document_title: History of Nigeria

question_text: who was the last colonial leader of nigeria before she gained her independence

question_tokens: who was the last colonial leader of nigeria before she gained her independence

text: History of Nigeria

text: Early history[edit]

text: Archaeological research, pioneered by Charles Thurstan Shaw has shown that people were already living in south-eastern Nigeria (specifically Igbo Ukwu, Nsukka, Afikpo and Ugwuele) 100,000 years ago. Excavations in Ugwuele, Afikpo and Nsukka show evidence of long habitations as early as 6,000 BC. However, by 9th Century AD, it seemed clear that the Igbos had settled in Igboland. Shaw's excavations at Igbo-Ukwu, Nigeria revealed a 9th-century indigenous culture that created highly sophisticated work in bronze metalworking, independent of any Arab or European influence and centuries before other sites that were better known at the time of discovery.

text: The earliest known example of a fossil human skeleton found anywhere in West Africa, which is 13,000 years old, was found at Iwo-Eleru in Isarun, western Nigeria and attests to the antiquity of habitation in the region.[1]

text: Microlithic and ceramic industries were also developed by savanna pastoralists from at least the 4th millennium BC and were continued by subsequent agricultural communities. In the south, hunting and gathering gave way to subsistence farming around the same time, relying more on the indigenous yam and oil palm than on the cereals important in the North.

text: The stone axe heads, imported in great quantities from the north and used in opening the forest for agricultural development, were venerated by the Yoruba descendants of Neolithic pioneers as "thunderbolts" hurled to earth by the gods.[1]

text: Iron smelting furnaces at Taruga dating from around 600 BC provide the oldest evidence of metalworking in Sub-Saharan Africa. Kainji Dam excavations revealed iron-working by the 2nd century BC. The transition from Neolithic times to the Iron Age apparently was achieved indigenously without intermediate bronze production. Others suggest the technology moved west from the Nile Valley, although the Iron Age in the Niger River valley and the forest region appears to predate the introduction of metallurgy in the upper savanna by more than 800 years. The earliest identified iron-using Nigerian culture is that of the Nok culture that thrived between approximately 900 BC and 200 AD on the Jos Plateau in north-eastern Nigeria. Information is lacking from the first millennium AD following the Nok ascendancy, but by the 2nd millennium there was active trade from North Africa through the Sahara to the forest, with the people of the savanna acting as intermediaries in exchanges of various goods.

text:
Nok seated figure; 5th century BC – 5th century AD; terracotta; 38 cm (1 ft. 3 in.); Musée du quai Branly (Paris). In this Nok work, the head is dramatically larger than the body supoorting it, yet the figure possesses elegant details and a powerful focus. The neat protrusion from the chin represents a beard. Necklaces from a cone around the neck and keep the focus on the face.

Nok artwork; 5th century BC – 5th century AD; length: 50 cm (19.6 in.), height: 54 cm (21.2 in.), width: 50 cm (19.6 in.); terracotta; Musée du quai Branly. As most African art styles, the Nok style focuses mainly on people, rarely on animals. All of the Nok statues are very stylized and similar in that they have this triangular shape eye with a perforated pupil, with arched eyebrows.

Nok male head; 550-50 BC; terracotta; Brooklyn Museum (New York City, USA). The mouth of this head is slightly open. It maybe suggests speech, that the figure has something to tell us. This is a figure that seems to be in the midst of a conversation. The eyes and the eyebrows suggest an inner calm or an inner serenity.

Nok male figure; terracotta; Detroit Institute of Art (Michigan, USA)

text: Hausa Kingdoms[edit]

text: The Hausa Kingdoms were a collection of states started by the Hausa people, situated between the Niger River and Lake Chad. Their history is reflected in the Bayajidda legend, which describes the adventures of the Baghdadi hero Bayajidda culminating in the killing of the snake in the well of Daura and the marriage with the local queen Magajiya Daurama. while the hero had a child with the queen, Bawo, and another child with the queen's maid-servant, Karbagari.[2]

text: Sarki mythology[edit]

text: According to the Bayajidda legend, the Hausa states were founded by the sons of Bayajidda, a prince whose origin differs by tradition, but official canon records him as the person who married the last Kabara of Daura and heralded the end of the matriarchal monarchs that had erstwhile ruled the Hausa people. Contemporary historical scholarship views this legend as an allegory similar to many in that region of Africa that probably referenced a major event, such as a shift in ruling dynasties.

text: Banza Bakwai[edit]

text: According to the Bayajidda legend, the Banza Bakwai states were founded by the seven sons of Karbagari ("Town-seizer"), the unique son of Bayajidda and the slave-maid, Bagwariya. They are called the Banza Bakwai meaning Bastard or Bogus Seven on account of their ancestress' slave status.

text:
Zamfara (state inhabited by Hausa-speakers)
Kebbi (state inhabited by Hausa-speakers)
Yauri (also called Yawuri)
Gwari (also called Gwariland)
Kwararafa (the state of the Jukun people)
Nupe (state of the Nupe people)
Ilorin(was founded by the Yoruba)

text: Hausa Bakwai[edit]

text:
The Hausa Kingdoms began as seven states founded according to the Bayajidda legend by the six sons of Bawo, the unique son of the hero and the queen Magajiya Daurama in addition to the hero's son, Biram or Ibrahim, of an earlier marriage.
The states included only kingdoms inhabited by Hausa-speakers:

text:
Daura:
Kano:
Katsina
Zaria (Zazzau)
Gobir
Rano
Biram:

text:
Since the beginning of Hausa history, the seven states of Hausaland divided up production and labor activities in accordance with their location and natural resources. Kano and Rano were known as the "Chiefs of Indigo." Cotton grew readily in the great plains of these states, and they became the primary producers of cloth, weaving and dying it before sending it off in caravans to the other states within Hausaland and to extensive regions beyond. Biram was the original seat of government, while Zaria supplied labor and was known as the "Chief of Slaves." Katsina and Daura were the "Chiefs of the Market," as their geographical location accorded them direct access to the caravans coming across the desert from the north. Gobir, located in the west, was the "Chief of War" and was mainly responsible for protecting the empire from the invasive Kingdoms of Ghana and Songhai.
Islam arrived to Hausaland along the caravan routes. The famous Kano Chronicle records the conversion of Kano's ruling dynasty by clerics from Mali, demonstrating that the imperial influence of Mali extended far to the east. Acceptance of Islam was gradual and was often nominal in the countryside where folk religion continued to exert a strong influence. Nonetheless, Kano and Katsina, with their famous mosques and schools, came to participate fully in the cultural and intellectual life of the Islamic world. The Fulani began to enter the Hausa country in the 13th century and by the 15th century, they were tending cattle, sheep, and goats in Borno as well. The Fulani came from the Senegal River valley, where their ancestors had developed a method of livestock management based on transhumance. Gradually they moved eastward, first into the centers of the Mali and Songhai empires and eventually into Hausaland and Borno. Some Fulbe converted to Islam as early as the 11th century and settled among the Hausa, from whom they became racially indistinguishable. There they constituted a devoutly religious, educated elite who made themselves indispensable to the Hausa kings as government advisers, Islamic judges, and teachers.

text: Zenith[edit]

text: The Hausa Kingdoms were first mentioned by Ya'qubi in the 9th-century[citation needed] and they were by the 15th-century vibrant trading centers competing with Kanem-Bornu and the Mali Empire.[3] The primary exports were slaves, leather, gold, cloth, salt, kola nuts, animal hides, and henna. At various moments in their history, the Hausa managed to establish central control over their states, but such unity has always proven short. In the 11th-century, the conquests initiated by Gijimasu of Kano culminated in the birth of the first united Hausa Nation under Queen Amina, the Sultana of Zazzau but severe rivalries between the states led to periods of domination by major powers like the Songhai, Kanem and the Fulani.

text: Fall[edit]

text: Despite relatively constant growth, the states were vulnerable to aggression and, although the vast majority of its inhabitants were Muslim by the 16th century, they were attacked by Fulani jihadists from 1804 to 1808.  In 1808 the Hausa Nation was finally conquered by Usuman dan Fodio and incorporated into the Hausa-Fulani Sokoto Caliphate.[4]

text: Yoruba[edit]

text: Historically the Yoruba people have been the dominant group on the west bank of the Niger. Their nearest linguistic relatives are the Igala who live on the opposite side of the Niger's divergence from the Benue, and from whom they are believed to have split about 2,000 years ago. The Yoruba were organized in mostly patrilineal groups that occupied village communities and subsisted on agriculture. From approximately the 8th century, adjacent village compounds called ile coalesced into numerous territorial city-states in which clan loyalties became subordinate to dynastic chieftains. Urbanization was accompanied by high levels of artistic achievement, particularly in terracotta and ivory sculpture and in the sophisticated metal casting produced at Ife.

text: The Yoruba paid tribute to a pantheon composed of an impersonal Supreme Deity, Olorun. The Olorun is now called God in the Yoruba language. There are 400 lesser deities who perform various tasks. According to the Yoruba, Oduduwa is regarded as both the creator of the earth and the ancestor of the Yoruba kings. According to one of the various myths about him, he founded Ife and dispatched his sons and daughters to establish similar kingdoms in other parts of what is today known as Yorubaland. The Yorubaland now consists of different tribes from different states which are located in the Southwestern part of the country, states like Oyo State, Ondo State, Ekiti State, Ogun State, among others.

text: Igbo Kingdom[edit]

text: Nri Kingdom[edit]

text: The Kingdom of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture, and the oldest Kingdom in Nigeria.[5] Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umueri clan, who trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure, Eri.[6] Eri's origins are unclear, though he has been described as a "sky being" sent by Chukwu (God).[6][7] He has been characterized as having first given societal order to the people of Anambra.[7]

text: Archaeological evidence suggests that Nri hegemony in Igboland may go back as far as the 9th century,[8] and royal burials have been unearthed dating to at least the 10th century. Eri, the god-like founder of Nri, is believed to have settled the region around 948 with other related Igbo cultures following after in the 13th century.[9] The first Eze Nri (King of Nri), Ìfikuánim, followed directly after him. According to Igbo oral tradition, his reign started in 1043.[10] At least one historian puts Ìfikuánim's reign much later, around 1225.[11]

text: Each king traces his origin back to the founding ancestor, Eri. Each king is a ritual reproduction of Eri. The initiation rite of a new king shows that the ritual process of becoming Ezenri (Nri priest-king) follows closely the path traced by the hero in establishing the Nri kingdom.

