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==History== ==History==
===Early history=== ===Early history===
Throughout the history of mankind, the urge to kick at stones and other such objects is thought to have led to many early activities involving kicking and/or running with a ]. Football-like games predate recorded history in all parts of the world, and thus the earliest forms of football are not known.


====Ancient games====
Documented evidence of what is possibly the oldest activity resembling football can be found in a ] ] manual written during the ] in about the ]. It describes a practice known as '']'', which involved kicking a leather ball through a hole in a piece of silk cloth strung between two 30 foot poles.


THE MAN HOO DISCOVERED FOOTBALL WAS COMPLETELY GAY AND FAT AND LIVED WITH HIS MOM ONE DAY ANOTHER GAY FATASS MET THE MAN AND THE FUCKED FOR 3 DAYS STRIGHT THEN THEY SAID I THOUGH OF AN IDEA AND THE 2 GAY GUYS MADE THE SPORT FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
]'' being played at the ], ], ].]]
Another ]n ball-kicking game, which may have been influenced by ''cuju'', is '']''. This is known to have been played within the ]ese imperial court in ] from about 600 AD. In ''kemari'' several people stand in a circle and kick a ball to each other, trying not to let the ball drop to the ground (much like ]). The game appears to have died out sometime before the mid-19th century. (It was revived in 1903, and it can now be seen played for the benefit of tourists at a number of festivals.)

]s played with rubber balls are also well-documented as existing since before this time, but these had more similarities to ] or ], and since their influence on modern football games is minimal, most do not class them as football.

The ]s and ] are known to have played many ball games some of which involved the use of the feet. The Roman writer ] describes the case of a man who was killed whilst having a shave when a ball was kicked into a barber's shop. The Roman game '']'' is believed to have been adapted from a team game known as "επισκυρος" (''episkyros'') or ''pheninda'' that is mentioned by Greek playwright, ] (388-311BC) and later referred to by ]. These games appears to have resembled ].

There are a number of references to ]al, ], and/or ] ball games, played by ] peoples in many different parts of the world. For example, in 1586, men from a ship commanded by an English explorer named ], went ashore to play a form of football with ] (Eskimo) people in ].<ref>Richard Hakluyt, , '']'', December 29, 2003</ref> There are later accounts of an Inuit game played on ice, called '']''. Each match began with two teams facing each other in parallel lines, before attempting to kick the ball through each other team's line and then at a goal. In 1610, ] of the ], ] recorded a game played by ], called '']''. In ], ] played a game called '']'' ("ball game"). An 1878 book by ], ''The Aborigines of Victoria'', quotes a man called Richard Thomas as saying, in about 1841, that he had witnessed Aboriginal people playing the game: "Mr Thomas describes how the foremost player will drop kick a ball made from the skin of a ] and how other players leap into the air in order to catch it." It is widely believed that ''Marn Grook'' had an influence on the development of ] (see below).

These games and others may well go far back into antiquity and may have influenced later football games. However, the main sources of modern football codes appear to lie in western Europe, especially ].

====Mediæval and early modern Europe====
{{see|Mediæval football}}
<!-- IMPORTANT NOTE to editors: we have a length problem! That is why there is a Mediæval football article. Please do not add new material to this section unless it is significant -- please put any new material in the Mediæval football article _before_ you add it to this section. Thank you. -->The ] saw a huge rise in popularity of annual ] matches throughout Europe, particularly in England. The game played in England at this time may have arrived with the ], but there is little evidence to indicate this. Reports of a game played in ], ], and ], known as '']'' or ''Choule'', suggest that some of these football games could have arrived in ] as a result of the ].

<!-- IMPORTANT NOTE to editors: we have a length problem! That is why there is a Mediæval football article. Please do not add new material to this section unless it is significant -- please put any new material in the Mediæval football article _before_ you add it to this section. Thank you. -->These archaic forms of football, typically classified as "]", would be played between neighbouring towns and villages, involving an unlimited number of players on opposing teams, who would clash in a heaving mass of people struggling to drag an inflated ]'s bladder by any means possible to markers at each end of a town (sometimes instead of markers, the teams would attempt to kick the bladder into the balcony of the opponents' church). There is no evidence to support the legend that these games in England evolved from a more ancient and bloody ritual of kicking the "]'s head". Shrovetide games have survived into the modern era in a number of English towns (see below).

