Sport in Manchester
Encyclopedia
Sports in the City of Manchester are an important part of the city's culture, with SportCity being a dedicated district in east Manchester for sports such as football, athletics and cycling.
Manchester City and Manchester United are popular Premier League clubs in Manchester, however United are technically outside of the City of Manchester boundaries in the borough of Trafford
. As of 2011, both teams hold English football's blue ribbon
competitions of the FA Cup
and Premier League. Fixtures played between the clubs are frequently referred to as the Manchester Derby
.
Although Manchester has not been within the Lancashire county boundaries since 1974, Lancashire County Cricket Club
is still based in Greater Manchester and formed in 1865 replacing Manchester Cricket Club.
Manchester has competed twice to host the Olympic Games
, being beaten into fourth place by Atlanta in 1996 and coming third to Sydney
in 2000. Instead, it was decided Manchester would host the 2002 Commonwealth Games
with many first class sporting facilities being built for the games, including the City of Manchester Stadium
, the Manchester Velodrome
, the National Squash Centre
and the Manchester Aquatics Centre
. The 2002 games were considered a success, surpassing all expectations and demonstrated Manchester as a reinvigorated city for the 21st century whilst giving London impetus to bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Two Premiership football
clubs, Manchester City
and Manchester United
, bear the city's name. Manchester City, has its home ground at the City of Manchester Stadium
just outside of Manchester city centre
in east Manchester. Manchester United’s Old Trafford
is the largest club football ground in the United Kingdom
, and is situated in the neighbouring borough of Trafford
.
Both City and United, as of 2001, had a highly localised fanbase with the majority of season ticket holding fans in the outer postal areas (BL, OL, SK, and WA) of Greater Manchester and within other counties of the North-west Only a fraction of both clubs' respective season ticket subscribers came from within the central areas of the City of Manchester. The Manchester postal area includes the (strongly United supporting) City of Salford
but also Prestwich
and Whitefield
in Bury (with one of the largest City supporters clubs). This research was conducted before City moved to the larger (48,000 capacity) City of Manchester Stadium, and before the expansion of United's Old Trafford stadium which now accommodates 76,000 meaning that the situation will have changed in the period since it was written.
Further research, published in 2008, has identified that the Manchester region is split with City's support predominantly coming in the south and east of Greater Manchester and the surrounding area and United's in the west. United's nationwide and international support far exceeds that of City, but polls suggest that the majority of people living in Manchester support City.
Aside from their two Premier League clubs, the City of Manchester hosted the first meeting of representatives from the home nations
football associations in 1886, and the International Football Association Board
, which makes the rules for the game, was formed following this meeting. FIFA adopted the rules and regulations of football laid out by the IFAB when the organisation formed in 1904. Manchester has remained a regular summit location for IFAB meetings since their formation.
Manchester also hosts several other smaller semi-pro
and amateur
football clubs, the most notable of which is F.C. United of Manchester
of whom play in the NPL Premier Division
after being promoted from NPL Division One
, where the other Manchester football team currently plays. Curzon Ashton F.C.
play in NPL Division One
after leaving the Manchester Football League
in the late 1970s
.
The Manchester Football League
is the official amateur
football league of Manchester
.
The city hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and athletics events took place at the City of Manchester Stadium, which is now home to Manchester City and sometimes referred to as Eastlands. Next to Eastlands lies the Manchester Regional Arena
, which has been used for British athletics trials and the annual Paralympic World Cup
which has been held in Manchester since 2005.
The city also hosts the annual Great Manchester Run
which has been hosted since 2003 and has become one of the most popular 10 km runs in the UK. In addition, the city also hosts the annual Great City Games, featuring a 110m sprint track on Deansgate
in Manchester city centre
. The world's top athletes are invited and in 2009 Usain Bolt
took part.
play rugby league
, Manchester's rugby teams have a long tradition of playing rugby union
.
Manchester Rugby Club
, was founded as the "Manchester Football Club" in 1860, eleven years before the formation of the Rugby Football Union
, the club is one of the oldest rugby union
clubs in the world along with Blackheath Rugby Club and Liverpool St Helens F.C.
. The club's ground is located at Grove Park in Cheadle Hulme
, and is divided into different sections - 1st XV, 2nd XV, Warriors, Ladies, and Mini, Juniors, Colts. See main article: Manchester Rugby Club
Broughton Park Rugby Union F.C., is one of the oldest rugby union
clubs in England and was established in 1882, just one year after the Lancashire County Rugby Union was founded and eleven years after the formation of the national Rugby Football Union
.
The club has had a number of different grounds in its time, mainly in the Salford/Prestwich area, but also in the south of Manchester. Since 2004, its current facility is at Hough End in Chorlton-cum-Hardy
, Manchester.
Originally, the club had only one senior side, but now fields four senior sides and supported by one Colts (U19), four youth (U13-U17) and four mini (U8-U12) teams; a total involvement of some 220 players each week.
Broughton Park R.F.C. is the City of Manchester's highest placed representative in the Rugby Union Leagues.
Old Bedians Rugby (Union) Club was founded in 1954 by Des Pastore as an Old Boys club for St Bedes College. Originally based in Chorlton, Old Bedians became one of two Didsbury rugby clubs in 1965. In 1991, car thieves torched a car in close proximity to the clubhouse and the club burnt down; following this, the current two storey brick structure was built.