text: Nri and Aguleri and part of the Umueri clan, a cluster of Igbo village groups which traces its origins to a sky being called Eri, and, significantly, includes (from the viewpoint of its Igbo members) the neighbouring kingdom of Igala.

text: The Kingdom of Nri was a religio-polity, a sort of theocratic state, that developed in the central heartland of the Igbo region.[9] The Nri had a taboo symbolic code with six types. These included human (such as the birth of twins), animal (such as killing or eating of pythons),[13] object, temporal, behavioral, speech and place taboos.[14] The rules regarding these taboos were used to educate and govern Nri's subjects. This meant that, while certain Igbo may have lived under different formal administration, all followers of the Igbo religion had to abide by the rules of the faith and obey its representative on earth, the Eze Nri.[13][14]

text: Decline of Nri kingdom[edit]

text: With the decline of Nri kingdom in the 15th to 17th centuries, several states once under their influence, became powerful economic oracular oligarchies and large commercial states that dominated Igboland. The neighboring Awka city-state rose in power as a result of their powerful Agbala oracle and metalworking expertise. The Onitsha Kingdom, which was originally inhabited by Igbos from east of the Niger, was founded in the 16th century by migrants from Anioma (Western Igboland). Later groups like the Igala traders from the hinterland settled in Onitsha in the 18th century. Western Igbo kingdoms like Aboh, dominated trade in the lower Niger area from the 17th century until European penetration. The Umunoha state in the Owerri area used the Igwe ka Ala oracle at their advantage. However, the Cross River Igbo state like the Aro had the greatest influence in Igboland and adjacent areas after the decline of Nri.

text: The Arochukwu kingdom emerged after the Aro-Ibibio Wars from 1630 to 1720, and went on to form the Aro Confederacy which economically dominated Eastern Nigerian hinterland. The source of the Aro Confederacy's economic dominance was based on the judicial oracle of Ibini Ukpabi ("Long Juju") and their military forces which included powerful allies such as Ohafia, Abam, Ezza, and other related neighboring states. The Abiriba and Aro are Brothers whose migration is traced to the Ekpa Kingdom in East of Cross River; their exact take of location was at Ekpa (Mkpa) east of the Cross River. They crossed the river to Urupkam (Usukpam) west of the Cross River and founded two settlements: Ena Uda and Ena Ofia in present-day Erai. Aro and Abiriba cooperated to become a powerful economic force.

text: Igbo gods, like those of the Yoruba, were numerous, but their relationship to one another and human beings was essentially egalitarian, reflecting Igbo society as a whole. A number of oracles and local cults attracted devotees while the central deity, the earth mother and fertility figure Ala, was venerated at shrines throughout Igboland.

text: The weakness of a popular theory that Igbos were stateless rests on the paucity of historical evidence of pre-colonial Igbo society. There is a huge gap between the archaeological finds of Igbo Ukwu, which reveal a rich material culture in the heart of the Igbo region in the 8th century, and the oral traditions of the 20th century. Benin exercised considerable influence on the western Igbo, who adopted many of the political structures familiar to the Yoruba-Benin region, but Asaba and its immediate neighbors, such as Ibusa, Ogwashi-Ukwu, Okpanam, Issele-Azagba and Issele-Ukwu, were much closer to the Kingdom of Nri. Ofega was the queen for the Onitsha Igbo.Igbo imabana

text: Early states before 1500[edit]

text: The early independent kingdoms and states that make up present-day British colonialized Nigeria are (in alphabetical order):

text:
Benin Kingdom
Borgu Kingdom
Fulani Empire
Hausa Kingdoms
Kanem Bornu Empire
Kwararafa Kingdom
Ibibio Kingdom
Nri Kingdom
Nupe Kingdom
Oyo Empire
Songhai Empire
Warri Kingdom

text: Oyo and Benin[edit]

text: During the 15th century Oyo and Benin surpassed Ife as political and economic powers, although Ife preserved its status as a religious center. Respect for the priestly functions of the oni of Ife was a crucial factor in the evolution of Yoruban culture. The Ife model of government was adapted at Oyo, where a member of its ruling dynasty controlled several smaller city-states. A state council (the Oyo Mesi) named the Alaafin (king) and acted as a check on his authority. Their capital city was situated about 100 km north of present-day Oyo. Unlike the forest-bound Yoruba kingdoms, Oyo was in the savanna and drew its military strength from its cavalry forces, which established hegemony over the adjacent Nupe and the Borgu kingdoms and thereby developed trade routes farther to the north.

text: The Benin Empire (1440–1897; called Bini by locals) was a pre-colonial African state in what is now modern Nigeria. It should not be confused with the modern-day country called Benin, formerly called Dahomey.

text: Northern kingdoms of the Sahel[edit]

text: Trade is the key to the emergence of organized communities in the sahelian portions of Nigeria. Prehistoric inhabitants adjusting to the encroaching desert were widely scattered by the third millennium BC, when the desiccation of the Sahara began. Trans-Saharan trade routes linked the western Sudan with the Mediterranean since the time of Carthage and with the Upper Nile from a much earlier date, establishing avenues of communication and cultural influence that remained open until the end of the 19th century. By these same routes, Islam made its way south into West Africa after the 9th century.

text: By then a string of dynastic states, including the earliest Hausa states, stretched across western and central Sudan. The most powerful of these states were Ghana, Gao, and Kanem, which were not within the boundaries of modern Nigeria but which influenced the history of the Nigerian savanna. Ghana declined in the 11th century but was succeeded by the Mali Empire which consolidated much of western Sudan in the 13th century.

text: Following the breakup of Mali, a local leader named Sonni Ali (1464–1492) founded the Songhai Empire in the region of middle Niger and western Sudan and took control of the trans-Saharan trade. Sonni Ali seized Timbuktu in 1468 and Djenné in 1473, building his regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of Muslim merchants. His successor Askia Muhammad Ture (1493–1528) made Islam the official religion, built mosques, and brought Muslim scholars, including al-Maghili (d.1504), the founder of an important tradition of Sudanic African Muslim scholarship, to Gao.[15]

text: Although these western empires had little political influence on the Nigerian savanna before 1500 they had a strong cultural and economic impact that became more pronounced in the 16th century, especially because these states became associated with the spread of Islam and trade. Throughout the 16th-century much of northern Nigeria paid homage to Songhai in the west or to Borno, a rival empire in the east.

text: Kanem-Bornu Empire[edit]

text: Borno's history is closely associated with Kanem, which had achieved imperial status in the Lake Chad basin by the 13th century. Kanem expanded westward to include the area that became Borno. The mai (king) of Kanem and his court accepted Islam in the 11th century, as the western empires also had done. Islam was used to reinforce the political and social structures of the state although many established customs were maintained. Women, for example, continued to exercise considerable political influence.

text: The mai employed his mounted bodyguard and an inchoate army of nobles to extend Kanem's authority into Borno. By tradition, the territory was conferred on the heir to the throne to govern during his apprenticeship. In the 14th century, however, dynastic conflict forced the then-ruling group and its followers to relocate in Borno, where as a result the Kanuri emerged as an ethnic group in the late 14th and 15th centuries. The civil war that disrupted Kanem in the second half of the 14th century resulted in the independence of Borno.

text: Borno's prosperity depended on the trans-Sudanic slave trade and the desert trade in salt and livestock. The need to protect its commercial interests compelled Borno to intervene in Kanem, which continued to be a theater of war throughout the 15th century and into the 16th century. Despite its relative political weakness in this period, Borno's court and mosques under the patronage of a line of scholarly kings earned fame as centers of Islamic culture and learning.

text: De-colonial states, 1800–1948[edit]

text: Savanna states[edit]

text: During the 16th century, the Songhai Empire reached its peak, stretching from the Senegal and Gambia rivers and incorporating part of Hausaland in the east. Concurrently the Saifawa Dynasty of Borno conquered Kanem and extended control west to Hausa cities not under Songhai authority. Largely because of Songhai's influence, there was a blossoming of Islamic learning and culture. Songhai collapsed in 1591 when a Moroccan army conquered Gao and Timbuktu. Morocco was unable to control the empire and the various provinces, including the Hausa states, became independent. The collapse undermined Songhai's hegemony over the Hausa states and abruptly altered the course of regional history.

text: Borno reached its pinnacle under mai Idris Aloma (ca. 1569–1600) during whose reign Kanem was reconquered. The destruction of Songhai left Borno uncontested and until the 18th-century Borno dominated northern Nigeria. Despite Borno's hegemony the Hausa states continued to wrestle for ascendancy. Gradually Borno's position weakened; its inability to check political rivalries between competing Hausa cities was one example of this decline. Another factor was the military threat of the Tuareg centered at Agades who penetrated the northern districts of Borno. The major cause of Borno's decline was a severe drought that struck the Sahel and savanna from in the middle of the 18th century. As a consequence, Borno lost many northern territories to the Tuareg whose mobility allowed them to endure the famine more effectively. Borno regained some of its former might in the succeeding decades, but another drought occurred in the 1790s, again weakening the state.

