In the twentieth century, London has hosted numerous international sporting events, as the summer Olympics three times, in 1908, 1948 and 2012, making it the first city to receive the Olympics three times. In 1934, the Commonwealth Games were also held in the British capital.
The most popular sport is football in London (both by the number of players and the number of spectators). The city has fifteen League football clubs, including six that evolve Premier League (Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United Football Club and Queens Park Rangers), other clubs playing in the three lower divisions (Barnet, Brentford , Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Dagenham & Redbridge, Leyton Orient, Millwall, Watford and AFC Wimbledon). There are also many non-leagues or clubs amateurs. London has four rugby clubs playing in the Premiership (London Irish, Saracens, Wasps and Harlequins), although only the Harlequins play in London really (other clubs play outside Greater London). The club Harlequins Rugby League acts in Super League. Other London clubs are rugby Richmond FC, Blackheath RC, Rosslyn Park and Barnes RFC.
Twickenham in west London is the national rugby stadium and can accommodate 82,000 spectators. The new Wembley Stadium can accommodate now up to 90,000 spectators for the England football team, as well as the finals of the England football Cup, and the football and rugby league Cup. Other major football stadiums are Craven Cottage for Fulham, Arsenal Emirates Stadium, Stamford Bridge for Chelsea, White Hart Lane for Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham Upton Park.
Cricket is played mainly in two test cricket areas of London, Lord””s Cricket Ground (home of Middlesex CC) in St. John””s Wood and the Oval (home of Surrey CC) in Kennington. Baseball is becoming increasingly popular with London having several strong teams and leagues including London Croydon Pirates and London Mets. Other annual events include sports in London””s Wimbledon tournament held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London Marathon which hosts 35,000 participants and the Boat Race which, for 153 years, sees”” s face on the River Thames between Putney and Mortlake, rowing clubs of the University of Cambridge and Oxford.
Materials translated from the Wikipedia.
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