The club, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2003/2004, is located on Millgate Lane in the heart of Didsbury
Village, in the south of Manchester, close to neighbouring areas Withington
, Fallowfield
, Burnage
, and Stockport
.
The club fields three teams each week; the 1st team plays in the North Lancs Division 1, and the 2nds, and 3rds play in Miller Homes Leagues in Division 4 south and 5 south respectively. The club also has an established junior section and was fortunate enough to be awarded lottery funding for this section in 2007.
Old Bedians Rugby Club is well known for its social side and can be regularly seen drinking in Didsbury on Saturday night. In addition, they have an annual Sportsmans Dinner with such rugby legends as David Duckham and Jeff Probyn.
Didsbury Toc-H Rugby (Union) Club was founded in 1924 as "Toc H Manchester" and was situated in Victoria Park. After moving to various sites the club arrived in Didsbury
and in 1986 the name was changed to "Didsbury Toc-H" to identify with the location of the clubhouse.
The club, which celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2003/2004, is located at Ford Lane in the heart of Didsbury
Village, in the south of Manchester, close to neighbouring areas Withington
, Fallowfield
, Burnage
, and Stockport
.
The club fields four teams each week, the 1st team plays in the North Lancashire & Cumbria league, the 2nds, 3rds, and 4ths play in competitive "intermediate leagues". The club also has an established junior section.
The "Toc-H" part comes from a soldiers club at Poperinghe in Flanders
in the First World War. Soldiers and officers could get a respite from the battlefields. This place was named Talbot House in honour of a young lieutenant who was killed in action the year before. Signallers pronounced the letters 'T' as 'Toc' and 'H' as 'House'. When the rugby club was founded, Manchester soldiers called the new club as "Toc-H Manchester".
The City of Manchester also has other rugby union teams: the University of Manchester
Rugby Club, and Manchester Village Spartans RUFC
Perhaps the most famous swimming baths in the United Kingdom are the Victoria Baths
in Chorlton-on-Medlock
.
The City of Manchester has its own Olympic-standard swimming pool in the Manchester Aquatics Centre
which was built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. It is situated in the Manchester city centre
and is now part of the University of Manchester
. The university now runs the University of Manchester Swimming Club at the aquatics centre which was formed in 1885.
, was originally the home of Manchester Cricket Club, but became the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club
in 1864 upon the club's formation. Built in 1856, the ground is on Talbot Road, Stretford.
A test match venue since 1884, the 155 year-old ground is one of the most famous in world cricket, only The Oval
in London
can claim to have hosted an England test match earlier and the ground has hosted three World Cup
semi-finals. The ground has seen many Ashes moments, including the 1902 Ashes test where Australia won by 3 runs (the closest test match winning margin and one which stood for nearly a century until 1993), "Jim Laker Test" in July 1856 where the England spinner took 19 wickets, Shane Warne
's "Ball of the Century
" against Mike Gatting
and more recently the tense 2005 Ashes Test at Old Trafford when more than 20,000 fans had to be turned away due to tickets being sold out.
Redevelopment plans have existed since the early 2000s as the cricket ground was in need of renovation, and even a move away to Sportcity nearby Manchester City F.C.
's City of Manchester Stadium
was touted as a serious possibility. Nearly £25m is expected to be invested in the redevelopments at Old Trafford. Similar to its counterpart, one end of the Old Trafford cricket ground is called the Stretford End, the other end of the ground is called the Brian Statham end.
Lancashire hold the record for the most tournament wins in the Pro40 tournament (5 times) which ran from 1969 to 2009 and the Friends Provident Trophy (7 times) which ran from 1963 to 2009. Despite this strong one-day success, Lancashire have not won the top tier of the County Championship
since 1934. In total they have won the County Championship on eight occasions in 1881, 1897, 1904, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1930 and 1934. However, they still remain one of the top county cricket clubs in the country and Lancashire maintains a healthy rivalry with Yorkshire, which is sometimes referred to as the Battle of the Roses (a pun on the actual War of the Roses which involved Lancashire and Yorkshire on opposing sides).
which was primarily built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. It is situated near the City of Manchester Stadium in Sportcity
. It is also home to British Cycling
team, whose great success at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing
has been attributed to inheriting the track alongside Sport England
and Manchester City Council
. The London Velopark
will be built for the 2012 Summer Olympics
, however British Cycling have stated their wish to remain based in Manchester as development continues with the construction of a National BMX Arena
next to British Cycling's base at the Manchester Velodrome.
The Velodrome has become one of the fastest velodrome tracks in the world and its board tracks consist of 80 kilometres of 40mm Siberian pine on 380 trusses around the velodrome track. The Velodrome is covered by a 122 metre arched roof enabling unrestricted viewing for the spectators. The Velodrome has hosted the UCI World Championships which is the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling and are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale
3 times in 1996, 2000 and 2008 - no other venue has hosted more.
Fallowfield Stadium
was an athletics
stadium and velodrome
in Fallowfield
, Manchester which opened in May 1892 as the home of Manchester Athletics Club after it was forced to move from its home next to Old Trafford Cricket Ground. Fallowfield was most regularly used for cycling by the Manchester Wheelers' Club
, who held their annual competition there until 1976.