text: Ecological and political instability provided the background for the jihad of Usman dan Fodio. The military rivalries of the Hausa states strained the region's economic resources at a time when drought and famine undermined farmers and herders. Many Fulani moved into Hausaland and Borno, and their arrival increased tensions because they had no loyalty to the political authorities, who saw them as a source of increased taxation. By the end of the 18th century, some Muslim ulema began articulating the grievances of the common people. Efforts to eliminate or control these religious leaders only heightened the tensions, setting the stage for jihad.[15]

text: According to the Encyclopedia of African History, "It is estimated that by the 1890s the largest slave population of the world, about 2 million people, was concentrated in the territories of the Sokoto Caliphate. The use of slave labor was extensive, especially in agriculture."[16]

text: Akwa Akpa[edit]

text:
The modern city of Calabar was founded in 1786 by Efik families who had left Creek Town, farther up the Calabar river, settling on the east bank in a position where they were able to dominate traffic with European vessels that anchored in the river, and soon becoming the most powerful in the region.[17]
Akwa Akpa became a center of the slave trade, where slaves were exchanged for European goods.[18]
Most slave ships that transported slaves from Calabar were English, and around 85% of these ships being from Bristol and Liverpool merchants.[19]
The main ethnic group taken out of Calabar as slaves were the Igbo, although they were not the main ethnicity in the area.[20]

text:
With the suppression of the slave trade, palm oil and palm kernels became the main exports.
The chiefs of Akwa Akpa placed themselves under British protection in 1884.[21]
From 1884 until 1906 Old Calabar was the headquarters of the Niger Coast Protectorate, after which Lagos became the main center.[21]
Now called Calabar, the city remained an important port shipping ivory, timber, beeswax, and palm produce until 1916, when the railway terminus was opened at Port Harcourt, 145 km to the west.[22]

text: A British sphere of influence[edit]

text: Following the Napoleonic wars, the British expanded trade with the Nigerian interior. In 1885, British claims to a West African sphere of influence received international recognition; and in the following year, the Royal Niger Company was chartered under the leadership of Sir George Taubman Goldie. In 1900, the company's territory came under the control of the British Government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria. On 1 January 1901, Nigeria became a British protectorate, part of the British Empire, the foremost world power at the time.

text: In 1914, the area was formally united as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Administratively, Nigeria remained divided into the Northern and Southern Provinces and Lagos Colony. Western education and the development of a modern economy proceeded more rapidly in the south than in the north, with consequences felt in Nigeria's political life ever since. Following World War II, in response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism and demands for independence, successive constitutions legislated by the British Government moved Nigeria toward self-government on a representative and increasingly federal basis. On 1 October 1954, the colony became the autonomous Federation of Nigeria. By the middle of the 20th century, the great wave for independence was sweeping across Africa. On 27 October 1958 Britain agreed that Nigeria would become an independent state on 1 October 1960.

text: Independence[edit]

text: The Federation of Nigeria was granted full independence on 1 October 1960 under a constitution that provided for a parliamentary government and a substantial measure of self-government for the country's three regions. From 1959 to 1960, Jaja Wachuku was the First Nigerian Speaker of the Nigerian Parliament, also called the "House of Representatives." Jaja Wachuku replaced Sir Frederick Metcalfe of Britain. Notably, as First Speaker of the House, Jaja Wachuku received Nigeria's Instrument of Independence, also known as Freedom Charter, on 1 October 1960, from Princess Alexandra of Kent, The Queen's representative at the Nigerian independence ceremonies.

text: The Federal government was given exclusive powers in defence, foreign relations, and commercial and fiscal policy. The monarch of Nigeria was still head of state but legislative power was vested in a bicameral parliament, executive power in a prime minister and cabinet, and judicial authority in a Federal Supreme Court. Political parties, however, tended to reflect the makeup of the three main ethnic groups. The Nigerian People's Congress (NPC) represented conservative, Muslim, largely Hausa and Fulani interests that dominated the Northern Region. The northern region of the country, consisting of three-quarters of the land area and more than half the population of Nigeria.[23] Thus the North dominated the federation government from the beginning of independence. In the 1959 elections held in preparation for independence, the NPC captured 134 seats in the 312-seat parliament.[23]

text: Capturing 89 seats in the federal parliament was the second largest party in the newly independent country the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC). The NCNC represented the interests of the Igbo- and Christian-dominated people of the Eastern Region of Nigeria.[23] and the Action Group (AG) was a left-leaning party that represented the interests of the Yoruba people in the West. In the 1959 elections, the AG obtained 73 seats.[23]

text: The first post-independence national government was formed by a conservative alliance of the NCNC and the NPC. Upon independence, it was widely expected that Ahmadu Bello the Sardauna of Sokoto, the undisputed strong man in Nigeria[24] who controlled the North, would become Prime Minister of the new Federation Government. However, Bello chose to remain as premier of the North and as party boss of the NPC, selected Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, a Hausa, to become Nigeria's first Prime Minister.

text:
The Yoruba-dominated AG became the opposition under its charismatic leader Chief Obafemi Awolowo. However, in 1962, a faction arose within the AG under the leadership of Ladoke Akintola who had been selected as premier of the West. The Akintola faction argued that the Yoruba peoples were losing their pre-eminent position in business in Nigeria to people of the Igbo tribe because the Igbo-dominated NCNC was part of the governing coalition and the AG was not.[23] The federal government Prime Minister, Balewa agreed with the Akintola faction and sought to have the AG join the government. The party leadership under Awolowo disagreed and replaced Akintola as premier of the West with one of their own supporters.
However, when the Western Region parliament met to approve this change, Akintola supporters in the parliament started a riot in the chambers of the parliament.[25] Fighting between the members broke out. Chairs were thrown and one member grabbed the parliamentary Mace and wielded it like a weapon to attack the Speaker and other members. Eventually, the police with tear gas were required to quell the riot. In subsequent attempts to reconvene the Western parliament, similar disturbances broke out.[25] Unrest continued in the West and contributed to the Western Region's reputation for, violence, anarchy and rigged elections.[26] Federal Government Prime Minister Balewa declared martial law in the Western Region and arrested Awolowo and other members of his faction charged them with treason. Akintola was appointed to head a coalition government in the Western Region. Thus, the AG was reduced to an opposition role in their own stronghold.[25]

text: First Republic[edit]

text: In October 1963 Nigeria proclaimed itself the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and former Governor General Nnamdi Azikiwe became the country's first President. From the outset, Nigeria's ethnic and religious tensions were magnified by the disparities in economic and educational development between the south and the north. The AG was manoeuvred out of control of the Western Region by the Federal Government and a new pro-government Yoruba party, the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), took over. Shortly afterwards the AG opposition leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was imprisoned to be without foundation. The 1965 national election produced a major realignment of politics and a disputed result that set the country on the path to civil war.[27] The dominant northern NPC went into a conservative alliance with the new Yoruba NNDP, leaving the Igbo NCNC to coalesce with the remnants of the AG in a progressive alliance. In the vote, widespread electoral fraud was alleged and riots erupted in the Yoruba West where heartlands of the AG discovered they had apparently elected pro-government NNDP representatives.

text: First period of military rule[edit]

text: On 15 January 1966 a group of army officers (the Young Majors) mostly south-eastern Igbos, overthrew the NPC-NNDP government and assassinated the prime minister and the premiers of the northern and western regions. However, the bloody nature of the Young Majors coup caused another coup to be carried out by General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi. The Young Majors went into hiding. Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna fled to Kwame Nkrumah's Ghana where he was welcomed as a hero.[28] Some of the Young Majors were arrested and detained by the Ironsi government. Among the Igbo people of the Eastern Region, these detainees were heroes.[29] In the Northern Region, however, the Hausa and Fulani people demanded that the detainees be placed on trial for murder.[29]

text:
The federal military government that assumed power under General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi was unable to quiet ethnic tensions on the issue or other issues. Additionally, the Ironsi government was unable to produce a constitution acceptable to all sections of the country. Most fateful for the Ironsi government was the decision to issue Decree No. 34 which sought to unify the nation.[30] Decree No. 34 sought to do away with the whole federal structure under which the Nigerian government had been organized since independence. Rioting broke out in the North.[31] The Ironsi government's efforts to abolish the federal structure and the renaming the country the Republic of Nigeria on 24 May 1966 raised tensions and led to another coup by largely northern officers in July 1966, which established the leadership of Major General Yakubu Gowon.[32] The name Federal Republic of Nigeria was restored on 31 August 1966. However, the subsequent massacre of thousands of Ibo in the north prompted hundreds of thousands of them to return to the south-east where increasingly strong Igbo secessionist sentiment emerged.
In a move towards greater autonomy to minority ethnic groups, the military divided the four regions into 12 states. However, the Igbo rejected attempts at constitutional revisions and insisted on full autonomy for the east.

text: The Central Intelligence Agency commented in October 1966 in a CIA Intelligence Memorandum that:[33]

text: "Africa's most populous country (population estimated at 48 million) is in the throes of a highly complex internal crisis rooted in its artificial origin as a British dependency containing over 250 diverse and often antagonistic tribal groups. The present crisis started" with Nigerian independence in 1960, but the federated parliament hid "serious internal strains. It has been in an acute stage since last January when a military coup d'état destroyed the constitutional regime bequeathed by the British and upset the underlying tribal and regional power relationships. At stake now are the most fundamental questions which can be raised about a country, beginning with whether it will survive as a single viable entity.

text: The situation is uncertain, with Nigeria, ..is sliding downhill faster and faster,  with less and less chance unity and stability. Unless present army leaders and contending tribal elements soon reach agreement on a new basis for the association and take some effective measures to halt a seriously deteriorating security situation, there will be increasing internal turmoil, possibly including civil war.

text: On 29 May 1967, Lt. Col. Emeka Ojukwu, the military governor of the eastern region who emerged as the leader of increasing Igbo secessionist sentiment, declared the independence of the eastern region as the Republic of Biafra on 30 May 1967.[34] The ensuing Nigerian Civil War resulted in an estimated 3.5 million deaths (mostly from starving children) before the war ended with Gowon's famous "No victor, no vanquished" speech in 1970.[35]

text: Following the civil war, the country turned to the task of economic development. The U.S. intelligence community concluded in November 1970 that "...The Nigerian Civil War ended with relatively little rancour. The Igbos were accepted as fellow citizens in many parts of Nigeria, but not in some areas of former Biafra where they were once dominant. Iboland is an overpopulated, economically depressed area where massive unemployment is likely to continue for many years.[36]

text: The U.S. analysts said that "...Nigeria is still very much a tribal society..." where local and tribal alliances count more than "national attachment. General Yakubu Gowon, head of the Federal Military Government (FMG) is the accepted national leader and his popularity has grown since the end of the war. The FMG is neither very efficient nor dynamic, but the recent announcement that it intends to retain power for six more years has generated little opposition so far. The Nigerian Army, vastly expanded during the war, is both the main support to the FMG and the chief threat to it. The troops are poorly trained and disciplined and some of the officers are turning to conspiracies and plotting. We think Gowon will have great difficulty in staying in office through the period which he said is necessary before the turnover of power to civilians. His sudden removal would dim the prospects for Nigerian stability."

