Who invented Soccer? Where and when the beautiful game was born

Well, they say the wheel was the pinnacle of human innovation. For us sports lovers, it’s a bit different, isn’t it? It’s another circle smaller than a wheel that means the world to us. That is our beloved ball. It was always in the nature of humans to kick around with the ball and have some fun. Our beautiful game of Soccer has also evolved similarly from the earliest forms. Let us try to answer the question of who invented soccer today and how the game took its current shape.

It’s very difficult to trace the exact origins of the game. Multiple civilisations have played the game in the way they liked. But it was only in the 19^th century that the game as we know it today started taking shape. There were hundreds of people involved, and thousands of brainstorming sessions took place to give the finishing touches to the sport.

Of course, the game is ever-evolving with additions, deletions and changes to the law. But fundamentally, soccer has remained the same in the past 150 years or so.

Today we will learn who invented soccer, when and where was it invented. But before that, we will also go through the predecessors of our beautiful game and see how it evolved over the years.

The Origins of the Game

Kicking ball games were in use in multiple cultures independently across multiple times in the world. The desire to kick the ball was explicitly observed from the times of cavemen. It was not always a ball, it was anything that was round and could roll.

However, the first historical evidence (206BCE-220CE) of playing around with a ball was found in China. The Chinese Han dynasty developed a competitive game called Cuju (translated to kickball). They recorded the game in the military history book Zhan Guo Ce.

It is a mix of today’s modern association soccer, basketball, and volleyball. It involved carrying the stuffed ball without it touching the ground and passing it to the designated kicker who kicks it into the goal rings 10-11 metres above the ground. The Silk Road allowed the game to travel around the famous route gaining popularity. The Tang Dynasty started using an inflated ball instead of the stuffed ball later on.

Neighbours of China like Japan and Korea developed their own versions of soccer inspired by Cuju following its popularity. The Japanese version developed 600 years later was called kemari and it used a ball made of animal skin. The Korean version meanwhile was named chuk-guk.

Also Read: What are the 17 Basic Rules of Soccer?

Around the same time period (375-400bce) in a land far away, a soccer-like game was being played too.  The Greeks used to call in Phaininda and Episkyros. It was observed in North America too as they called it Pasuckuakohowog. Romans developed their own version called Harpastum.

Harpastum involved handling the ball more than kicking and it had huge amounts of violence. There was no defined number of players on each side. The crowd used to join and play and used to hack each other and trip each other with the sole motto of winning. This came to be known as Mob Soccer and was the closest predecessor to Soccer we know today.

Who invented Soccer?

Now moving on to other things, the question of who invented Soccer is always a raging one. To be honest there is no set answer and it’s always left to the discretion of the readers. But to put modern times into perspective and consider only Soccer as we know it today, we might narrow down the answer.

Evolution of Soccer

The predecessors we mentioned above were called folk games and especially Mob Soccer was very popular throughout Europe. Even in Elizabethan England, the mob kicked a ball around bogs and chased it. It was then that the transition started to take place.

People in power wanted to shape the game so that it could be practised in schools and colleges and taken up professionally. The public schools in England laid down markers in what is known as the code of the game. They removed the mob element from the game and said it should be played by a definite team with no aspects of violence being allowed.

They also made clear distinctions in various aspects of the game like kicking and running. William Herman, headmaster at Eton and Winchester colleges in 1519 made the first rules about the ball and the teams in his Latin textbook. Richard Mulcaster, a student from the same college in the early 16^th century made several writings and included terms like teams, positions, referee and coach.

This marked a playful approach to Soccer instead of the usual violent ones. David Wedderburn a Scottish teacher wrote a Latin textbook in 1633 called Vocabula in which he mentioned the concept of a goal in Soccer. He put more emphasis on shooting, passing, and tackling. Handling the ball was allowed in his version.

However, in 1660, Francis Willughby of Sutton wrote the ‘Book of Games’ in what is described today as the first law of soccer. He mentioned the explicit use of goalkeepers, goalposts, scoring goals and even some fouls.

Another main aspect of the game was the introduction of the offside rule during the late 18^th century.

The Birth of Modern Soccer

The game kept evolving with similar rule changes here and there for the next two decades. It was during the late 19^th century that the game got streamlined. If any one person could be credited with the title of “Father of Soccer”, it would be Ebenezer Cobb Morley.

Various schools were practicing Soccer at their own rules and pace and there was no uniform way for the sport till then. Morley, a solicitor from London wanted to unify the sport. He was the founder of Barnes Football Club in 1862 and served as its captain. He wrote several letters to multiple schools and universities that played soccer to come forward for a meeting.

The successful meeting of the club associations on the morning of 26 October 1863 at the Freemasons’ Tavern in London led to the creation of the Football Association(FA). Morley served as its first president and released a set of rules called “Laws of the Game” becoming the bedrock of modern Soccer. Eleven clubs invited agreed with the laws and were happy to be governed by the English FA.

