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ORIGINS OF THE GAME From ancient games to the late middle ages Association football was first played in an organised fashion over a century ago. The exact origins of the game are unknown, but with many ball based games have been played through history, including Harpustum by the Romans (a game which had developed from the Ancient Greeks "επισκυρος" ( Episkyros ), Tsu Chu by the ancient Chinese and Kemari by the Japanese. The ancient Chinese game of Tsu Chu is commonly believed to have been in the Qin Dynasty , (255-260 BCE ), however, there are a number of opinions on the dates involved, with the earliest estimates at 5000 BCE1 . The game of Association Football as we know it today is most likely to have originated from the Roman game Harpustum2 (Latin for Handball), which was imported to Britain when the Romans invaded. Harpustum was a game which is thought to have been played by the legions as they awaited their return to Italy , and was more similar to today’s Rugby than football, yet both games developed from the same root. By the 16th Century Harpustum had developed into Calcio (meaning 'to kick'), with teams of 26 or 27 men apiece, typically one in green and one wearing red. The game was subject of much betting on the sidelines. The rules of the game, ''discorsa calcio'', were formalised around 1580. Folk football emerges Britain developed the formalised rules of Association football, which, by and large, still hold sway over the world’s football. Yet before they were adopted in the 19th Century the game had a reputation for hooligans and fights, where the participants of the average game outnumbered the spectators. Several of these early fixtures attained status as a sort of annual ritual, such as The Shrove Tuesday Contest at Ashbourne in Derbyshire , where one half of the town played the other with the goals at either end of the town. This fixture continues to be played annually to this day. As the word spread, other Shrove Tuesday fixtures sprang up, including ones at Corfe Castle in Dorset, and Scone in Scotland. At the Chester Shrove Tuesday fixture, a leather ball was introduced to the game courtesy of the town’s cobblers. These 'mob football' games began to spread throughout the country, and typically anyone who turned up played, meaning that the number of participants regularly went over 100, and the goals were several miles apart. Few rules prevailed in mob football, and coupled with the uncontrollable numbers of players involved this meant that the risk of permanent or debilitating injuries was high. The games were often used as an arena to settle old scores. These factors and the unruly behaviour of the participants meant that among others, Kings, clergyman, womenfolk and the Puritans all attempted to ban the game, though all were unsuccessful. Men in the English army of 1365 were banned from playing football when it became apparent they would rather play football than fight. This did apparently improve their archery, but failed to eradicate the game. A leisure of the upper classes , prior to the code split]] Cambridge University added the game to their curriculum at the turn of the 17th Century , showing a changing public opinion towards the game. With The Industrial Revolution sweeping the country, by the early 19th Century , (before the Factory Act Of 1850 ), most Working Class people in Britain had to work six days a week, often for over twelve hours a day. They had neither the time nor the inclination to engage in sport for recreation and, at the time, many children were part of the Labour Force . Feast Day football on the public highway was at an end. The working classes now had little time or energy to play the game, and it spread to the upper classes as a far more leisurely affair, as the wealthy were free from the work of the lower classes. As the public schools began to play the game, each laid down its own individual rules, often tailored to where they played the game. Notably Rugby School , positively encouraged handling of the ball, while others did not, however, they did not permit movement whilst the ball was being handled. Famously William Webb Ellis paid no regard to this rule, and his legendary run gave rise to the game of Rugby Football . This form of football separated from association football in 1848, when a committee held at Cambridge University defined the game as permitting handling for the purposes of controlling the ball only, and furthermore stated that the goals should consist of two posts. These rules became known as The Cambridge Rules . English public schools around 1840 .]] The earliest evidence that games resembling football were being played at English Public Schools — mainly attended by boys from the upper, upper-middle and professional classes — comes from the ''Vulgaria'' by William Horman in 1519 . Horman had been headmaster at Eton College and Winchester and his Latin textbook includes a translation exercise with the phrase "We wyll playe with a ball full of wynde". The first specific mention of football can be found in a Latin poem by Robert Matthew, a Winchester scholar from 1643 to 1647. He describes how "...we may play quoits, or hand-ball, or bat-and-ball, or football; these games are innocent and lawful...". ''Nugae Etonenses'' (1766) by T. Frankland also mentions the "Football Fields" at Eton. Football had come to be adopted by a number of public schools as a way of encouraging competitiveness and keeping youths fit. Each school drafted their own rules to suit the dimensions of their playing field. The rules varied widely between different schools and were changed over time with each new intake of pupils. Soon, two schools of thought about how football should be played emerged. Some schools favoured a game in which the ball could be carried (as at Rugby, Marlborough and Cheltenham ), whilst others preferred a game where kicking and dribbling the ball was promoted (as at Eton, Harrow , Westminster and Charterhouse ). The division into these two camps was partly the result of circumstances in which the games were played. At