Football is a family ofteam sports that involve, to varying degrees,kicking aball to score agoal. Unqualified,the wordfootball generally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly calledfootball includeassociation football (known assoccer in Australia, Canada, South Africa, the United States, and sometimes in Ireland and New Zealand);Australian rules football;Gaelic football;gridiron football (specificallyAmerican football,arena football, orCanadian football);International rules football;rugby league football; andrugby union football.[1] These various forms of football share, to varying degrees, common origins and are known as "football codes".There are a number of references to traditional, ancient, or prehistoric ball games played in many different parts of the world.[2][3][4] Contemporary codes of football can be traced back to the codification ofthese games at English public schools during the 19th century, itself an outgrowth ofmedieval football.[5][6] The expansion and cultural power of theBritish Empire allowed these rules of football to spread to areas ofBritish influence outside the directly controlled empire.[7] By the end of the 19th 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.[8] In 1888, theFootball League was founded inEngland, becoming the first of many professional football associations. During the 20th century, several of the various kinds of football grew to become some of the most popularteam sports in the world.[9]
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The various codes of football share certain common elements and can be grouped into two main classes of football:carrying codes like American football, Canadian football, Australian football, rugby union and rugby league, where the ball is moved about the field while being held in the hands or passed by hand, andkicking codes such as association football and Gaelic football, where the ball is moved primarily with the feet, and where handling is strictly limited.[10]Common rules among the sports include:[11]
In all codes, common skills includepassing,tackling, evasion of tackles, catching andkicking.[10] In most codes, there are rules restricting the movement of playersoffside, and players scoring a goal must put the ball either under or over acrossbar between thegoalposts.
There are conflicting explanations of the origin of the word "football". It is widely assumed that the word "football" (or the phrase "foot ball") refers to the action of the foot kicking a ball.[13] There is an alternative explanation, which is that football originally referred to a variety of games inmedieval Europe that were playedon foot.[14] There is little conclusive evidence for either explanation.
The Chinese competitive gamecuju is an early type of ball game where feet were used, in some aspects resembling modernassociation football. It was possibly played around theHan dynasty and earlyQin dynasty, based on an attestation in a military manual from around the second to third centuries BC.[15][16][17] In one version, gameplay consisted of players passing the ball between teammates without allowing it to touch the ground (much likekeepie uppie).In its competitive version, two teams had to pass the ball without it falling, before kicking the ball through a circular hole placed in the middle of the pitch. Unlike association football, the two teams did not interact with each other but instead stayed on opposite sides of the pitch.[18] Cuju has been cited by FIFA as the earliest form of football.[4]The Japanese version ofcuju iskemari (蹴鞠), and was developed during theAsuka period.[19] This is known to have been played within the Japanese imperial court inKyoto from about 600 AD. Inkemari, several people stand in a circle and kick a ball to each other, trying not to let the ball drop to the ground.TheSilk Road facilitated the transmission ofcuju, especially the game popular in theTang dynasty, the period when theinflatable ball was invented and replaced the stuffed ball.[20]
TheAncient Greeks andRomans are known to have played many ball games, some of which involved the use of the feet. TheRoman gameharpastum is believed to have been adapted from aGreek team game known asἐπίσκυρος (episkyros)[21][22] orφαινίνδα (phaininda),[23] which is mentioned by a Greek playwright,Antiphanes (388–311 BC) and later referred to by the Christian theologianClement of Alexandria (c. 150 –c. 215 AD). These games appear to have resembledrugby football.[24][25][26][27][28] The Roman politicianCicero (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, thefollis.[29][30]Episkyros is described as an early form of football by FIFA.[31]
There are a number of references to traditional,ancient, orprehistoric ball games, played byindigenous peoples in many different parts of the world. For example, in 1586, men from a ship commanded by an English explorer namedJohn Davis went ashore to play a form of football withInuit in Greenland.[32] There are later accounts of an Inuit game played on ice, calledAqsaqtuk. 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 atJamestown, Virginia recorded a game played by Native Americans, calledPahsaheman.[33]Pasuckuakohowog, a game similar to modern-dayassociation football played amongstAmerindians, was also reported as early as the 17th century.[34]Games played in Mesoamerica with rubber balls byindigenous peoples are also well-documented as existing since before this time,[35] but these had more similarities tobasketball orvolleyball, and no links have been found between such games and modern football sports. Northeastern American Indians, especially theIroquois 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".[36]
On theAustralian continent several tribes ofindigenous people played kicking and catching games with stuffed balls which have been generalised by historians asMarn Grook (Djab Wurrung for "game ball"). The earliest historical account is ananecdote from the 1878 book byRobert Brough-Smyth,The Aborigines of Victoria, in which a man called Richard Thomas is quoted as saying, in about 1841 inVictoria, Australia, 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 apossum and how other players leap into the air in order to catch it." Some historians have theorised thatMarn Grook was one of theorigins ofAustralian rules football.TheMāori in New Zealand played a game calledKī-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.[37][38]These games and others may well go far back into antiquity. However, the main sources of modern football codes appear to lie inwestern Europe, especiallyEngland.[39]
Mahmud al-Kashgari in hisDīwān Lughāt al-Turk, described a game calledtepuk amongTurks inCentral Asia. In the game, people try to attack each other's castle by kicking a ball made of sheep leather.[40]
TheMiddle Ages saw a huge rise in popularity of annualShrovetide football matches throughoutEurope, particularly inEngland. An early reference to a ball game played inBritain comes from the 9th-centuryHistoria Brittonum, attributed toNennius, which describes "a party of boys ... playing at ball".[41] References to a ball game played in northern France known asLa Soule orChoule, in which the ball was propelled by hands, feet, and sticks,[42] date from the 12th century.[43]
