CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...2CHAPTER I – THE BEGINNING OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND………………………………………………………….3CHAPTER II – THE EVOLUTION OF FOOTBALL……………………………………………………………………………..5II.1 – EARLY RULES……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5II.2 – THE FA CUP AND THE PROFESSIONALISM………………………………………………………………………….8CHAPTER III – THE GOLDEN AGE……………………………………………………………………………………………….10CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….12BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….13

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INTRODUCTION

Have you ever wondered how soccer / football games get into our life? Why it is so

many peoples in the world are crazy about this game? Almost every culture has reference

to the history of soccer.

The origin of football / soccer can be

found in every corner of the world. The

Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Ancient

Greeks, Persians, Vikings, and many

more played a ball game long before our

era. The Chinese played a kind of

football3000 years ago. The Ancient

Greeks and the Roman used

football games to train

warriors for battle. In south and Central America a game called "Tlatchi" once

flourished.

But it was in England that soccer / football really began to take shape. It all started in

1863 in England, when two football associations association football and rugby football)

split off on their different course. Therefore, the first Football Association was founded in

England.

The first match was played in 1872 and was contested by England and Scotland. This

sudden boom of organized football accompanied by staggering crowds of spectators

brought with it certain problems with which other countries were not confronted until

much later on. Professionalism was one of them.

As far as I am concerned I have always been fond of this spectacular game, which is

the reason why I have chosen to talk about this subject.

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CHAPTER I

THE BEGINNING OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND

The game of football generally increased in England from around the 8th Century

onwards. The game was incredibly popular with the working classes and there were

considerable regional variations of the game throughout the country. Games were

normally violent and disorganized affairs with any number of players - it was not

uncommon for 1000 people to play in a single game. By the 11th Century, games

were often played between rival villages and the 'pitch' could be an incredibly large

area. The 'pitch' was not a defined size with a parameter, but included streets, fields,

village squares and anything else that got in the way!

The level of violence within

the game was astonishing. Players were kicked and punched regularly by opponents.

In addition to any personal injury that occurred, countless property items were

destroyed in the course of a match. Fields were often ruined, because of this violence

that happens in the match. Damage also occurred to people's houses and businesses

within he main streets of the village.

For people living within the cities, football was still a new concept and considered to

be a 'rural custom'. However in the second half of the 12th Century football had

established itself in London. By 1175 an annual competition had been established in

the capital and every Tuesday the game created huge interest and gained further

popularity.

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 International matches were being staged later in Great Britain before football had

hardly been heard of in Europe. The first was played in 1872 and was played

between England and Scotland. This sudden boom of organized football

accompanied by crowds of spectators brought with it certain problems with which

other countries were not confronted until much later on. Professionalism was one of

them. The first moves in this direction came in 1879, when Darwin, a small

Lancashire club, twice managed to draw against the supposedly invincible Old

Etonians in the FA Cup, before the famous team of London amateurs finally hardly

managed to win at the third attempt. Two Darwin players, the Scots John Love and

Fergus Suter, are reported as being the first players ever to receive remuneration for

their football talent. This practice grew rapidly and the Football Association found

itself obliged to legalise professionalism as early as 1885.

Even nowadays many people don’t know the beginning of football, for

example in what year was the first match played, or even the name of the football

teams from those days. In my opinion, football is the most beautiful sport and we

must be proud that the United Kingdom is the place where this game got shape to

the way of what it looks now,

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CHAPTER II THE EVOLUTION OF FOOTBALL

II.1 – EARLY RULES

Football was a very popular sport in every single place of the United Kingdom but

in Sheffield and in 1857 a group of men established the Sheffield Football Club at

Bramall Lane. It is believed to be the first football club in the world, but sadly not a big

number of persons know this. Later on, to improve the quality of these game two

former students, Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest, published their own set of rules

for football. These new rules allowed for more physical contact than those established by

some of the public schools from that period. Players were allowed to push opponents off

the ball with their hands. It was also within the rules to shoulder charge players, with or

without the ball. If a goalkeeper caught the ball, he could be barged over the line. At first

the Sheffield Club played friendly games against small teams from London and

even Nottingham.

In 1862 a new set of rules were established at Cambridge University. These specified

11-a-side, an umpire from each side plus a neutral referee, goals 12ft across and up to

20ft high. An offside rule was added.

“One of the teachers at Uppingham, John Charles Thring, published his own set of rules:

1. A goal is scored whenever the ball is forced through the goal and under the bar, except

it be thrown by hand.

2. Hands may be used only to stop a ball and place it on the ground before the feet.

3. Kicks must be aimed only at the ball.

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4. A player may not kick the ball whilst in the air.