<!-- IMPORTANT NOTE to editors: we have a length problem! That is why there is a Mediæval football article. Please do not add new material to this section unless it is significant -- please put any new material in the Mediæval football article _before_ you add it to this section. Thank you. -->The first detailed description of football in England was given by William FitzStephen in about 1174-1183. He described the activities of ] youths during the annual festival of ]:
:''After lunch all the youth of the city go out into the fields to take part in a ball game. The students of each school have their own ball; the workers from each city craft are also carrying their balls. Older citizens, fathers, and wealthy citizens come on horseback to watch their juniors competing, and to relive their own youth vicariously: you can see their inner passions aroused as they watch the action and get caught up in the fun being had by the carefree adolescents''.<ref>Stephen Alsford, , ''Florilegium Urbanum'', April 5, 2006</ref>

<!-- IMPORTANT NOTE to editors: we have a length problem! That is why there is a Mediæval football article. Please do not add new material to this section unless it is significant -- please put any new material in the Mediæval football article _before_ you add it to this section. Thank you. -->Most of the very early references to the game speak simply of "ball play" or "playing at ball". This reinforces the idea that the games played at the time did not necessarily involve a ball being kicked.

<!-- IMPORTANT NOTE to editors: we have a length problem! That is why there is a Mediæval football article. Please do not add new material to this section unless it is significant -- please put any new material in the Mediæval football article _before_ you add it to this section. Thank you. -->In ] , Nicholas de Farndone, ] issued a decree banning football (in the ] used by the English upper classes at the time. A translation reads: "orasmuch as there is great noise in the city caused by hustling over large foot balls in the fields of the public from which many evils might arise which God forbid: we command and forbid on behalf of the king, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used in the city in the future." This is the earliest reference to football.

<!-- IMPORTANT NOTE to editors: we have a length problem! That is why there is a Mediæval football article. Please do not add new material to this section unless it is significant -- please put any new material in the Mediæval football article _before_ you add it to this section. Thank you. -->The earliest mention of a ball game that involves kicking was in ], in ], ]: "uring the game at ball as he kicked the ball, a lay friend of his... ran against him and wounded himself".<ref></ref>.

<!-- IMPORTANT NOTE to editors: we have a length problem! That is why there is a Mediæval football article. Please do not add new material to this section unless it is significant -- please put any new material in the Mediæval football article _before_ you add it to this section. Thank you. -->In ], King ] issued a proclamation banning "...handball, football, or hockey; coursing and cock-fighting, or other such idle games", showing that "football" &mdash; whatever its exact form in this case &mdash; was being differentiated from games involving other parts of the body, such as handball.

<!-- IMPORTANT NOTE to editors: we have a length problem! That is why there is a Mediæval football article. Please do not add new material to this section unless it is significant -- please put any new material in the Mediæval football article _before_ you add it to this section. Thank you. -->King ] was the first to use the English word "football", in ], when he issued a proclamation forbidding the levying of money for "foteball".<ref></ref>

<!-- IMPORTANT NOTE to editors: we have a length problem! That is why there is a Mediæval football article. Please do not add new material to this section unless it is significant -- please put any new material in the Mediæval football article _before_ you add it to this section. Thank you. -->There is also an account in ] from the end of the ] of football being played at ], ]. This is the first description of a "kicking game" and the first description of ]: "he game at which they had met for common recreation is called by some the foot-ball game. It is one in which young men, in country sport, propel a huge ball not by throwing it into the air but by striking it and rolling it along the ground, and that not with their hands but with their feet." The chronicler gives the earliest reference to a football field, stating that: "he boundaries have been marked and the game had started.<ref></ref>

<!-- IMPORTANT NOTE to editors: we have a length problem! That is why there is a Mediæval football article. Please do not add new material to this section unless it is significant -- please put any new material in the Mediæval football article _before_ you add it to this section. Thank you. -->
Other firsts in the mediæval and ] eras:

