Professional Sports in London: Football

Football is the number one spectator sport in the UK, and London itself has 15 football teams (called clubs) in five professional leagues: the Premiership, the Championship, League One, League Two and Conference National (otherwise known as Blue Square Bet Premier).

The Premiership has five clubs in London:
Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspurs
West Ham United
Chelsea
Fulham

The Championship has three:
Crystal Palace
Queens Park Rangers
Millwall

League One has four:
Brentford
Charlton Athletic
Dagenham & Redbridge
Leyton Orient

League Two has one:
Barnet

Conference/Blue Square Bet Premier has two:
AFC Wimbledon
Hayes & Yeading United

**The football (or footie) season for all five leagues runs from August until May.**

Locals are fiercely loyal to their teams and areas, and some rivalries are downright venomous.
The main London club rivalries are:

North London: Arsenal – Tottenham Hotspurs
West London: Brentford – Chelsea – Fulham – QPR
South London/East London: Millwall – West Ham United
South London: Charlton Athletic – Millwall – Crystal Palace

Note: Professional league matches tend to sell out quickly and tickets can be very expensive. If you’re new to football and/or just want to take in a live match for the experience, you might want to try a game between clubs within the lower-division leagues, like Conference South or Ryman Isthmian.