What is the origin of football?
January 31, 2020
Do you know that back in the days pig’s bladder was used to play football? And paying football players was strictly forbidden? These and other curiosities you can find in this article.
Where and when football was invented?
We can say that football is as old as civilization. The first written report from the match was found in China. The match took place over 2000 years ago! Japan received the right to be the host of the World Championship in 2002 because they submitted record from the 14th century! Even in the Roman Empire men chased a ball. There are also records from matches organized in London in 1175. It was in Great Britain where football developed rapidly and matches were organized annually at the market. No one knows exactly where football comes from but the game eleven on eleven, that we know to date, is credited to the English from the 19th century.
First official name of football was association football and it was given by English PE teachers in the 19th century.
What first matches looked like?
Football in the 19th century was very brutal and dangerous. During matches, the townspeople had to barricade doors and windows to protect themselves against crowds playing on the street. Accidents happened often, also fatal ones. In London, not a ball but pig’s bladder was used and once in Chester, during the celebration of victory against the Danes, as a ball served the head of one of the enemies. That’s why in 1314 the King of England at that time, Edward II, prohibited football games under the penalty of imprisonment. But the English didn’t let to deny their pleasure so it was decided to introduce rules instead of prohibition. Most likely, the Cornish were first to adopt fixed rules, in the book “The Survey of Cornwall” we can read that: tripping and attacking below the waist is not allowed and the forward pass is banned.
How much earned football players?
On 26 October 1863, The Football Association (FA) was founded. The aim was to create rules and principles regarding the game. The sixteenth rule said that no player could receive remuneration under the threat of exclusion from any Championship, both within the club and international. If it had gone to light that some club had paid the players, the club would have been excluded from FA. Paying the players was considered to be an unsporting behavior. The problem only snowballed and many indictments and processes forced FA to act. The watershed moment was disqualification of the Preston team for paying their players. The representatives of the club testified that they could prove that other clubs also paid their players. No one wanted to hire amateurs, the clubs wanted to have the best players and they could convince them only by money. That’s why in 1885 the decision was made: it’s time to legalize professional football.
As we can see, football arouses emotions ever since, sometimes also disputes. Even big technological development doesn’t diminish the great interest in this sport. The conclusion is obvious. Football is immortal!