This is just a few rules that helped this sport to develop and to became what it is today,

a sport that means more than a ball or some players on the pitch.”1

Although the government from the years Sheffield appeared disproved the idea that

working- classes are playing football, this sport continued to be a very popular sport in

every place in the kingdom, especially in public schools. In 1884 a meeting took place at

Cambridge University in order to reformulate the rules of football. Teachers representing

Shrewsbury, Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Marlborough and Westminster produced what

became known as the Cambridge Rules. From that date every man brought a copy of his

school rules, or knew them by heart, to make this sport better than it was.

Some of this rules war clearly important and decided that that goals would be awarded

for balls kicked between the flag posts (uprights) and under the string (crossbar). All

players were allowed to catch the ball direct from the foot, provided the catcher kicked it

immediately. However, they were forbidden to catch the ball and run with it. Only the

goalkeeper was allowed to hold the ball. He could also punch it from anywhere in his

own half. Goal kicks and throw-ins took place when the ball went out of play. It was

specified that throw-ins were taken with one hand only. It was also decided that players

in the same team should wear the same color cap (red and dark blue).

Sometimes public schools played football against boys from the local town. Although

these games often ended in fights, it did help to spread knowledge of Cambridge

Rules football. Former public school boys also played football at university. Many

continued to play after finishing their education. Some joined clubs like the Old

Etonians, Old Harrovians and the Wanderers (a side only open to men who had attended

the leading public schools), whereas others formed their own clubs.

1871 also saw the introduction of umpires and a neutral referee. Both sides were allowed

to appoint an umpire to whom players could appeal to about incidents that took place on

the pitch. However, the FA rule now stated, a new but very important point of view.

Archie Hunter, who played football in Scotland in the late 1860s, later explained that

"football in those days was very different to what it is now or ever will be again. There 1 http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fhistory.htm

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were no particular rules and we played pretty much as we liked and also we played

football because we love it, not for money; but we thought we were playing the Rugby

game, of course, because the Association hadn't started then to come up with rules in

order to make this sport better. It didn't matter as long as we got goals and the crowd

behind us; and besides, we only played with one another, picking sides among ourselves

and having friendly matches in the playground. Such as it was though, I got to like the

game immensely, and I spent as much time as I could kicking the ball"

In 1871, then years later Charles W. Alcock, the Secretary of the Football Association,

announced the introduction of the Football. It was the first knockout competition of its

type in the world and people who loved this sport were very happy. Only 12 clubs took

part in the competition: Wanderers, Royal Engineers, Hitchin, Queens Park, Barnes, Civil

Service, Crystal Palace, Hampstead Heathens, Great Marlow, Upton Park, Maidenhead

and Clapham Rovers, only 2 teams are still in the present, Crystal Palace in the second

league and Queens Park in the first league of England

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5 years after the first international match was played, between England and Scotland,

another match between these two teams had been played in 1877, but also in this match

were problems, and new rules would be added later on. One of the problems from this

match was the lack the crossbars and nets. Because of this absence the goalkeeper was in

difficulty not to concede goals

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II.2 – The FA CUP AND THE PROFESIONALISM

The FA Cup, was the first nationally organized competition. A knockout cup, it began

1871, with the first winners being the Wanderers, a team that doesn’t exist any more. In

those days professionalism was banned, and the cup was dominated by service teams or

old schoolboys' teams (such as Old Etonians). Because of this The Scottish Football

Association split from the FA in 1873.In the early 1870s the modern team passing game

was invented by the Sheffield FC, Royal Engineers A.F.C. and Scottish players of the era

from Queens Park FC. This was the predecessor to the current passing, defensive game

was known as the Combination Game and was spread around the world by British

peoples.

England was home to the first ever international football match on 5 March 1870. The

first match ended in a draw and was one of a series of four matches between

representatives of England and Scotland at The Oval, London. These matches were

arranged by the Football Association, at the time the only national football body in the

world.

The new professionals needed more regular competitive football in which they could

compete, which led to the creation of the Football League in 1888 by Aston

Villa director William McGregor. This was dominated by those clubs who had supported

professionalism, and the twelve founding members consisted of six

from Lancashire (Blackburn,Rovers, Burnley,Bolton,Wanderers, Accrington, Everton an

d Preston North End) and six from the Midlands (Aston Villa, Derby County, Notts

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County, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers). No sides from

the South or London initially participated.

Preston North End won the first ever Football League championship without losing

any of their 22 fixtures, and won the FA Cup to complete the double. They retained their

league title the following year but by the turn of the 20th century they had been eclipsed

by Aston Villa, who had emulated Preston's double success in 1897.

This period in English football was dominated by the conflict between those who

supported professionalism, and those who wanted the game to remain amateur. Clubs in

Scotland and Northern England generally supported a professional game, as the working

class of these regions could not afford to miss work in order to play football. In Southern

England, the game was more popular with the middle class, who supported. A number of

clubs, such as Blackburn Rovers and Darwen were accused of employing professionals,

and the FA eventually legalized the practice in 1885, in order to avoid a split.

