The grounds once housed a football ground, which hosted the FA Cup final from 1895 to 1914 as well as London County Cricket Club games from 1900 to 1908, when they folded, and Crystal Palace F. C.

Wembley is best known for hosting football matches, having hosted the FA Cup annually as well as numerous England International fixtures.

The former Lillie Bridge Grounds ( which hosted the second FA Cup Final and the first ever amateur boxing matches ) was also in Fulham.

It hosted a total of 27 FA Cup semi-finals.

Maine Road, nicknamed the " Wembley of the North " by its designers, hosted the largest-ever crowd at an English club ground when 84, 569 attended an FA Cup tie against Stoke City on 3 March 1934.

The stadium has hosted FIFA World Cup football ( 1966 ), The 1996 European Championships ( Euro 96 ) and 27 FA Cup Semi Finals.

On 2 May 2010, the 57th anniversary of Blackpool's FA Cup Final victory, Blackpool hosted Bristol City for the final League game of the season.

The stadium also hosted international matches – both for England and in the 1948 Summer Olympics – and FA Cup semi-finals, as well as boxing, baseball and cricket matches.

It also hosted the FA Cup final from 1895 to 1914 as well as other sports.

Ironically the ground hosted an 8, 000 crowd without any problems for the visit of West Ham United in that year's 5th round FA Cup.

The Ladies ' club had previously hosted Arsenal Ladies there in an FA Women's Cup semi-final in March 2008.

The capacity at closure was 9, 500, but hosted United's record crowd of 22, 750 against Preston North End in an FA Cup sixth-round match on 29 February 1964.

Villa Park has hosted more FA Cup semi-finals than any other stadium, having hosted 55 matches in total.

Villa Park also hosted the 2012 FA Community Shield, as Wembley Stadium was unavailable due to it staging the final of the Olympic football tournament.

It is the most often used stadium in FA Cup semi-finals history, having hosted 55 semi-finals.

It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, Charity Shield matches, a League Cup final and England matches and, because of its high capacity, gained the nickname Wembley of the North.

Over the next 20 years the ground hosted a number of other representative games, including an England international trial, the 1904 FA Amateur Cup Final and an under-15s schoolboy international between England and Scotland.

With the modern passing game believed to have been innovated in London and with England being home to the oldest football clubs in the world dating from at least 1857, the world's oldest football trophy, the Youdan Cup, the first national competition, the FA Cup founded in 1871, and the first ever association football league ( 1888 ) as well as England having the first national football team that hosted the world's first ever international football match, a 1-1 draw with Scotland on 5 March 1870 at The Oval in London, England is considered the home of the game of football.

The ground has frequently hosted FA Cup semi-final matches as a neutral venue and several England international fixtures while the new Wembley Stadium was under construction.

Before the construction of Wembley Stadium in 1923, the FA Cup Final was hosted by a number of different grounds around England including Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, the stadium hosted its third FA Cup Final, hosting 62, 078 spectators for the replay of the 1970 final between Chelsea and Leeds United ; Chelsea won the match 2 – 1.

The inaugural Cricket World Cup was hosted in 1975 by England, the only nation able to put forward the resources to stage an event of such magnitude at that time.

South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya hosted the 2003 World Cup.

In 2007 the tournament was hosted by the West Indies ; the Cricket World Cup became the first such tournament to be hosted on all six populated continents.

The 2011 Cricket World Cup was jointly hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Tolka Park, Dalymount Park, UCD Bowl and Tallaght Stadium, along with the Carlisle Grounds in Bray, hosted all Group 3 games in the intermediary round of the 2011 UEFA Regions ' Cup.

In recent years, Enniskillen has hosted an array of international events, most notably, stages of the World Waterski World Cup annually from 2005 to 2007, at the Broadmeadow.

England won the World Cup in 1966, when they hosted the finals, defeating West Germany 4 – 2 in extra time in the final.

The 1966 World Cup was hosted in England and Alf 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.

Each year since 2001, Fort William has hosted a round of UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, and in 2007 it hosted the UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships (' The Worlds ').

In 2002, Indianapolis hosted the FIBA World Championship ( now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup ), an event that takes place on even years opposite the Olympic Games.

The Aberdeen Pavilion, built in 1898 in Ottawa was used for ice hockey in 1904 and is the oldest existing facility that has hosted Stanley Cup games.

The National Stadium hosted two group matches ( Pakistan v. South Africa on 29 February and Pakistan v. England on 3 March ), and a quarter-final match ( South Africa v. West Indies on 11 March ) during the 1996 Cricket World Cup.

The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World Cup, including the 3rd / 4th place play-off.

The Arms Park also hosted the inaugural Heineken Cup final of 1995-6 and the following year in 1996-7.

The National Stadium, which was used by Wales national rugby union team, was officially opened on 7 April 1984, however in 1997 it was demolished to make way for the Millennium Stadium in 1999, which hosted the 1999 Rugby World Cup and became the national stadium of Wales.

The MCG, often referred to by locals as " The G ", has also hosted other major events, including International Rules between the Australian Football League ( AFL ) and Gaelic Athletic Association, international Rugby union, State of Origin series ( rugby league ), FIFA World Cup qualifiers and International Friendly matches, serves as the finish line for the Melbourne Marathon and also major rock concerts.

The MCG hosted the historic 1992 Cricket World Cup final between Pakistan and England with a crowd of more than 87, 000.

The Montoneros tried to disrupt the World Cup Soccer Tournament being hosted in Argentina in 1978 by launching a number of bomb attacks.

* Lake Malta in Poznań hosted the World Rowing Championships in 2009 and has previously hosted some regattas in the Rowing World Cup.

South Korea has also hosted major international events such as the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 2002 World Cup Soccer Tournament ( co-hosted with Japan ).