* "a football", in the sense of a ball rather than a game, was first mentioned in 1486.<ref> at ''EtymOnline.com''</ref> This reference is in Dame ]' ''Book of St Albans''. It states: "a certain rounde instrument to play with ...it is an instrument for the foote and then it is calde in Latyn 'pila pedalis', a fotebal." <ref></ref>
* a pair of football boots was ordered by King ] in 1526. <ref> Vivek Chaudhary, , '']'', February 18, 2004</ref>
* women playing a form of football was in 1580, when Sir ] described it in one of his poems: " tyme there is for all, my mother often sayes, When she, with skirts tuckt very hy, with girles at football playes."<ref>Anniina Jokinen, , ''Luminarium.org'', July 2006</ref>
* the first references to ''goals'' are in the late ] and early ]. In 1584 and 1602 respectively, ] and ] referred to "goals" in ]. Carew described how goals were made: "they pitch two bushes in the ground, some eight or ten foote asunder; and directly against them, ten or twelue score off, other twayne in like distance, which they terme their Goales".<ref>http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/srvcr10.txt</ref>. Carew also gives the earliest account of a goalkeeper ("gard") and passing a ball ("dealing").
* the first direct reference to ''scoring a goal'' is in ]'s play '']'' (performed circa 1600; published 1659): "I'll play a gole at ]" (an extremely violent variety of football, which was popular in ]).<ref>http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/spe/spe10.htm</ref>. Similarly in a poem in 1613, ] refers to "when the Ball to throw, And drive it to the Gole, in squadrons forth they goe".

====Calcio Fiorentino====
{{main|Calcio Fiorentino}}
In the 16th century, the city of ] celebrated the period between ] and ] by playing a game which today is known as "''calcio storico''" ("historic kickball") in the ] or the ]. The young aristocrats of the city would dress up in fine silk costumes and embroil themselves in a violent form of football. For example, ''calcio'' players could punch, shoulder charge, and kick opponents. Blows below the belt were allowed. The game is said to have originated as a military training exercise. In 1580, Count Giovanni de' Bardi di Vernio wrote ''Discorso sopra 'l giuoco del Calcio Fiorentino''. This is sometimes said to be the earliest code of rules for any football game. The game was not played after January 1739 (until it was revived in May 1930).

====Official disapproval and attempts to ban football====
{{main|Attempts to ban football games}}
Numerous attempts have been made to ban football games, particularly the most rowdy and disruptive forms. This was especially the case in England and in other parts of Europe, during the ] and ]. Between 1324 and 1667, football was banned in England alone by more than 30 royal and local laws. The need to repeatedly proclaim such laws demonstrated the difficulty in enforcing bans on popular games.

King ] was so troubled by the unruliness of football in ] that on ], ] he issued a proclamation banning it: "Forasmuch as there is great noise in the city caused by hustling over large balls from which many evils may arise which God forbid; we command and forbid, on behalf of the King, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used in the city in the future."

The reasons for the ban by ], on ], ], were explicit: football and other recreations distracted the populace from practicing ], which was necessary for war.

By ], the local authorities in ] were complaining that: "With the ffotebale... hath beene greate disorder in our towne of Manchester we are told, and glasse windowes broken yearlye and spoyled by a companie of lewd and disordered persons ..."<ref> at '']''</ref> That same year, the word "football" was used disapprovingly by ]. Shakespeare's play '']'' contains the line: "Nor tripped neither, you base football player" (Act I, Scene 4).
Shakespeare also mentions the game in '']'' (Act II, Scene 1):
:''Am I so round with you as you with me,''<br>
:''That like a football you do spurn me thus?''<br>
:''You spurn me hence, and he will spurn me hither:''<br>
:''If I last in this service, you must case me in leather.''
"Spurn" literally means ''to kick away'', thus implying that the game involved kicking a ball between players.

King ]'s ''Book of Sports'' (1618) however, instructs Christians to play at football every Sunday afternoon after worship.<ref> at ]</ref> The book's appears to be an attempt to offset the strictness of the ], regarding the keeping of the ].<ref> at ''Reformed.org''</ref>

===Establishment of modern codes of football===


====Cambridge Rules====
{{main|The Cambridge Rules}}
In 1848 at ], ], who were both formerly at ], called a meeting at ] with 12 other representatives from Eton, Harrow, Rugby, ] and Shrewsbury. An eight-hour meeting produced what amounted to the first set of modern rules, known as the ''Cambridge Rules''. No copy of these rules now exists, but a revised version from circa 1856 is held in the library of Shrewsbury School. The rules clearly favour the kicking game. Handling was only allowed for a player to take a ''clean catch'' entitling them to a free kick and there was a primitive offside rule, disallowing players from "loitering" around the opponents' goal. The ''Cambridge Rules'' were not widely adopted outside English public schools and universities but did influence the ] committee members responsible for formulating the rules of ] as it is played today .
====Other developments in the 1850s====
The interest in football in various countries during the 1850s, was shown by developments in ball manufacturing and the formation of the oldest documented football clubs.

