Soccer as we know and love it today is the result of over 2000 years of sporting evolution. Though its roots can be traced back to diverse games around the world, the qualities of skill, athleticism, courage and determination have always been celebrated as they are today.
Uncertain Origins
In practice, it is impossible to trace a direct line from today’s game of soccer back to any one starting point. It is likely that humans have been kicking objects around for as long as we have been standing upright, and games involving kicking balls or other round objects can be traced back to different parts of the world from very early times.
The earliest records of such a game come from China in the 3rd century BC where a military book of the period refers to tsu chu, “kicking a ball”. This exercise involved one person trying to kick a stuffed leather ball through a small netted target while his opponents tried to physically obstruct him. While we would not recognise this game as soccer, we can see in it the origins of what later became soccer balls and soccer goals, as well as the first use of dribbling and tackling skills!
In contrast, an early version of soccer developing in Japan in the 7th century was much more genteel, relying on co-operation between players to keep a ball in the air. A version of this stylised game – Kemari – is still played today, but it is considered more a ceremonial than sporting event, with players dressed in elaborate traditional costume.
Both the Greeks and Romans played ball games that contain elements of modern soccer, the Roman’s hapastrum for example being played by teams on a rectangular “pitch” with a half-way line and an objective to get the ball over the opposition’s end-line.
The Birthplace Of Soccer
However, it is generally accepted that Britain is the birthplace of the game that most directly led to soccer as we know it today. Over a period of more than 10 centuries, a diverse variety of regional games from Scotland and England gradually transformed and combined until eventually the Football Association (The FA) was formed in 1863 with the first set of generally accepted rules of the game.
… But don’t think for one moment this process was straightforward and trouble-free. Far from it!
The earliest versions of these regional games often pitched one village against another, and were played out over large areas of countryside by hundreds of people over many hours. The unruly mob of “players” would follow the ball through fields, rivers, farms and houses, with no real rules to get in the way of their sole objective – manhandling the ball over a village boundary or some other designated “goal”. Even regular laws would be suspended during these games, with kicking, punching, gouging, biting and most forms of violence short of outright murder allowed.
In towns, a common variation was for a game that pitched the people living in the valley of the town – the “Downwards”, “Downies” or “Doonies” - against those living on the hillside – the “Upwards” or “Uppies”.
These “mob football” variants are the earliest indications of the popularity soccer enjoys today, as they were played with wild enthusiasm by incredibly large numbers of people all over Britain. Too much enthusiasm perhaps, as the disregard for property and unruly nature of these games made them very unpopular with the authorities and several attempts were made to ban the developing game of soccer during this time.
From Outlawed to In Vogue
The game was first banished from the city of London by its Lord Mayor in 1314 due to the damage caused, then banned by law from the whole of England in 1331. Scotland followed with a nationwide ban in 1424, with King James 1 proclaiming, "That na man play at the Fute-ball".
But you can’t keep a great game down and the people continued to play soccer with passion even though attempts continued at national and regional level to suppress the game as late as 1841. The only real effect of these attempts was to stop soccer becoming respectable, and so it remained a violent, unruly game with no structure or organisation. This persisted until the 1800s, when the large public schools of the day started to play the game and began to develop rules and modes of play that suited their circumstances. For example, some schools would limit the field of play to ensure it was contained within a certain area of the school grounds, while another would stress the development of agility and skill over the physical rough and tumble of the “mob” game.
Soccer was increasingly accepted as a force for good in these schools, fostering positive behaviours such as teamwork and commitment, but there were still fierce disagreements between groups of schools over fundamental aspects of the game. Schools like Cheltenham and Rugby were leading the development of a sport that allowed a good deal of physical contact – including tripping and shin-kicking – while schools such as Eton and Harrow were developing skills like dribbling specifically to reduce the amount of physical contact. The biggest difference of course was that the group led by Rugby school allowed carrying the ball while elsewhere there was growing support for handling the ball to be forbidden.
Soccer Gets Organized
In 1848, a concerted campaign began to create a single set of rules to govern the game, but it was not until 26 October 1863 that this was finally achieved with the creation of the Football Association and the split between “Association” football and “Rugby” football. Soon after, the word “soccer” was used for the first time – as a slang abbreviation of (as)SOC(iation) football to parallel the term “rugger” which was in wide use as slang for rugby football.
The first “real” players of this new sport were all amateurs and at first typically played in their everyday clothes, but as the game became more serious and competitive, long trousers gradually gave way to shorts and other soccer apparel began to appear, such as stylised shirts, boots and shinguards – an item that would have been considered “ungentlemanly” a few years before.
The world’s first soccer competition – the FA (Football Association) cup - was held in 1871, and the first international match was held a year later. Of course, the only two countries playing soccer at this stage were Scotland and England, and 2,000 people turned out to watch them in Glasgow. Unfortunately, the game ended in an unexciting 0-0 draw and no-one had yet invented extra time, penalty shoot-outs or golden goal deciders! This game was also the first time the symbol of the “Three Lions” was used on the English shirts – a symbol that is still used by the English team today.
Very quickly, travelling Scots and Englishmen started to take the game to other parts of the world and before the end of the 19th century, soccer associations were formed in several European countries and as far afield as South America and New Zealand. This growth continued into the 20th century and FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) was formed in 1904 with seven founding members. By the time of the first World Cup in 1931, this number had grown to 41 and included member associations from Africa and Asia.
The Modern Game
Today, there are 204 member associations of FIFA from every corner of the globe and soccer is the world’s largest spectator sport. International competitions like the World Cup attract global audiences of almost 30 billion viewers on TV, teams such as Manchester United qualify as major international businesses valued at over $1 billion, and top professional players change clubs for multi-million dollar transfer fees.
But in spite of the increasing commercial success of soccer, many believe the heart of soccer remains with the masses of people – boys and girls, men and women – who meet every day in backyards and recreation grounds everywhere to “kick a ball”.
Also see: soccer gear.
About The Author
Julie-Ann Amos is a successful freelance writer providing tips and information for consumers purchasing soccer balls, goals and goalkeeper accessories, and soccer equipment.