Motorcycle speedway racing has been staged at four venues in Manchester. The first events were staged at the greyhound stadium in Kirkmanshume Lane in 1928 and was known as Belle Vue Speedway. Speedway activities continued under the Belle Vue name at the stadium in Hyde Road from 1929 to 1987, without any breaks even during the war years of 1939 - 1945, when the stadium was sold and redeveloped. Speedway racing returned to the greyhound stadium in Kirkmanshume Lane in 1988 and continues to operate there. The speedway team are known as the Belle Vue Aces.
Peter Craven, Ove Fundin, Peter Collins, Jason Crump are amongst the riders who have won World Championships when riding for the Aces.
The White City stadium was used in the pioneer days from 1928 to 1930 and a training track at Newton Heath operated in the early post war period.
The Manchester Titans were the only American Football
team in Manchester; they played in the British American Football League
, Division 2. The Titans played at Broughton Park Rugby Club
, Mauldeth Road West in Chorlton
. As the gridiron game had been popular in the region in the past with teams such as the Spartans and the All-Stars, the Titans were formed in 2003 and have experienced continual growth with the 2007 season finishing 7-2-1, and getting to the playoffs semi-finals.
Manchester also has an ice hockey
team called the Manchester Phoenix
, which moved into a new purpose-built arena called the Altrincham Ice Dome
in February 2007. The city was previously home to the Manchester Storm
ice hockey club, who in 1997 played in front of the largest audience ever to watch an ice hockey game in the United Kingdom—17,245 people saw the Storm defeat the Sheffield Steelers
6-2 at the MEN Arena.
Manchester also has two roller hockey teams, which have combined and reached the cup final against Bury St. Edmunds
(at U13 level only).
Miscellany
Belle Vue Stadium in Gorton
is home to the Belle Vue Aces
speedway team and also hosts regular greyhound races
.
Manchester
is also home to two Roller Derby
teams, the Rainy City Roller Girls and Manchester Roller Derby, which as well as the traditional women's team also has a men's and junior derby team. The sport continues to grow in the UK and Manchester and roller derby bouts held in Manchester regularly sell out as of 2011.
Combat sports
Boxing
is popular in Manchester
. It's the home of Ricky Hatton
in nearby Hyde
.
Manchester has also hosted several events for World Wrestling Entertainment
, as professional wrestling
is not only popular in Manchester, but in the United Kingdom
as a whole. Manchester is also the home of The British Bulldogs Davey Boy Smith
and The Dynamite Kid.
Below is a list of international sporting events that have been held in Manchester at various venues
Domestic
Domestic
Manchester City and Manchester United are popular Premier League clubs in Manchester, however United are technically outside of the City of Manchester boundaries in the borough of Trafford
Trafford
The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston...
. As of 2011, both teams hold English football's blue ribbon
Blue ribbon
The blue ribbon is a term used to describe or symbolize something of high quality. The usage came from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners—and prior to that from Cordon Bleu which referred to the blue ribbon worn by a particular order...
competitions of the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
and Premier League. Fixtures played between the clubs are frequently referred to as the Manchester Derby
Manchester derby
The Manchester derby is the name given to football matches between Manchester City and Manchester United. The local derby centres on the City of Manchester and Greater Manchester with approximately four miles separating the clubs with City based in east Manchester at the City of Manchester Stadium...
.
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
is still based in Greater Manchester and formed in 1865 replacing Manchester Cricket Club.
Manchester has competed twice to host the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, being beaten into fourth place by Atlanta in 1996 and coming third to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 2000. Instead, it was decided Manchester would host the 2002 Commonwealth Games
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
with many first class sporting facilities being built for the games, including the City of Manchester Stadium
City of Manchester Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England – also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship purposes– is the home ground of...
, the Manchester Velodrome
Manchester Velodrome
Manchester Velodrome is an indoor cycle-racing track or velodrome in Manchester, northwest England. It opened in September 1994 and is the leading indoor Olympic-standard track in the United Kingdom. It houses the National Cycling Centre and British Cycling...
, the National Squash Centre
National Squash Centre
The National Squash Centre is a squash venue in Eastlands, Manchester, England which was constructed for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The National Squash Centre is part of the Sportcity complex....
and the Manchester Aquatics Centre
Manchester Aquatics Centre
The Manchester Aquatics Centre is a public aquatics sports facility south of the centre of Manchester, England, north of the main buildings of the University of Manchester, and near the Manchester Metropolitan University. It was purpose–built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and cost £32 million to...
. The 2002 games were considered a success, surpassing all expectations and demonstrated Manchester as a reinvigorated city for the 21st century whilst giving London impetus to bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
clubs, Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
and Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, bear the city's name. Manchester City, has its home ground at the City of Manchester Stadium
City of Manchester Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England – also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship purposes– is the home ground of...
just outside of Manchester city centre
Manchester City Centre
Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...
in east Manchester. Manchester United’s Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
is the largest club football ground in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and is situated in the neighbouring borough of Trafford
Trafford
The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston...
.