In Europe, early footballs were made out of animal ]s, more specifically pig's bladders, which were inflated. Later ] coverings were introduced to allow the ball to keep their shape. <ref> <small>(Accessed ] ])</small> </ref> However, in 1851, ] and ], both shoemakers from the town of ] (near the school), exhibited both round and oval-shaped balls at the ] in ]. Richard Lindon's wife is said to have died due to lung disease caused by blowing up pig's bladders.<ref>The exact name of Mr Lindon is in dispute, as well as the exact timing of the creation of the inflatable bladder. It is known that he created this for both association and rugby footballs. However sites devoted to association football indicate he was known as , who was actually Richards Lindon's son, and created the ball in ] (ref: ), whereas rugby sites refer to him as ] creating the ball in ] (ref: ). Both agree that his wife died when inflating pig's bladders. This information orginated from web sites which may be unreliable, and the answer may only be found in researching books in central libraries.</ref> Lindon also won medals for the invention of the "Rubber inflatable Bladder" and the "Brass Hand Pump".

] &mdash; founded at ] in ] and later famous as a bastion of the Rugby School game &mdash; is arguably the world's ] in any code.

In ], the U.S. inventor ] &mdash; who had patented ] &mdash; exhibited a spherical football, with an exterior of vulcanized rubber panels, at the ]. The ball was to prove popular in early forms of football in the U.S.A. <ref> <small>Downloaded 30/11/06.</small> </ref>

By the late 1850s, many football clubs had been formed throughout the English-speaking world, to play various codes of football. (For more details see: ]s.)

], founded in ] in the English city of ], by former Harrow School pupils Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest, was later recognised as the world's oldest club playing Association football (soccer). However, the club initially played its own code of football: the ]. There were some similarities to the ], but players were allowed to push or ''hit'' the ball with their hands, and there was no ''offside'' rule at all, so that players known as ''kick throughs'' could be permanently positioned near the opponents' goal. The code spread to a number of clubs in the area and was popular until the 1870s.

====Australian rules football====
] match at the ], ], in 1866. (A ] by Robert Bruce.)]]
{{main|Australian rules football}}
] began to develop Australian football in ] during 1858. Wills had been educated in England, at Rugby School and had played ] for Cambridge University. The extent to which Wills was directly influenced by British and Irish football games is unknown, but there were similarities between some of them and his game. There were ] between Wills's game and ] (as it would be codified in 1887). It appears that Australian football also has some similarities to the ] game of '']'' (see above).

] was also founded in 1858 and is the oldest surviving Australian football club, but the rules it used during its first season are unknown. The club's rules of 1859 are the oldest surviving set of laws for Australian rules. They were drawn up at the Parade Hotel, ] on ], by Wills, W.J. Hammersley, J.B. Thompson and Thomas Smith (some sources include H.C.A. Harrison). These men had similar backgrounds to Wills and their code also had pronounced similarities to the Sheffield rules, most notably in the absence of an ''offside'' rule. A free kick was awarded for a ''mark'' (clean catch). However, ''running'' while holding the ball was allowed and although it was not specified in the rules, a rugby ball was used. The club shared many members with the ], which was based at the ], and '']s'' — which vary in size and are much larger than the fields used in other forms of football — became the standard playing field for Australian rules. The 1859 rules did not include some elements which would soon become important to the game, such as the requirement to ''bounce'' the ball while running.

Australian rules is sometimes said to be the first form of football to be codified but — as was the case in all kinds of football at the time, there was no official body supporting the rules — and play varied from one club to another. By 1866, however, several other clubs in the ] had agreed to play an updated version of the Melbourne F.C. rules, which were later known as "Victorian Rules" and/or "]n Rules". The formal name of the code later became Australian rules football (and, more recently, Australian football). By the end of the 19th century the code had spread to the ] (although rugby football would remain more popular in ] and ]) and ].

====The Football Association====
] international, ] versus ]. Once kept by the ] as an early example of ].]]
{{main|The Football Association#History}}
During the early 1860s, there were increasing attempts in England to unify and reconcile the various public school games. In 1862, J. C. Thring, who had been one of the driving forces behind the original Cambridge Rules, was a master at ] and he issued his own rules of what he called "The Simplest Game" (these are also known as the Uppingham Rules). In early October 1863 another new revised version of the Cambridge Rules was drawn up by a seven member committee representing former pupils from Harrow, Shrewsbury, Eton, Rugby, Marlborough and Westminster.

