2016

Umair Ali
FA16-BBA-101

9/30/2016 FOOTBALL
Table of Contents

Football----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
Common rules among the sports include-------------------------------------------------------------------------------4

Early history----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
Ancient games------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5

Medieval and early modern Europe---------------------------------------------------------------------------10

Further information: Medieval football-------------------------------------------------------------------------------10

List of Figures

Figure 1: Common elements........................................................................................................................................ 4

Figure 2: Painting.........................................................................................................................................................5
Figure 3: Ancient Greek football player........................................................................................................................8
Figure 4: Dynasty painting...........................................................................................................................................8
Figure 5: A Painting of a Mesoamerican......................................................................................................................8
Figure 6: kemari being played at the Tanzan Shrine....................................................................................................9
Figure 7: Australian Aboriginal hunter gatherers.........................................................................................................9
Figure 8: A group of aborigines playing football in Guiana..........................................................................................9
Figure 9: An illustration of so-called "mob football"..................................................................................................10
Figure 10: France circa 1750......................................................................................................................................12

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Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking
a ball with the foot to score a goal. Unqualified, the word football is
understood to refer to whichever form of football is the most popular in the
regional context in which the word appears. Sports commonly called
'football' in certain places include: association football (known as soccer in
some countries); gridiron football (specifically American football or
Canadian football); Australian rules football; rugby football (either rugby
league or rugby union); and Gaelic football. These different variations of
football are known as football codes.

Various forms of football can be identified in history, often as popular

peasant games. Contemporary codes of football can be traced back to the
codification of these games at English public schools during the nineteenth
century. The expanse of the British Empire allowed these rules of football
to spread to areas of British influence outside of the directly controlled
Empire. By the end of the nineteenth century, distinct regional codes were
already developing: Gaelic football, for example, deliberately incorporated
the rules of local traditional football games in order to maintain their
heritage. In 1888, The Football League was founded in England, becoming
the first of many professional football competitions. During the twentieth
century, several of the various kinds of football grew to become some of
the most popular team sports in the world.

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Figure 1: Common elements

The various codes of football share certain common elements: Players in

American football, Canadian football, and rugby union and rugby league
take up positions in a limited area of the field at the start of the game. They
tend to use throwing and running as the main ways of moving the ball, and
only kick on certain limited occasions. Body tackling is a major skill, and
games typically involve short passages of play of 5–90 seconds.

Association football, Australian rules football and Gaelic football tend to use
kicking to move the ball around the pitch, with handling more limited. Body
tackles are less central to the game, and players are freer to move around
the field (offside laws are typically less strict)

Common rules among the sports include

Two teams of usually between 11 and 18 players; some variations that
have fewer players (five or more per team) are also popular.

A clearly defined area in which to play the game.

Scoring goals or points by moving the ball to an opposing team's end of the
field and either into a goal area, or over a line.

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Goals or points resulting from players putting the ball between two
goalposts.

The goal or line being defended by the opposing team.

Players being required to move the ball—depending on the code—by

kicking, carrying, or hand-passing the ball.

Players using only their body to move the ball.

In all codes, common skills include passing, tackling, evasion of tackles,

catching and kicking.[8] In most codes, there are rules restricting the
movement of players offside, and players scoring a goal must put the ball
either under or over a crossbar between the goalposts.

Early history

Ancient games

Figure 2: Painting

A painting depicting Emperor Taizu of Song playing cuju (i.e. Chinese

football) with his prime minister Zhao Pu ( 趙 普 ) and other ministers, by the
Yuan dynasty artist Qian Xuan (1235–1305)

The Ancient Greeks and Romans are known to have played many ball
games, some of which involved the use of the feet. The Roman game
harpastum is believed to have been adapted from a Greek team game
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known as "ἐπίσκυρος" (Episkyros) or "φαινίνδα" (phaininda), which is
mentioned by a Greek playwright, Antiphanes (388–311 BC) and later
referred to by the Christian theologian Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c.
215 AD). These games appear to have resembled rugby football. The
Roman politician Cicero (106–43 BC) describes the case of a man who
was killed whilst having a shave when a ball was kicked into a barber's
shop. Roman ball games already knew the air-filled ball, the follis.
Episkyros is recognized as an early form of football by FIFA.

A Chinese game called Tsu' Chu, Cuju or Zuqiu has been recognized by
FIFA as the first version of the game with regular rules. It existed during the
Han Dynasty, the second and third centuries BC. The Japanese version of
cuju is kemari ( 蹴 鞠 ), and was developed during the Asuka period. This is
known to have been played within the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto
from about 600 AD. In kemari several people stand in a circle and kick a
ball to each other, trying not to let the ball drop to the ground (much like
keepie uppie). The game appears to have died out sometime before the
mid-19th century. It was revived in 1903 and is now played at a number of
festivals.

There are a number of references to traditional, ancient, or prehistoric ball

games, played by indigenous peoples in many different parts of the world.
For example, in 1586, men from a ship commanded by an English explorer
named John Davis went ashore to play a form of football with Inuit (Eskimo)
people in Greenland. There are later accounts of an Inuit game played on
ice, called Aqsaqtuk. Each match began with two teams facing each other
in parallel lines, before attempting to kick the ball through each other team's
line and then at a goal. In 1610, William Strachey, a colonist at Jamestown,
Virginia recorded a game played by Native Americans, called
Pahsaheman. On the Australian continent several tribes of indigenous
people played kicking and catching games with stuffed balls which have
been generalized by historians as Marn Grook (Djab Wurrung for "game
ball"). The earliest historical account is an anecdote from the 1878 book by
Robert Brough-Smyth, The Aborigines of Victoria, in which a man called
Richard Thomas is quoted as saying, in about 1841 in Victoria, Australia,

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that he had witnessed Aboriginal people playing the game: "Mr Thomas
describes how the foremost player will drop kick a ball made from the skin
of a possum and how other players leap into the air in order to catch it."
Some historians have theorized that Marn Grook was one of the origins of
Australian Rules football.

