The Origins of Football

The starting point for the modern game of football can be pinpointed back to October 26^th, 1863 at the Freemasons Tavern, Great Queen Street, London.  This was the inception of the Football Association and the blueprint for all future organized football administration.  It has been this ability to prepare and structure from this point on which has changed the footballing world from the local brawl with subjective rules, times and riots a plenty, to the global multi billion pound game watched by millions and the common language between different people and cultures on all walks of life.

The earliest steps of this fascinating journey through time are thought to have been made 4500 years ago, let’s just think about how long ago this truly is.  In Britain the Bronze Age was only a few hundred years young.  In Egypt The Fourth Dynasty was near it’s end and there wasn’t a Pyramid in sight.  In China however there earliest form of civilization was taking off and with it a game called Tsu Chu.

Tsu conveniently and surprisingly translates to English as ‘Kicking a ball with your foot’ and Chu ‘Ball Made of Leather and Stuffed’.   During 250 and 200 BC ‘Tsu Chu’ or ‘Cuju’ as it’s also known was used as physical exercise for school children and the military and an exhibition game was played for the Emperor of the Han Dynasty’s Birthday each year. There are references of many different ways the game was played but the most common and my favorite version is where the players aim was to kick the ball through the net just like now, however that net was 30 foot in the air attached to two bamboo sticks and only slightly than the ball itself, I can only imagine games would of lasted for day as it almost seems an impossible task.

Soon after across the East China Sea, the Japanese were also playing ball, this time called ‘Kamari’, technically a game of ‘Keepy Uppy’, sometime around 50AD the first international fixture took place as a team from China visited and competed.  There was no winner though as the game was seen as an art form rather than competitive.

In Ancient Greece and Rome versions of the game existed, firstly in Greece the famous playwright Antiphanes described a game called ‘Episkryos’ which was later exported to Rome and called ‘Harpastum’.  This was a game more like Rugby Football with an element of Wrestling, little is known about the rules but the ball was solid and about the same size as a Softball.

This game inevitably progressed and was the root of a game currently played in Italy called Calcio. Calcio was played at it's height in the 16^th century, it’s rules were first published in 1580 is a game of 27 or the strongest man around on each side, the idea is to get the ball over the oppositions ‘spot’, a very aggressive game in the past, less so now when it is played every June in Florence. 

In the Central Americas maybe as long ago as 500 BC, Those crafty and bloodfirsty Aztecs played a game called Tiachli, played on a capital I shaped court, a ring either end about between 8 and 10 ft high and 30cm diameter, the purpose was to score in the opposing goal and the first team to do this was the winner, a pretty tough ask made tougher as the rules stated that the they couldn’t use there hands and the ball was not allowed to touch the floor, points and possession were lost for allowing the ball to hit the floor.  Despite having shin guards and helmets to protect the players from injuries from the heavy rubber ball, the losing Captain in true Aztec style would be sacrificed to the gods for their defeat.

In the 17^th century the Native American’s further north in modern day USA played a game called ‘Pasuckuakohowog’, a very violent game that could last for hours or even days with teams up to 500 strong.  Players would cover up with disguises as not to be recognised afterwards for fear of retribution.