Charterhouse and Westminster the boys were confined to playing their ball game within the cloisters, making the rough and tumble of the handling game difficult. The Boom In Rail Transport In Britain during the 1840s meant that people were able to travel further and with less inconvenience than they ever had before. Inter-school sporting competitions became possible. While local rules for Athletics could be easily understood by visiting schools, it was nearly impossible for schools to play each other at football, as each school played by its own rules. During this period, the Rugby school rules appear to have spread at least as far, perhaps further, than the other schools' games. For example, it is said that the world's first "football club" (that is one which was not part of a school or university), was the Guy's Hospital Football Club , founded in London in 1843 . The club is said to have played the Rugby school game. However, some have argued that this club is too poorly documented to be considered to have existed since that time. In 1845 , three boys at Rugby school were tasked with codifying the rules then being used at the school. These were the first set of written rules (or code) for any form of football. 3 Perhaps surprisingly for a game now associated with the working class, the separation of Association Football from the other codes happened at some of Britain’s upper class public schools, where the wealthy sent their boys to be turned into young gentlemen. Further development of the codes of football Whilst Rugby football then developed in its own way, around the mid to late 19th century other codes of football also split off, whilst what became the code of the Football Association we recognise today in FIFA 's rules continued to develop. The main difference in these codes was the amount of handling of the ball and player contact in the tackle permitted. Australian Rules Football grew out of folk football played in the Australian gold fields and was codified in 1858 under the guide of Tom Wills who had attended Rugby School. Gaelic Football kept much of its folk football rules when codified in 1884 by the newly setup Gaelic Athletic Association partly as a nationalist trend against Anglicisation of culture, language and sport in Ireland. American Football and Canadian Football developed during the 1860s to 1890s in American colleges playing various forms of Rugby rules and rules more akin to the English Football Association (but still with hand to ball contact) and was finally codified into its modern form by the Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1906 . FOOTBALL IS ORGANISED The first rules Cambridge University defined the game as permitting handling only for the purposes of controlling the ball, and furthermore, the goals should consist of two posts, this committee, also defined fouls, they were, tripping, kicking or holding, and an offside rule and an offside rule insisting on three men between the passer and the opposing goal was introduced. With these rules laid down, and the increasing respectability of the game, Sheffield Cricket Club allowed for matches to be played on their pitch at Bramall Lane in the 1850s . And thus, Sheffield F.C. can claim to be Britain's oldest football club"A History of Football", p.13, but to this day, the win of the 1904 FA Amateur Cup , remains as the clubs greatest success. The first universal rules were laid down on the 26 October , 1863 , when eleven southern English clubs each sent representatives to Freemason's Tavern in London . Their intent was to lay down an acceptable form of rules which the game could be played by. They came to the following resolution ''"That it is advisable that a football association should be formed for the purpose of settling a code of rules for the regulation of the game of football"''"A History of Football", p.14 And the first "annual general meeting of The Football Association ", was set for the last week of September that year. This has continued to be the start of the traditional football season ever since. All the clubs that were at the previous meeting could send two representatives to the meeting, if they paid a one Guinea subscription. However, all of those present, could not give their full backing to the movement. The first formal rules were agreed by early December, these led to the resignation of Rugby from the association, not on the issue of handling, but on the issue of 'hacking', or physically kicking opponents. The Rugby Football Union was formed in 1871 for those who still played by the rules which allowed handling and hacking. The rules agreed on by the FA stipulated a maximum length and breadth for the pitch, the procedure for kicking off, and definition of terms, including goal, throw in, offside. Passing the ball by hand was still permitted provided the ball was caught "''fairly or on the first bounce''". Despite the specifications of footwear having no "''tough nails, iron plates and gutta percha''" there were no specific rule on number of players, penalties, foul play or the shape of the ball, captains of the participating teams were expected to agree on these things prior to the match. Foundations of a competition The Rules laid down by the FA had an immediate effect, with Sheffield and Nottingham (now Notts County ) joining playing an annual fixture on the FA code among others. In 1865 Nottingham Forest was founded, and the first Derby game took place. Over the next two years Chesterfield and Stoke joined the code. This finally meant that football was no longer an exclusive sport of public schools. However, it was by no means a working class pass time. By this time teams had settled into 11 players each, and the game was played with round balls. In 1867 the offside rule was altered, it previously stated that all players in front of the ball were offside, eliminating passing of the ball forwards, much like in rugby today. The rule was relaxed. A Sheffield against London game in 1866 had allowed the FA to observe how the rules were affecting the game, subsequently handling of the ball was also abolished except for one player on