How Football Came To Stay

Source

Football, as we know it today, is sometimes ago known as Association Football or Soccer began in England with the laying down of rules by the football association in 1863. Several different rule codes existed such as Cambridge rules and the Sheffield rules meaning that there was often disagreement and confusion among players while no single individual can realistically lay claim to being the inventor of football.

Ebenezer Morley has been referred to as the father of the Football Association while Morley was not of the public schoolboys, he was the founder of Barnes Football Club and it was his letter to the newspaper Bell's that prompted the historic meeting which established the new rules.

The meeting which took place on October 26, 1863, at the freemason's Tavern on Great Queen Street in London involved representatives from 12 clubs and the game of football was soon codified. Nowadays the game of football presides over globally by FIFA which was established in 1904(41 years after the FA.

The IFAB(International Football Association Board) is the so-called 'guardian'guardian' of the laws of the game and it is run by FIFA as well as four British associations (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland).

What was the early form of football?

While those associated with football in England take pride in the fact they can be said to be inventors of modern football other forms have been recorded elsewhere and much earlier. Indeed, the earliest form of football ball is understood to be 'Cuju' which was played in China during the Han dynasty from 206Bc to 220Ad.

Source

Cuju translated literally as kickball and the game aimed to kick the ball into a net, like later forms of the game in England, Cuju outlawed the use of the hands. In ancient Greece too, a game similar to football existed which was called Episkyros, the name of game means 'common ball' and it involved two teams of players (with numbers comparable to football) with one ball notably, though players were allowed to use their hands.

Source

Episkyros was frequently violent and it is believed to be related somewhat to belated ancient Roman game (Harpastum) which means carry away, so we can see that a lot of different football games spawned across the world and changed over time. Luckily for fans today, though the FA and FIFA decided to establish a new standard, one that could be enjoyed by everyone in the world over the rest of history.