HISTORY OF FOOTBALL

Games involving teams and the kicking of a ball have been played throughout history, and there is evidence that the earliest forms of the game were played in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC in China, and it is thought that the ancient Romans also played a form of the game, as did people in medieval Europe.

The game as we know it today developed in the mid nineteenth century, when it became a popular pastime in the public schools of England. A meeting in 1848, attended by a number of public schools at Cambridge University drew up the “Cambridge Rules”, which although not unanimously adopted, were influential in developing the first universal codes in agreed in 1863.

Today, the laws are managed and controlled by the International Football Association Board, which was formed in England in 1886, and is now composed of 4 representatives from FIFA, and one each from the four British association boards.

The world’s oldest competition is the FA Cup which has been contested by English teams since 1872, and the world’s first football league was formed in England in 1888. The first international football match took place between England and Scotland in 1872.

FIFA, the international football organisation was formed in Paris in 1904.

It is estimated that more than 250 million people throughout the world play football today, and the game is played at a professional level in most countries. Every week millions of people attend football stadiums to support their teams, and billions watch the games live on television.