Sport in the United Kingdom Sport in the United Kingdom Sport in the United Kingdom plays an important role in British culture. The United Kingdom has given birth to a range of major international sports including: football, rugby, both (union and league), cricket, netball, darts, golf, tennis, table tennis, badminton, squash, croquet, fives, bowls, modern rowing, hockey, boxing, water polo, snooker, billiards, and curling. This has meant that in the infancy of many sports, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland formed among the earliest separate governing bodies, national teams and domestic league competitions. After 1922 some sports formed separate bodies for Northern Ireland though some continued
Sport in the Cook Islands Sport in the Cook Islands Rugby league is the most popular sport in the Cook Islands, with soccer and rugby union as the next most popular/played sports. In September 2009, the country hosted the 2009 Pacific Mini Games. Rugby league is the most popular sport in the Cook Islands. The Cook Islands were introduced to rugby league in 1988, when the Cook Islands national rugby league team played their first match against the New Zealand Maori team. In the mid-1990s, rugby league in the Cook Islands received significant funding through the SuperLeague organisation; however, money from this source is no