The History of Soccer
Research Paper: The History of Soccer
The game of soccer has changed a lot since it started. The game soccer originated in England in 1000, but some people believe it may have started before the 19th century, with the Ancient Romans, Greeks, and Chinese. In England, towns and villages would play against each other, half of the village on one side and the other half on the other side. The object was to get the ball into the other villages territory. Sometimes the “ball” would be a pig’s bladder or the skull of an enemy. The game got very violent very soon and lots of kings tried to ban soccer, but they always failed, because kicking and dribbling a ball around is just too much fun. Then, King Edward the Second, in 1314, threatened to throw anyone playing soccer in jail or even kill them because the game was too violent. But, even this did not work. People like kicking a ball into a goal too much, it was fun and it felt good.
The modern history of soccer dates back to the mid 1800’s. People played ball and goal games throughout England. However, in every town the rules were different. Some places allowed carrying the ball; in others it could only be kicked. Some towns allowed pushing and tripping of opponent; others did not. Imagine how hard it was when teams from towns with different rules met. The first attempt to create unified rules came in 1862. The next year brought the first meeting of the Football Association, an English group that still exists today. The result of these meetings was that two distinct games emerged. One did not allow holding the ball. We now call that game soccer. The other did allow holding the ball. It became rugby.1
By the 1880’s soccer players were being paid to play. At the same time, the game of soccer started to spread around the world. At the height of the British Empire, British sailors, soldiers, businessmen, teachers, doctors, and even tourists traveled the seas in record numbers. Everywhere, the British influence was
The game of soccer has changed a lot since it started. The game soccer originated in England in 1000, but some people believe it may have started before the 19th century, with the Ancient Romans, Greeks, and Chinese. In England, towns and villages would play against each other, half of the village on one side and the other half on the other side. The object was to get the ball into the other villages territory. Sometimes the “ball” would be a pig’s bladder or the skull of an enemy. The game got very violent very soon and lots of kings tried to ban soccer, but they always failed, because kicking and dribbling a ball around is just too much fun. Then, King Edward the Second, in 1314, threatened to throw anyone playing soccer in jail or even kill them because the game was too violent. But, even this did not work. People like kicking a ball into a goal too much, it was fun and it felt good.
The modern history of soccer dates back to the mid 1800’s. People played ball and goal games throughout England. However, in every town the rules were different. Some places allowed carrying the ball; in others it could only be kicked. Some towns allowed pushing and tripping of opponent; others did not. Imagine how hard it was when teams from towns with different rules met. The first attempt to create unified rules came in 1862. The next year brought the first meeting of the Football Association, an English group that still exists today. The result of these meetings was that two distinct games emerged. One did not allow holding the ball. We now call that game soccer. The other did allow holding the ball. It became rugby.1
By the 1880’s soccer players were being paid to play. At the same time, the game of soccer started to spread around the world. At the height of the British Empire, British sailors, soldiers, businessmen, teachers, doctors, and even tourists traveled the seas in record numbers. Everywhere, the British influence was
Cited: Page Books: The Ultimate Soccer Almanac by Dan Woog1 Websites: http://www.topendsports.com/events/worldcupsoccer/index.htm2 -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. The Ultimate Soccer Almanac [ 2 ]. http://www.topendsports.com/events/worldcupsoccer/index.htm