Sport in the United Kingdom Until 2008, automatic promotion and relegation existed between Super League and the Championship when it was replaced by three-year licences for clubs to play in the former. Promotion and relegation returned to Super League and the Championship in 2015. The main knock-out competition is the Challenge Cup, which also includes clubs from France and Canada, and in the past has also included clubs from Russia. Rugby league is also played as an amateur sport, especially in the heartland areas, where the game is administered by BARLA. Since the rugby union authorities ended the discrimination against playing rugby league amateur numbers
Sport in Ireland a crucial match in the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in Wales. Paul McGinley captained the winning European team for the 2014 Ryder Cup. Cricket in Ireland is a minority sport. It has been played in Ireland since the early 19th century, and the game against Scotland (a match which has first-class status) has been played annually since 1909. The sport is organised on an all-island basis and is overseen by the Irish Cricket Union, founded in its present incarnation in 1923. Ireland has entered some domestic English tournaments since the early 1980s, but becoming an Associate Member of