Whether we love football or we don’t, we know the biggest teams and names of football. We all know about the World Cup. We know the names of Pele, Maradona, Messi, and Ronaldo to name a few. We know the rivalries of Argentina and Brazil, England and Germany and so on. It is a passionate sport played and followed by millions of people across the world. The World Cup is the most viewed and followed sporting event in the world, even more than the Olympic Games. Why is football so popular? That is a question we never ask but even then I am going to answer that for you today. Let’s take a look back in history to see how this game, that we enjoy so much, has evolved.
The word Football means foot kicking the ball. The earliest mention of football, dating back to 300 BC, can be seen when ancient Greeks and Romans used to play games using a ball and kicking it. Episkyros –a team game is recognised as an early form of football played by the Greeks. The Chinese came up with a game called ‘Cuju’ meaning ‘kick ball’ between 3rd and 1st century BC. It was played by the military. It originally involved kicking a leather ball through a small hole, in a piece of silk cloth, which was fixed on bamboo canes and hung about 9 metre above the ground. Later the game migrated to Japan and Korea.
During the middle ages, many different types of football were played in Europe. In England, A game called ‘Mob Football’ where hundreds of players from opposing towns try to place some sort of ball or an object in the opposing team’s church. It was in the public schools of England that the game first started being a team game. It was organised and had rules and not like mob football. It was not just kicking but running and carrying. Teams from different schools started to play matches with each other. This is the origination of modern football. During the 19Th-century workers didn’t have time but school boys in England had the freedom to organise and play when they wanted. There were different versions of the game: English, Australian, North American versions to name a few. The most popular is Football Association's rules which is the game we play today under football’s governing body FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association).
The first football clubs were established during the 18Th and 19Th century in Great Britain. Soon it spread around Europe. Today there are leagues in every country in world. The English, Spanish, German, Italian leagues are most popular and are home to some of the best players in the world. Players are competitive and often handsomely paid. They entertain us, give us joy and we support them and kids imitate them. Our love for football divides and also unites a nation and even the world in a true spirit of sportsmanship. Football makes us dream, hope and for a moment helps us forget all our worries.