The most popular spectator sport in London is football. London has several of England's leading football clubs. Two of them in particular, Arsenal (founded at Woolwich Arsenal but moved to Highbury in 1913), and Chelsea (who play in Fulham) are regarded as two of the Premier League's "Big 3" clubs. Historically the London clubs have not accumulated as many trophies overall as those from the North West, such as Liverpool F.C and Manchester United, but currently they are holding their own against their northern rivals.
London clubs are able to charge higher ticket prices than clubs in other parts of the country, (particularly for corporate facilities), and this has swung English football's balance of power towards London. Before Chelsea's recent rise in fortunes the two highest profile London clubs were Arsenal and their long-standing North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, both of whom were considered to be members of English football's "Big 5" for most of the post-war period. In 2004/5 there are six London clubs in the Premier League in total, Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea, and Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace (who play in South Norwood), and Fulham.
There are five London clubs in the fully professional Football League, namely Brentford, Millwall, Queens Park Rangers|QPR, Leyton Orient and West Ham United - all of whom have previously played in the top division. In a controversial move Wimbledon F.C., left London in 2003 to play in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, changing their name to Milton Keynes Dons, and the newly formed AFC Wimbledon inherited most of their support, despite playing at a much lower level in the football pyramid. There are also many London clubs playing outside the top four divisions of English football, one or two of which are fully professional and many of which are part-time professional.
London was one of the venues for the World Cup in 1966, and the European Football Championship in 1996, and hosted the final of both tournaments. London also hosted the European Cup final in 1968, 1978 and 1992.
Rugby Union is also well established in London, especially in the middle-class suburbs to the north and west of the city. The English national Rugby Union stadium is in Twickenham. Four of the twelve clubs in the elite Zurich Premiership have London origins. Harlequins still play in Greater London, and London Irish, Saracens, Wasps, share football grounds just outside the boundaries of Greater London, but in the metropolitan area. The Northern England based sport of rugby league has maintained a top division club called the London Broncos in the capital in recent years as part of its expansion efforts, but the club has struggled to be viable. There are also London teams in the top flight British leagues in ice hockey (London Racers) and basketball (London Towers), but neither of these sports draws nearly the large number of spectators that football and rugby do.
There are two Test Match cricket grounds: Lord's, home of Middlesex and the Marylebone Cricket Club, located in the leafy suburb of St John's Wood, just north of Regent's Park, and The Oval, home of Surrey in South London.
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, home of the Wimbledon Championships, is in Wimbledon in South West London.
Wembley Stadium, (currently being rebuilt), is the national football stadium, traditionally the home of the FA Cup Final as well as major international football matches, and Rugby League matches. During the redevelopment of Wembley Stadium, Cardiff's Millenium Stadium has been the venue for the FA Cup Final.
London hosts one of the world's largest mass-participation marathons, the London Marathon.
London has twice hosted the Olympic Games, in 1908 and 1948, and is one of the cities bidding to host the 2012 Games.