Both City and United, as of 2001, had a highly localised fanbase with the majority of season ticket holding fans in the outer postal areas (BL, OL, SK, and WA) of Greater Manchester and within other counties of the North-west Only a fraction of both clubs' respective season ticket subscribers came from within the central areas of the City of Manchester. The Manchester postal area includes the (strongly United supporting) City of Salford
City of Salford
The City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton-Pendlebury, Walkden and Irlam which apart from Irlam each have a population of over...
but also Prestwich
Prestwich
Prestwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies close to the River Irwell, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury....
and Whitefield
Whitefield, Greater Manchester
Whitefield is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the south bank of the River Irwell, south-southeast of Bury, and to the north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
in Bury (with one of the largest City supporters clubs). This research was conducted before City moved to the larger (48,000 capacity) City of Manchester Stadium, and before the expansion of United's Old Trafford stadium which now accommodates 76,000 meaning that the situation will have changed in the period since it was written.
Further research, published in 2008, has identified that the Manchester region is split with City's support predominantly coming in the south and east of Greater Manchester and the surrounding area and United's in the west. United's nationwide and international support far exceeds that of City, but polls suggest that the majority of people living in Manchester support City.
Aside from their two Premier League clubs, the City of Manchester hosted the first meeting of representatives from the home nations
Home Nations
Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on the context. Politically, it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom...
football associations in 1886, and the International Football Association Board
International Football Association Board
The International Football Association Board is the body that determines the Laws of the Game of association football.-Operations:...
, which makes the rules for the game, was formed following this meeting. FIFA adopted the rules and regulations of football laid out by the IFAB when the organisation formed in 1904. Manchester has remained a regular summit location for IFAB meetings since their formation.
Manchester also hosts several other smaller semi-pro
Semi-professional
A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...
and amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
football clubs, the most notable of which is F.C. United of Manchester
F.C. United of Manchester
F.C. United of Manchester is an English semi-professional football club based in Bury, Greater Manchester that plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. It was formed in 2005 by Manchester United supporters opposed to American businessman Malcolm Glazer's controversial takeover of the...
of whom play in the NPL Premier Division
Northern Premier League Premier Division
The Premier Division is the top division of the Northern Premier League. It is at Step 3 of the National League System, placing it six divisions below the Premier League...
after being promoted from NPL Division One
Northern Premier League Division One North
Division One North is one of the two second-tier divisions of the Northern Premier League. It is at tier 4 of the National League System, tier 8 of the English football league system...
, where the other Manchester football team currently plays. Curzon Ashton F.C.
Curzon Ashton F.C.
Curzon Ashton F.C. are a football club who currently play in the Northern Premier League Division One North. Nicknamed "The Blues", the club play their home games at the Tameside Stadium in Ashton-under-Lyne.-History:...
play in NPL Division One
Northern Premier League Division One North
Division One North is one of the two second-tier divisions of the Northern Premier League. It is at tier 4 of the National League System, tier 8 of the English football league system...
after leaving the Manchester Football League
Manchester Football League
The Manchester Football League, currently known under terms of sponsorship as Bridgewater Office Supplies Football League, is a football league in England, covering a 20-mile radius from Manchester Town Hall. It was formed in 1893, although play ceased between 1912 and 1920. The 2010–11 champions...
in the late 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
.
The Manchester Football League
Manchester Football League
The Manchester Football League, currently known under terms of sponsorship as Bridgewater Office Supplies Football League, is a football league in England, covering a 20-mile radius from Manchester Town Hall. It was formed in 1893, although play ceased between 1912 and 1920. The 2010–11 champions...
is the official amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
football league of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
Athletics
Manchester Regional Arena
The Manchester Regional Arena is a multipurpose stadium in Manchester, England primarily used for athletics and association football. It was originally developed as the warm-up track for the 2002 Commonwealth Games held at the adjacent City of Manchester Stadium...
, which has been used for British athletics trials and the annual Paralympic World Cup
Paralympic World Cup
The Paralympic World Cup is an annual international multi-sport event for elite athletes with a disability, that has been hosted in Manchester, England since 2005. It is organized by the British Paralympic Association in coordination with the International Paralympic Committee .As of 2011, the...
which has been held in Manchester since 2005.
The city also hosts the annual Great Manchester Run
Great Manchester Run
The Bupa Great Manchester Run is an annual 10 kilometre run through the streets in Manchester city centre, which was established in 2003. Usually held in mid-May, it is among the largest and most prestigious mass participation runs in the United Kingdom...
which has been hosted since 2003 and has become one of the most popular 10 km runs in the UK. In addition, the city also hosts the annual Great City Games, featuring a 110m sprint track on Deansgate
Deansgate
Deansgate is a main road through the city centre of Manchester, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile long....
in Manchester city centre
Manchester City Centre
Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...
. The world's top athletes are invited and in 2009 Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt
The Honourable Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, C.D. , is a Jamaican sprinter and a five-time World and three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the world record and Olympic record holder in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and the 4×100 metres relay...
took part.
Rugby union
Although many of the big rugby teams in the north west of EnglandNorth West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
play rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
, Manchester's rugby teams have a long tradition of playing rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
.
Manchester Rugby Club
Manchester Rugby Club
Manchester Rugby Club, formerly known as Manchester Football Club, are one of the oldest rugby union clubs in existence, having been founded in 1860, 11 years before the RFU....
, was founded as the "Manchester Football Club" in 1860, eleven years before the formation of the Rugby Football Union
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
, the club is one of the oldest rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
clubs in the world along with Blackheath Rugby Club and Liverpool St Helens F.C.
Liverpool St Helens F.C.
