Ancient Times
It’s always been difficult to exactly determine as to which country gets credit for inventing soccer. Many people give it to England, but an ancient script discovered in China claims that a game similar to soccer, called Cuju, was played in the 2nd century B.C.. This wasn’t exactly soccer, but the objective was to kick a ball made from leather through a small hole in a silk cloth, which was stranded between 2 high posts.
Meso-American civilization also records a game, which can be said to be a 3 way combo between soccer, volleyball and baseball. It was played in a basic cut below ground level, and had several baskets on the walls. The players had to kick a rubber ball inside the baskets. You can imagine how hard it must have been. This could also perhaps be the reason why South American players seem to be very skilled at soccer.
Middle Ages
Moving forward in time, soccer spread to Europe, where a more famous variety of the game was ‘mob soccer’. The rules were simple: both teams had to kick the ball towards specific landmarks, and could have as many players as they wanted, as long as they were from that particular territory. You could imagine how chaotic and violent the games must have been.
As a result of this, in 1314, the game was banned by Nicholas de Farndone, who was the Mayor of London at that time. The motive of the ban was due to the fact that excess noise was created in the city, and that many evils would arise from it.
Despite the ban, soccer gained popularity in medieval England, and was played by school – boys so that they could be fit. It started becoming more organized with strategies, teams, coaches, etc.
However, most of the above aren’t weighted down by solid proof, and some people say that the game’s origins came about during executions, whereby the executor, after chopping the criminal’s head off, would throw it at the public, who would then kick it about!
Creation of the Modern Game
As the 19th century dawned, soccer was played more regularly between teams, but the differing rules meant that the organization of tournaments was very difficult. Soccer spread over to institutions, factories, etc. and they formed their own teams.
In 1862, Cobb Morley (founder of Barnes Club), a solicitor, proposed the creation of a professional body for soccer, which was implemented when, on 26 October, 1863, the founders of many clubs in England got together to form the ‘Football Association’. Morley was also responsible for drawing up the ‘Laws of the Game’, which contained all the rules which were to be followed when a game was played.
These rules were given the green light by the FA on the 8th of December, 1963, and have remained the game’s constitution, although it has been modified in the course of time to suit the demands of the modern game.
Modern Day Soccer
Within 3 decades of the creation of the constitution of the FA (which created the soccer’s official rules), the game spread across Europe to the Americas and Australia. National teams were created near the start of the 20th century, and national leagues also started gaining momentum around the world. The increasing popularity of international fixtures saw the need of a international body to oversee the game, which saw the birth of FIFA.
The World Cup, started in 1930, is the second-most popular event behind the Olympics, and has served to increase the popularity of the game around the world.
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