Editing Lancashire (section)

====Football====
[[File:Red Rose Badge of Lancaster.svg|thumb|upright|right|The Red Rose of Lancaster]]
Football in Lancashire is governed by the [[Lancashire County Football Association]] which, like most [[county football association]]s, has boundaries that are aligned roughly with the [[Historic Counties of England|historic counties]]. The [[Manchester Football Association]] and [[Liverpool County Football Association]] respectively operate in [[Greater Manchester]] and [[Merseyside]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.manchesterfa.com/AboutUs/ |title=Manchester FA &#124; About Us |publisher=Manchesterfa.com |access-date=25 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007185050/http://www.manchesterfa.com/AboutUs/ |archive-date=7 October 2010 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.liverpoolfa.com/AboutUs/ |title=Liverpool FA &#124; About Us |publisher=Liverpoolfa.com |access-date=25 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614225956/http://www.liverpoolfa.com/AboutUs/ |archive-date=14 June 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Lancashire clubs were prominent in the formation of the [[English Football League|Football League]] in 1888, with the league being officially named at a meeting in Manchester.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/21492352 |website=BBC Sport |title=One letter, two meetings and 12 teams – the birth of league football |date=26 February 2013 |first=Paul |last=Fletcher |access-date=2018-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015155241/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/21492352 |archive-date=15 October 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.efl.com/news/2016/march/on-this-day-in-1888-the-letter-that-led-to-the-formation-of-the-football-league/ |website=EFL Official Website |title=On this day in 1888: The letter that led to the formation of The Football League |date=2 March 2016 |access-date=2018-08-12}}</ref> Of the twelve founder members of the league, six were from Lancashire: [[Accrington F.C.|Accrington]], [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]], [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]], [[Burnley F.C.|Burnley]], [[Everton F.C.|Everton]], and [[Preston North End F.C.|Preston North End]].

The Football League is now based in Preston.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.efl.com/-more/all-about-the-efl/contact-us/ |title=Contact Us |website=English Football League |access-date=2018-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913185551/https://www.efl.com/-more/all-about-the-efl/contact-us |archive-date=13 September 2018 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The [[National Football Museum]] was founded at [[Deepdale]], [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]] in 2001, but moved to Manchester in 2012.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-18725667|title=Why football museum moved to Manchester|last=Airey|first=Tom|date=2012-07-06|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-08-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202100648/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-18725667|archive-date=2 December 2017|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Seven professional full-time teams were based in Lancashire at the start of the 2024–25 season:

* [[Football League Championship|Championship]]: [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]], [[Burnley F.C.|Burnley]] and [[Preston North End F.C.|Preston North End]]
* [[Football League One|League One]]: [[Blackpool F.C.|Blackpool]]
* [[Football League Two|League Two]]: [[Accrington Stanley F.C.|Accrington Stanley]], [[Fleetwood Town F.C.|Fleetwood Town]] and [[Morecambe F.C.|Morecambe]]

The county's most prominent football rivalries are the [[East Lancashire derby]] between Blackburn Rovers and Burnley, and the [[West Lancashire derby]] between Blackpool and Preston North End.

A further nine professional full-time teams lie within the historical borders of Lancashire but outside of the current ceremonial county. These include the Premier League clubs [[Everton F.C.|Everton]], [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]], [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] and [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]].