text: "Nigeria's economy came through the war in better shape than expected." Problems exist with inflation, internal debt, and a huge military budget, competing with popular demands for government services. "The petroleum industry is expanding faster than expected and oil revenues will help defray military and social service expenditures... "Nigeria emerged from the war with a heightened sense of national pride mixed with an anti-foreign sentiment, and an intention to play a larger role in African and world affairs." British cultural influence is strong but its political influence is declining. The Soviet Union benefits from Nigerian appreciation of its help during the war, but is not trying for control. Nigerian relations with the US, cool during the war, are improving, but France may be seen as the future patron. "Nigeria is likely to take a more active role in funding liberation movements in southern Africa." Lagos, however, is not perceived as the "spiritual and bureaucratic capital of Africa"; Addis Ababa has that role...."

text: Foreign exchange earnings and government revenues increased spectacularly with the oil price rises of 1973-74. On July 29, 1975, Gen. Murtala Mohammed and a group of officers staged a bloodless coup, accusing Gen. Yakubu Gowon of corruption and delaying the promised return to civilian rule. General Mohammed replaced thousands of civil servants and announced a timetable for the resumption of civilian rule by 1 October 1979. He was assassinated on 13 February 1976 in an abortive coup and his chief of staff Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo became head of state.

text: Second Republic[edit]

text: A constituent assembly was elected in 1977 to draft a new constitution, which was published on 21 September 1978, when the ban on political activity was lifted. In 1979, five political parties competed in a series of elections in which Alhaji Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was elected president.[37] All five parties won representation in the National Assembly.

text: During the 1950s prior to independence, oil was discovered off the coast of Nigeria. Almost immediately, the revenues from oil began to make Nigeria a wealthy nation. However, the spike in oil prices from $3 per barrel to $12 per barrel, following the Yom Kipur War in 1973 brought a sudden rush of money to Nigeria.[38] Another sudden rise in the price of oil in 1979 to $19 per barrel occurred as a result of the lead up to the Iran–Iraq War.[38] All of this meant that by 1979, Nigeria was the sixth largest producer of oil in the world with revenues from oil of $24 billion per year.[37]

text: In August 1983, Shagari and the NPN were returned to power in a landslide victory with a majority of seats in the National Assembly and control of 12 state governments. But the elections were marred by violence and allegations of widespread vote rigging and electoral malfeasance, leading to legal battles over the results.[39]

text: On December 31, 1983, the military overthrew the Second Republic. Major General Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the leader of the Supreme Military Council (SMC), the country's new ruling body. The Buhari government was peacefully overthrown by the SMC's third-ranking member General Ibrahim Babangida in August 1985. Babangida (IBB) cited the misuse of power, violations of human rights by key officers of the SMC, and the government's failure to deal with the country's deepening economic crisis as justifications for the takeover. During his first days in office, President Babangida moved to restore freedom of the press and to release political detainees being held without charge. As part of a 15-month economic emergency plan, he announced pay cuts for the military, police, civil servants and the private sector. President Babangida demonstrated his intent to encourage public participation in decision making by opening a national debate on proposed economic reform and recovery measures. The public response convinced Babangida of intense opposition to an economic recession.

text: The abortive Third Republic[edit]

text: Head of State Babangida promised to return the country to civilian rule by 1990 which was later extended until January 1993. In early 1989 a constituent assembly completed a constitution and in the spring of 1989 political activity was again permitted. In October 1989 the government established two parties, the National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP); other parties were not allowed to register.

text: In April 1990 mid-level officers attempted unsuccessfully to overthrow the government and 69 accused plotters were executed after secret trials before military tribunals. In December 1990 the first stage of partisan elections was held at the local government level. Despite the low turnout, there was no violence and both parties demonstrated strength in all regions of the country, with the SDP winning control of a majority of local government councils.

text: In December 1991 state legislative elections were held and Babangida decreed that previously banned politicians could contest in primaries scheduled for August. These were cancelled due to fraud and subsequent primaries scheduled for September also were cancelled. All announced candidates were disqualified from standing for president once a new election format was selected. The presidential election was finally held on 12 June 1993, with the inauguration of the new president scheduled to take place 27 August 1993, the eighth anniversary of President Babangida's coming to power.

text: In the historic 12 June 1993 presidential elections, which most observers deemed to be Nigeria's fairest, early returns indicated that wealthy Yoruba businessman M. K. O. Abiola won a decisive victory. However, on 23 June, Babangida, using several pending lawsuits as a pretence, annulled the election, throwing Nigeria into turmoil. More than 100 were killed in riots before Babangida agreed to hand power to an interim government on 27 August 1993. He later attempted to renege this decision, but without popular and military support, he was forced to hand over to Ernest Shonekan, a prominent nonpartisan businessman. Shonekan was to rule until elections scheduled for February 1994. Although he had led Babangida's Transitional Council since 1993, Shonekan was unable to reverse Nigeria's economic problems or to defuse lingering political tension.

text: Sani Abacha[edit]

text: With the country sliding into chaos Defense Minister Sani Abacha assumed power and forced Shonekan's resignation on 17 November 1993. Abacha dissolved all democratic institutions and replaced elected governors with military officers. Although promising restoration of civilian rule he refused to announce a transitional timetable until 1995. Following the annulment of the June 12 election, the United States and others imposed sanctions on Nigeria including travel restrictions on government officials and suspension of arms sales and military assistance. Additional sanctions were imposed as a result of Nigeria's failure to gain full certification for its counter-narcotics efforts.

text: Although Abacha was initially welcomed by many Nigerians, disenchantment grew rapidly. Opposition leaders formed the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which campaigned to reconvene the Senate and other disbanded democratic institutions. On 11 June 1994 Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola declared himself president and went into hiding until his arrest on 23 June. In response, petroleum workers called a strike demanding that Abacha release Abiola and hand over power to him. Other unions joined the strike, bringing economic life around Lagos and the southwest to a standstill. After calling off a threatened strike in July the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) reconsidered a general strike in August after the government imposed conditions on Abiola's release. On 17 August 1994, the government dismissed the leadership of the NLC and the petroleum unions, placed the unions under appointed administrators, and arrested Frank Kokori and other labor leaders.

text: The government alleged in early 1995 that military officers and civilians were engaged in a coup plot. Security officers rounded up the accused, including former Head of State Obasanjo and his deputy, retired General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua. After a secret tribunal, most of the accused were convicted and several death sentences were handed down. In 1994 the government set up the Ogoni Civil Disturbances Special Tribunal to try Ogoni activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and others for their alleged roles in the killings of four Ogoni politicians. The tribunal sentenced Saro-Wiwa and eight others to death and they were executed on 10 November 1995.

text: On 1 October 1995 Abacha announced the timetable for a three-year transition to civilian rule. Only five political parties were approved by the regime and voter turnout for local elections in December 1997 was under 10%. On 20 December 1997, the government arrested General Oladipo Diya, ten officers, and eight civilians on charges of coup plotting. The accused were tried before a Gen Victor Malu military tribunal in which Diya and five others- Late Gen AK Adisa, Gen Tajudeen Olnrewaju, Late Col OO Akiyode, Major Seun Fadipe and a civilian Engr Bola Adebanjo were sentenced to death to die by firing squad. Abacha enforced authority through the federal security system which is accused of numerous human rights abuses, including infringements on freedom of speech, assembly, association, travel, and violence against women.

text: Abubakar's transition to civilian rule[edit]

text: Abacha died of heart failure on 8 June 1998 and was replaced by General Abdulsalami Abubakar. The military Provisional Ruling Council (PRC) under Abubakar commuted the sentences of those accused in the alleged coup during the Abacha regime and released almost all known civilian political detainees. Pending the promulgation of the constitution written in 1995, the government observed some provisions of the 1979 and 1989 constitutions. Neither Abacha nor Abubakar lifted the decree suspending the 1979 constitution, and the 1989 constitution was not implemented. The judiciary system continued to be hampered by corruption and lack of resources after Abacha's death. In an attempt to alleviate such problems Abubakar's government implemented a civil service pay raise and other reforms.

text: In August 1998 Abubakar appointed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct elections for local government councils, state legislatures and governors, the national assembly, and president. The NEC successfully held elections on 5 December 1998, 9 January 1999, 20 February, and 27 February 1999, respectively. For local elections, nine parties were granted provisional registration with three fulfilling the requirements to contest the following elections. These parties were the People's Democratic Party (PDP), the All People's Party (APP), and the predominantly Yoruba Alliance for Democracy (AD). Former military head of state Olusegun Obasanjo, freed from prison by Abubakar, ran as a civilian candidate and won the presidential election. The PRC promulgated a new constitution based largely on the suspended 1979 constitution, before the 29 May 1999 inauguration of the new civilian president. The constitution includes provisions for a bicameral legislature, the National Assembly consisting of a 360-member House of Representatives and a 109-member Senate.

text: Fourth Republic[edit]

text: The emergence of democracy in Nigeria on May 1999 ended 16 years of consecutive military rule. Olusegun Obasanjo inherited a country suffering economic stagnation and the deterioration of most democratic institutions. Obasanjo, a former general, was admired for his stand against the Abacha dictatorship, his record of returning the federal government to civilian rule in 1979, and his claim to represent all Nigerians regardless of religion.

text: The new President took over a country that faced many problems, including a dysfunctional bureaucracy, collapsed infrastructure, and a military that wanted a reward for returning quietly to the barracks. The President moved quickly and retired hundreds of military officers holding political positions, established a blue-ribbon panel to investigate human rights violations, released scores of persons held without charge, and rescinded numerous questionable licenses and contracts left by the previous regimes. The government also moved to recover millions of dollars in funds secreted to overseas accounts.