The early forms of football played inEngland, sometimes referred to as "mob football", would be played in towns or between neighbouring villages, involving an unlimited number of players on opposing teams who would clashen masse,[44] struggling to move an item, such as inflated animal'sbladder[45] to particular geographical points, such as their opponents' church, with play taking place in the open space between neighbouring parishes.[46] The game was played primarily during significant religious festivals, such as Shrovetide, Christmas, or Easter,[45] 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 byWilliam FitzStephen in about 1174–1183. He described the activities of London youths during the annual festival ofShrove 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.[47]
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 atUlgham, Northumberland, England: "Henry... while playing at ball.. ran against David".[48] Football was played in Ireland in 1308, with a documented reference to John McCrocan, a spectator at a "football game" atNewcastle, County Down being charged with accidentally stabbing a player named William Bernard.[49] Another reference to a football game comes in 1321 atShouldham, Norfolk, England: "[d]uring the game at ball as he kicked the ball, a lay friend of his... ran against him and wounded himself".[48]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]orasmuch as there is great noise in the city caused by hustling over large foot balls [rageries de grosses pelotes de pee][50] 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, KingEdward III of England issued a proclamation banning "...handball, football, or hockey; coursing and cock-fighting, or other such idle games",[51] 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 inScotland as early as the 15th century: it was prohibited by theFootball 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 inAberdeen 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 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 yourself against him" (Age, objice te illi).KingHenry IV of England also presented one of the earliest documented uses of the English word "football", in 1409, when he issued a proclamation forbidding the levying of money for "foteball".[48][52]There is also an account inLatin from the end of the 15th century of football being played atCaunton,Nottinghamshire. This is the first description of a "kicking game" and the first description ofdribbling: "[t]he game at which they had met for common recreation is called by some the foot-ball game. It is one in which young men, in country sport, propel a huge ball not by throwing it into the air but by striking it and rolling it along the ground, and that not with their hands but with their feet... kicking in opposite directions." The chronicler gives the earliest reference to a football pitch, stating that: "[t]he boundaries have been marked and the game had started.[48]
Other firsts in the medieval andearly modern eras:
In the 16th century, the city ofFlorence celebrated the period betweenEpiphany andLent by playing a game which today is known as "calcio storico" ("historic kickball") in thePiazza Santa Croce.[56] The young aristocrats of the city would dress up in fine silk costumes and embroil themselves in a violent form of football. For example,calcio players could punch, shoulder charge, and kick opponents. Blows below the belt were allowed. The game is said to have originated as a military training exercise. In 1580, Count Giovanni de' Bardi di Vernio wroteDiscorso sopra 'l giuoco del Calcio Fiorentino. This is sometimes said to be the earliest code of rules for any football game. The game was not played after January 1739 (until it was revived in May 1930).
There have been many attempts to ban football, from theMiddle Ages through to the modern day. The first such law was passed in England in 1314; it was followed by more than 30 in England alone between 1314 and 1667.[57]: 6 Women werebanned from playing at English and Scottish Football League grounds in 1921, a ban that was only lifted in the 1970s. Female footballers still face similar problems in some parts of the world.American football also faced pressures to ban the sport. The game played in the 19th century resembledmob football that developed in medieval Europe, including a version popular on university campuses known asold division football, and several municipalities banned its play in the mid-19th century.[58][59] By the 20th century, the game had evolved to a more rugby style game. In 1905, there were calls to banAmerican football in the U.S. due to its violence; a meeting that year was hosted by American presidentTheodore Roosevelt led to sweeping rules changes that caused the sport to diverge significantly from its rugby roots to become more like the sport as it is played today.[60]
While football continued to be played in various forms throughout Britain, itspublic schools (equivalent to private schools in other countries) are widely credited with four key achievements in the creation of modern football codes. First of all, the evidence suggests that they were important in taking football away from its "mob" form and turning it into an organised team sport. Second, many early descriptions of football and references to it were recorded by people who had studied at these schools. Third, it was teachers, students, and former students from these schools who first codified football games, to enable matches to be played between schools. Finally, it was at English public schools that the division between "kicking" and "running" (or "carrying") games first became clear.The earliest evidence that games resembling football were being played at English public schools – mainly attended by boys from the upper, upper-middle and professional classes – comes from theVulgaria by William Herman in 1519. Herman had been headmaster atEton andWinchester colleges and hisLatin textbook includes a translation exercise with the phrase "We wyll playe with a ball full of wynde".[61]Richard Mulcaster, a student at Eton College in the early 16th century and later headmaster at other English schools, has been described as "the greatest sixteenth Century advocate of football".[62] Among his contributions are the earliest evidence of organised team football. Mulcaster's writings refer to teams ("sides" and "parties"), positions ("standings"), a referee ("judge over the parties") and a coach "(trayning maister)". Mulcaster's "footeball" had evolved from the disordered and violent forms of traditional football:
[s]ome smaller number with such overlooking, sorted into sides and standings, not meeting with their bodies so boisterously to trie their strength: nor shouldring or shuffing one an other so barbarously ... may use footeball for as much good to the body, by the chiefe use of the legges.[63]
