We all know that soccer is an international sport that's loved by a wide range of people from different cultures and countries. Even though it's either called soccer or football in certain countries, it's still the exact same sport with the same concept and regulations. We know the basic rules of soccer and some of us know a few of the cool tricks they pull off on the field. While some of us enjoy playing the sport, the majority of us lose our minds when watching it on television or live in the stadium. We root and cheer for our beloved teams, curse out the other teams, and even become life-long friends with some of the people who love the teams as much as we do.
But aside from the main advantages and aspects of soccer, when was soccer invented? Many of us question this often, but don't entirely know when the sport came to be. We know that it's an international sport that's loved across the globe... but where did it exactly form? Was England the first country to play the sport? What about Brazil? Argentina? America? If you're interested in learning the roots of your favorite sport, this is how soccer came to be.
The earliest evidence took place during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC.
While soccer is mostly popular in Europe and America, either one of them had to have invented the sport. In fact, this is wrong. The history of soccer is pretty vivid, but it's still very interesting to acknowledge. The earliest of evidence of the sport being played was in China during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. In China, this took place during the Han dynasty where people actually dribbled leather balls into a small net.
There was also recorded facts where the Romans and the Greeks played ball for the fun of it. Not to mention that Kyoto in Japan was also a place where people enjoyed kicking the ball around. As of now, the sport wasn’t fully developed, simply people kicking around the ball as a source of entertainment. It didn’t come with a set of rules and regulations, but something so easy and careless.
Modern soccer started in England.
According to when was soccer invented, the growth of modern soccer didn’t occur until later in England. In actuality, some facts mentioned that the first ball used was the head of some Danish brigand. Even during the medieval times, the old form of the sport allowed many ill practices like punching, kicking, biting, and even gouging. Through all of this, the main focus was to carry the ball to the target spot.
People loved the game so much, they would play on the field literally all day. There were times when the competition grew really competitive and fierce where violence would strike out during the game. Not to mention that soldiers loved the game so much that they purposely missed archery practice just to watch it.
King Edward III banned soccer in 1365.
Yes, from when was soccer invented, King Edward III actually banned the sport in 1365. The reason for this was because there was way too much violence happening on the field. And in 1424, King James I of Scotland announced in the Parliament, “Na man play at the Fute-ball,” which translates to, “No man shall play football.”
As for the answer to where and when soccer exactly started, there isn’t an actual answer to that believe it or not. The idea of it casually started in various countries without realizing it. But, you can say that the sport has been played for more than three thousand years. However, it’s known that the modern-day soccer has to be given credit to Britain. In addition, Scotland and England are the two co-founders of the systematic game of soccer.
Soccer became more popular in 1815.
Soccer made a powerful impact in universities, colleges, and schools overall in 1815. In fact, the popular English School and Eton College went ahead and created a set of rules and regulations, known as the Cambridge Rules. These rules separated football into two groups. A few of the schools applied the same rules as rugby to soccer.
This meant there was tripping, shin kicking, and even carrying the ball. Basically the majority of things you can’t do in today’s soccer. However, these rules only applied exclusively to the Cambridge Rules.
The history of modern-day soccer came to be in 1863.
Fast forward a few decades to 1863 where the modern-day soccer was created. So, when was soccer invented? It seems like around this time of the century, in October of 1863, eleven representatives from London’s clubs, as well as schools, came together at the Freemason’s Tavern in order to set up the common and basic fundamental rules to control the matches amongst themselves.
As for the outcome of the meeting, this led to the creation of the Football Association. And in December of 1863, the Rugby Football and Football Association officially split apart. Because of this, the supporters of the Rugby School simply walked out, since they didn't agree with the major change in soccer.
The Football Association banned certain handling of the ball in 1869.
Now that the Football Association had control of the sport, they had a few changes to make. From when was soccer invented, the sport was firmly established in 1869. As for the rules, the Association strictly banned all forms of handling the ball.
This means all of the biting, tripping, shin kicking, and other harmful actions were officially banned. Shortly afterwards, soccer became distinctly popular and spread across the countries during the 1800s. The result of this was caused by British sailors, traders, and even soldiers playing the sport across the world.
Soccer Up Until Today
Finally, from when was soccer invented comes today's view of soccer. Countries like Germany, Australia, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, South America, and many more found love from playing and watching soccer. In 1904, FIFA was formed and by the early 1930s, various successful soccer leagues started forming in different countries. To give credit to FIFA, they were the first to organize the first World Cup in Uruguay.
While we don’t exactly know the true date when soccer was really invented, the sport is filled with rich history and events that make it a fascinating sport today. Through the development of setting the rules to the rapid growth across the globe, so many of us appreciate the sport a little more each time we’re involved in it. And you have to admit, soccer is a pretty amazing sport, since its history is one of the more interesting from all of the sports.