The World's Most Beloved Sport - The History of Soccer
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
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 participated 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.
Rebecca Blain is a professional and hobbyist writer who enjoys
taking care of her fish and educating people about youth soccer
equipment here:
http://www.everything-soccer.com/youth-soccer-equipment.html
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