text: Most civil society leaders and Nigerians witnessed marked improvements in human rights and freedom of the press under Obasanjo. As Nigeria works out representational democracy, conflicts persist between the Executive and Legislative branches over appropriations and other proposed legislation. A sign of federalism has been the growing visibility of state governors and the inherent friction between Abuja and the state capitals over resource allocation.[40]

text: Communal violence has plagued the Obasanjo government since its inception. In May 1999 violence erupted in Kaduna State over the succession of an Emir resulting in more than 100 deaths. In November 1999, the army destroyed the town of Odi, Bayelsa State and killed scores of civilians in retaliation for the murder of 12 policemen by a local gang. In Kaduna in February–May 2000 over 1,000 people died in rioting over the introduction of criminal Shar'ia in the State. Hundreds of ethnic Hausa were killed in reprisal attacks in south-eastern Nigeria. In September 2001, over 2,000 people were killed in inter-religious rioting in Jos. In October 2001, hundreds were killed and thousands displaced in communal violence that spread across the states of Benue, Taraba, and Nasarawa. On 1 October 2001 Obasanjo announced the formation of a National Security Commission to address the issue of communal violence. Obasanjo was reelected in 2003.

text: The new president faces the daunting task of rebuilding a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement. Additionally, the Obasanjo administration must defuse longstanding ethnic and religious tensions if it hopes to build a foundation for economic growth and political stability.  Currently, there is conflict in the Niger Delta over the environmental destruction caused by oil drilling and the ongoing poverty in the oil-rich region.

text: A further major problem created by the oil industry is the drilling of pipelines by the local population in an attempt to drain off the petroleum for personal use or as a source of income. This often leads to major explosions and high death tolls.[41] Particularly notable disasters in this area have been: 1) October 1998, Jesse, 1100 deaths, 2) July 2000, Jesse, 250 deaths, 3) September 2004, near Lagos, 60 deaths, 4) May 2006, Ilado, approx. 150-200 deaths (current estimate).[42]

text: Two militants of an unknown faction shot and killed Ustaz Ja'afar Adam, a northern Muslim religious leader and Kano State official, along with one of his disciples in a mosque in Kano during dawn prayers on 13 April 2007. Obasanjo had recently stated on national radio that he would "deal firmly" with election fraud and violence advocated by "highly placed individuals." His comments were interpreted by some analysts as a warning to his Vice President and 2007 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.[43]

text: In the 2007 general election, Umaru Yar'Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, both of the People's Democratic Party, were elected President and Vice President, respectively. The election was marred by electoral fraud, and denounced by other candidates and international observers.[44][45]

text: Yar'Adua's sickness and Jonathan's successions[edit]

text: Yar'Adua's presidency was fraught with uncertainty as media reports said he suffered from kidney and heart disease. In November 2009, he fell ill and was flown out of the country to Saudi Arabia for medical attention. He remained incommunicado for 50 days, by which time rumours were rife that he had died. This continued until the BBC aired an interview that was allegedly done via telephone from the president's sick bed in Saudi Arabia. As of January 2010, he was still abroad.

text: In February 2010, Goodluck Jonathan began serving as acting President in the absence of Yaradua.[46] In May 2010, the Nigerian government learned of Yar'Adua's death after a long battle with existing health problems and an undisclosed illness. This lack of communication left the new acting President Jonathan with no knowledge of his predecessor's plans. Yar'Adua's Hausa-Fulani background gave him a political base in the northern regions of Nigeria, while Goodluck does not have the same ethnic and religious affiliations. This lack of primary ethnic support makes Jonathan a target for militaristic overthrow or regional uprisings in the area. With the increase of resource spending and oil exportation, Nigerian GDP and HDI (Human Development Index) have risen phenomenally since the economically stagnant rule of Sani Abacha, but the primary population still survives on less than $2 USD per day. Goodluck Jonathan called for new elections and stood for re-election in April 2011, which he won.[47][48] However, his re-election bid in 2015 was truncated with the emergence of former military ruler General Muhammadu Buhari, mainly on his inability to quell the rising insecurity in the country. General Muhammadu Buhari was declared the winner of the 2015 presidential elections. General Muhammadu Buhari took over the helm of affairs in May 2015 after a peaceful transfer of power from the Jonathan led administration.

text: Historiography[edit]

text: The Ibadan School dominated the academic study of Nigerian history until the 1970s. It arose at the University of Ibadan in the 1950s and remained dominant until the 1970s. The University of Ibadan was the first university to open in Nigeria, and its scholars set up the history departments at most of Nigeria's other universities, spreading the Ibadan historiography. Its scholars also wrote the textbooks that were used at all levels of the Nigerian education system for many years. The school's output appears in the "Ibadan History Series."[49]

text: The leading scholars of the Ibadan School include Saburi Biobaku, Kenneth Dike, J. F. A. Ajayi, Adiele Afigbo, E. A. Ayandele, O. Ikime and Tekena Tamuno. Foreign scholars often associated with the school include Michael Crowder, Abdullahi Amith, J. B. Webster, R. J. Gavin, Robert Smith, and John D. Omer-Cooper. The school was characterized by its overt Nigerian nationalism and it was geared towards forging a Nigerian identity through publicizing the glories of pre-colonial history. The school was quite traditional in its subject matter, being largely confined to the political history that colleagues in Europe and North America were then rejecting. It was very modern, however, in the sources used. Much use was made of oral history and throughout the school took a strongly interdisciplinary approach to gather information. This was especially true after the founding of the Institute for African Studies that brought together experts from many disciplines.

text: The Ibadan School began to decline in importance the 1970s. The Nigerian Civil War led some to question whether Nigeria was, in fact, a unified nation with a national history. At the same time, rival schools developed. At Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria, the Islamic Legitimist school arose that rejected Western models in favour of the scholarly tradition of the Sokoto Caliphate and the Islamic world. From other parts of Africa, the Neo-Marxist school arrived and gained a number of supporters. Social, economic, and cultural history also began to grow in prominence.

text: In the 1980s Nigerian scholarship, in general, began to decline, and the Ibadan School was much affected. The military rulers looked upon the universities with deep suspicion and they were poorly funded. Many top minds were co-opted with plum jobs in the administration and left academia. Others left the country entirely for jobs at universities in the West. The economic collapse of the 1980s also greatly hurt the scholarly community, especially the sharp devaluation of the Nigerian currency. This made inviting foreign scholars, subscribing to journals, and attending conferences vastly more expensive. Many of the domestic journals, including the Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, faltered and were only published rarely, if at all.[50]


document_title: England national football team

question_text: who is number 7 in england football team

question_tokens: who is number 7 in england football team

root

text: England national football team

text: History[edit]

text:
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tag: table

text: The England national football team is the joint-oldest in the world; it was formed at the same time as Scotland. A representative match between England and Scotland was played on 5 March 1870, having been organised by the Football Association. A return fixture was organised by representatives of Scottish football teams on 30 November 1872.

tag: p

text: This match, played at Hamilton Crescent in Scotland, is viewed as the first official international football match, because the two teams were independently selected and operated, rather than being the work of a single football association.[5] Over the next forty years, England played exclusively with the other three Home Nations—Scotland, Wales and Ireland—in the British Home Championship.

text: At first, England had no permanent home stadium. They joined FIFA in 1906 and played their first ever games against countries other than the Home Nations on a tour of Central Europe in 1908. Wembley Stadium was opened in 1923 and became their home ground. The relationship between England and FIFA became strained, and this resulted in their departure from FIFA in 1928, before they rejoined in 1946. As a result, they did not compete in a World Cup until 1950, in which they were beaten in a 1–0 defeat by the United States, failing to get past the first round in one of the most embarrassing defeats in the team's history.[6]

text: Their first defeat on home soil to a foreign team was a 0–2 loss to the Republic of Ireland, on 21 September 1949 at Goodison Park. A 6–3 loss in 1953 to Hungary, was their second defeat by a foreign team at Wembley. In the return match in Budapest, Hungary won 7–1. This stands as England's largest ever defeat. After the game, a bewildered Syd Owen said, "it was like playing men from outer space".[7] In the 1954 FIFA World Cup, England reached the quarter-finals for the first time, and lost 4–2 to reigning champions Uruguay.

text: Although Walter Winterbottom was appointed as England's first ever full-time manager in 1946, the team was still picked by a committee until Alf Ramsey took over in 1963. The 1966 FIFA World Cup was hosted in England and Ramsey guided England to victory with a 4–2 win against West Germany after extra time in the final, during which Geoff Hurst famously scored a hat-trick. In UEFA Euro 1968, the team reached the semi-finals for the first time, being eliminated by Yugoslavia.

text: England qualified for the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico as reigning champions, and reached the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by West Germany. England had been 2–0 up, but were eventually beaten 3–2 after extra time. They failed in qualification for the 1974, leading to Ramsey's dismissal, and 1978 FIFA World Cups. Under Ron Greenwood, they managed to qualify for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain (the first time competitively since 1962); despite not losing a game, they were eliminated in the second group stage.

text: The team under Bobby Robson fared better as England reached the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup, losing 2–1 to Argentina in a game made famous by two goals by Maradona for very contrasting reasons, before losing every match in UEFA Euro 1988. They next went on to achieve their second best result in the 1990 FIFA World Cup by finishing fourth – losing again to West Germany in a semi-final finishing 1–1 after extra time, then 3–4 in England's first penalty shoot-out.

text: Despite losing to Italy in the third place play-off, the members of the England team were given bronze medals identical to the Italians’. The England team of 1990 were welcomed home as heroes and thousands of people lined the streets, for a spectacular open-top bus parade. However, the team did not win any matches in UEFA Euro 1992, drawing with tournament winners Denmark, and later with France, before being eliminated by host nation Sweden.