Liverpool St Helens Football Club are a rugby union team formed from the merger of Liverpool Football Club and St. Helens RUFC. The club currently plays in North 1 West....
. The club's ground is located at Grove Park in Cheadle Hulme
Cheadle Hulme
Cheadle Hulme is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southwest of Stockport and southeast of the city of Manchester. It lies in the Ladybrook Valley on the Cheshire Plain, and the drift consists mostly of boulder clay, sands and gravels...
, and is divided into different sections - 1st XV, 2nd XV, Warriors, Ladies, and Mini, Juniors, Colts. See main article: Manchester Rugby Club
Manchester Rugby Club
Manchester Rugby Club, formerly known as Manchester Football Club, are one of the oldest rugby union clubs in existence, having been founded in 1860, 11 years before the RFU....
Broughton Park Rugby Union F.C., is one of the oldest rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
clubs in England and was established in 1882, just one year after the Lancashire County Rugby Union was founded and eleven years after the formation of the national Rugby Football Union
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
.
The club has had a number of different grounds in its time, mainly in the Salford/Prestwich area, but also in the south of Manchester. Since 2004, its current facility is at Hough End in Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of the city of Manchester, England. It is known locally as Chorlton. It is situated about four miles southwest of Manchester city centre. Pronunciation varies: and are both common....
, Manchester.
Originally, the club had only one senior side, but now fields four senior sides and supported by one Colts (U19), four youth (U13-U17) and four mini (U8-U12) teams; a total involvement of some 220 players each week.
Broughton Park R.F.C. is the City of Manchester's highest placed representative in the Rugby Union Leagues.
Old Bedians Rugby (Union) Club was founded in 1954 by Des Pastore as an Old Boys club for St Bedes College. Originally based in Chorlton, Old Bedians became one of two Didsbury rugby clubs in 1965. In 1991, car thieves torched a car in close proximity to the clubhouse and the club burnt down; following this, the current two storey brick structure was built.
The club, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2003/2004, is located on Millgate Lane in the heart of Didsbury
Didsbury
Didsbury is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre, in the southern half of the Greater Manchester Urban Area...
Village, in the south of Manchester, close to neighbouring areas Withington
Withington
Withington is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury, and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, near the centre-to-south edges of the Greater Manchester Urban Area; in the...
, Fallowfield
Fallowfield
Ladybarn is the part of Fallowfield to the south-east. Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre is used by the University of Manchester: it was built by Edward Walters for Sir Joseph Whitworth, as were the Firs Botanical Grounds.-Religion:...
, Burnage
Burnage
Burnage is a neighbourhood of the city of Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire it was included in the county of Greater Manchester in 1974. It is about south of Manchester city centre, bisected by the busy dual carriageway of Kingsway, part of the A34...
, and Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
.
The club fields three teams each week; the 1st team plays in the North Lancs Division 1, and the 2nds, and 3rds play in Miller Homes Leagues in Division 4 south and 5 south respectively. The club also has an established junior section and was fortunate enough to be awarded lottery funding for this section in 2007.
Old Bedians Rugby Club is well known for its social side and can be regularly seen drinking in Didsbury on Saturday night. In addition, they have an annual Sportsmans Dinner with such rugby legends as David Duckham and Jeff Probyn.
Didsbury Toc-H Rugby (Union) Club was founded in 1924 as "Toc H Manchester" and was situated in Victoria Park. After moving to various sites the club arrived in Didsbury
Didsbury
Didsbury is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre, in the southern half of the Greater Manchester Urban Area...
and in 1986 the name was changed to "Didsbury Toc-H" to identify with the location of the clubhouse.
The club, which celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2003/2004, is located at Ford Lane in the heart of Didsbury
Didsbury
Didsbury is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre, in the southern half of the Greater Manchester Urban Area...
Village, in the south of Manchester, close to neighbouring areas Withington
Withington
Withington is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury, and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, near the centre-to-south edges of the Greater Manchester Urban Area; in the...
, Fallowfield
Fallowfield
Ladybarn is the part of Fallowfield to the south-east. Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre is used by the University of Manchester: it was built by Edward Walters for Sir Joseph Whitworth, as were the Firs Botanical Grounds.-Religion:...
, Burnage
Burnage
Burnage is a neighbourhood of the city of Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire it was included in the county of Greater Manchester in 1974. It is about south of Manchester city centre, bisected by the busy dual carriageway of Kingsway, part of the A34...
, and Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
.
The club fields four teams each week, the 1st team plays in the North Lancashire & Cumbria league, the 2nds, 3rds, and 4ths play in competitive "intermediate leagues". The club also has an established junior section.
The "Toc-H" part comes from a soldiers club at Poperinghe in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
in the First World War. Soldiers and officers could get a respite from the battlefields. This place was named Talbot House in honour of a young lieutenant who was killed in action the year before. Signallers pronounced the letters 'T' as 'Toc' and 'H' as 'House'. When the rugby club was founded, Manchester soldiers called the new club as "Toc-H Manchester".
The City of Manchester also has other rugby union teams: the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
Rugby Club, and Manchester Village Spartans RUFC
Swimming
Victoria Baths
Victoria Baths is a Grade II* listed building, situated in the Chorlton-upon-Medlock area of Manchester, in northwest England. The building is currently on English Heritage's Buildings at Risk Register....
in Chorlton-on-Medlock
Chorlton-on-Medlock
Chorlton-on-Medlock is an inner city area of Manchester, England.Historically a part of Lancashire, the northern border of Chorlton-on-Medlock is the River Medlock which runs immediately south of Manchester city centre. Its other borders roughly correspond to Stockport Road, Hathersage Road, Moss...
