The World’s Favorite Game

            What is the world’s favorite game? In America, people call it soccer(足球), but in other parts of the world it’s football.

        Football is an old game in Europe（欧洲） and South America（南美洲）. Countries like Italy（意大利）, Spain（西班牙）, and Argentina（阿根廷） have long football histories and hundreds and thousands of fans. For many fans, their football club（俱乐部） is part of their lives. They wear their club’s colors and sing their club’s songs and watch every game that their team plays.
　　Did you know the women’s football in China is older than the football in Europe and South America? There are pictures of women playing football at the time of the Eastern Han Dynasty（东汉）. Today, there are thousands of women players in the Chinese Football Association(中国足球协会). The best players play professionally(专业的).          
One of the oldest competitions（竞赛） in the world is the F.A. Cup in England. Teams from 600 clubs play in it. Big clubs in this competition are Manchester（曼彻斯特） United, Liverpool（利物浦）, and Arsenal. These clubs have fans in China and in the countries all over the world. Manchester United even has a TV station（电视台） called MUTV!
　　The most successful team in China is the women’s national team（女子国家队）. Their fans call them the Steel Roses（钢铁玫瑰）. Look at their history in the box on the left.
The Steel Roses have a web site: www.teamchia.com. Fans can visit and find information on the team and their favorite players. Let’s give them our best wishes. Go for it, Steel Roses!