Editing Cambridge (section)

=== Football ===
[[File:ISH WC Cambridge15.jpg|thumb|[[Parker's Piece]], where the [[Cambridge rules]] of [[association football|football]] were first played]]
Cambridge played a unique role in the invention of modern [[association football|football]]: the game's first set of rules were drawn up by members of the university in 1848. The [[Cambridge Rules]] were first played on [[Parker's Piece]] and had a "defining influence on the 1863 [[The Football Association|Football Association]] rules", which again were first played on Parker's Piece.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/cambridgeshire/content/articles/2006/06/09/cambridge_football_rules_parkers_piece_feature.shtml |title= Cambridge...the birthplace of football?! |publisher= BBC |access-date= 19 October 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160817142553/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cambridgeshire/content/articles/2006/06/09/cambridge_football_rules_parkers_piece_feature.shtml |archive-date= 17 August 2016 |url-status= live }}</ref>

The city is home to [[Cambridge United F.C.|Cambridge United]], who play at the [[Abbey Stadium]]. Formed in 1912 as Abbey United, they were elected to the [[English Football League|Football League]] in 1970 and reached the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] in 1978, although a serious decline in them in the mid-1980s saw them drop back down to the [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] and almost go out of business. Success returned to the club in the early 1990s when they won two successive promotions and reached the [[FA Cup]] quarter finals in both of those seasons and, in 1992, they came close to becoming the first English team to win three successive Football League promotions which would have taken them into the newly created [[FA Premier League]]; however, they were beaten in the play-offs and another decline set in. In 2005, they were relegated from the Football League and, for the second time in twenty years, narrowly avoided going out of business. After nine years of non-league football, they returned to the Football League in 2014 by winning the [[Conference National]] play-offs.

[[Cambridge United WFC]] is a women's only football club based in Cambridge. The team compete in the FA Women's National League South East. The club plays home games at [[St Neots Town F.C.|St Neots Town]]'s Rowley Park stadium and the Abbey Stadium.

[[Cambridge City F.C.|Cambridge City]], of the [[Northern Premier League]] Division One Midlands, now play in neighbouring [[St Ives, Cambridgeshire|St Ives]]. Formed in 1908 as Cambridge Town, the club were [[Southern Football League|Southern Premier League]] champions in 1962–63, the highest they have finished in the [[English football pyramid]]. After a legal dispute with their landlords,<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/oct/03/newsstory.sport2|title = The supporters who took on a property developer and won|date = 3 October 2007|access-date = 3 September 2014|website = The Guardian|last = Conn|first = David|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140903190548/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/oct/03/newsstory.sport2|archive-date = 3 September 2014|url-status = live}}</ref> the club left their [[City Ground (Cambridge)|City Ground]] stadium in 2013 to groundshare at [[Histon F.C.|Histon]]'s [[Bridge Road (Impington)|Bridge Road]] ground. The club have plans to open their own new ground in [[Sawston]] in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cambridge City Football Club, Sawston build update – 26 Jan 21|url=https://www.cambridgecityfc.com/news/sawston-build-update---26-jan-21|access-date=14 September 2023|website=www.cambridgecityfc.com|archive-date=29 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729193059/https://www.cambridgecityfc.com/news/sawston-build-update---26-jan-21|url-status=dead}}</ref>