In 1633,David Wedderburn, a teacher fromAberdeen, mentioned elements of modern football games in a short Latin textbook calledVocabula. Wedderburn refers to what has been translated into modern English as "keeping goal" and makes an allusion to passing the ball ("strike it here"). There is a reference to "get hold of the ball", suggesting that some handling was allowed. It is clear that the tackles allowed included the charging and holding of opposing players ("drive that man back").[64]A more detailed description of football is given inFrancis Willughby'sBook of Games, written in about 1660.[65] Willughby, who had studied atBishop Vesey's Grammar School,Sutton Coldfield, is the first to describe goals and a distinct playing field: "a close that has a gate at either end. The gates are called Goals." His book includes a diagram illustrating a football field. He also mentions tactics ("leaving some of their best players to guard the goal"); scoring ("they that can strike the ball through their opponents' goal first win") and the way teams were selected ("the players being equally divided according to their strength and nimbleness"). He is the first to describe a "law" of football: "they must not strike [an opponent's leg] higher than the ball".[66][67]English public schools were the first to codify football games. In particular, they devised the firstoffside rules, during the late 18th century.[68] In the earliest manifestations of these rules, players were "off their side" if they simply stood between the ball and the goal which was their objective. Players were not allowed to pass the ball forward, either by foot or by hand. They could only dribble with their feet, or advance the ball in ascrum or similarformation. However, offside laws began to diverge and develop differently at each school, as is shown by the rules of football from Winchester,Rugby,Harrow andCheltenham, during between 1810 and 1850.[68] The first known codes – in the sense of a set of rules – were those of Eton in 1815[69] andAldenham in 1825.[69])During the early 19th century, most working-class people in Britain had to work six days a week, often for over twelve hours a day. They had neither the time nor the inclination to engage in sport for recreation and, at the time, manychildren were part of the labour force.Feast day football played on the streets was in decline. Public school boys, who enjoyed some freedom from work, became the inventors of organised football games with formal codes of rules.Football was adopted by a number of public schools as a way of encouraging competitiveness and keeping youths fit. Each school drafted its own rules, which varied widely between different schools and were changed over time with each new intake of pupils. Two schools of thought developed regarding rules. Some schools favoured a game in which the ball could be carried (as at Rugby,Marlborough and Cheltenham), while others preferred a game where kicking and dribbling the ball was promoted (as at Eton, Harrow,Westminster andCharterhouse). The division into these two camps was partly the result of circumstances in which the games were played. For example, Charterhouse and Westminster at the time had restricted playing areas; the boys were confined to playing their ball game within the schoolcloisters, making it difficult for them to adopt rough and tumble running games.[citation needed]
William Webb Ellis, a pupil at Rugby School, is said to have "with a fine disregard for the rules of football,as played in his time [emphasis added], first took the ball in his arms and ran with it, thus creating the distinctive feature of the rugby game." in 1823. This act is usually said to be the beginning of Rugby football, but there is little evidence that it occurred, and most sports historians believe the story to be apocryphal. The act of 'taking the ball in his arms' is often misinterpreted as 'picking the ball up' as it is widely believed that Webb Ellis' 'crime' was handling the ball, as in modern association football, however handling the ball at the time was often permitted and in some cases compulsory,[70] the rule for which Webb Ellis showed disregard wasrunning forward with it as the rules of his time only allowed a player to retreat backwards or kick forwards.The boom in rail transport in Britain during the 1840s meant that people were able to travel farther and with less inconvenience than they ever had before. Inter-school sporting competitions became possible. However, it was difficult for schools to play each other at football, as each school played by its own rules. The solution to this problem was usually that the match be divided into two-halves, one half played by the rules of the host "home" school, and the other half by the visiting "away" school.Themodern rules of many football codes were formulated during the mid- or late- 19th century. This also applies to other sports such as lawn bowls, lawn tennis, etc. The major impetus for this was the patenting of the world's firstlawnmower in 1830. This allowed for the preparation of modern ovals, playing fields, pitches, grass courts, etc.[71]Apart from Rugby football, the public school codes have barely been played beyond the confines of each school's playing fields. However, many of them are still played at the schools which created them (see§ British schools).In 1845, three boys at Rugby school were tasked with codifying the rules then being used at the school. These were the first set of written rules (or code) for any form of football.[72] This further assisted the spread of the Rugby game.
Public schools' dominance of sports in the UK began to wane after theFactory Act 1850, which significantly increased the recreation time available to working class children. Before 1850, many British children had to work six days a week, for more than twelve hours a day. From 1850, they could not work before 6 a.m. (7 a.m. in winter) or after 6 p.m. on weekdays (7 p.m. in winter); on Saturdays they had to cease work at 2 pm. These changes meant that working class children had more time for games, including various forms of football.
The earliest known matches between public schools are as follows:
The earliest known matches involving non-public school clubs or institutions are as follows:
Sports clubs dedicated to playing football began in the 18th century, for exampleLondon's Gymnastic Society which was founded in the mid-18th century and ceased playing matches in 1796.[87][74]The first documented club to bear in the title a reference to being a 'football club' were called "The Foot-Ball Club" who were located inEdinburgh, Scotland, during the period 1824–41.[88][89] The club forbade tripping but allowed pushing and holding and the picking up of the ball.[89]
One of the longest running football fixtures is theCordner-Eggleston Cup, contested betweenMelbourne Grammar School andScotch College, Melbourne every year since 1858. It is believed by many to also be the first match ofAustralian rules football, although it was played under experimental rules in its first year. The first football trophy tournament was the Caledonian Challenge Cup, donated by the RoyalCaledonian Society of Melbourne, played in 1861 under theMelbourne Rules.[90] The oldest football league is a rugby football competition, theUnited Hospitals Challenge Cup (1874), while the oldest rugby trophy is theYorkshire Cup, contested since 1878. TheSouth Australian Football Association (30 April 1877) is the oldest surviving Australian rules football competition. The oldest surviving soccer trophy is theYoudan Cup (1867) and the oldest national football competition is the English FA Cup (1871).The Football League (1888) is recognised as the longest running association football league.The first international Rugby football match took place between Scotland and England on 27 March 1871 atRaeburn Place,Edinburgh. Thefirst international Association football match officially took place between sides representing England and Scotland on 30 November 1872 atHamilton Crescent, theWest of Scotland Cricket Club's ground inPartick,Glasgow under the authority of the FA.