each team, the Goalkeeper . And a red tape between the two goalposts to indicate the top of the goal. Also a national competition was proposed. The first FA Cup On July 20 , 1871 , C. W. Alcock proposed that "''a Challenge Cup should be established in connection with the '' The FA Cup was a success and within a few years all of the clubs in England wanted to take part, to do so they had to accept the FA code, this led to the quick spread of a universal set of rules. These rules are the basis of which all association football rules today stem from. Later competitions saw the 'Gentleman' or Southerners dominate with Old Etonians , Wanderers, Royal Engineers and Oxford University who amongst them took 19 titles. Queens Park withdrew in the semi-finals of the 1873 cup (which due to the format being played that year meant that all the challengers to Wanderers' trophy played a competition for the right to throw down the gauntlet and play the holders, hence the full name FA Challenge Cup) because they had trouble raising travel expenses to pay for the constant trips to England, this directly led to the formation of the Scottish FA . However despite this, Queens Park continued to participate in the FA Cup, reaching the final twice, before the Scottish FA banned Scottish clubs from entering in 1887. In 1872, Alcock purchased the Football Association Cup for £20, fifteen clubs entered the competition that year. Queen's Park reached the semi finals without playing due to withdrawals, but then after a goalless draw with Wanderers, were forced to withdraw as before the advent of Penalties and Extra Time , they could not afford to come back to London for the replay. Wanderers won the cup outright in 1878 after what remains to this day one of only two hat tricks of wins ever. However they returned the cup to the FA in order for the competition to continue, on the condition that not other club could win the cup outright ever again. The first league In 1888 , William McGregor a gentleman from Perthshire was the main force between meetings held in London and Manchester involving 12 football clubs, with an eye to a league competition. These 12 clubs would later become the Football League s 12 founder members. The meetings were held in London on 22 March 1888, the main concern was that an early exit in the knockout format of the FA cup could leave clubs with no matches for almost a year, not only could they suffer heavy financial losses, but fans didn't often stick around for that long without a game, when others teams were playing. Matters were finalised on the 17 April in Manchester. McGregor had voted against the name The Football League, as he was concerned that it would be associated with the Irish Land League "A History of Football", p.22. But this name still won by a majority vote and was selected. The competition guaranteed fixtures and members for all of its member clubs. The clubs were split equally among North and Midlands teams and Southern teams, who were still strictly amateur. The first International Charles Alcock, who was elected to secretary of the FA at the age of 28, devised the Idea of an international competition, inaugurating an annual -. His put advertisements in papers in Glasgow, informing people of an international between the two countries at Kennington Oval , then the home of Surrey Cricket Club . After the appeal, a team of Scottish players was put together and captained by Robert Smith , one of the three brothers who helped found Queens Park FC. His team which lost the match 1-0 was composed entirely of Scots, living in England"5. Other the next three annual fixtures at Kennington, the best the Scots could manage was a 1-1 draw, the fourth fixture was played at the home of the West Of Scotland Cricket Club in Partick . It was a goalless draw, and so one of the most bitterly disputed fixtures in footballing history was born. The first non-European international was contested on the 28 November 1885, at Newark, New Jersey, between the USA and Canada, the Canadians winning 1-0. From amateurism to professionalism When football was gaining popularity during the 1870s and 1880s professionalism was banned in England and Scotland . Then in the 1880s, soon after Wanderers disbanded, in the north of England, teams started hiring players known as 'professors of football', who were professionals from Scotland. This was the first time professionalism got into football. The clubs in Working Class areas, especially in Northern England and Scotland wanted professional football in order to afford playing football besides working. Several clubs were accused of employing professionals. In 1885 The FA legalized professional football, but with a national wage limit. The northern clubs made of lower class paid players started to gain momentum over the amateur 'Gentleman Southerners'. The first northern club to reach the FA Cup final was Blackburn Rovers in 1882, where they lost to Old Etonians, who were the last amateur team to win the trophy. However a maximum wage was in place on players, players challenged this and came close to Strike action in 1909 , but it was not to be for another fifty years before the maximum wage was abolished. Hakoah Vienna was probably the first non-English club to pay their players during the 1920s . They were also the first non-English club to beat an English club in England when they beat West Ham United 5-1 in 1923 . In 1934 the Swedish club Malmö FF was relegated from the top division after it had been discovered that they paid their players, something that was not allowed in Swedish football at the time. FOOTBALL SPREADS AROUND THE WORLD Continental Europe Football was introduced in the Danish club Kjøbenhavns Boldklub (KB) by English residents 6 in 1879 . This makes KB the first football club on Continental Europe . The Danish Football Association was founded in 1889 . Italian Football was played in regional groups from its foundation in 1898 until 1929 when the Serie A was organized into a national league by the Italian Football Federation . La Liga , Spain's national league, had its first season in 1928 , with its