Who Invented Soccer? Soccer is a sport, to which its invention cannot be attributed to a single person, since this sport was developed under the influence of different individuals.

Several centuries before football was born there were already similar ball games in different countries such as China, the British Isles, and Paraguay.

  • Modern football was developed by the influence of the pupils of the English public schools in the 17th century. Football or soccer is also known as football.
  • This game in its origins was quite violent since the young people who played in the schools pushed and confronted each other sharply to get the ball.
  • Soccer origins During the 16th century it was the school principal Richard Mulcaster who helped eliminate physical violence from the game and thus prevent students from hurting themselves.
  • It is believed that in the 19th-century British school teachers and students began to write, document, and standardize the rules of the game that was later called football, which is why it is considered the beginning of this sport.
  • The first rules on football were written at Eton College in 1815.
  • Then in 1848 other rules were created at the University of Cambridge thanks to the meeting of representatives of several important schools such as Shrewsbury, Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester.

The rules that were agreed upon were not fully adopted by the rest of the places where football was played in England. In the year 1850, several English football clubs began to be created that were not associated with universities or colleges. One of the first clubs was the Sheffield Football Club, which was created in 1857.

Then the Sheffield Football Association was formed in 1867, where different rules were also developed than those used in other areas where football was played. In 1862 John Charles Thring, who represented the Uppingham School, also drew up a set of rules that were later taken into account to design the current rules of soccer. Modern football On October 26, 1863, the Football Association was formed in London.

For what is considered as the date on which modern football was born. Ebenezer Cobb Morley organized 6 meetings with 12 English clubs that belonged to different schools in order to create a soccer code or universal rules for this game. On December 8, 1863, 11 of the 12 clubs that attended the meetings reached a consensus to establish 14 rules, including formally calling the game soccer.

  1. The only club that did not accept the new rules was Blackheath, which years later became one of the clubs that helped create rugby.
  2. At this stage, the most relevant rules of this sport were defined, such as that it is played with 2 teams of 11 players each and has a main referee on the court, the type of clothing, the size of the court, among other basic rules.
  3. In addition, it is established that it is not allowed to use the hands in football, only the feet and it is prohibited to tackle the player carrying the ball.
  4. With the definitive rules, it is achieved that the players play in an orderly manner and as a team. Violent actions are not accepted during the game and if there are, they are sanctioned.

By having the main rules defined, matches are started with the new regulations or code. In 1871, it was reported through the newspapers that the first national tournament called the Cup of England was being organized. At that time there were 50 football teams but only 12 participated in the first edition of this tournament, which lasted from 1871 to 1872.

The winner was the Wanderers FC club. On November 30, 1872, the first official match of national teams takes place. The teams that faced were England and Scotland. In its beginnings, football was amateur, so payment to players was prohibited. The first club to hire professional players was Darwen Football Club in 1878.

This club paid two Scottish-born players named James Love and Fergus Suter. Other clubs began to pay the players which were not allowed and if these irregularities were detected they were punished by suspending them. On July 20, 1885, the Football Association approved professionalism and therefore authorized players to charge money for playing soccer.

In the rest of the countries, the clubs also started in an amateur way and after the years they begin to pay the players as professionals.

FIFA

FIFA is the most important international football organization in the world. It was created in 1904 and is based in Paris. In addition, FIFA is the organizer of the World Cup, which is the most important tournament that exists in terms of national teams. Soccer continued to grow more and more, not only in Europe but in the rest of the world during the 20th century.

In 1916 the South American Football Confederation was founded. The success of soccer is believed to be because it is a very fun game to play but also to watch. It is also a sport that requires little equipment and can be played with friends or strangers. Soccer encourages friendship between people and teamwork. Football requires technical skill, skill to score goals and get the ball to the opponent cleanly. Professional teams today have fairly sophisticated game strategies and ways of approaching games.

This sport is the most popular in the world since it is estimated that more than 270 million people practice it today. Soccer generates a very intense passion that other sports cannot arouse. Although the cradle of soccer was England, this sport managed to have great teams and players in Europe and Latin America, especially in countries like Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. Children and adults of all ages get excited by every game of their national team and even more so when the national team plays. Soccer is the sport with the most followers and the most money in the world.

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