Soccer is one of the most popular sports around the world. It can be played anywhere as long as there is a ball. That is why, regardless of whether in developed or underdeveloped countries, people enjoy playing soccer. Competitions in which countries from around the world participate together, such as the World Cup, and matches by numerous prestigious clubs attract people’s attention. Also, people can get dreams and hopes by watching the performances of world-class soccer players. In this way, not only soccer but all sports can give people courage and strength.
When did soccer start?
There are many ball games related to the history of football all over the world. Representatively, a kickball game called Cuju existed in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC in China. Surprisingly, it banned the use of hands, similar to modern soccer.
Modern soccer, as most people know it, started in England as a match between public schools. There were also problems during the game because there were no unified rules. However, in 1863, when the first Football Association (FA) was formed in England, they began to standardize the rules. In addition, since FIFA was founded in 1904, today’s soccer games are managed and supervised by FIFA worldwide (Kelly, 2021).
What were the big changes in soccer history?
The Cambridge Rules & Sheffield Rules
In 1848, the Cambridge Rules were created. It was designed when eight students from four public schools got together in Cambridge to establish 11 common rules for soccer.
The first amateur football club was founded in Sheffield, England in 1855, and officially recognized as a football club in 1857. Also, in 1858 the club created the Sheffield Rules and served as a guide through the north of England. However, after the FA was established in 1863, the two rules began to follow regionally. London was divided into the Cambridge Rules chosen by the FA and the Sheffield Rules in the northern area (Team, 2021).
After years of confrontation between the two organizations, the Sheffield club gave up in 1877 when the Football Association banned the Sheffield team from playing in London. The rules were merged and both rules played the most important role in football history.
World Cup
FIFA started its first World Cup tournament in 1930. Uruguay was chosen as the host country because it won a gold medal at the 1928 Netherlands Olympics (web.archive.org, 2007). At first, only 13 countries were invited to participate in the World Cup by FIFA. In addition, as time passed, the number of participating countries increased, and only 32 teams can participate after qualifying for each continent. The World Cup is held every four years due to international preparations for the World Cup, as players already exhausted from many schedules have to recover from injuries and conditions (KIESOW, 2018).
Conclusion
The World Cup is a festival enjoyed by people all over the world. If people know the basic history of soccer, they will be able to enjoy this World Cup even more. World-class players will gather in one country to show fantastic play, and people will be more energetic. When enjoying not only soccer but also various ball games, it is important to behave with manners and proceed safely without accidents. In addition, just as the players show fair play, the fans should respect and be considerate of the opposing team or country, rather than mocking and criticizing them.
Reference
Kelly, R. (2021). Who invented football? Where and when the beautiful game was born | Goal.com. [online] www.goal.com. Available at: https://www.goal.com/en-in/news/who-invented-football-where-when-beautiful-game-born/1s84sc1yccgab1l4kcu67sygb4 [Accessed 25 June 2022].
Team, E. (2021). The History Of Soccer. [online] historyofsoccer.info. Available at: https://historyofsoccer.info/the_history_of_soccer [Accessed 25 June 2022].
web.archive.org. (2007). FIFA.com – History of FIFA – The first FIFA World CupTM. [online] Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20071105015327/http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/fifa/historyfifa4.html [Accessed 25 June 2022].
KIESOW, E. (2018). Why Is The World Cup Every 4 Years? A Look At The History. [online] The18. Available at: https://the18.com/en/soccer-entertainment/why-is-the-world-cup-every-4-years-fifa-look-at-history [Accessed 25 June 2022].