participants based off of the previous winners of the Copa Del Rey , which began in 1902 . The German national league, the Bundesliga was late in foundation, especially for European countries, given it wasn't founded until 1963 . Prior to the formation of the Bundesliga , German Football was played at an amateur level in a large number of regional leagues. South America The first recorded football match in Argentina was played already in 1867 by English railway workers. The Argentine national leagues were founded in 1931 by the Argentine Football Association , which itself was founded by Englishmen in 1893 . In the 1870s an expatriate named Miller (first name unknown) who worked on the railway construction project in Sao Paulo together with some 3000 other immigrant families from the British Isles in the last decades of the 19th century. Mr. Miller decided to send his young boy Charles William Miller to England for his education. In 1884 Charles aged 10 was sent to Bannisters school in Southampton. Charles was a natural footballer who quickly picked up the arts the game. The football association was being formed at the time. Eton, Rugby, Charterhouse and other colleges all had developed their own rules to the game. As an accomplished winger and striker Charles held school honours that were to gain him entry first into the Southampton Club team and then into the County team of Hampshire. In 1892 a couple of years before his return to Brazil, Charles was invited to play a game for the Corinthians , a team formed of players invited from public schools and universities. On his return Charles brought some football equipment and a rules book with him. He then went on to develop the new rules of the game amongst the community in São Paulo. In 1888, six years before his return, the first sports club was founded in the city, São Paulo Athletic Club . São Paulo Athletic Club won the first three years championships. Miller's skills were far and above his colleagues at this stage. He was given the honour of contributing his name to a move involving a deft flick of the ball with the heel "Chaleiro". Charles Miller kept a strong bond with English football throughout his life. Teams from Southampton and Corinthians Club came over to Brazil and played against São Paulo Athletic Club and other teams in São Paulo. One on occasion in 1910 a new local team was about to be formed after a tour of the Corinthians team to Brazil and Charles was asked to suggest a name for the team. He suggested they should call themselves after Corinthians. In 1988 when São Paulo Athletic Club celebrated its centenary and the English Corinthians Team came across again to play them at Morumbi Stadium. The end of the tour was against the local professional Corinthians Paulista team with Sócrates and Rivelino amongst its players. This game was played at Paecambu Stadium in São Paulo and true to Corinthian principles of good clean football the score was 1 to 0 in favour of the locals when as agreed Socrates changed shirts to play alongside the English amateurs. This did not affect the score unfortunately although a largely packed stadium was cheering on for a drawn result. The Brazilian Football Confederation was founded in 1914 , and the current format for the Campeonato Brasileiro was established in 1971 . GLOBALISED FOOTBALL PROGRESSES Founding of FIFA See Also: History of FIFA The need for a single body to oversee the worldwide game became apparent at the beginning of the 20th Century with the increasing popularity of international fixtures. The English Football Association had chaired many discussions on setting up an international body, but was perceived as making no progress. It fell to seven other European countries to band together to form this association. FIFA was founded in Paris on May 21 , 1904 - the French name and acronym persist to this day, even outside French-speaking countries. Its first president was Robert Guérin . FIFA presided over its first international competition in 1906 , however it met with little approval or success. This, in combination with economic factors, led to the swift replacement of Guérin with Daniel Burley Woolfall from England , by now a member association. The next tournament staged the football competition for the 1908 Olympics In London was more successful, despite the presence of professional footballers, contrary to the founding principles of FIFA. Membership of FIFA expanded beyond Europe with the application of South Africa in 1909 , Argentina in 1912 and the United States in 1913 . FIFA however floundered during World War I with many players sent off to war and the possibility of travel for international fixtures severely limited. Post-war, following the death of Woolfall, the organisation fell into the hands of Dutchman Carl Hirschmann . It was saved from extinction, but at the cost of the withdrawal of the Home Nations , who cited an unwillingness to participate in international competitions with their recent World War enemies. In 1946 the four British nations returned. On 10 May 1947 a 'Match of the Century' between Great Britain and 'Rest of Europe XI' was played at Hampden Park in Glasgow before 135,000 spectators - Britain won 6-1. The proceeds from the match, coming to £35 000, were given to FIFA, to help re-launch it after World War Two. This was followed by FIFA's First Post-war World Cup in 1950, held in Brazil . FIFA, meanwhile, continued to expand so that by the time of its fiftieth anniversary it had 84 members. FIFA World Cup See Also: FIFA World Cup The First Football World Cup was played in 1930 . Many countries did not enter, with most of them coming from the Americas. By 1950 however, European teams took interest, and the competition blossomed into the worlds biggest footballing event. Brazil have won the championship a record 5 times. From this, other championships emerged - European Championship , South America's Copa América , Oceania's OFC Nations Cup , Asian Cup , African Cup Of Nations and North America's Gold Cup are the main competitions of each continent. SEE ALSO
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