.
The City of Manchester has its own Olympic-standard swimming pool in the Manchester Aquatics Centre
Manchester Aquatics Centre
The Manchester Aquatics Centre is a public aquatics sports facility south of the centre of Manchester, England, north of the main buildings of the University of Manchester, and near the Manchester Metropolitan University. It was purpose–built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and cost £32 million to...
which was built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. It is situated in the Manchester city centre
Manchester City Centre
Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...
and is now part of the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
. The university now runs the University of Manchester Swimming Club at the aquatics centre which was formed in 1885.
Cricket
Old Trafford cricket ground, located in the Metropolitan Borough of TraffordTrafford
The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston...
, was originally the home of Manchester Cricket Club, but became the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
in 1864 upon the club's formation. Built in 1856, the ground is on Talbot Road, Stretford.
A test match venue since 1884, the 155 year-old ground is one of the most famous in world cricket, only The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
can claim to have hosted an England test match earlier and the ground has hosted three World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
semi-finals. The ground has seen many Ashes moments, including the 1902 Ashes test where Australia won by 3 runs (the closest test match winning margin and one which stood for nearly a century until 1993), "Jim Laker Test" in July 1856 where the England spinner took 19 wickets, Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
's "Ball of the Century
Ball of the Century
The Ball of the Century, also referred to as the Gatting Ball or simply That Ball, is the name given to a cricket delivery bowled by Australia's Shane Warne to England's Mike Gatting. The event occurred on day two of the first Test of the 1993 Ashes series, which took place at Old Trafford,...
" against Mike Gatting
Mike Gatting
Michael "Mike" William Gatting OBE is a former English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Middlesex and for England from 1977 to 1995, captaining the national side in twenty-three Test matches between 1986 and 1988...
and more recently the tense 2005 Ashes Test at Old Trafford when more than 20,000 fans had to be turned away due to tickets being sold out.
Redevelopment plans have existed since the early 2000s as the cricket ground was in need of renovation, and even a move away to Sportcity nearby Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
's City of Manchester Stadium
City of Manchester Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England – also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship purposes– is the home ground of...
was touted as a serious possibility. Nearly £25m is expected to be invested in the redevelopments at Old Trafford. Similar to its counterpart, one end of the Old Trafford cricket ground is called the Stretford End, the other end of the ground is called the Brian Statham end.
Lancashire hold the record for the most tournament wins in the Pro40 tournament (5 times) which ran from 1969 to 2009 and the Friends Provident Trophy (7 times) which ran from 1963 to 2009. Despite this strong one-day success, Lancashire have not won the top tier of the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
since 1934. In total they have won the County Championship on eight occasions in 1881, 1897, 1904, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1930 and 1934. However, they still remain one of the top county cricket clubs in the country and Lancashire maintains a healthy rivalry with Yorkshire, which is sometimes referred to as the Battle of the Roses (a pun on the actual War of the Roses which involved Lancashire and Yorkshire on opposing sides).
Cycling
Manchester is home to the UK's first purpose-built indoor Cycling Velodrome, the Manchester VelodromeManchester Velodrome
Manchester Velodrome is an indoor cycle-racing track or velodrome in Manchester, northwest England. It opened in September 1994 and is the leading indoor Olympic-standard track in the United Kingdom. It houses the National Cycling Centre and British Cycling...
which was primarily built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. It is situated near the City of Manchester Stadium in Sportcity
Sportcity
Sportcity Manchester is a sports district in the City of Manchester, and was used to host of the 2002 Commonwealth Games. It is located in east Manchester, less than a mile away from Manchester city centre and was developed on former industrial land including the site of Bradford Colliery.The...
. It is also home to British Cycling
British Cycling
British Cycling is the national governing body for cycle racing in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man...
team, whose great success at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
has been attributed to inheriting the track alongside Sport England
Sport England
Sport England is the brand name for the English Sports Council and is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
and Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...
. The London Velopark
London Velopark
The London Velopark is a cycling centre which was built in Leyton in east London, United Kingdom. It will serve as one of the 'Big Five' permanent Olympic and Paralympic venues for the 2012 Games. The Velopark is situated at the northern end of London's Olympic Park...
will be built for the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
, however British Cycling have stated their wish to remain based in Manchester as development continues with the construction of a National BMX Arena
National Indoor BMX Arena
The National Indoor BMX Arena is a indoor BMX racing stadium in Sportcity, Manchester, UK. The new arena is situated next to the Manchester Velodrome and the buildings share a common entrance as part of the National Cycling Centre. The stadium cost £19 million, seats 2,000 spectators and is home to...
next to British Cycling's base at the Manchester Velodrome.
The Velodrome has become one of the fastest velodrome tracks in the world and its board tracks consist of 80 kilometres of 40mm Siberian pine on 380 trusses around the velodrome track. The Velodrome is covered by a 122 metre arched roof enabling unrestricted viewing for the spectators. The Velodrome has hosted the UCI World Championships which is the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling and are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....
3 times in 1996, 2000 and 2008 - no other venue has hosted more.