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In Europe, early footballs were made out of animalbladders, more specificallypig's bladders, which were inflated. Later leather coverings were introduced to allow the balls to keep their shape.[91] However, in 1851,Richard Lindon andWilliam Gilbert, both shoemakers from the town ofRugby (near the school), exhibited both round and oval-shaped balls at theGreat Exhibition in London. Richard Lindon's wife is said to have died of lung disease caused by blowing up pig's bladders.[a] Lindon also won medals for the invention of the "Rubber inflatable Bladder" and the "Brass Hand Pump".In 1855, the U.S. inventorCharles Goodyear – who had patentedvulcanised rubber – exhibited a spherical football, with an exterior of vulcanised rubber panels, at theParisExhibition Universelle. The ball was to prove popular in early forms of football in the U.S.[92]The iconic ball with a regular pattern of hexagons and pentagons (seetruncated icosahedron) did not become popular until the 1960s, and was first used in the World Cupin 1970.
The earliest reference to a game of football involving players passing the ball and attempting to score past a goalkeeper was written in 1633 by David Wedderburn, a poet and teacher inAberdeen, Scotland.[93] Nevertheless, the original text does not state whether the allusion to passing as 'kick the ball back' ('repercute pilam') was in a forward or backward direction or between members of the same opposing teams (as was usual at this time).[94]"Scientific" football is first recorded in 1839 fromLancashire[95] and in the modern game in rugby football from 1862[96] and from Sheffield FC as early as 1865.[97][98] The first side to play a passingcombination game was theRoyal Engineers AFC in 1869/70.[99][100] By 1869 they were "work[ing] well together", "backing up" and benefiting from "cooperation".[101] By 1870 the Engineers were passing the ball: "Lieut. Creswell, who having brought the ball up the side then kicked it into the middle to another of his side, who kicked it through the posts the minute before time was called".[102] Passing was a regular feature of their style.[103] By early 1872 the Engineers were the first football team renowned for "play[ing] beautifully together".[104] A double pass is first reported from Derby school againstNottingham Forest in March 1872, the first of which is irrefutably ashort pass: "Mr Absey dribbling the ball half the length of the field delivered it to Wallis, who kicking it cleverly in front of the goal, sent it to the captain who drove it at once between the Nottingham posts".[105] The first side to have perfected the modern formation wasCambridge University AFC;[106][107][108] they also introduced the 2–3–5 "pyramid" formation.[109][110]
Rugby football was thought to have been started about 1845 atRugby School inRugby, Warwickshire, England although forms of football in which the ball was carried and tossed date tomedieval times. InBritain, by 1870, there were 49 clubs playing variations of the Rugby school game.[111] There were also "rugby" clubs in Ireland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. However, there was no generally accepted set of rules for rugby until 1871, when 21 clubs from London came together to form theRugby Football Union (RFU). The first official RFU rules were adopted in June 1871.[112] These rules allowed passing the ball. They also included thetry, where touching the ball over the line allowed an attempt at goal, though drop-goals from marks and general play, and penalty conversions were still the main form of contest. Regardless of any form of football, the first international match between the national team ofEngland andScotland took place at Raeburn Place on 27 March 1871.Rugby football split intoRugby union,Rugby league,American football, andCanadian football.Tom Wills played Rugby football in England before foundingAustralian rules football.
During the nineteenth century, several codifications of the rules of football were made at theUniversity of Cambridge, in order to enable students from different public schools to play each other. The Cambridge Rules of 1863 influenced the decision of theFootball Association to ban Rugby-style carrying of the ball in its own first set of laws.[113]
By the late 1850s, many football clubs had been formed throughout the English-speaking world, to play various codes of football.Sheffield Football Club, founded in 1857 in the English city ofSheffield by Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest, was later recognised as the world's oldest club playing association football.[114]However, the club initially played its own code of football: theSheffield rules. The code was largely independent of the public school rules, the most significant difference being the lack of anoffside rule.The code was responsible for many innovations that later spread to association football. These includedfree kicks,corner kicks, handball,throw-ins and the crossbar.[115] By the 1870s they became the dominant code in the north and midlands of England. At this time, a series of rule changes by both theLondon andSheffield FAs gradually eroded the differences between the two games until the adoption of a common code in 1877.
There is archival evidence of "foot-ball" games being played in various parts of Australia throughout the first half of the 19th century. The origins of an organised game of football known today as Australian rules football can be traced back to 1858 inMelbourne, the capital city ofVictoria.In July 1858,Tom Wills, an Australian-borncricketer educated atRugby School in England, wrote a letter toBell's Life in Victoria & Sporting Chronicle, calling for a "foot-ball club" with a "code of laws" to keep cricketers fit during winter.[116] This is considered by historians to be a defining moment in the creation of Australian rules football. Through publicity and personal contacts Wills was able to co-ordinate football matches in Melbourne that experimented with various rules,[117] the first of which was played on 31 July 1858. One week later, Wills umpired a schoolboys match betweenMelbourne Grammar School andScotch College. Following these matches, organised football in Melbourne rapidly increased in popularity.
Wills and others involved in these early matches formed theMelbourne Football Club (the oldest surviving Australian football club) on 14 May 1859. Club members Wills,William Hammersley,J. B. Thompson andThomas H. Smith met with the intention of forming a set of rules that would be widely adopted by other clubs. The committee debated rules used in English public school games; Wills pushed for variousrugby football rules he learnt during his schooling. The first rules share similarities with these games, and were shaped to suit to Australian conditions.H. C. A. Harrison, a seminal figure in Australian football, recalled that his cousin Wills wanted "a game of our own".[118] The code was distinctive in the prevalence of themark,free kick,tackling, lack of an offside rule and that players were specifically penalised forthrowing the ball.The Melbourne football rules were widely distributed and gradually adopted by the other Victorian clubs. The rules were updated several times during the 1860s to accommodate the rules of other influential Victorian football clubs. A significant redraft in 1866 by H. C. A. Harrison's committee accommodated theGeelong Football Club's rules, making the game then known as "Victorian Rules" increasingly distinct from other codes. It soon adoptedcricket fields and an oval ball, used specialised goal and behind posts, and featuredbouncing the ball while running andspectacular high marking. The game spread quickly to otherAustralian colonies. Outside its heartland in southern Australia, the code experienced a significant period of decline following World War I but has since grown throughout Australia and inother parts of the world, and theAustralian Football League emerged as the dominant professional competition.