However, the rules were very raw and there was no emphasis on passing the ball and crossbars weren’t set. Those elements were added thanks to Scottish lawmakers who wanted to pass the ball and make it a team game instead of a solo act.

Once the juggernaut came into motion, it kept on rolling and picked up new rules, and became the game we love today.

When was Soccer invented?

Well as mentioned above, Soccer in one form or another other was in play from times immemorial. The Chinese are credited with the invention by some. They were all popular but would fall under the class of folk games.

But a wide majority of sports lovers agree that the game evolved rapidly since 1500. It found its place in William Shakespeare’s plays as well. With multiple changes taking place constantly, it was hard to pin down a pivotal date in the game’s formation.

But the red letter day in the game’s history was on October 26^th,1863. The heads of multiple football clubs met multiple times between October and December and the English Football Association was formed. That day would be credited as the day modern Soccer was invented with all its laws being formally written for the first time.

During the same time, women’s soccer was taking shape too and in 1881 a key game took place in Edinburgh for women.

Where was Soccer invented?

If you ask Sepp Blatter, he would confidently declare China invented the sport. But a large majority of  Soccer lovers would credit the British Isles with the tag. They have turned a folk sport with violence into a cultured game that has become a lifeline for millions around the world.

The majority of the inventions and evolution have happened in the schools and universities of England. But as we know that the game is played on the pitch and not on paper, Scotland has further advanced it.

The Scots have modified the aspects of the game like passing and dribbling according to their strengths and it has rubbed on to their English neighbours. So they proudly say that they have invented the sport themselves.

It of course became a matter of immense pride for them. Both these countries are often at loggerheads when it comes to the tag of where was Soccer invented.

What was the first professional association?

Soccer was played by multiple schools or universities in the way they liked. The principle of the game was the same but each school interpreted it differently. There were a few codes of rules like Cambridge Rules which were followed by a few.

But it was not always universally adopted as John Charles Thring of Uppingham School also came up with a set of rules. There was a need for a unified rule book and a strong association to oversee the sport.

Thanks to the efforts of Ebenezer Cobb Morley, the FA was founded in 1863 becoming the first professional association in the sport. They came up with a set of rules and it was acknowledged by all the schools and sports clubs in the country. This almost became the letter of the law as multiple countries began following it.

The FA single-handedly unified the sport and became the benchmark for all the organizations in the sport. Any tournament taking place in the country should abide by the FA’s laws thus bringing uniformity to the sport even in the deepest corners.

It was not all smooth sailings for the FA as a few clubs like Sheffield FC and Blackheath FC withdrew and played by their own set of rules. After multiple meaningful conversations and changes to the rulebook, the FA managed to bring all the rebel clubs under the same umbrella as well.

When was FIFA formed?

With the growing popularity of soccer especially international soccer, the need for a single body to oversee soccer became apparent. The English FA served as an inspiration for boards of different countries to come together and create a body.

On 21^st May 1904, multiple boards met at the Rue Saint Honore 229 in Paris. They decided to use the French name of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) for the governing body. The French name was universally accepted and members of the EU joined it first.

Also Read: How long is a soccer game? Extra time, penalties and regulations explained

The association was responsible for dictating the rules and recognizing the games around the world officially. They oversaw the highly successful Olympic Soccer games in London in 1908. This prompted a response from beyond Europe as countries from Africa, North America and South America started joining the body.

To date, FIFA is the highest governing body in Soccer and has global approval when it comes to soccer.

When was the first international soccer game played?

The question of who invented soccer was on the lips of everyone during the mid-19^th century. The English claimed it was their tag but the Scots strongly argued that they too were the deserving candidates. Thus began the epic rivalry between the two countries when it came to Soccer.

England’s captain, legendary player and the then FA secretary Charles Alcock openly mocked Scotland for their inability to produce good players. He issued public challenges to the Scottish team and arranged a five-match series. England won 3 games and drew 2 to rub salt on the wounds of the Scottish.

A couple of years later, Alcock wanted to offer yet another challenge to Scotland and invited them for a single game. The Scots this time used only players from the best teams in Scotland and gave their best. They met at Hamilton Crescent, Patrick on the 30^th of November,1972 in what was to be recognized as the world’s first international Soccer match.

A crowd of 4,000 watched the spectacle by paying an admission fee of one shilling. They were treated to an entertaining 0-0 draw as Scotland played their best football of the decade according to the newspapers. They even had a goal disallowed as they unsettled the English team with their direct approach.

FIFA later formed in 1904 recognised this game honouring the rivalry between these two sides.

Charles Alcock, the English captain is also hailed as the mastermind behind the creation of the FA Cup. He is also known as the father of international soccer. Alcock also played a key role in the development of cricket.