The World's Most Beloved Sport - The History of Soccer
by: Rebecca Blain
While it is undisputed that the
origins of modern soccer, or football, originated in Britain, there is a great
deal of evidence that points to this beloved game as having an older history.
Where did the game of soccer really
begin, and how old is it? To understand how many different varieties of
"soccer" there are, you need to understand a bit about the older
versions of the game and how they have evolved.
Below, you will find a list of the
predominant cultures that had a variety of soccer, and learn how each one
differs from what we play today. And no, they never used anything like Lotto
shinguards back then either!
- Chinese Soccer History
- Japanese Soccer History
- Egyptian Soccer History
- Greek/Roman Soccer History
- British Soccer History
Chinese Soccer History
To many, this is the oldest version
of soccer to exist. However, there is quite a lot of controversy of whether or
not this is the oldest, or Japan's version is the elder. The Chinese version of
the game, originally named "Tsu Chu", involved players on a field
that had to hit a leather ball stuffed with fur into a small hole. Like Soccer,
no hands were permitted during the play of the game, and it was considered an
honor to be a member of a team.
The Emperor of the Han Dynasty,
when the game was developed, was an avid player and fan, and spread the
popularity of this game all over China during his reign. This roughly dates
back to 300 B.C., although there is controversy on the subject of dating, which
could result in the origins of the game being as far back as 5000 B.C.
Regardless, this version of Soccer is extremely old. Despite that, there is
still a version of Tsu Chu played today. While the two games are similar, Tsu
Chu has had no effect on the modern version of the game, as it was originally
developed and created for play in Great Britain.
Japanese Soccer History
Kemari, the Japanese version of
"Soccer", is perhaps one of the most different forms of the sport, in
comparison to modern soccer. Kemari was a game of "Keep it up", much
like modern hacky sacks, although used with a larger ball that was stuffed with
saw dust. This version involves a "pitch", or the field, designated
by the selection of four trees, the cherry, maple, pine and willow. Many great
houses in Japan would grow trees to have a permanent pitch, or field,
established.
Kemari was normally played with two
to twelve players. Established in roughly 1004 B.C., it vies for position of
the oldest game with China's Tsu Chu. In fact, China's Tsu Chu players and
Japan's Kemari players were the first to have an "International" game
of their versions of Soccer, which is dated to have occurred in roughly 50
B.C., although a definite date of 611 A.D. is known. Regardless, this game
stands with China as a sister sport to Soccer, while it never affected the
modern version of the game.
Egyptian Soccer History
While not much is known about
Egyptian Soccer, or other ball games, it is thought there was a version of a
type of ball game played by young women during the age of Baqet III. On his
tomb, images of this sport were depicted, although no one is certain how the
game was played or whether or not it truly affected the outcome of modern
soccer. Recordings of this game date as far back as 2500 B.C., although not
much more is known asides the fact that it was played with a ball. The lack of
information on the sport and how it was played has eliminated it from runnings
as the first evidence of a game similar to soccer.
Greek/Roman Soccer History
Perhaps the closest relative to
modern soccer are the games that were formed by the Greeks during the prime of
their culture. They had numerous varieties of football style games, some of
which required hands, some of which forbade hands. In the end, after the Roman
conquering of Greece, the game Harpastum is what modern soccer would be based
from. This game, probably a modified version of the Greek's
"Harpaston", which translates roughly to handball. While grossly
misnamed, this game is what is considered to be one of the precursors to modern
soccer.
British Soccer History
In Britain during the 8th century,
soccer was created, not as a recreational sport, but as a war game. One of the
stories of the original roots of the sport comes from when a Danish Prince was
beheaded, and his head was used as a ball and was kicked around. Ever since
this 'legendary' tale, villages and other communities would play a game where
they would have to kick a ball to a specific goal. It was a violent game, where
injury and death were not uncommon, but it was popular nevertheless. In fact,
it was so violent, that in 1331, King Edward the III passed laws to try to stop
the playing of the game. It did not work, however, and the sport continued on.
There are even stories of soccer
games that involved hundreds upon hundreds of players. In these games, there
were many deaths, some resulting in the hundreds. It wasn't until 1815 when
Eton College set up a series of rules for the game that it became less violent
and more of a true sport. At this time, other colleges and universities took up
the banner and began to play under similar rules. Later, the rules were
evaluated and judged, and the Cambridge rules were created as a result in 1848.
In the Cambridge rules, shin-kicking, carrying the ball and tripping were all
forbidden. Rugby rules allowed these aspects, and the two varieties of soccer,
or football, split to form their own followings.
On October 26, 1863, London schools
and sports club sent representatives to the Freemason's Tavern, where the
Football Association was formed. Rugby supporters left this association to form
the Rugby Association. This is where the birth of modern soccer began. In 1969,
the Football Association finalized the modern game of soccer by forbidding the
use of hands in the game.
The term "Soccer" was
coined when someone was asked if he was a Rugger, which is a Rugby player. The
-er signified that the person participatedd in a a particular sport. The
individual, Charles Wreford Brown, replied with "Soccer!", taking the
phrase from Association, SOC, and adding the -er. The term stuck. While British
individuals still call the game Football, Americans and other countries call it
Soccer, especially if they have heavy support in American Football present.
Ever since the foundation of the Association, "Football" has risen in
popularity, becoming one of the best love games in the history of Earth. Now,
hundreds of thousands play the sport, although it lacks the initial violence
present at its creation.
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About The Author Rebecca Blain is a professional
and hobbyist writer who enjoys taking care of her fish and educating people
about soccer equipment such as goals which you can read about here: http://www.everything-soccer.com/8-24-soccer-goals.html
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