At the Freemason's Tavern, Great Queen Street, ] on the evening of ], ], representatives of several football clubs in the ] met for the inaugural meeting of ] (FA). The aim of the Association was to establish a single unifying code and regulate the playing of the game among its members. Following the first meeting, the public schools were invited were sent to to join the association. All of them declined, except Charterhouse and Uppingham. In total, six meetings of the FA were held between October and December 1863. After the third meeting, a draft set of rules were published. However, at the beginning of the fourth meeting, attention was drawn to the recently-published Cambridge Rules of 1863. The Cambridge rules differed from the draft FA rules in two significant areas; namely running with (carrying) the ball and hacking (kicking opposing players in the shins). The two contentious FA rules were as follows:

:''IX. A player shall be entitled to run with the ball towards his adversaries' goal if he makes a fair catch, or catches the ball on the first bound; but in case of a fair catch, if he makes his mark he shall not run.''

:''X. If any player shall run with the ball towards his adversaries' goal, any player on the opposite side shall be at liberty to charge, hold, trip or hack him, or to wrest the ball from him, but no player shall be held and hacked at the same time.''

At the fifth meeting it was proposed that these two rules be removed. Most of the delegates supported this, but F. W. Campbell, the representative from ] and the first FA treasurer, objected. He said: "hacking is the true football". However, the motion to ban hacking was carried and Blackheath withdrew from the FA. After the final meeting on ], the FA published the "]", the first comprehensive set of rules for the game later known as ] (later known in some countries as soccer).

The first FA rules still contained elements that are no longer part of association football, but which are still recognisable in other games: for instance, a player could make a fair catch and claim a '']'', which entitled him to a free kick, and; if a player touched the ball behind the opponents' goal line, his side was entitled to a ''free kick'' at goal, from 15 yards in front of the goal line.

====Rugby football====
{{main|History of rugby union}}
]
In ], by 1870, there were about 75 clubs playing variations of the Rugby school game. There were also "rugby" clubs in ], ], ] and ]. However, there was no generally accepted set of rules for rugby until 1871, when 21 clubs from London came together to form the ] (RFU). (Ironically, Blackheath now lobbied to ban ].) The first official RFU rules were adopted in June 1871. These rules allowed passing the ball. They also included the ], where touching the ball over the line allowed an attempt at goal, though drop-goals from marks and general play, and penalty conversions were still the main form of contest.

====North American football====
{{main|Canadian football#History|History of American football}}
As was the case in Britain, by the early 19th century, ]n schools and universities played their own local games, between sides made up of students.

The first game of rugby in ] is generally said to have taken place in ], in 1865, when ] officers played local civilians. The game gradually gained a following, and the ] was formed in 1868, the first recorded football club in Canada.

In 1869, the first game played in the ] under rules based on the English FA (soccer) code occurred, between ] and ]. This is also often considered to be the first US game of ], in the sense of a game between colleges (although the eventual form of American football would come from rugby, not soccer).
]

Modern ] grew out of a match between ] of Montreal, and ] in 1874. At the time, Harvard students are reported to have played the ] &mdash; a ''running'' code &mdash; rather than the FA-based ''kicking'' games favored by US universities. This made it easy for Harvard to adapt to the rugby-based game played by McGill and the two teams alternated between their respective sets of rules. Within a few years, however, Harvard had both adopted McGill's rugby rules and had persuaded other US university teams to do the same. In 1876, at the ], it was agreed by these universities to adopt most of the ] rules. However, a '']'' only counted toward the score if neither side kicked a '']''. The convention decided that, in the US game, four touchdowns would be worth one goal; in the event of a tied score, a goal converted from a touchdown would take precedence over four touch-downs.

Princeton, Rutgers and others continued to compete using soccer-based rules for a few years before switching to the rugby-based rules of Harvard and its competitors. US colleges did not generally return to soccer until the early twentieth century.

In 1880, ] coach ], devised a number of major changes to the American game, beginning with the reduction of teams from 15 to ''11 players'', followed by reduction of the field area by almost half, and; the introduction of the ''scrimmage'', in which a player heeled the ball backwards, to begin a game. These were complemented in 1882 by another of Camp's innovations: a team had to surrender possession if they did not gain five yards after three ''downs'' (i.e. successful tackles).