During the early 1860s, there were increasing attempts in England to unify and reconcile the various public school games. In 1862, J. C. Thring, who had been one of the driving forces behind the original Cambridge Rules, was a master atUppingham School, and he issued his own rules of what he called "The Simplest Game" (these are also known as the Uppingham Rules). In early October 1863, another new revised version of the Cambridge Rules was drawn up by a seven member committee representing former pupils from Harrow, Shrewsbury, Eton, Rugby, Marlborough and Westminster.At theFreemasons' Tavern, Great Queen Street, London on the evening of 26 October 1863, representatives of several football clubs in theLondon Metropolitan area met for the inaugural meeting of theFootball Association (FA). The aim of the association was to establish a single unifying code and regulate the playing of the game among its members. Following the first meeting, the public schools were invited to join the association. All of them declined, except Charterhouse and Uppingham. In total, six meetings of the FA were held between October and December 1863. After the third meeting, a draft set of rules was published. However, at the beginning of the fourth meeting, attention was drawn to the recently published Cambridge Rules of 1863. The Cambridge rules differed from the draft FA rules in two significant areas; namely running with (carrying) the ball andhacking (kicking opposing players in the shins). The two contentious FA rules were as follows:
IX. A player shall be entitled to run with the ball towards his adversaries' goal if he makes a fair catch, or catches the ball on the first bound; but in case of a fair catch, if he makes his mark he shall not run.
X. If any player shall run with the ball towards his adversaries' goal, any player on the opposite side shall be at liberty to charge, hold, trip or hack him, or to wrest the ball from him, but no player shall be held and hacked at the same time.[119]
At the fifth meeting it was proposed that these two rules be removed. Most of the delegates supported this, butF. M. Campbell, the representative fromBlackheath and the first FA treasurer, objected. He said: "hacking is the true football". However, the motion to ban running with the ball in hand and hacking was carried and Blackheath withdrew from the FA. After the final meeting on 8 December, the FA published the "Laws of the Game", the first comprehensive set of rules for the game later known as association football. The term "soccer", in use since the late 19th century, derives from anOxford University abbreviation of "association".[120]The first FA rules still contained elements that are no longer part of association football, but which are still recognisable in other games (such as Australian football and rugby football): for instance, a player could make a fair catch and claim amark, which entitled him to a free kick; and if a player touched the ball behind the opponents' goal line, his side was entitled to afree kick at goal, from 15 yards (13.5 metres) in front of the goal line.
As was the case in Britain, by the early 19th century, North American schools and universities played their own local games, between sides made up of students. For example, students atDartmouth College inNew Hampshire played a game calledOld division football, a variant of the association football codes, as early as the 1820s.[59] They remained largely "mob football" style games, with huge numbers of players attempting to advance the ball into a goal area, often by any means necessary. Rules were simple, violence and injury were common.[58] The violence of these mob-style games led to widespread protests and a decision to abandon them.Yale University, under pressure from the city ofNew Haven, banned the play of all forms of football in 1860, whileHarvard University followed suit in 1861.[58] In its place, two general types of football evolved: "kicking" games and "running" (or "carrying") games. A hybrid of the two, known as the "Boston game", was played by a group known as theOneida Football Club. The club, considered by some historians as the first formalfootball club in the United States, was formed in 1862 by schoolboys who played the Boston game onBoston Common.[58][121] The game began to return to American college campuses by the late 1860s. The universities of Yale,Princeton (then known as the College of New Jersey),Rutgers, andBrown all began playing "kicking" games during this time. In 1867, Princeton used rules based on those of the EnglishFootball Association.[58]
In Canada, the first documented football match was a practice game played on 9 November 1861, atUniversity College, University of Toronto (approximately 400 yards west of Queen's Park). One of the participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was (Sir) William Mulock, later Chancellor of the school.[123] In 1864, atTrinity College, Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland, Frederick A. Bethune, and Christopher Gwynn, one of the founders of Milton, Massachusetts, devised rules based onrugby football.[123] A "running game", resembling rugby football, was then taken up by theMontreal Football Club in Canada in 1868.[124]
On 6 November 1869,Rutgers facedPrinceton in a game that was played with a round ball and, like all early games, used improvised rules. It is usually regarded asthe first game of American intercollegiate football.[58][125]
Modern North American football grew out ofa match betweenMcGill University of Montreal andHarvard University in 1874. During the game, the two teams alternated between the rugby-based rules used by McGill and the Boston Game rules used by Harvard.[126][127][128] Within a few years, Harvard had both adopted McGill's rules and persuaded other U.S. university teams to do the same. On 23 November 1876, representatives from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, andColumbia met at the Massasoit Convention inSpringfield, Massachusetts, agreeing to adopt most of theRugby Football Union rules, with some variations.[129]In 1880,Yale coachWalter Camp, who had become a fixture at the Massasoit House conventions where the rules were debated and changed, devised a number of major innovations. Camp's two most important rule changes that diverged the American game from rugby were replacing thescrummage with theline of scrimmage and the establishment of thedown-and-distance rules.[129] American football still however remained a violent sport where collisions often led to serious injuries and sometimes even death.[130] This led U.S. PresidentTheodore Roosevelt to hold a meeting with football representatives from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton on 9 October 1905, urging them to make drastic changes.[131] One rule change introduced in 1906, devised to open up the game and reduce injury, was the introduction of the legalforward pass. Though it was underutilised for years, this proved to be one of the most important rule changes in the establishment of the modern game.[132]Over the years, Canada absorbed some of the developments in American football in an effort to distinguish it from a more rugby-oriented game. In 1903, theOntario Rugby Football Union adopted theBurnside rules, which implemented theline of scrimmage anddown-and-distance system from American football, among others.[133] Canadian football then implemented the legal forward pass in 1929.[134] American and Canadian footballremain different codes, stemming from rule changes that the American side of the border adopted but the Canadian side has not.