But, these conflicts were benefic to the future of football. Maybe, without the FA Cup,

and without those people who worked hard to get somewhere, football was not the same

in the present. In this period, when new rules had appeared, a couple of teams had won

trophies and cups.

At the turn of the 20th century, clubs from Sheffield were particularly successful, with

Sheffield United winning a title and two FA Cups, as well as losing to Tottenham in the

1901 final; meanwhile The Wednesday (later Sheffield Wednesday) won two titles and

two FA Cups, despite being relegated in 1899 they were promoted the following year.

Sunderland had won four titles between 1892 and 1902, and in the following decade

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Newcastle United won the title three titles, in 1905, 1907 and 1909, and reached five FA

Cup finals in seven years between 1905 and 1911, winning just the one, however. In

addition Bury managed a 6-0 win over Derby County in the 1903 FA Cup Final, a record

score line that stands to this day. During the first decade of the 20th century, Manchester

City looked to be emerging as England's top side after winning the FA Cup for the first

time in 1904, but it was soon revealed that the club had been involved in financial

irregularities, which included paying £6 or £7 a week in wages to players when the

national wage limit was £4 per week. The authorities were furious and rebuked the club,

dismissing five of its directors and banning four of its players from ever turning out for

the club again.

CHAPTER III – THE GOLDEN AGE

After the period that started in 1870, when new rules, FA CUP and other appeared a new

period had made history in English football. This period, between 1963 and 1971 many

teams from England had won trophies, cups and win, the most important of all glory and

a lot of fans. A lot of people called this period the Golden Age of English football,

because in this period a famous football club, Liverpool had raised.

The end of the 1950s had seen the beginning of the modernisation of English football,

with the Divisions Three North and South becoming the national Division Three

and Division Four in 1958. 1960 saw the introduction of the League Cup (with the first

winners being Aston Villa), whilst Matt Busby rebuilt his Manchester United team into a

second Busby Babes, starring George Best. Meanwhile, past giants like Wolves started to

decline, with relegation eventually coming in 1965.

It was Tottenham Hotspur who became the dominant force in English football in the early

1960s, winning the elusive double of the League and FA Cup in 1961, retaining the cup

in 1962 and becoming the first British team to win a European trophy, after their 5-1

victory over Atlético Madrid in the 1963 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final. Fellow London

side West Ham United was also successful, with the England trio of Bobby Moore, Geoff

Hurst and Martin Peters helping them win the 1964 FA Cup.

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In the golden age of English football, many players and couches played a very important

role. Practically, without them, none of these incredible performances would come to the

United Kingdom. So, we must remind huge players who dominated the English scene

during the 1970s and early 1980: Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, 

Older players whose careers finished during this time include Bobby Moore, Bobby

Charlton, George Best,

Successful managers of this era include Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Don Revie, John

Lyall, Brian Clough, Ron Saunders, This special had come to an end between 1986-1991,

and starting with 2001, football is like we see it today on TV.

Behind this history of football stays a lot of hard work, hard trains, and also sacrifices for

both players and couches but also supporters played a very important role in the

development of this sport, called football, sport born in England and a sport that spread

over the entire world, from South Africa to China or Russia.

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Conclusion

To me, football means more than a sport, means emotion, passion and sometimes

many sacrifices. It means a sport that now is probably the most loved sport in the

world. In football you can see players fighting for every ball, players ready to give

their life on the pitch for their teams to win, or even for their fans, who often go

many miles all over this world after their favorites. In my opinion, it is fabulous

thing to be a football player, to know that due to you a match can be won, and that

match to bring you the glory that everyone runes after it.

The emotion you feel when your team wins a cup, or even wins a normally match

can’t be replaced with nothing else. On the other hand, when your team lose, you

are ready to cry, because disappointments all in your head, over and over again.

These feelings are not very often, and not many people can have these feelings, but

this is way I love football more.

Another, amazing thing is the way that football has been invented in the United

Kingdom, in the last decade and due to passion from many persons had developed

as we see it today, with full crowded stadiums and brave players ready to defend

their colors and dreams. For me, this is football, probably the best sport in the

world, as a famous commercial says.

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BIBLIOGRAPGHY

Books

The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football by David Goldblatt 

Football Nation: Sixty Years of the Beautiful Game by Andrew Ward and John Williams 

When Football Was Football: Norwich City: A Nostalgic Look at a Century of the Club by Iain Dale

Articles cited, E-books

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fhistory.htm

http://www.all-soccer-info.com/

http://www.footballnetwork.org/dev/historyoffootball/history8_18.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_English_football

http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/game/historygame1.html

http://www.information-britain.co.uk/sporthistory/entry/Football/

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