Over the years Canadian football absorbed some developments in American football, but also retained many unique characteristics. One of these was that Canadian football, for many years, did not officially distinguish itself from rugby. For example, the '''Canadian Rugby Football Union''', founded in 1884 was the forerunner of the ], rather than a rugby union body. (The ] was not formed until 1965.) American football was also frequently described as "rugby" in the 1880s.

====Gaelic football====
{{main|Gaelic football#History}}
In the mid-19th century, various traditional football games, referred to collectively as '']'', remained popular in Ireland, especially in ]. One observer, Father W. Ferris, described two main forms of ''caid'' during this period: the "field game" in which the object was to put the ball through arch-like goals, formed from the boughs of two trees, and; the epic "cross-country game" which took up most of the daylight hours of a Sunday on which it was played, and was won by one team taking the ball across a ] boundary. "Wrestling", "holding" opposing players, and carrying the ball were all allowed.

By the 1870s, Rugby and Association football had started to become popular in Ireland. ] was an early stronghold of Rugby (see the ] section, above). The rules of the English FA were being distributed widely. Traditional forms of ''caid'' had begun to give way to a "rough-and-tumble game" which allowed tripping.

There was no serious attempt to unify and codify Irish varieties of football, until the establishment of the ] (GAA) in 1884. The GAA sought to promote traditional Irish sports, such as ] and to reject imported games like Rugby and Association football. The first Gaelic football rules were drawn up by ] and published in the ''United Ireland'' magazine on ], ]. Davin's rules showed the influence of games such as hurling and a desire to formalise a distinctly Irish code of football. The prime example of this differentiation was the lack of an ] (an attribute which, for many years, was shared only by other Irish games like hurling, and by Australian rules football).

====The split in Rugby football====
{{see|History of rugby league}}
The ] (IRFB) was founded in 1886, but rifts were beginning to emerge in the code. ] was beginning to creep into the various codes of football.

In Britain, by the 1890s, a long-standing ] ban on ''professional'' players was causing regional tensions within rugby football, as many players in northern England were ] and could not afford to take time off to train, travel, play and recover from injuries. This was not very different from what had occurred ten years earlier in soccer in Northern England but the authorities reacted very differently in the RFU, attempting to alienate the working class support in Northern England. In ], following a dispute about a player being paid broken time payments, which replaced wages lost as a result of playing rugby, representatives of the northern clubs met in ] to form the ] (NRFU). The new body initially permitted only various types of player wage replacements. However, within two years, NRFU players could be paid, but they were required to have a job outside sport.

The demands of a professional league dictated that rugby had to become a better "spectator" sport. Within a few years the NRFU rules had started to diverge from the RFU, most notably with the abolition of the '']''. This was followed by the replacement of the '']'' with the "play-the-ball ruck", which allowed a two-player ruck contest between the tackler at marker and the player tackled. '']s'' were stopped once the ball carrier was held, being replaced by a play-the ball-ruck. The separate Lancashire and Yorkshire competitions of the NRFU merged in 1901, forming the ''Northern Rugby League'', the first time the name ] was used officially in England.

Over time, the RFU form of rugby, played by clubs which remained members of national federations affiliated to the IRFB, became known as ].

====The globalisation of association football (soccer)====
{{main|History of FIFA}}
The need for a single body to oversee Association football had become apparent by the beginning of the 20th century, with the increasing popularity of international fixtures. The English Football Association had chaired many discussions on setting up an international body, but was perceived as making no progress. It fell to associations from seven other European countries: ], ], ], ], ], ], and ], to form an international association. The ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (]) was founded in ] on ], ]. Its first president was ]. The ] name and acronym has remained, even outside French-speaking countries.

====The reform of American football====
Both forms of rugby and American football were noted at the time for serious injuries, as well as the deaths of a significant number of players. By the early 20th century in the USA, this had resulted in national controversy and American football was banned by a number of colleges. Consequently, a series of meetings was held by 19 colleges in ]. This occurred reputedly at the behest of President ]. He was considered a fancier of the game, but he threatened to ban it unless the rules were modified to reduce the numbers of deaths and disabilities. The meetings are now considered to be the origin of the ].

One proposed change was a widening of the playing field. However, ] had just built a concrete stadium and therefore objected to widening, instead proposing legalisation of the '']''. The report of the meetings introduced many restrictions on tackling and two more divergences from rugby: the forward pass and the banning of ''mass formation plays''. The changes did not immediately have the desired effect, and 33 American football players were killed during 1908 alone. However, the number of deaths and injuries did gradually decline.

