The Rugby Football Union (RFU) was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 1886. It has since functioned within England as a society to promote and run the sport, including organising international matches for the England national team, educating and training players and officials and acting as the governing body for England.
The RFU is structured as an industrial and provident society, owned by over 2,000 member clubs, representing over 2.5 million registered players, and forms the largest rugby union society in the world, and one of the largest sports organisations in England. It is based at Twickenham Stadium, London.
In September 2010 the women's rugby body the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW) was integrated into the RFU as a "constituent body", and whilst it retains some independence within the organisation, its adoption of RFU structures and management effectively unify the men's and women's sport under a single governing body.
Read more about Rugby Football Union: International Connections, Director of Elite Rugby, Streamlining of RFU Structure
Famous quotes containing the words football and/or union:
“People stress the violence. That’s the smallest part of it. Football is brutal only from a distance. In the middle of it there’s a calm, a tranquility. The players accept pain. There’s a sense of order even at the end of a running play with bodies stewn everywhere. When the systems interlock, there’s a satisfaction to the game that can’t be duplicated. There’s a harmony.”
—Don Delillo (b. 1926)
“It would be unjust, and moreover Utopian, for Shakespeare to direct the shoemakers’ union. But it would be equally disastrous for the shoemakers’ union to ignore Shakespeare.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)