In the mid-19th century, various traditional football games, referred to collectively ascaid, remained popular in Ireland, especially inCounty Kerry. One observer, Father W. Ferris, described two main forms ofcaid during this period: the "field game" in which the object was to put the ball through arch-like goals, formed from the boughs of two trees; and the epic "cross-country game" which took up most of the daylight hours of a Sunday on which it was played, and was won by one team taking the ball across a parish boundary. "Wrestling", "holding" opposing players, and carrying the ball were all allowed.By the 1870s, rugby and association football had started to become popular in Ireland.Trinity College Dublin was an early stronghold of rugby (see theDevelopments in the 1850s section above). The rules of the English FA were being distributed widely. Traditional forms ofcaid had begun to give way to a "rough-and-tumble game" which allowed tripping.There was no serious attempt to unify and codify Irish varieties of football, until the establishment of theGaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in 1884. The GAA sought to promote traditional Irish sports, such ashurling and to reject imported games like rugby and association football. The first Gaelic football rules were drawn up byMaurice Davin and published in theUnited Ireland magazine on 7 February 1887.[135] Davin's rules showed the influence of games such as hurling and a desire to formalise a distinctly Irish code of football. The prime example of this differentiation was the lack of an offside rule (an attribute which, for many years, was shared only by other Irish games like hurling, and by Australian rules football).
TheInternational Rugby Football Board (IRFB) was founded in 1886,[136] but rifts were beginning to emerge in the code.Professionalism had already begun to creep into the various codes of football.In England, by the 1890s, a long-standingRugby Football Union ban onprofessional players was causing regional tensions within rugby football, as many players in northern England were working class and could not afford to take time off to train, travel, play and recover from injuries. This was not very different from what had occurred ten years earlier in soccer in Northern England but the authorities reacted very differently in the RFU, attempting to alienate the working class support in Northern England. In 1895, following a dispute about a player being paid broken time payments, which replaced wages lost as a result of playing rugby, representatives of the northern clubs met inHuddersfield to form theNorthern Rugby Football Union (NRFU). The new body initially permitted only various types of player wage replacements. However, within two years, NRFU players could be paid, but they were required to have a job outside sport.[137]The demands of a professional league dictated that rugby had to become a better "spectator" sport. Within a few years the NRFU rules had started to diverge from the RFU, most notably with the abolition of theline-out. This was followed by the replacement of theruck with the "play-the-ball ruck", which allowed a two-player ruck contest between the tackler at marker and the player tackled.Mauls were stopped once the ball carrier was held, being replaced by a play-the ball-ruck. The separate Lancashire and Yorkshire competitions of the NRFU merged in 1901, forming the Northern Rugby League, the first time the namerugby league was used officially in England.[137]Over time, the RFU form of rugby, played by clubs which remained members of national federations affiliated to the IRFB, became known asrugby union.[137]
The need for a single body to oversee association football had become apparent by the beginning of the 20th century, with the increasing popularity of international fixtures. The English Football Association had chaired many discussions on setting up an international body, but was perceived as making no progress. It fell to associations from seven other European countries: France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, to form an international association. TheFédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in Paris on 21 May 1904.[138] Its first president wasRobert Guérin.[138] The French name and acronym has remained, even outside French-speaking countries.
Rugby league rules diverged significantly from rugby union in 1906, with the reduction of the team from 15 to 13 players. In 1907, a New Zealand professional rugby team toured Australia and Britain, receiving an enthusiastic response, and professionalrugby leagues were launched in Australia the following year. However, the rules of professional games varied from one country to another, and negotiations between various national bodies were required to fix the exact rules for each international match. This situation endured until 1948, when at the instigation of the French league, theRugby League International Federation (RLIF) was formed at a meeting inBordeaux.During the second half of the 20th century, the rules changed further. In 1966, rugby league officials borrowed the American football concept ofdowns: a team was allowed to retain possession of the ball for four tackles (rugby union retains the original rule that a player who is tackled and brought to the ground must release the ball immediately). The maximum number of tackles was later increased to six (in 1971), and in rugby league this became known as thesix tackle rule.With the advent of full-time professionals in the early 1990s, and the consequent speeding up of the game, the five-metre off-side distance between the two teams became 10 metres, and the replacement rule was superseded by various interchange rules, among other changes.The laws of rugby union also changed during the 20th century, although less significantly than those of rugby league. In particular, goals frommarks were abolished, kicks directlyinto touch from outside the22-metre line were penalised, new laws were put in place to determine who had possession following an inconclusiveruck ormaul, and the lifting of players inline-outs was legalised.In 1995, rugby union became an "open" game, that is one which allowed professional players.[139] Although the original dispute between the two codes has now disappeared – and despite the fact that officials from both forms of rugby football have sometimes mentioned the possibility of re-unification – the rules of both codes and their culture have diverged to such an extent that such an event is unlikely in the foreseeable future.
The wordfootball, when used in reference to a specific game can mean any one of those described above. Because of this, much controversy has occurred over the termfootball, primarily because it is used in different ways in different parts of theEnglish-speaking world. Most often, the wordfootball is used to refer to the code of football that is considered dominant within a particular region (which is association football in most countries). So, effectively, what the wordfootball means usually depends on where one says it.
