Leicester - Sport

Sport

Professional & semi professional sports teams include: Leicester Tigers (rugby union), Leicester City (football), Leicester Lions (speedway), and the Leicestershire County Cricket Club. Leicester Shootfighters - Leicseter MMA Academy

Sports clubs include: Leicester Coritanian A.C. (athletics) and Leicester Penguins Swimming Club who were awarded Sports Club of the Year by the Leicester Mercury at their annual sports awards for 2007 & 2008.

Leicester Racecourse is located to the south of the city in Oadby.

After a period of success for the football, cricket and rugby teams around the turn of the millennium, Leicester was for some time dubbed (by the local press and local inhabitants at least) the sporting capital of the UK, and a statue commemorating this period was erected in the town centre.

Leicester Tigers on Welford Road are one of the most successful rugby union teams in Europe, having won the European cup twice, the first tier of English rugby eight times, and the Anglo-Welsh cup six times. Notable former players include England's Rugby World Cup winning captain Martin Johnson, Neil Back, Dean Richards and Austin Healey.

Leicester City have also enjoyed a fair degree of success. They have championed the second tier of the English league system on no less than six occasions, competed in the top flight regularly during their history, won three Football League Cups and reached the FA Cup Final four times although they have never won the trophy. In the 2008–09 season they competed in and won League One (third tier), to which they were relegated for the first time. Their current stadium is the King Power Stadium, situated south of the city centre and near to the site Filbert Street from which they relocated in 2002 after 111 years. Notable former managers include Jimmy Bloomfield, David Pleat, Brian Little, and Martin O'Neill. Notable former players include Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton, Frank Worthington, Gary Lineker, Alan Smith, Emile Heskey, Neil Lennon, Simon Grayson and Matt Elliott.

Motorcycle speedway racing has been staged in Leicester on and off since 1928. In the pioneer days speedway was staged at a track known as Leicester Super situated in Melton Road and at 'The Stadium' in Blackbird Road. Post war, the Leicester Hunters joined the National League Division Three in 1949 and operated at various levels until closure at the end of 1962. The sport was revived for a spell from 1968 before the sale and subsequent redevelopment of the site ended the first Leicester Lions era in 1983. Planning permission was granted in October 2009 for a brand-new speedway track at Beaumont Park, with Leicester Lions returning to action in 2011 in the Premier League.

Leicester is also home to the Leicester Falcons, an American football team that competes as part of the BAFA National Leagues and in 2011 was promoted to the BAFA Premier League, the highest tier of British American Football. The Falcons' home ground is located at Babington Community College, in the Beaumont Leys area of the city.

Leicester Phoenix are a rugby league club based in the centre of the city. The club was founded in 1986. After playing in different British Amateur Rugby League Association leagues (namely the Midlands and South West Amateur Rugby League and the East Midlands Amateur Rugby League) the Phoenix were one of the 10 founder members of the Rugby League Conference (then the Southern Conference League) in 1997 reaching the grand final in the inaugural season. Since then they have been one of the league's most consistent performers. Their 1st Grade Team currently compete in the Midlands Premier division of the Rugby League Conference.

Leicester Rowing Club is a rowing and sculling club based in the centre of the city on the River Soar. Formed in 1882 they represent Leicester in Regatta and Head Races around Great Britain and Worldwide. The club insignia is based on the mythical Wyvern and rowers compete in the club's colours of black and white.

The city also hosted British and World track cycling and Road Racing championships at its Saffron Lane velodrome in August 1970. The cycle track was improved specially for the event which was televised all over the world. Another first meant that sponsors were allowed to buy sections of the track to utilise for advertising purposes. This was also the first time that a public road – the A46 – was closed in the UK to allow the Road Race to take place:- See The Benny Foster Story published by Fretwell 1971. However, this was the second world championships to be hosted by the city, in 1883 the first ever Bicycling World Championships were held at the Belgrave Road Grounds.

In 1989 and 2009, the city hosted the British Special Olympics. This was the adopted charity for the Lord Mayor of Leicester 2008–2009,Councillor Manjula Sood.

Leicester Mixed Martial Arts Academy is the home of the Leicester Shootfighters (LSF) team. They are Leicestershire’s oldest and most accomplished MMA and Submission Wrestling team and one of the UK’s longest running MMA clubs having trained students for over 12 years.

Until its demolition in 1999 Granby Halls was a popular live music, exhibition and sports arena in the city. It was also notable as the long serving home of professional basketball team, the Leicester Riders, from 1980 until 1999.

The Dolly Rockit Rollers roller derby league are based in Leicester. They were ranked amongst the top eight UKRDA members for 2011, and played at the Association's 2012 championship tournament as a result.

Hockey Club are based at Leicester Grammar School in Great Glen.

Leicester was also the '2008 European City of Sport'.