 2016 , DirecTV and CBS Sports announced that they would produce the `` Amen Corner '' supplemental coverage from the Masters golf tournament in 4K .
American Idol
The declining trend however continued into season eight , as total viewers numbers fell by 5 -- 10 % for early episodes compared to season seven , and by 9 % for the finale . In season nine , Idol 's six - year extended streak of perfection in the ratings was broken , when NBC 's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics on February 17 beat Idol in the same time slot with 30.1 million viewers over Idol 's 18.4 million . Nevertheless , American Idol overall finished its ninth season as the most watched TV series for the sixth year running , breaking the previous record of five consecutive seasons achieved by CBS ' All in the Family and NBC 's The Cosby Show .