In each of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, one football code is known solely asfootball, while the others generally require a qualifier. In New Zealand,football historically referred torugby union, but more recently may be used unqualified to refer to association football. The sport meant by the wordfootball in Australia is eitherAustralian rules football orrugby league, depending on local popularity (which largely conforms to theBarassi Line). InfrancophoneQuebec, whereCanadian football is more popular, the Canadian code is known asle football while American football is known asle football américain and association football is known asle soccer.[140]Of the 45 nationalFIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) affiliates in which English is an official or primary language, most currently useFootball in their organisations' official names; the FIFA affiliates inCanada and theUnited States useSoccer in their names. A few FIFA affiliates have recently "normalised" to usingFootball, including:
Several of the football codes are the most popular team sports in the world.[9] Globally,association football is played by over 250 million players in over 200 nations,[145] and has the highest television audience in sport,[146] making it the most popular in the world.[147] American football, with 1.1 millionhigh school football players and nearly 70,000college football players, is the most popularsport in the United States,[148][149] with the annualSuper Bowl game accounting for nine of the top ten of themost watched broadcasts in U.S. television history.[150] TheNFL has the highest averageattendance (67,591) of any professional sports league in the world and has the highestrevenue[151] out of any single professional sports league.[152] Thus, the best association football and American football players are among thehighest paid athletes in the world.[153][154][155]Australian rules football has the highest spectator attendance of all sports in Australia.[156][157] Similarly,Gaelic football is the most popular sport in Ireland in terms of match attendance,[158] and theAll-Ireland Football Final is the most watched event of that nation's sporting year.[159]Rugby union is the most popular sport in New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji.[160] It is also the fastest growing sport in the U.S.,[161][162][163][164] withcollege rugby being the fastest growing[clarification needed][165][166]college sport in that country.[167][dubious –discuss]
| Medieval football | Cambridge rules (1848–1863) | Association football (1863–) | Futsal (1930–) | |
| Beach (1992–) | ||||
| Paralympic | ||||
| Sheffield rules (1857–1877) | Indoor | |||
| Street | ||||
| Rugby football (1845–)[b] | Burnside rules | Canadian football (1861–)[c] | Flag football[d] | |
| Rugby union with minor modifications | American football (1869[e]–) | Underwater (1967–),Indoor,Arena,Sprint,Flag,Touch,Street,Wheelchair (1987–),XFL | ||
| Rugby Football Union (1871–) | Sevens (1883–),Tens,X,Touch,Tag,American flag,Mini,Beach,Snow,Tambo,Wheelchair,Underwater | |||
| Rugby league (1895–) | Nines | |||
| Sevens | ||||
| Touch football,Tag,Wheelchair,Mod | ||||
| Rugby rules and other English public school games[f] | Australian rules (1859–) | Austus,Rec footy,Auskick,Samoa Rules,Metro,Lightning,AFLX,Nine-a-side,Kick-to-kick | International rules football (1967–) | |
| Gaelic football (1885–),Ladies' Gaelic football (1969–) | ||||
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| Code | Association | Gridiron | Rugby | International and related | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soccer[172] | Beach[173] | Futsal[174] | American[175] | Flag[176] | Indoor[177][178] | Canadian | Union | League | Australian | International | Gaelic | |||
| Image | 2.jpg) | .jpg) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | .jpg) |  | ||
| Country of origin | England | Brazil | Uruguay | United States | Canada | England | Australia | Compromise rules between Australian and Gaelic codes | Ireland | |||||
| Governing Body | FIFA | IFAF | Football Canada[179] | World Rugby[180] | IRL[181] | AFL Commission[182] | AFL and GAA[183] | GAA[184] | ||||||
| Pitch | Shape | Rectangular | Rectangular | Rounded rectangular | Rectangular | Rectangular | Oval | Rectangular | ||||||
| Total length |
| 35–37 metres |
| 120 yards (110 m) | 70 yards (64 m) (standard, 5 a side) | 66 yards (60 m) | 150 yards (140 m) | 106–144 metres | 112–122 metres | 135–185 metres (professional) | 145 metres | 130–145 metres | ||
| Total width |
| 26–28 metres |
| 160 feet (49 m) | 25 yards (23 m) (standard, 5 a side) | 28 yards (26 m) | 65 yards (59 m) | 68–70 metres | 68 metres | 110–155 metres (professional) | 90 metres | 80–90 metres | ||
| Surface | grass, artificial | sand | wood, artificial | grass, artificial | solid, sand | artificial | grass, artificial | grass, sand, clay, snow, artificial | grass | grass | ||||
| Goalposts | Shape | Netted rectangular | Carving fork | None | Uppercase H, with bouncing nets/ Uppercase U (hanged) | Carving fork | Uppercase H | 4 posts | Uppercase H (netted bottom) + 2 post | Uppercase H (netted bottom) | ||||
| Width | 8 yards (7.3 m) | 5.5 metres | 3 metres | 222 inches (5.6 m) | 10 feet (3.0 m) | 222 inches (5.6 m) | 5.6 metres | 5.5 metres | 2 goal posts (6.4 metres apart) + 2 behind posts (6.4 metres apart from each side of goal post) | 6.5 metres | ||||
| Height | 8 feet (2.4 m) | 2.2 metres | 2 metres | 10 feet (3.0 m) above ground | 10 feet (3.0 m) above ground | 3 metres above ground | Goal posts: 6–15 metres Behind posts: 3–10 metres | Goal posts: 6 metres, crossbar at 2.5 metres Behind posts: 3 metres | 7 meters, crossbar at 2.5 meters, netted bottom 0.9 meters in depth | |||||
| Equipment | Football | Shape | Sphere | Lemon[185] | Prolate spheroid | Prolate spheroid | Sphere | |||||||