Fallowfield Stadium
Fallowfield Stadium
Fallowfield Stadium was an athletics stadium and velodrome in Fallowfield, Manchester, England. It opened in May 1892 as the home of Manchester Athletics Club after it was forced to move from its home next to Old Trafford Cricket Ground...
was an athletics
Athletics (track and field)
Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
stadium and velodrome
Velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights...
in Fallowfield
Fallowfield
Ladybarn is the part of Fallowfield to the south-east. Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre is used by the University of Manchester: it was built by Edward Walters for Sir Joseph Whitworth, as were the Firs Botanical Grounds.-Religion:...
, Manchester which opened in May 1892 as the home of Manchester Athletics Club after it was forced to move from its home next to Old Trafford Cricket Ground. Fallowfield was most regularly used for cycling by the Manchester Wheelers' Club
Manchester Wheelers' Club
-Formation and early history:The club was formed on 7 July 1883, as Manchester Athletic Bicycle Club, the name being changed to Manchester Wheelers' Club in 1890.The Manchester Wheelers are the most successful cycling club in Britain having produced countless international riders and several World...
, who held their annual competition there until 1976.
Speedway racing
Peter Craven, Ove Fundin, Peter Collins, Jason Crump are amongst the riders who have won World Championships when riding for the Aces.
The White City stadium was used in the pioneer days from 1928 to 1930 and a training track at Newton Heath operated in the early post war period.
Other sports
Team gamesThe Manchester Titans were the only American Football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team in Manchester; they played in the British American Football League
British American Football League
The British American Football League was the United Kingdom's primary American Football league from 1998 until 2010. It was formerly known as the British Senior League until 2005. BAFL was the trading name for Gridiron Football League Ltd incorporated as a Company limited by guarantee....
, Division 2. The Titans played at Broughton Park Rugby Club
Broughton, Greater Manchester
Broughton is an inner city area of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the east bank of the River Irwell and A56 road, in the northeastern part of the City of Salford, north-northwest of Manchester city centre and south of Prestwich. Broughton consists of Broughton Park, Higher...
, Mauldeth Road West in Chorlton
Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of the city of Manchester, England. It is known locally as Chorlton. It is situated about four miles southwest of Manchester city centre. Pronunciation varies: and are both common....
. As the gridiron game had been popular in the region in the past with teams such as the Spartans and the All-Stars, the Titans were formed in 2003 and have experienced continual growth with the 2007 season finishing 7-2-1, and getting to the playoffs semi-finals.
Manchester also has an ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team called the Manchester Phoenix
Manchester Phoenix
Manchester Phoenix are a professional ice hockey team from Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. The club was formed in 2003 as a result of the efforts of supporters group Friends of Manchester Ice Hockey to bring top-level ice hockey back to Manchester after Manchester Storm folded in...
, which moved into a new purpose-built arena called the Altrincham Ice Dome
Altrincham Ice Dome
Altrincham Ice Dome is an ice rink in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It has 2,000 seats according to the rink website, and up to 500 standing places. despite this, the building has a capacity capped at 2,000 for ice hockey as standing around the plexi glass is not allowed in the...
in February 2007. The city was previously home to the Manchester Storm
Manchester Storm
The Manchester Storm were an ice hockey team from Manchester, England. The team formed in 1995, playing their home games at the then newly built Nynex Arena . Storm won the British Hockey League Division One in their first season, watched by an average crowd of 6,342...
ice hockey club, who in 1997 played in front of the largest audience ever to watch an ice hockey game in the United Kingdom—17,245 people saw the Storm defeat the Sheffield Steelers
Sheffield Steelers
The Sheffield Steelers are a British ice hockey club, from Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 and play their home games at the Sheffield Arena. They are currently members of the Elite Ice Hockey League...
6-2 at the MEN Arena.
Manchester also has two roller hockey teams, which have combined and reached the cup final against Bury St. Edmunds
Bury St. Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds is a market town in the county of Suffolk, England, and formerly the county town of West Suffolk. It is the main town in the borough of St Edmundsbury and known for the ruined abbey near the town centre...
(at U13 level only).
Miscellany
Belle Vue Stadium in Gorton
Gorton
Gorton is an area of the city of Manchester, in North West England. It is located to the southeast of Manchester city centre. Neighbouring areas include Longsight and Levenshulme....
is home to the Belle Vue Aces
Belle Vue Aces
The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway team from Manchester in the north west of England.-Brief history:Racing first took place in 1928 at the Belle Vue greyhound stadium in Kirkmanshulme Lane before moving the following year to a specially built stadium nearby on Hyde Road. The club raced there...
speedway team and also hosts regular greyhound races
Greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
.
Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
is also home to two Roller Derby
Roller derby
Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...
teams, the Rainy City Roller Girls and Manchester Roller Derby, which as well as the traditional women's team also has a men's and junior derby team. The sport continues to grow in the UK and Manchester and roller derby bouts held in Manchester regularly sell out as of 2011.
Combat sports
Boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
is popular in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. It's the home of Ricky Hatton
Ricky Hatton
Richard John Hatton MBE, more commonly known as Ricky "the Hitman" Hatton, , is a former British professional boxer, and currently a promoter....
in nearby Hyde
Hyde, Greater Manchester
Hyde is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2001 census, the town had a population of 31,253. Historically part of Cheshire, it is northeast of Stockport, west of Glossop and east of Manchester....