text: The 1990s saw four England managers, each in the role for a relatively brief period. Graham Taylor was Robson's successor, but resigned after England failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. At UEFA Euro 1996, held in England, Terry Venables led England, equalling their best performance at a European Championship, reaching the semi-finals as they did in 1968, before exiting via a penalty shoot-out loss to Germany.[8]

text: He resigned following investigations into his financial activities.[9] His successor, Glenn Hoddle, similarly left the job for non-footballing reasons after just one international tournament – the 1998 FIFA World Cup — in which England were eliminated in the second round again by Argentina and again on penalties (after a 2–2 draw). Following Hoddle's departure, Kevin Keegan took England to UEFA Euro 2000, but performances were disappointing and he resigned shortly afterwards.

text: Sven-Göran Eriksson took charge of the team between 2001 and 2006, and was the first non-English manager of England. He guided England to the quarter-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2004, and the 2006 FIFA World Cup. England lost only five competitive matches during the Swede's tenure, and England rose to number four in the world ranking under his guidance. Eriksson's contract was extended by the Football Association by two years, to include UEFA Euro 2008. However, it was terminated by them at the 2006 World Cup's conclusion.

text: Steve McClaren was then appointed as head coach, and was sacked unanimously by The Football Association on 22 November 2007, after failing to get the team to Euro 2008. The following month, he was replaced by a second foreign manager, Italian Fabio Capello, whose experience included stints at Juventus and Real Madrid.

text: England won all but one of their qualifying games for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but at the tournament itself, England drew their opening two games; this led to questions about the team's spirit, tactics and ability to handle pressure.[10] They progressed to the next round, however, where they were beaten 4–1 by Germany, their heaviest defeat in a World Cup finals tournament match.

text: In February 2012, Capello resigned from his role as England manager, following a disagreement with the FA over their request to remove John Terry from team captaincy after accusations of racial abuse concerning the player.[11] Following this, there was media speculation that Harry Redknapp would take the job. However, on 1 May 2012, Roy Hodgson was announced as the new manager, just six weeks before UEFA Euro 2012.[12] England managed to finish top of their group, winning two and drawing one of their fixtures, but exited the Championships in the quarter-finals via a penalty shoot-out, this time to Italy.[13]

text: In the 2014 FIFA World Cup, England were eliminated at the group stage for the first time since the 1958 World Cup, and the first time at a major tournament since Euro 2000.[14] England's points total of one from three matches was its worst ever in the World Cup, obtaining one point from drawing against Costa Rica in their last match.[15] England qualified for UEFA Euro 2016, with 10 wins from 10 qualifying matches,[16] but were ultimately eliminated in the Round of 16, losing 2–1 to Iceland.[17] Hodgson resigned as manager immediately,[18] and just under a month later was replaced by Sam Allardyce.[19] After only 67 days Allardyce resigned from his managerial post by mutual agreement, after alleged breach of rules of the FA, making him the shortest serving permanent England manager. However, because his sole game as England manager was a 1–0 victory against Slovakia, he left the job with a 100% win rate, the best any England manager in history has ever had.[20]

text: Gareth Southgate, then the coach of the England under-21 team, was put in temporary charge of the national team until November of that year.,[21] before being given the position on a permanent basis.[22] Under Southgate, England finished 1st in the qualifying group for the FIFA World Cup 2018, remaining unbeaten in the process.[23] At the tournament, held in Russia, England came second in their group, behind Belgium and ahead of Tunisia and debutants Panama.[24][25][26][27][28] They defeated Colombia on penalties in the first knock-out round,[29][30] and then beat Sweden 2-0 in the quarter-final to reach only their third World Cup semi-final.[31][32] In the semi-final, they were beaten 2-1 in extra time by Croatia.[33][34][35] England were beaten by Belgium, 2-0, in the third place match.[36]

text: Team image[edit]

text: Colours[edit]

text: Wikimedia Commons has media related to England national football team kits.

text: England's traditional home colours are white shirts, navy blue shorts and white or black socks. The team has periodically worn an all-white kit.

text: Although England's first away kits were blue, England's traditional away colours are red shirts, white shorts and red socks. In 1996, England's away kit was changed to grey shirts, shorts and socks. This kit was only worn three times, including against Germany in the semi-final of Euro 1996 but the deviation from the traditional red was unpopular with supporters and the England away kit remained red until 2011, when a navy blue away kit was introduced. The away kit is also sometimes worn during home matches, when a new edition has been released to promote it.

text: England have occasionally had a third kit. At the 1970 World Cup England wore a third kit with pale blue shirts, shorts and socks against Czechoslovakia. They had a kit similar to Brazil's, with yellow shirts, yellow socks and blue shorts which they wore in the summer of 1973. For the World Cup in 1986 England had a third kit of pale blue, imitating that worn in Mexico sixteen years before and England retained pale blue third kits until 1992, but they were rarely used.

text: Umbro first agreed to manufacture the kit in 1954 and since then has supplied most of the kits, the exceptions being from 1959–1965 with Bukta and 1974–1984 with Admiral. Nike purchased Umbro in 2008 and took over as kit supplier in 2013 following their sale of the Umbro brand.[37]

text: Logo[edit]

text: The motif of the England national football team has three lions passant guardant, the emblem of King Richard I, who reigned from 1189 to 1199.[38] In 1872, English players wore white jerseys emblazoned with the three lions crest of the Football Association.[39] The lions, often blue, have had minor changes to colour and appearance.[40] Initially topped by a crown, this was removed in 1949 when the FA was given an official coat of arms by the College of Arms; this introduced ten Tudor roses, one for each of the regional branches of the FA.[39][41] Since 2003, England top their logo with a star to recognise their World Cup win in 1966; this was first embroidered onto the left sleeve of the home kit, and a year later was moved to its current position, first on the away shirt.[42]

text: Kit manufacturer[edit]

text:
Manufacturer

Period

Umbro
1954–1961

Bukta
1959–1965

Umbro
1965–1974

Admiral
1974–1984

Umbro
1984–2013

Nike
2013–

text: Kit deals[edit]

text:
Kit supplier

Period

Contract date

Contract duration

Value

Notes

Nike

2013–present

3 September 2012

Spring 2013–July 2018 (5 years)[43]

Total £125m[44](£25m per year)

13 December 2016

August 2018–2030 (12 years)

Total £400m[45](£33.3m per year)

text: Home stadium[edit]

text: For the first fifty years of their existence, England played their home matches all around the country. They initially used cricket grounds before later moving on to football clubs' stadiums. The original Empire Stadium was built in Wembley, London, for the British Empire Exhibition.

text: England played their first match at the stadium in 1924 against Scotland and for the next 27 years Wembley was used as a venue for matches against Scotland only. The stadium later became known simply as Wembley Stadium and it became England's permanent home stadium during the 1950s. In October 2000, the stadium closed its doors, ending with a defeat.

text: This stadium was demolished during the period of 2002–2003, and work began to completely rebuild it. During this time, England played at venues across the country, though by the time of the 2006 World Cup qualification, this had largely settled down to having Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium as the primary venue, with Newcastle United's St. James' Park used on occasions when Old Trafford was unavailable.

text: They returned to the new Wembley Stadium in March 2007. The stadium is now owned by the Football Association, via its subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Limited.

text: Media coverage[edit]

text: All England matches are broadcast with full commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live. From the 2008–09 season until the 2017–18 season, England's home and away qualifiers, and friendlies both home and away are broadcast live on ITV (often with the exception of STV, the ITV franchisee in central and northern Scotland). England's away qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup were shown on Setanta Sports until that company's collapse. As a result of Setanta Sports's demise, England's World Cup qualifier in Ukraine on 10 October 2009 was shown in the United Kingdom on a pay-per-view basis via the internet only. This one-off event was the first time an England game had been screened in such a way. The number of subscribers, paying between £4.99 and £11.99 each, was estimated at between 250,000 and 300,000 and the total number of viewers at around 500,000.[46]

text: Coaching staff[edit]

text:
Manager

 Gareth Southgate

Assistant Manager

 Steve Holland

First Team Coach

 Jack Butler

Goalkeeping Coach

 Martyn Margetson

Striker Coach

 Allan Russell

First-Team Doctor

 Ian Beasley

Fitness Coach

 Chris Neville

Masseur

 Mark Sertori

Physiotherapist

 Gary Lewin

text: Players[edit]

text: Current squad[edit]

text:
The following players were called up to the England squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and preceding friendlies.[47][48][49]
Caps and goals correct as of: 14 July 2018, after the match against Belgium.

text:
No.

Pos.

Player

Date of birth (age)

Caps

Goals

Club

1

1GK

Jordan Pickford

 (1994-03-07) 7 March 1994 (age 24)

10

0

 Everton

13

1GK

Jack Butland

 (1993-03-10) 10 March 1993 (age 25)

8

0

 Stoke City

23

1GK

Nick Pope

 (1992-04-19) 19 April 1992 (age 26)

1

0

 Burnley

2

2DF

Kyle Walker

 (1990-05-28) 28 May 1990 (age 28)

40

0

 Manchester City

3

2DF

Danny Rose

 (1990-07-02) 2 July 1990 (age 28)

23

0

 Tottenham Hotspur

5

2DF

John Stones

 (1994-05-28) 28 May 1994 (age 24)

33

2

 Manchester City

6

2DF

Harry Maguire

 (1993-03-05) 5 March 1993 (age 25)

12

1

 Leicester City

12

2DF

Kieran Trippier

 (1990-09-19) 19 September 1990 (age 27)

13

1

 Tottenham Hotspur

15

2DF

Gary Cahill RET

 (1985-12-19) 19 December 1985 (age 32)

61

5

 Chelsea

16

2DF

Phil Jones

 (1992-02-21) 21 February 1992 (age 26)

27

0

 Manchester United

18

2DF

Ashley Young

 (1985-07-09) 9 July 1985 (age 33)

39

7

 Manchester United

22

2DF

Trent Alexander-Arnold

 (1998-10-07) 7 October 1998 (age 19)

2

0

 Liverpool

4

3MF

Eric Dier

 (1994-01-15) 15 January 1994 (age 24)

32

3

 Tottenham Hotspur

7

3MF

Jesse Lingard

 (1992-12-15) 15 December 1992 (age 25)

18

2

 Manchester United

8

3MF

Jordan Henderson

 (1990-06-17) 17 June 1990 (age 28)

44

0

 Liverpool

10

3MF

Raheem Sterling

 (1994-12-08) 8 December 1994 (age 23)

44

2

 Manchester City

17

3MF

Fabian Delph

 (1989-11-21) 21 November 1989 (age 28)

15

0

 Manchester City

20

3MF

Dele Alli

 (1996-04-11) 11 April 1996 (age 22)

30

3

 Tottenham Hotspur

21

3MF

Ruben Loftus-Cheek

 (1996-01-23) 23 January 1996 (age 22)

8

0

 Chelsea

9

4FW

Harry Kane (Captain [50])

 (1993-07-28) 28 July 1993 (age 25)

30

19

 Tottenham Hotspur

11

4FW

Jamie Vardy RET

 (1987-01-11) 11 January 1987 (age 31)

26

7

 Leicester City

14

4FW

Danny Welbeck

 (1990-11-26) 26 November 1990 (age 27)

40

16

 Arsenal

19

4FW

Marcus Rashford

 (1997-10-31) 31 October 1997 (age 20)

25

3

 Manchester United

text: Recent call-ups[edit]

text: The following players have also been called up to the England squad within the last twelve months.

text:
Pos.

