Manchester, the North West city of England, takes sport as a large part of its culture. The preparatory measures for the 2002 commonwealth games saw many new sporting venues built in the city, including the Manchester Velodrome, the City of Manchester Stadium, the National Squash Centre and the Manchester Aquatics Centre. Recognised as being a great place to practice sport, much of the training for the 2012 London Olympics will take place in Manchester.
Football is a large part of sport in Manchester, with two Premiership football clubs, Manchester United and Manchester City, bearing its name. Manchester United is one of the most successful clubs in the world, and also supposedly the most popular with 333 million supporters, and makes its home at the Old Trafford Stadium. Manchester City, however, is considered the city's local club, using the City of Manchester Stadium.
Manchester is also home to a rich history of Rugby Union. Manchester Rugby club is one of the oldest clubs in the world and trains at Grove Park in Cheadle Hulme. And there are plenty more clubs than that, including Broughton Par Rugby Union F. C., Old Bedians Rugby Union Club, and Didsbury Toc-H Rugby Union Club.
Since 1856 the Old Trafford cricket ground has been sat on Talbot Road in Stretford, and is home to the Lancashire County Cricket Club. This place has been the venue for the World Cup semi-finals on three different occasions, and because of the 2005 Ashes test, where more than 20,000 fans had to be turned away, there are currently plans to redevelop the site to fit another 5,000 people in.
A discussion of the sport of Manchester would be severely lacking if it only concerned the world famous clubs, for there is also a lot of amateur sport to take note of. If you are a climber, there are plenty of places to practice such as the Manchester Climbing Centre and the bouldering room at Rock Over, the peaks offering a great place to climb outside. The University of Manchester also hosts many clubs and societies that range from the likes of Mountain Biking, to Ultimate Frisbee.
Football is a large part of sport in Manchester, with two Premiership football clubs, Manchester United and Manchester City, bearing its name. Manchester United is one of the most successful clubs in the world, and also supposedly the most popular with 333 million supporters, and makes its home at the Old Trafford Stadium. Manchester City, however, is considered the city's local club, using the City of Manchester Stadium.
Manchester is also home to a rich history of Rugby Union. Manchester Rugby club is one of the oldest clubs in the world and trains at Grove Park in Cheadle Hulme. And there are plenty more clubs than that, including Broughton Par Rugby Union F. C., Old Bedians Rugby Union Club, and Didsbury Toc-H Rugby Union Club.
Since 1856 the Old Trafford cricket ground has been sat on Talbot Road in Stretford, and is home to the Lancashire County Cricket Club. This place has been the venue for the World Cup semi-finals on three different occasions, and because of the 2005 Ashes test, where more than 20,000 fans had to be turned away, there are currently plans to redevelop the site to fit another 5,000 people in.
A discussion of the sport of Manchester would be severely lacking if it only concerned the world famous clubs, for there is also a lot of amateur sport to take note of. If you are a climber, there are plenty of places to practice such as the Manchester Climbing Centre and the bouldering room at Rock Over, the peaks offering a great place to climb outside. The University of Manchester also hosts many clubs and societies that range from the likes of Mountain Biking, to Ultimate Frisbee.