.
Manchester has also hosted several events for World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
, as professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
is not only popular in Manchester, but in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as a whole. Manchester is also the home of The British Bulldogs Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...
and The Dynamite Kid.
Major sporting events hosted in Manchester
Football
International- England national football team home stadiumEngland national football team home stadiumWembley Stadium in London is the current exclusive home stadium for the England national football team. This has been the case since it was opened in 2007, following on from the old Wembley Stadium it replaced...
- 27 matches- Old TraffordOld TraffordOld Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
- 22 (1926–2006) - Maine RoadMaine RoadMaine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England that was home to Manchester City F.C. from its construction in 1923 until 2003...
- 2 (1946–1949) - City of Manchester StadiumCity of Manchester StadiumThe City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England – also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship purposes– is the home ground of...
- 2 (2004) - Manchester Football Ground, Whalley Range - 1 (1885)
- Old Trafford
- 1966 Football World Cup1966 FIFA World CupThe 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...
- Old Trafford - 2003 UEFA Champions League Final2003 UEFA Champions League FinalThe 2003 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place at Old Trafford in Manchester, England on 28 May 2003 to decide the winner of the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League. The match was contested by two Italian teams in the shape of Juventus and Milan. The match made history as the...
- Old Trafford - 2005 UEFA Women's European Championships 2005 - City of Manchester Stadium
- 2008 UEFA Cup Final2008 UEFA Cup FinalThe 2008 UEFA Cup Final was the 37th final of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second tier club football tournament. The match was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, home ground of Manchester City F.C., in Manchester, England, at 20:45 CEST on 14 May 2008.The match was contested by Zenit St. Petersburg...
- City of Manchester Stadium
Domestic
- 1893 FA Cup Final1893 FA Cup FinalThe 1893 FA Cup Final was an association football game contested by Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton. Wolves won by a single goal, scored by Harry Allen....
- Fallowfield StadiumFallowfield StadiumFallowfield Stadium was an athletics stadium and velodrome in Fallowfield, Manchester, England. It opened in May 1892 as the home of Manchester Athletics Club after it was forced to move from its home next to Old Trafford Cricket Ground... - 1984 League Cup Final1984 Football League Cup FinalThe 1984 Milk Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool and Everton. Liverpool were extremely fortunate to make it to the final of the competition after knocking out a Walsall side from the 4th Division who most neutrals and pundits would agree were the superior team at Anfield...
replay - Maine Road - FA Cup semi-finalFA Cup Semi-finalsThe FA Cup Semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world.- Location :...
venue - 46 semi-final matches- Old TraffordOld TraffordOld Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
- 23 - Maine RoadMaine RoadMaine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England that was home to Manchester City F.C. from its construction in 1923 until 2003...
- 18 - Fallowfield StadiumFallowfield StadiumFallowfield Stadium was an athletics stadium and velodrome in Fallowfield, Manchester, England. It opened in May 1892 as the home of Manchester Athletics Club after it was forced to move from its home next to Old Trafford Cricket Ground...
- 2 - Whalley Range - 2
- Hyde RoadHyde RoadHyde Road was a football stadium in Ardwick, Manchester, England. It was home to Manchester City F.C. and their predecessors from its construction in 1887 until 1923, when the club moved to Maine Road. It was named after Hyde Road, a road which begins at the east end of Ardwick Green South in...
- 1
- Old Trafford
- FA Charity/Community ShieldFA Community ShieldThe Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...
- 11- Old Trafford - 6
- Maine Road - 5
Cricket
International- Cricket World CupCricket World CupThe ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
host city - 3- Old Trafford Cricket Ground - 19751975 Cricket World Cup-Group B:-Knockout stage:-Semifinals:In the best World Cup performance to date by a bowler, Gary Gilmour took six wickets as England were bowled all out for 93 , after falling to 37/7...
, 19791979 Cricket World CupThe 1979 Cricket World Cup was the second edition of the tournament and was won by the West Indies. It was held from June 9 to June 23, 1979 in England. The format had remained unchanged from 1975. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in 2 groups of 4...
, 19831983 Cricket World CupThe 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup was the third edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament. It was held from 9 June to 25 June 1983 in England and was won by India. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in two groups of four teams each, and each...
(including two semi-finals in 1979 and 1983)
- Old Trafford Cricket Ground - 1975
- The AshesThe AshesThe Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
host venue- Old Trafford Cricket Ground: since 1882 (with the exception of the 2009 which was played in Cardiff, however Ashes cricket is set to return to Old Trafford in 2013)
Rugby
International- Rugby World CupRugby World CupThe Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
host city- 20152015 Rugby World CupThe 2015 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament is scheduled to be hosted by England from 4 September to 17 October 2015. In addition, Cardiff's 74,500-seater Millennium Stadium in Wales will also be used...
: Old Trafford
- 2015
Domestic
- Super League Grand FinalSuper League Grand FinalThe Super League Grand Final is the championship-deciding game of the Super League rugby league football competition...
venue - Old Trafford
Snooker
- Snooker World Championship - 5
- Houldsworth Hall - 2 (1952, 1954)
- City Exhibition Hall - 1 (1973)
- Belle Vue - 1 (1974)
- Wythenshawe Forum - 1 (1976)