Player

Date of birth (age)

Caps

Goals

Club

Latest call-up

GK

Tom Heaton

 (1986-04-15) 15 April 1986 (age 32)

3

0

 Burnley

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE

GK

Joe Hart

 (1987-04-19) 19 April 1987 (age 31)

75

0

 Burnley

v.  Italy, 27 March 2018

GK

Angus Gunn

 (1996-01-22) 22 January 1996 (age 22)

0

0

 Southampton

v.  Brazil, 14 November 2017

GK

Fraser Forster

 (1988-03-17) 17 March 1988 (age 30)

6

0

 Southampton

v.  Lithuania, 8 October 2017

DF

James Tarkowski

 (1992-11-19) 19 November 1992 (age 25)

1

0

 Burnley

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE / INJ

DF

Joe Gomez

 (1997-05-23) 23 May 1997 (age 21)

3

0

 Liverpool

v.  Italy, 27 March 2018

DF

Alfie Mawson

 (1994-01-19) 19 January 1994 (age 24)

0

0

 Fulham

v.  Italy, 27 March 2018

DF

Ryan Bertrand

 (1989-08-05) 5 August 1989 (age 29)

19

1

 Southampton

v.  Netherlands, 23 March 2018

DF

Michael Keane

 (1993-01-11) 11 January 1993 (age 25)

4

0

 Everton

v.  Brazil, 14 November 2017

DF

Chris Smalling

 (1989-11-22) 22 November 1989 (age 28)

31

1

 Manchester United

v.  Lithuania, 8 October 2017

DF

Aaron Cresswell

 (1989-12-15) 15 December 1989 (age 28)

3

0

 West Ham United

v.  Lithuania, 8 October 2017

MF

Adam Lallana

 (1988-05-10) 10 May 1988 (age 30)

34

3

 Liverpool

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE

MF

Jake Livermore

 (1989-11-14) 14 November 1989 (age 28)

7

0

 West Bromwich Albion

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE

MF

Lewis Cook

 (1997-02-03) 3 February 1997 (age 21)

1

0

 Bournemouth

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE

MF

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

 (1993-08-15) 15 August 1993 (age 25)

32

6

 Liverpool

v.  Italy, 27 March 2018

MF

Jack Wilshere

 (1992-01-01) 1 January 1992 (age 26)

34

2

 West Ham United

v.  Netherlands, 23 March 2018

MF

Jack Cork

 (1989-06-25) 25 June 1989 (age 29)

1

0

 Burnley

v.  Brazil, 14 November 2017

MF

Harry Winks

 (1996-02-02) 2 February 1996 (age 22)

1

0

 Tottenham Hotspur

v.  Germany, 10 November 2017

MF

Nathaniel Chalobah

 (1994-12-12) 12 December 1994 (age 23)

0

0

 Watford

v.  Slovakia, 4 September 2017

FW

Tammy Abraham

 (1997-10-02) 2 October 1997 (age 20)

2

0

 Chelsea

v.  Brazil, 14 November 2017

FW

Dominic Solanke

 (1997-09-14) 14 September 1997 (age 20)

1

0

 Liverpool

v.  Brazil, 14 November 2017

FW

Jermain Defoe

 (1982-10-07) 7 October 1982 (age 35)

57

20

 Bournemouth

v.  Lithuania, 8 October 2017

FW

Daniel Sturridge

 (1989-09-01) 1 September 1989 (age 28)

26

8

 Liverpool

v.  Lithuania, 8 October 2017

INJ Withdrew from latest squad due to injury
PRE Preliminary squad / standby
RET Player retired from the national team

text: Results and fixtures[edit]

text:
1 September 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Malta

0–4

 England

showTa' Qali, Malta

19:45 BST

Report

Kane  53', 90+2'Bertrand  85'Welbeck  90+1'

Stadium: Ta' Qali National Stadium Attendance: 16,994Referee: Artur Dias Soares (Portugal)

text:
4 September 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

England

2–1

 Slovakia

showLondon, England

19:45 BST

Dier  37'Rashford  59'

Report

Lobotka  3'

Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 67,823Referee: Clément Turpin (France)

text:
5 October 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

England

1–0

 Slovenia

showLondon, England

19:45 BST

Kane  90+4'

Report

Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 61,598Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)

text:
8 October 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Lithuania

0–1

 England

showVilnius, Lithuania

17:00 BST

Report

Kane  27' (pen.)

Stadium: LFF Stadium Attendance: 5,067Referee: Orel Grinfeld (Israel)

text:
10 November 2017 Friendly

England

0–0

 Germany

showLondon, England

20:00 GMT

Gomez  45+1'Livermore  59'

Report

Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 81,382Referee: Pawel Raczkowski (Poland)

text:
14 November 2017 Friendly

England

0–0

 Brazil

showLondon, England

20:00 GMT

Livermore  54'

Report

Alves  56'

Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 84,595Referee: Artur Dias Soares (Portugal)

text:
23 March 2018 Friendly

Netherlands

0–1

 England

showAmsterdam, Netherlands

19:45 GMT

Report

Lingard  59'

Stadium: Amsterdam Arena Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (Spain)

text:
27 March 2018 Friendly

England

1–1

 Italy

showLondon, England

20:00 BST

Vardy  26'Oxlade-Chamberlain  40'Walker  72'Young  83'

Report

Insigne  87' (pen.)

Stadium: Wembley Stadium Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany)

text:
2 June 2018 Friendly

England

2–1

 Nigeria

showLondon, England

17:15 BST

Cahill  7'Kane  39'Sterling  68'

Report

Iwobi  47'Musa  77'

Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 70,025Referee: Marco Guida (Italy)

text:
7 June 2018 Friendly

England

2–0

 Costa Rica

showLeeds, England

20:00 BST

Rashford  13'  Welbeck  76'

Report

Matarrita  68' González  69'

Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 36,104Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)

text:
18 June 2018 2018 WC Group G

Tunisia

1–2

 England

showVolgograd, Russia

19:00 BST

Sassi  35' (pen.)

Report

Kane  11', 90+1'Walker  34'

Stadium: Volgograd Arena Attendance: 41,064Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)

text:
24 June 2018 2018 WC Group G

England

6–1

 Panama

showNizhny Novgorod, Russia

13:00 BST

Stones  8', 40'Kane  22' (pen.), 45+1' (pen.), 62'Loftus-Cheek  23'Lingard  36'

Report

Cooper  10'Escobar  44'Murillo  72'Baloy  78'

Stadium: Nizhny Novgorod Stadium Attendance: 43,319Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)

text:
28 June 2018 2018 WC Group G

England

0–1

 Belgium

showKaliningrad, Russia

19:00 BST

Report

Tielemans  19'Dendoncker  33'Januzaj  51'

Stadium: Kaliningrad Stadium Attendance: 33,973Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)

text:
3 July 2018 2018 WC Round of 16

Colombia

1–1 (a.e.t.)(3–4 p)

 England

showMoscow, Russia

19:00 BST

Mina  90+3'

Report

Kane  57' (pen.)

Stadium: Spartak Stadium Attendance: 44,190Referee: Mark Geiger (United States)

Penalties

Falcao
Ju. Cuadrado
Muriel
Uribe
Bacca

 Kane
 Rashford
 Henderson
 Trippier
 Dier

text:
7 July 2018 2018 WC Quarter-finals

Sweden

0–2

 England

showSamara, Russia

15:00 BST

Report

Maguire  30'Alli  58'

Stadium: Cosmos Arena Attendance: 39,991Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)

text:
11 July 2018 2018 WC Semi-finals

Croatia

2–1 (a.e.t.)

