Association football is a
national sport in the United Kingdom, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern
Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association football clubs, England has more clubs involved in the code than any other country as well as the world's first club (
Sheffield F.C.), the world's oldest professional association football club (
Notts County F.C), the oldest national governing body (the
Football Association), the first
national team, the oldest national knockout competition (the
FA Cup) and the oldest national league (the
Football League). Today the UK's top domestic league, the
Premier League, is one of the most popular and richest sports leagues in the world.