The Māori in New Zealand played a game called Ki-o-rahi consisting of

teams of seven players play on a circular field divided into zones, and
score points by touching the 'pou' (boundary markers) and hitting a central
'tupu' or target.

Games played in Mesoamerica with rubber balls by indigenous peoples are

also well-documented as existing since before this time, but these had
more similarities to basketball or volleyball, and no links have been found
between such games and modern football sports. Northeastern American
Indians, especially the Iroquois Confederation, played a game which made
use of net racquets to throw and catch a small ball; however, although it is
a ball-goal foot game, lacrosse (as its modern descendant is called) is
likewise not usually classed as a form of "football.

These games and others may well go far back into antiquity. However, the
main sources of modern football codes appear to lie in Western Europe,
especially England.

Figure 3: Ancient Greek football player

Ancient Greek football player balancing the ball. Depiction on an Attic

Lekythos, Piraeus, 400-375 BC.

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Figure 4: Dynasty painting

A Song Dynasty painting by Su Hanchen (c. 1130-1160), depicting Chinese

children playing cuju.

Figure 5: A Painting of a Mesoamerican

Paint of a Mesoamerican ballgame player of the Tepantitla murals in

Teotihuacan.

Figure 6: kemari being played at the Tanzan Shrine

A revived version of kemari being played at the Tanzan Shrine, Japan.

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Figure 7: Australian Aboriginal hunter gatherers

An illustration from the 1850s of Australian Aboriginal hunter gatherers.

File:Children in the background is playing a football game, possibly
Woggabaliri.

Figure 8: A group of aborigines playing football in Guiana

Medieval and early modern Europe

Further information: Medieval football

The Middle Ages saw a huge rise in popularity of annual Shrovetide football
matches throughout Europe, particularly in England. An early reference to a
ball game played in Britain comes from the 9th century Historia Brittonum,
which describes "a party of boys .playing at ball “References to a ball game
played in northern France known as La Soule or Choule, in which the ball
was propelled by hands, feet, and sticks, date from the 12th century.[30]

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Figure 9: An illustration of so-called "mob football"

The early forms of football played in England, sometimes referred to as

"mob football", would be played between neighboring towns and villages,
involving an unlimited number of players on opposing teams who would
clash en mass struggling to move an item, such as inflated animal's bladder
to particular geographical points, such as their opponents' church, with play
taking place in the open space between neighboring parishes.The game
was played primarily during significant religious festivals, such as
Shrovetide, Christmas, or Easter and Shrovetide games have survived into
the modern era in a number of English towns (see below).

The first detailed description of what was almost certainly football in

England was given by William FitzStephen in about 1174–1183. He
described the activities of London youths during the annual festival of
Shrove Tuesday

After lunch all the youth of the city go out into the fields to take part in a ball
game. The students of each school have their own ball; the workers from
each city craft are also carrying their balls. Older citizens, fathers, and
wealthy citizens come on horseback to watch their juniors competing, and
to relive their own youth vicariously: you can see their inner passions
aroused as they watch the action and get caught up in the fun being had by
the carefree adolescents.

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Most of the very early references to the game speak simply of "ball play" or
"playing at ball". This reinforces the idea that the games played at the time
did not necessarily involve a ball being kicked.

An early reference to a ball game that was probably football comes from
1280 at Ulgham, Northumberland, England: "Henry... while playing at ball.
ran against David”. Football was played in Ireland in 1308, with a
documented reference to John McCrocan, a spectator at a "football game"
at Newcastle, County Down being charged with accidentally stabbing a
player named William Bernard. Another reference to a football game comes
in 1321 at Shouldham, Norfolk, England: "[d]during the game at ball as he
kicked the ball, a lay friend of his... ran against him and wounded himself".

In 1314, Nicholas de Farndone, Lord Mayor of the City of London issued a

decree banning football in the French used by the English upper classes at
the time. A translation reads: "[f]forasmuch as there is great noise in the
city caused by hustling over large foot balls [rageries de grosses pelotes de
pee] in the fields of the public from which many evils might arise which God
forbid: we command and forbid on behalf of the king, on pain of
imprisonment, such game to be used in the city in the future." This is the
earliest reference to football.

In 1363, King Edward III of England issued a proclamation banning

"...handball, football, or hockey; coursing and cock-fighting, or other such
idle games”, showing that "football" – whatever its exact form in this case –
was being differentiated from games involving other parts of the body, such
as handball.

A game known as "football" was played in Scotland as early as the 15th

century: it was prohibited by the Football Act 1424 and although the law fell
into disuse it was not repealed until 1906. There is evidence for schoolboys
playing a "football" ball game in Aberdeen in 1633 (some references cite
1636) which is notable as an early allusion to what some have considered
to be passing the ball. The word "pass" in the most recent translation is
derived from "huc percute" (strike it here) and later "repercute pilam" (strike
the ball again) in the original Latin. It is not certain that the ball was being

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struck between members of the same team. The original word translated as
"goal" is "metum", literally meaning the "pillar at each end of the circus
course" in a Roman chariot race. There is a reference to "get hold of the
ball before [another player] does" (Praeripe illi pilam si possis agere)
suggesting that handling of the ball was allowed. One sentence states in
the original 1930 translation "Throw you against him" (Age, objice te illi).

Figure 10: France circa 1750

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