 England

showMoscow, Russia

19:00 BST

Perišić  68'Mandžukić  109'

Report

Trippier  5'

Stadium: Luzhniki Stadium Attendance: 78,011Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)

text:
14 July 2018 2018 WC 3rd place

Belgium

2–0

 England

showSaint Petersburg, Russia

15:00 BST

Meunier  4'E. Hazard  82'

Report

Stadium: Krestovsky Stadium Attendance: 64,406Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

text:
8 September 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League A

England

v

 Spain

showLondon, England

19:45 BST

Stadium: Wembley Stadium

text:
11 September 2018 Friendly

England

v

  Switzerland

showLeicester, England

Stadium: King Power Stadium

text:
12 October 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League A

Croatia

v

 England

showRijeka, Croatia

19:45 BST

Stadium: Stadion Rujevica Attendance: [a]

text:
15 October 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League A

Spain

v

 England

showSeville, Spain

19:45 BST

Stadium: Estadio Benito Villamarín

text:
15 November 2018 Friendly

England

v

 United States

showLondon, England

Stadium: Wembley Stadium

text:
18 November 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League A

England

v

 Croatia

showLondon, England

14:00 GMT

Stadium: Wembley Stadium

text: Records[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Most capped players[edit]

text: Updated 9 October 2017.

text: Players in bold are still active, at least at club level.

text: Players with an equal number of caps are ranked in chronological order of reaching the milestone.

text:
#

Name

Career

Caps

Goals

Position

1

Peter Shilton

1970–1990

125

0

GK

2

Wayne Rooney

2003–2016

119

53

FW

3

David Beckham

1996–2009

115

17

MF

4

Steven Gerrard

2000–2014

114

21

MF

5

Bobby Moore

1962–1973

108

2

DF

6

Ashley Cole

2001–2014

107

0

DF

7

Bobby Charlton

1958–1970

106

49

MF

Frank Lampard

1999–2014

106

29

MF

9

Billy Wright

1946–1959

105

3

DF

10

Bryan Robson

1980–1991

90

26

MF

11

Michael Owen

1998–2008

89

40

FW

12

Kenny Sansom

1979–1988

86

1

DF

13

Gary Neville

1995–2007

85

0

DF

14

Ray Wilkins

1976–1986

84

3

MF

15

Rio Ferdinand

1997–2011

81

3

DF

16

Gary Lineker

1984–1992

80

48

FW

17

John Barnes

1983–1995

79

11

MF

18

Stuart Pearce

1987–1999

78

5

DF

John Terry

2003–2012

78

6

DF

20

Terry Butcher

1980–1990

77

3

DF

text: Top goalscorers[edit]

text: Updated 9 October 2017.

text:
#

Name

Career

Goals

Caps

Position

Average

1

Wayne Rooney

2003–2016

53

119

FW

0.4454

2

Bobby Charlton

1958–1970

49

106

MF

0.4622

3

Gary Lineker

1984–1992

48

80

FW

0.6000

4

Jimmy Greaves

1959–1967

44

57

FW

0.7719

5

Michael Owen

1998–2008

40

89

FW

0.4494

6

Nat Lofthouse

1950–1958

30

33

FW

0.9090

Alan Shearer

1992–2000

30

63

FW

0.4762

Tom Finney

1946–1958

30

76

FW

0.3947

9

Vivian Woodward

1903–1911

29

23

FW

1.2609

Frank Lampard

1999–2014

29

106

MF

0.2735

11

Steve Bloomer

1895–1907

28

23

FW

1.2174

12

David Platt

1989–1996

27

62

MF

0.4355

13

Bryan Robson

1981–1991

26

90

MF

0.2889

14

Geoff Hurst

1965–1972

24

49

FW

0.4898

15

Stan Mortensen

1947–1953

23

25

FW

0.9200

16

Tommy Lawton

1938–1948

22

23

FW

0.9565

Peter Crouch

2005–2010

22

42

FW

0.5238

18

Mick Channon

1972–1977

21

46

FW

0.4565

Kevin Keegan

1972–1982

21

63

FW

0.3333

Steven Gerrard

2000–2014

21

114

MF

0.1842

text: Competitive record[edit]

text: For the all-time record of the national team against opposing nations, see the team's all-time record page

text: FIFA World Cup[edit]

text: England first appeared at the 1950 FIFA World Cup, and have subsequently qualified for a total of 15 FIFA World Cup Finals tournaments, tied for sixth best by number of appearances. They are also tied for sixth by number of wins, alongside France and Spain. The national team is one of eight national teams to have won at least one FIFA World Cup title. The England team won their first and only World Cup title in 1966. The tournament was played on home soil, and England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the final. In 1990, England finished in fourth place, losing 2–1 to host nation Italy in the third place play-off, after losing on penalties to champions West Germany in the semi-final. They also finished in fourth place in 2018. The team also reached the quarter-final stage in 1954, 1962, 1970, 1986, 2002 and 2006.

text: England failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1974, 1978 and 1994. The team's earliest exit in the finals tournament was its elimination in the first round in 1950, 1958 and, most recently, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, after being defeated in both their opening two matches for the first time, versus Italy and Uruguay in Group D. In 1950, four teams remained after the first round, in 1958 eight teams remained and in 2014 sixteen teams remained. In 2010, England suffered its most resounding World Cup defeat, 4–1 to Germany, in the Round of 16. This after drawing with the United States and Algeria, and defeating Slovenia 1–0, in the group stage.

text:
Champions       Runners-up       Third place
     Fourth place

text:
FIFA World Cup record

FIFA World Cup qualification record

Manager(s)

Year

Result

Position

Pld

W

D *

L

GF

GA

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

 1930

Not a FIFA member

No qualification

None

 1934

Not a FIFA member

 1938

 1950

Group stage

8th

3

1

0

2

2

2

3

3

0

0

14

3

Winterbottom

 1954

Quarter-finals

7th

3

1

1

1

8

8

3

3

0

0

11

4

 1958

Group stage

11th

4

0

3

1

4

5

4

3

1

0

15

5

 1962

Quarter-finals

8th

4

1

1

2

5

6

4

3

1

0

16

2

 1966

Champions

1st

6

5

1

0

11

3

Qualified as hosts

Ramsey

 1970

Quarter-finals

8th

4

2

0

2

4

4

Qualified as defending champions

Ramsey

 1974

Did not qualify

4

1

2

1

3

4

 1978

6

5

0

1

15

4

Revie

 1982

Second group stage

6th

5

3

2

0

6

1

8

4

1

3

13

8

Greenwood

 1986

Quarter-finals

8th

5

2

1

2

7

3

8

4

4

0

21

2

Robson

 1990

Fourth Place

4th

7

3

3

1

8

6

6

3

3

0

10

0

 1994

Did not qualify

10

5

3

2

26

9

Taylor

 1998

Round of 16

9th

4

2

1

1

7

4

8

6

1

1

15

2

Hoddle

  2002

Quarter-finals

6th

5

2

2

1

6

3

8

5

2

1

16

6

Keegan, Wilkinson, Eriksson[52]

 2006

7th

5

3

2

0

6

2

10

8

1

1

17

5

Eriksson

 2010

Round of 16

13th

4

1

2

1

3

5

10

9

0

1

34

6

Capello

 2014

Group stage

26th

3

0

1

2

2

4

10

6

4

0

31

4

Hodgson

 2018

Fourth Place

4th

7

3

1

3

12

8

10

8

2

0

18

3

Allardyce, Southgate[53]

Total

1 title

15/21

69

29

21

19

91

64

108

73

24

11

271

67

text: UEFA European Championship[edit]

text: England's greatest achievements at the UEFA European Championship have been to finish in third place in 1968 and 1996. England hosted Euro 96, and have qualified for nine UEFA European Championship finals tournaments, tied for fourth best by number of appearances. The team has also reached the quarter-final on two recent occasions, in 2004 and 2012. The team's worst result in the competition was a first-round elimination in 1980, 1988, 1992 and 2000. The team did not enter in 1960, and failed to qualify for the finals in 1964, 1972, 1976, 1984, and 2008.

text:
UEFA European Championship record

UEFA European Championship qualification record

Manager(s)

Year

Round

Position

Pld

W

D *

L

GF

GA

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

 1960

Did not enter

 –

 –

 –

 –

 –

 –

 1964

Did not qualify

2

0

1

1

3

6

Winterbottom, Ramsey[54]

 1968

Third place

3rd of 4

2

1

0

1

2

1

8

6

1

1

18

6

Ramsey

 1972

Did not qualify[55]

8

5

2

1

16

6

Ramsey

 1976

Did not qualify

6

3

2

1

11

3

Revie

 1980

Group stage

6th of 8

3

1

1

1

3

3

8

7

1

0

22

5

Greenwood

 1984

Did not qualify

8

5

2

1

23

3

Robson

 1988

Group stage

7th of 8

3

0

0

3

2

7

6

5

1

0

19

1

 1992

Group stage

7th of 8

3

0

2

1

1

2

6

3

3

0

7

3

Taylor

 1996

Semi-finals

3rd of 16

5

2

3

0

8

3

Qualified as hosts

Venables

  2000

Group stage

11th of 16

3

1

0

2

5

6

10

4

4

2

16

5

Hoddle, Keegan[56]

 2004

Quarter-finals

5th of 16

4

2

1

1

10

6

8

6

2

0

14

5

Eriksson

  2008

Did not qualify

12

7

2

3

24

7

McClaren

  2012

Quarter-finals

5th of 16

4

2

2

0

5

3

8

5

3

0

17

5

Capello, Hodgson[57]

 2016

Round of 16

12th of 24

4

1

2

1

4

4

10

10

0

0

31

3

Hodgson

 2020

To be determined

TBD

Total

Third place (x2)

9/15

31

10

11

10

40

35

96

62

24

10

208

58

text: Minor tournaments[edit]

text:
Year

Round

Position

GP

W

D*

L

GS

GA

 1964 Taça de Nações
Group stage
3rd
3
0
1
2
2
7

 1976 USA Bicentennial Cup Tournament
Group stage
2nd
3
2
0
1
6
4

 1985 Rous Cup
One match
2nd
1
0
0
1
0
1

 1985 Ciudad de México Cup Tournament
Group stage
3rd
2
0
0
2
1
3

 1985 Azteca 2000 Tournament
Group stage
2nd
2
1
0
1
3
1

 1986 Rous Cup
Winners, one match
1st
1
1
0
0
2
1

  1987 Rous Cup
Group stage
2nd
2
0
2
0
1
1

  1988 Rous Cup
Winners, group stage
1st
2
1
1
0
2
1

  1989 Rous Cup
Winners, group stage
1st
2
1
1
0
2
0

 1991 England Challenge Cup
Winners, group stage
1st
2
1
1
0
5
3

 1993 U.S. Cup
Group stage
4th
3
0
1
2
2
5

 1995 Umbro Cup
Group stage
2nd
3
1
1
1
6
7

 1997 Tournoi de France
Winners, group stage
1st
3
2
0
1
3
1

 1998 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament
Group stage
2nd
2
1
1
0
1
0

 2004 FA Summer Tournament
Winners, group stage
1st
2
1
1
0
7
2

Total

6 titles
33
12
10
11
43
37

text: Honours and achievements[edit]

text: Major:

text: Regional:

text: British Home Championship

tag: ul

text: Rous Cup:

text: Other:

text: FIFA Fair Play Trophy: