England is the birthplace of the game - the world's first national association, the first national cup, the first national league and involved in the first international match (0-0 v Scotland). The FA Cup, the first real competitive tournament of any kind, began in 1871.
The Premier League is widely regarded as the most popular and most competitive of all the world's football leagues. Additionally the strength in depth of English football is unmatched, with average attendance in the 2nd tier Football League Championship surpassing all but a handful of the world's top-tier leagues and a professional structure that reaches down to the 5th tier Football Conference Premier League. In short England continues to be the epicenter of this great game of ours and will be as long into the future as we can see.
English Football Clubs Map:
History:
England can properly be called the birthplace of organized football. From medieval origins as a folk game played on holidays it was picked up by English public and grammar schools in the mid 19th century. Organization gradually followed with the foundation of the Football Association in London in 1863. This association agreed upon a standard set of rules and about a decade later launched the Football Association Cup, a knockout tournament open to all members. It is the world's oldest surviving football competition and quickly became a huge draw for clubs who were previously limited to irregularly scheduled friendlies. Around this time the FA backed an English national team to compete against Scotland, the first international match in history.
The following decade the schedule of friendlies and cup competitions was enhanced by the launch of the Football League, again the first of its kind. The league was enormously successful and launched a number of other copycats in England, some of which (like the Football Alliance) were gradually swallowed up by the Football League. A network of other leagues (all considered "non-league" in English terminology as they aren't a part of the Football League) now exists going all the way down to the smallest provincial hamlet.
The professional game continued to grow ever more popular in England with crowds at the FA Cup final (now held at Wembley Stadium) regularly topping six figures. English football remained the premier power in the game for many a year though maintaining a steady indifference to nearly every new development - the World Cup and European Cup in particular. England's superiority finally suffered a hammer blow in 1953 when losing 3-6 at Wembley to Hungary, the first ever loss on home soil to a non-British team. England did rebuild from that loss and managed to capture the 1966 World Cup as hosts, still their only victory in a major tournament.
English National Team:
England's earliest international matches were nearly always successes, at least against teams from outside the British Isles. The Scots and (to a lesser extent) the Welsh and Irish proved consistently formidable opponents. It wasn't until the late 1920s that England lost their first match against a non-British team (Spain) and not until 1953, fully 83 years (!) after their first match that England lost at home to a non-British team. That loss, 6-3 to Hungary, is still remembered as a seismic shift in English football's perception of the footballing world outside. Nearly as bad (though less remembered) was the 7-1 loss to Hungary the following year in a return match in Budapest.
England gradually learned these lessons and, under the capable leadership of manager Alf Ramsey, finally put together a team worthy of representing the birthplace of football. England reached the 1966 World Cup as hosts and put together a magnificent tournament, culminating in the famous 4-2 extra time victory over West Germany which a Geoff Hurst hat trick and controversial goal that may or may not have crossed the line.
Expectations have only increased with each failure at international level and England's inability to match that success. The closest England have come was the 1990 World Cup (semifinals) and 1996 European Championship (semifinals). In both cases England lost on penalties and both times to Germany cementing one of the country's enduring rivalries.
The second most important rivalry in English football (besides "cross-border" clashes with Scotland) is with Argentina. With the backdrop of the Falklands War fresh in both nation's memories, England and Argentina met in the 1986 World Cup. England were swept aside by Argentina and Diego Maradona, who scored two of the most famous goals ever on the World stage - one for dribbling past virtually the entire England team and one for punching through with the "Hand of God" as he later described it. The two countries met in another sizzling encounter in 1998 (2-2 with Argentina winning on penalties and David Beckham being red carded) and again in a first round game in 2002.
World Cup History:
Winners (1966)
Semifinals (1990)
Quarterfinals (1954, 62, 70, 86, 2002, 06)
Second Round (1982, 98)
First Round (1950, 58)
Did not qualify (1974, 78, 94)
Did not enter (1930, 34, 38)
European Nations Cup - European Championship History:
The FA (Football Association) Cup is the oldest surviving football competition in the world. Soon after the foundation of the Football Association a knockout competition open to all its members was launched, the first winners being Wanderers 1-0 over Royal Engineers in 1872. While the number of entrants continues to grow (762 for the 2009-10 edition) the FA Cup plays a distant second fiddle to the Английская Премьер Лига in importance. Top-tier clubs enter at the third round (of 64 clubs) which is traditionally played on the first weekend of January while the final takes place at Wembley Stadium in May and is normally one of the last matches of the English football season.
The League Cup is contested by all members of the Английская Премьер Лига plus Football League Championship, League One and League Two, a total of 92 clubs. It is seen as a nuisance by many clubs, with low attendance and often second-string squads until the final rounds. Nonetheless it provides a trip to Wembley for the finalists and a spot in the next season's Europa League.
The Сообщество Shield (originally the Charity Shield) is the traditional season-opener of the English football calendar and is contested (at Wembley) between the previous season's Английская Премьер Лига champion and FA Cup winner. While a trophy is a trophy, little significance is attached to winning or losing and it's mainly just a moment to get the ball rolling.
Re: your comments about the FA Cup being the first real competitive tournament of any kind. The FA Cup is the world's oldest surviving cup competition however there are two knockout cup competitions that pre-date it. There were two tournaments held in Sheffield during the late 1860's. The first held in 1867 was The Youdan Cup, this was the world's first organised football tournament. The second was The Cromwell Cup held a year later in 1868, again in Sheffield. Both finals were held at Bramall Lane.
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