| If you want to understand the history of | | | | - History of soccer during the Middle Ages |
| soccer, you have to admit that for some | | | | |
| reason, humans have a natural urge to kick | | | | We usually think of the medieval era as a |
| things. Whether it's to release frustration, | | | | time when war was viewed as a necessity and a |
| or simply for fun, we do this even without | | | | "job" rather than a calamity. Despite being |
| noticing. | | | | quite a serious, "dark" period of time, |
| | | | somehow the medieval people managed to take |
| How many times have you not walked on the | | | | some time for some sports, including soccer. |
| street as a kid (and not only), simply | | | | |
| kicking that pebble or cone on the ground in | | | | The forms of soccer played during this time |
| front of you out of boredom. It's this | | | | were obviously incomparable to our current |
| natural urge that stands at the basis of the | | | | definition of the sport; hence they are |
| history of soccer. | | | | usually classified as "mob soccer". |
| | | | |
| - When was soccer invented? | | | | While their dads were off at war, children |
| | | | would often grab a patched up leather ball, |
| When speaking about the history of soccer a | | | | hit the nearby field and start a "war" on the |
| lot of people regard England as the place | | | | field. The lack of rules often lead to fights |
| that soccer was born and although this could | | | | and serious injuries and the sport was |
| be a true statement in a particular context, | | | | regarded as dangerous in many locations. |
| the truth is that the English were the first | | | | |
| to organize soccer around 1863, however they | | | | A clear example of this can be found in the |
| did not "invent" it per say. So if 1863 is | | | | London British Museum, where an engraving |
| the year the sport got "baptized", then what | | | | shows a group of men struggling to win a |
| year was soccer invented and where? | | | | leather ball, with a second image showing a |
| | | | man with a broken arm. You do the math. |
| Since soccer or soccer-likesports can be | | | | |
| traced way back to ancient times, it's | | | | - Modern-day soccer |
| difficult to pin-point a specific year, but | | | | |
| historians of the phenomenon usually chop it | | | | As mentioned above, although we don't know |
| down into 3 periods of time. | | | | when soccer was invented, we do know when it |
| | | | was organized as a sport under a clear set of |
| - History of soccer during ancient times | | | | rules. Being a popular practice in England, |
| | | | soccer was played chaotically and oftentimes |
| They might not have had our modern | | | | it would lead to the same on and off-pitch |
| commodities, but ancient people sure knew how | | | | battles similar to the ones occurring during |
| to have their fun. And, you guessed, kicking | | | | medieval soccer matches. On each match, the |
| a "ball" around (obviously, the balls were | | | | two teams would agree on a particular set of |
| extremely rudimentary compared to what is | | | | rules, but with the lack of a referee |
| used today) was considered a fun activity in | | | | arguments would often spark up. |
| many areas all around the globe, most of them | | | | |
| developing at the same time, without | | | | In order to keep things in order, a few |
| interaction from one another. | | | | English clubs met in London on October 26, |
| | | | 1863 in order to create a set of well-defined |
| In history of soccer the first written | | | | and universal rules for the game. |
| statement regarding the start of soccer comes | | | | |
| from a Chinese military manual at around 300 | | | | The Football Association was born and |
| BC, which describes a practice called "cuju" | | | | although their set of rules did not apply to |
| that involved the players kicking a leather | | | | all clubs immediately, in a few decades, as |
| ball through a hole in a silk cloth stretched | | | | soccer clubs switched from amateurism to |
| between two poles. On the other side of the | | | | professionalism, their laws and conduct |
| globe, in the Americas, the Aztecs were | | | | restrictions became standard for everyone. |
| playing a similar sport, although some | | | | |
| compare it to basketball more than soccer. | | | | As you can see, there's really no "right" way |
| | | | to answer the "When was soccer invented?" |
| The purpose of the game was to kick the ball | | | | question and you'll have your fair share of |
| through a small stone circle that was placed | | | | arguments at hand regardless of what period |
| high up on the arena's walls, hence the | | | | you believe was the spark that caused the |
| relation to basketball. Now I don't know | | | | wildfire that soccer is today. |
| about you, but to me it sounds a lot more | | | | |
| difficult to place a small leather ball | | | | And you'll probably agree with me on this: |
| exactly in the middle of a stone circle | | | | it's not really that important to know when |
| that's well high above your head with your | | | | soccer was invented, but rather acknowledge |
| foot, than striking a modern "high-tech" ball | | | | that we are lucky to be able to enjoy this |
| in an 8 yard goal. | | | | wonderful sport at its best, as we can in |
| | | | modern times. |