====Further divergence of the two rugby codes====
Rugby league rules diverged significantly from rugby union in 1906, with the reduction of the team from 15 to 13 players. In 1907, a ] professional rugby team toured Australia and Britain, receiving an enthusiastic reponse, and professional ] the following year. However, the rules of professional rugby varied from one country to another, and negotiations between various national bodies were required to fix the exact rules for each international match. This situation endured until 1948, when at the instigation of the French league, the ] (RLIF) was formed at a meeting in ].

During the second half of 20th century, the rules changed further. In 1966, rugby league officials borrowed the American football concept of '']'': a team could retain possession of the ball for no more than four tackles. The maximum number of tackles was later increased to six (in 1971), and in rugby league this became known as the ].

With the advent of full-time professionals in the early 1990s, and the consequent speeding up of the game, the five metre off-side distance between the two teams became 10 metres, and the replacement rule was superseded by various interchange rules, among other changes.

The rules of rugby union also changed significantly and became very complex and technical during the 20th century. In addition, rucks and mauls became homogenised, and in line-outs players began to be lifted by their teammates to contest their opponents.

In 1995, rugby union became an "open" game, that is one which allowed professional players. Although the original dispute between the two codes has now disappeared &mdash; and despite the fact that officials from both forms of rugby football have sometimes mentioned the possibility of re-unification &mdash; the rules of both codes and their culture have diverged to such an extent that such a event is unlikely in the foreseeable future.


==Football today== ==Football today==

Revision as of 22:16, 12 December 2006

This article is about various sports known as "football". For information about the balls used in these sports, see football (ball).


Football is the name given to a number of different, but related, team sports. The most popular of these world-wide is association football (also known as soccer). The English word "football" is also applied to American football, Australian rules football, Canadian football, Gaelic football, rugby football (rugby union and rugby league), and related games. All of these codes (specific sets of rules) are referred to as "football" by their followers.

Some of the many different codes of football.

These games involve:

  • a spherical or prolate spheroid ball, which is itself called a football.
  • a team scoring goals and/or points, by moving the ball to an opposing team's end of the field and either into a goal area, or over a line.
  • the goal and/or line being defended by the opposing team.
  • the ball being moved mostly by kicking, carrying and/or passing by hand, depending on the code.
  • goals and/or points resulting from players putting the ball between two goalposts.
  • in some codes, points being mostly scored by players taking the ball across the line.
  • players scoring a goal, in most codes, being required to put the ball either under or over a crossbar between the goalposts.
  • players in some codes receiving a free kick after they take a mark/make a fair catch.
  • players being required to use their feet (and possibly other specific parts of their bodies) to move the ball and/or score, depending on the code.
  • the winning team being the one that has the most points or goals, when a specified length of time has elapsed.


Many of the modern games have their origins in England, but many peoples around the world have played games which involved kicking and/or carrying a ball since ancient times.

Etymology

Main article: Football (word)

While it is widely believed that the word "football" (or "foot ball") originated in reference to the action of a foot kicking a ball, there is a rival explanation, which has it that football originally referred to a variety of games in medieval Europe, which were played on foot. These games were usually played by peasants, as opposed to the horse-riding sports often played by aristocrats. While there is no conclusive evidence for this explanation, the word football has always implied a variety of games played on foot, not just those that involved kicking a ball. In some cases, the word football has even been applied to games which have specifically outlawed kicking the ball.

History

Early history

THE MAN HOO DISCOVERED FOOTBALL WAS COMPLETELY GAY AND FAT AND LIVED WITH HIS MOM ONE DAY ANOTHER GAY FATASS MET THE MAN AND THE FUCKED FOR 3 DAYS STRIGHT THEN THEY SAID I THOUGH OF AN IDEA AND THE 2 GAY GUYS MADE THE SPORT FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Football today

Use of the word "football" in English-speaking countries

Further information: Football (word)

The word "football", when used in reference to a specific game can mean any one of those described above. Because of this, much friendly controversy has occurred over the term football, primarily because it is used in different ways in different parts of the English-speaking world. Most often, the word "football" is used to refer to the code of football that is considered dominant within a particular region.

In most English-speaking countries, the word "football" usually refers to Association football, also known as "soccer" (the name was originally a slang abbreviation of Association). Of the 45 national FIFA affiliates in which English is an official or primary language, only three (Canada, Samoa and the United States) use "soccer" in their name, while the rest use football (although the Samoan Federation actually uses both). However, in some countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, use of the word "football" by soccer bodies is a recent change (or a reversion to a long-abandoned name) and has been controversial.

