Association football London

Association football is the most popular sport in London, England in terms of both participants and spectators.

Most London clubs are named after the district in which they play (or used to play).
The playing of football in London has been well documented since it was first outlawed in 1314. Regular references to the game occurred throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, including the first reference to word "football" in English when it was outlawed by King Henry IV of England in 1409. Early games were probably disorganised and violent. In the sixteenth century the headmaster of St Paul's School Richard Mulcaster is credited with taking mob football and transforming it into organised and refereed team football. In 1581 he described in English his game of football which included small teams, referees, positions and even a coach.
Major London derbies

Some of the most heated rivalries are between clubs that are geographically close together, including:

* North London derby – between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. A rivalry has existed since Arsenal's move to the Highbury area of North London in 1913, and especially since Arsenal's promotion to the First Division in 1919. It is perhaps the most hotly contested of all London derbies but many Arsenal fans also consider cross-town club Chelsea their major rival.
* West London derby – between Brentford, Chelsea, Fulham and QPR. Since the 1960s QPR developed a heated rivalry with Chelsea but one not reciprocated by Chelsea fans. However, following relegation from the top flight in 1996, QPR have not been able to rekindle to the rivalry. Although Fulham and Chelsea have not often played head to head due to Fulham's lower division status in the 1970s and 1980s, since Fulham's promotion to the Premier League in 2001 a rivalry between the two has resumed.
* East London derby – between Millwall and West Ham United; there have been relatively few encounters in recent years, as West Ham has remained in a higher division than Millwall for much of its history. The two however have a history of extreme violence between them due to the fact both teams played near each other. The rivalry is perhaps the bitterest of the London teams and there has even been films portraying it.
* South East London derby – between Charlton Athletic, Millwall and Crystal Palace, despite Millwall's fiercest rivalry being with West Ham United they also have a rivalry with there nearest neighbours Charlton Athletic as well as Crystal Palace, in addition there is also a rivalry between Charlton and Crystal Palace the rivalry between the two clubs has become particularly heated since the mid 1980's.