Sažetak | Tourism is one the most complex socio-economic phenomena of modern era. It is really hard to find the right definition for it. Tourism influences, and is of great importance for every aspect of social and economic development. In the United Kingdom, tourism is one of the most important aspects in its economy, especially in London which has shown to be the city with the main income for the UK's economy. Beautiful countryside, lakes, rivers, mountains, historical and cultural monuments and castles are attributes that make the UK's tourism one of the best in Europe. There is another important segment of tourism in general and that is sports tourism. Sport is just another investment in tourism industry encouraging economic development. Sport in the UK plays a significant role, but the most important and the most famous one is football. It is a global phenomenon with a highly professional, almost scientific access to the game. It is a meeting place of antagonism and rivalry. There is some evidence that can put football history into ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. However, the real football history originates in England, the mother and home of football. Britain’s leading public schools started playing football matches against each other back in 18th century. Specifically, the first match was held in 1747 at Eton public school. Later, football developed to the most influential and famous sport as it is today. In the United Kingdom football is considered a national sport and is governed by the Football Association. Their football is structured in several leagues of which the Premier League is the leading one. Therefore, there are a lot of famous clubs, such as Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea in the Premier League, who over the decades have produced many exceptional players. It is very obvious that football influences tourism on a high level in the UK. The Premier League has many followers all around the world who will gladly visit the United Kingdom because of football. Research being done by VisitBritain shows how certain foreign football fans from different countries plan their trips to the United Kingdom. Most of them will come and watch their favourite club playing a match and stay in England for a little while. Accordingly, football actually attracts visitors and its job is to keep them in the destination as long as it can. |