The different codes are listed below and are described more fully in their own articles.

Present day codes and "families" of football

Association football (soccer) and games descended from it

  • Association football, also known as football, soccer, footy and footie.
  • Indoor/basketball court varieties of Association football:
    • Five-a-side football – played throughout the world under various rules including:
      • Futsal – the FIFA-approved five-a-side indoor game.
      • Minivoetbal – the five-a-side indoor game played in East and West Flanders where it is hugely popular.
      • Papi fut — the five-a-side game played in outdoor basketball courts (built with goals) in Central America.
    • Indoor soccer – the six-a-side indoor game as played in North America.
  • Paralympic football – modified association football for athletes with a disability. Includes:
  • Beach soccer – football played on sand, also known as sand soccer.
  • Footvolley – football & beach volleyball combination played on sand, played by many famous footballers (Brazilian greats) around the world
  • Street football – encompasses a number of informal varieties of football.
  • Bossaball — mixes football with volleyball and gymnastics on inflatables and trampolines.
  • Rush goalie – is a variation of football in which the role of the goalkeeper is more flexible than normal.
  • Headers and volleys – where the aim is to score goals against a goalkeeper using only headers and volleys.
  • Fouling football – all tackles except the use of weapons and (usually) kicks to the groin are allowed, teams can be of sizes upwards of 5 but usually less than 15, injuries are par for the course.

Rugby school football and games descended from it

  • Rugby football
    • Rugby league – usually known simply as "football" or "footy" in the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland, and by some followers of the game in England. Also often referred to simply as "league".
    • Rugby union
    • Beach rugby - rugby played on sand
    • Touch rugby – generic name for forms of rugby football which does not feature tackles.
  • American football – called "football" in the United States and Canada, and "gridiron" in Australia and New Zealand.
    • Arena football – an indoor version of American football.
    • Touch football (American) – non-tackle American football.
      • Flag football – non-tackle American football, like touch football, in which a flag that is held by velcro on a belt tied around the waist is pulled by defenders to indicate a tackle.
  • Canadian football – called simply "football" in Canada; "football" in Canada can mean either Canadian or American football depending on context.

Irish and Australian varieties of football

These codes are all united by the absence of an offside rule, the requirement to bounce or solo (toe-kick) the ball while running, handpassing by punching the ball rather than throwing it, and other traditions.

  • Australian rules football – officially known as "Australian football", and informally as "Aussie rules" or "footy". In some areas (erroneously) referred to as "AFL", which is the name of the main organising body and competition.
    • Auskick – a version of Australian rules designed by the AFL for young children.
    • Metro footy (or Metro rules footy) – a modified version invented by the USAFL, for use on gridiron fields in North American cities (which often lack grounds large enough for conventional Australian rules matches).
    • 9-a-side footy – a more open, running variety of Australian rules, requiring 18 players in total and a proportionally smaller playing area. (Includes contact and non-contact varieties.)
    • Rec footy – "Recreational Football", a modified non-contact touch variation of Australian rules, created by the AFL, which replaces tackles with tags.
    • Touch Aussie Rules - a non-contact variation of Australian Rules played only in the United Kingdom
    • Samoa rules – localised version adapted to Samoan conditions, such as the use of rugby football fields.
    • Masters Australian football (a.k.a. Superules) – reduced contact version introduced for competitions limited to players over 30 years of age.
    • Women's Australian rules football – played with a smaller ball and (sometimes) reduced contact version introduced for women's competition.
  • Gaelic football – Played predominantly in Ireland. Sometimes referred to as "football" or "gaah" (from the acronym for Gaelic Athletic Association).
  • International rules football – a compromise code used for games between Gaelic and Australian Rules players.

Surviving Mediæval ball games

British Shrove Tuesday games
Outside the UK

Surviving public school games

Recent inventions and hybrid games

Tabletop games and other recreations

Notes

  1. Professional Football Researchers Association Origins of Football
  2. Sean Fagan, Breaking The Codes, RL1908.com, 2006

References

  • Mandelbaum, Michael (2004); The Meaning of Sports; Public Affairs, ISBN 1-58648-252-1
  • Green, Geoffrey (1953); The History of the Football Association; Naldrett Press, London
  • Williams, Graham (1994); The Code War; Yore Publications, ISBN 1-874427-65-8

See also

External links


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