Roy Skillen 1History Of Soccer
February 1st 2009 08:28
The beautiful game captivates and enthrals millions and millions of people all around the world. It evokes emotions of pure joy, hatred, sadness and contempt, all in the space of just 90 minutes. People have even killed because of their passion for the game. But where did it all begin? What made this most simple of sports become the multimillion dollar industry it is today?
It is widely thought that the English were the fathers of Soccer. While they did have a massive part in the organisation side of it, they were by no means its inventors. In around 1000 B.C. while the English were still living in mud huts and worshipping at Stone Henge the earliest ever recorded soccer game was being played in Japan. While it may not have been the same as the soccer we know and love, it did involve players running around on a small field kicking a round leather ball filled with hair. This early version of soccer was so popular in the east games between teams from Japan and China were common.
The Romans also had a version of the sport. By all accounts this could be where soccer and violence first came together. The Roman teams would each have 27 players, and the games would last for 50 minutes, after which most of the players would end up in hospital.
This violence seemed to spread in to the English version of the game. Records of a game played in Derbyshire said that players ended up with "broken skins, broken heads, torn coats and lost hats.” The violence was so bad in the sport that King Edward who reigned from 1307- 1327 had the sport banned and anyone caught playing it thrown in jail:" For as much as there is a great noise in the city caused by hustling over large balls, from which many evils may arise, which God forbid, we command and forbid on behalf of the King, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used in the city future." He said.
The English finally came to their senses and after many different attempts to come up with a standard set of rules and laws the English Football Association was born in October 1863. The first set of rules that were drawn up by the new group stated that some carrying of the ball was allowed as well as the hacking of shins, wrestling and holding. The main defender of these rules was one F.W. Campbell who later went on to play a major part in forming the Rugby codes.
Once the rules were set the game seemed too exploded as English travellers spread association football around the world. After some dark times due to violence between fans in the 1970s and 80s soccer saw something of a revival with the creation of the English Premier League. Sponsorships and TV rights to the games saw millions of dollars pumped in to the game, which has spread in to the players pockets and changed the image of the game from a working man’s sport to a worldwide multibillion dollar business.
It is widely thought that the English were the fathers of Soccer. While they did have a massive part in the organisation side of it, they were by no means its inventors. In around 1000 B.C. while the English were still living in mud huts and worshipping at Stone Henge the earliest ever recorded soccer game was being played in Japan. While it may not have been the same as the soccer we know and love, it did involve players running around on a small field kicking a round leather ball filled with hair. This early version of soccer was so popular in the east games between teams from Japan and China were common.
The Romans also had a version of the sport. By all accounts this could be where soccer and violence first came together. The Roman teams would each have 27 players, and the games would last for 50 minutes, after which most of the players would end up in hospital.
This violence seemed to spread in to the English version of the game. Records of a game played in Derbyshire said that players ended up with "broken skins, broken heads, torn coats and lost hats.” The violence was so bad in the sport that King Edward who reigned from 1307- 1327 had the sport banned and anyone caught playing it thrown in jail:" For as much as there is a great noise in the city caused by hustling over large balls, from which many evils may arise, which God forbid, we command and forbid on behalf of the King, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used in the city future." He said.
The English finally came to their senses and after many different attempts to come up with a standard set of rules and laws the English Football Association was born in October 1863. The first set of rules that were drawn up by the new group stated that some carrying of the ball was allowed as well as the hacking of shins, wrestling and holding. The main defender of these rules was one F.W. Campbell who later went on to play a major part in forming the Rugby codes.
Once the rules were set the game seemed too exploded as English travellers spread association football around the world. After some dark times due to violence between fans in the 1970s and 80s soccer saw something of a revival with the creation of the English Premier League. Sponsorships and TV rights to the games saw millions of dollars pumped in to the game, which has spread in to the players pockets and changed the image of the game from a working man’s sport to a worldwide multibillion dollar business.
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