The sport of soccer (football) has evolved greatly over the centuries to become the popular pastime we know and love today. Its history is considered to date back to ancient times with origins between 200BC – 200AD. Needless to say, this game is definitely here to stay.
Ancient Soccer Balls?
In the early few centuries of soccer’s modest beginnings, the Chinese were said to employ the use of animal skins for a game referred to as “tsu chu”. This game involved the players passing a ball made of animal skin through a net which stretched between two poles. Eventually, a similarly played sport pushed its way into the civilization and culture of the ancient Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians.
Of course, depending upon the area, the material in which the ball was made varied a great deal. In some villages, it is rumored to have involved the kicking of a skull in place of our new age ball. The game’s beginnings were violent and far from pretty. It was quite common to play the ancient game with the goal being simply to keep the pig bladder, skull or other ball shapes in the air.
Medieval Soccer?
The true growth and evolution of the game we know as soccer occurred during medieval times. It is said to have been heavily formed in England. During the middle ages, the older form of soccer was still quite violent, much like in ancient times. Most games allowed practices that would now be deemed as fouls. Some key rules that have been omitted today involve the permission of kicking, biting, punching, and even gouging of fellow players.
The game became so popular at one point that the athletes would willingly participate for days on end. The competition was invigorating with the basic aim simply to carry the ball to a targeted spot on the field. At one point the sport we know as soccer had become so popular amongst the medieval crowd that soldiers were being rumored to miss archery practice just to watch games.
Soccer Today
Major refinement and development of the soccer ball took place in the 1800’s and beyond. The game became a popular sport among universities and other schools. The initial set of regulations emerged from a very popular and renowned English school called Eton College. They named these guidelines the Cambridge Rules. Soccer became segregation of two groups and was played among students often with the same rules as Rugby. These rules allowed the employment of kicking, tripping, and ball carrying, though the Cambridge Rules prohibited such play.
Modern soccer was primarily established in 1863 when eleven representatives from London clubs and academies met at the famous Freemason’s Tavern. During this meeting, the basic regulations we know today were put in place and agreed upon for future matches. This small assembly has formed what is known as the Football Association today. The Football Association eventually banned all forms of handling the ball. In no time at all, the sport of soccer spread quickly during the 1800s among sailors, soldiers, and traders who circled the globe.
To learn more about the origins of the word “Soccer”, which you may be surprised to learn is not a North American invention, please visit: “Origins of the Word Soccer”
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