| Circumference | 27–28 inches (69–71 cm) | 68-70 centimetres | 62-64 centimetres | 27.75–28.5 inches (70.5–72.4 cm) (longitudinal) × 20.75–21.25 inches (52.7–54.0 cm) (transversal) | 27–28 inches (69–71 cm) (longitudinal) 20–21 inches (51–53 cm) (transversal) | 27.75–28.5 inches (70.5–72.4 cm) (longitudinal) 20.75–21.375 inches (52.71–54.29 cm) (transversal) | 74 - 77 centimetres (elliptic) × 58 - 62 centimetres (circular) | 72 - 73 centimetres (elliptic) × 54.5 -55.5 centimetres (circular) | 68-70 centimetres | |||||
| Diameter | - | - | - | 10.875–11.4375 inches (27.623–29.051 cm) (longitudinal) | 11–11.5 inches (28–29 cm) (longitudinal) 6.25–6.75 inches (15.9–17.1 cm) (transversal) | 10.875–11.4375 inches (27.623–29.051 cm) (longitudinal) 6.25–6.75 inches (15.9–17.1 cm) (transversal) | 28-30 centimetres (longitudinal) | - | - | - | ||||
| Weight | 14–16 ounces (400–450 g) | 400-440 grams | 14–15 ounces (400–430 g) | 410 - 460 grams | 480-500 grams | |||||||||
| Pressure | 8.5–15.6 pounds per square inch (59–108 kPa) | 0.4–0.6 standard atmospheres (41–61 kPa) | 0.6–0.9 standard atmospheres (61–91 kPa) | 12.5–13.5 pounds per square inch (86–93 kPa) | 9.5–10 pounds per square inch (66–69 kPa) | 69 kilopascals | 9–10 pounds per square inch (62–69 kPa) | |||||||
| Bounce | 50-65 centimetres when dropped from 2 metres | 0.5222-0.576e when dropped from 1.8 metres | ||||||||||||
| Uniform | Non protective | Shirt with sleeves, shorts, socks, footwear | Shirt with sleeves, shorts, no footwear allowed | Shirt with sleeves, shorts, socks, footwear | Jersey, pants, socks | Jersey, shorts or pants, flag belts | Jersey, pants, socks, footwear | Shirt, shorts, socks, footwear | Sleeveless shirt, shorts, socks, footwear | Shirt with sleeves, shorts, socks, footwear | ||||
| Protective gear | Shin guards | None | Shin guards | Helmet, hip pads, knee pads,mouthguard, shoulder pads, thigh guards | Mouthguard (recommended) | Helmet, hip pads, knee pads, mouthguard, shoulder pads, thigh guards | Optional (headgear, padded clothes, mouthguard, shin guards, goggles) | Mouthguard | ||||||
| Players | Number[186] | 11 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 15 | |||
| Goalkeeper | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | |||||||||
| Time | Duration | 2 × 45 minutes | 3 × 12 minutes | 2 × 20 minutes | 4 × 15 minutes | 2 × 20 minutes | 4 × 15 minutes | 2 × 40 minutes | 4 × 20 minutes | 4 × 18 minutes | 2 × 35 minutes | |||
| Clock stoppage | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ||||||||
| Kicking | Type of kicks | Off the ground, bicycle, placed, dribbling | Placed, punt | None | Placed | Placed, punt | Off the ground, grubber, dropped, bomb, punt, placed | Off the ground, grubber, bomb, punt | Off the ground, grubber, bomb, dropped, punt, bicycle | |||||
| Kickoff | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |||||||||
| Use of hands | Only goalkeeper, but all in throw-in | Only goalkeeper | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| Forward pass | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ||||||||||
| Offside rule | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | |||||||||
| Type oftackles | Sliding, standing | Spear, dump, body tackle, ankle tap, diving, bumping, shoulder charge, intercept ball, chicken wig | None | Spear, dump, body tackle, ankle tap, diving, bumping, shoulder charge, intercept ball, chicken wig | Dump, body tackle, ankle tap, diving, charge down | Dump, diving, bumping, intercept ball, spoil, shepherd, smother | ||||||||
| Score | Goal 1 | Touchdown 6,Field goal 3,try 1 or 2,Safety 2 | Touchdown 6, try 1 or 2, safety 2, defense touchdown on a try 2 | Touchdown 6, Field goal 3 or 4 (drop kick), try 1 or 2, Safety 2, defense touchdown on a try 2, Rouge 1, Deuce 2 | Touchdown 6, Field goal 3, Convert 1 or 2, Safety 2,Single 1 | Try 5, Conversion 2, Penalty 3,Drop goal 3 | Try 4, Conversion 2, Penalty 2, Drop goal 1 (2 points when kicked from 40m+) | Goal 6, behind 1 | Goal 6, over 3, behind 1 | Goal 3, over 1 (2 points when kicked from outside 40 m arc) | ||||
| Methods for breaking ties | Knock-out contests: extratime,penaltyshot-out | Extra periods | Extratime (knock-out contests) | Extratime | ||||||||||
| Methods for starting play | partials | Kick-off | Kickoff (each half) | Scrimmage | Kick off | Kick off | By umpire:ball-up | By umpire: central throw up | ||||||
| After scoring |
| Restart kick | Goal: ball-up Behind:kick in |
| Kick out | |||||||||
| when ball goes out of bounds |
| Touchlines: throw-in or kick-in | Touchlines: kick-in | Scrimmage | Touch:lineout or quick throw | Touchlines:scrum | Free kick or throw in (by umpire) |
|
| |||||
| Goal lines: goal clearance (by defending team), corner kick (by attacking team) | ||||||||||||||
| After foul | Free kick,penalty kick | Scrum, penalty kick | Free kick | Free kick, penalty kick | Free kick, throw in, penalty kick | |||||||||
| Tournaments | World nation championship | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No (only Australia vs Ireland) | No | ||||||
| Olympic | Yes | No | 2018, 2026 (SYOG) | 1932 (demonstration) | 2028 | No | 1900, 1908, 1920, 1924 (sevens since 2016) | No | 1956 (demonstration) | No | ||||
| World Games | No | Invitational (2005 and 2017) | Yes | No | Sevens (2001-2013) | No | No | |||||||
| Professional leagues | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No (strictly amateur) | ||||||
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These codes have in common the prohibition of the use of hands (by all players except the goalkeeper, though outfield players can "throw-in" the ball when it goes out of play), unlike other codes where carrying or handling the ball by all players is allowed
These codes have in common the ability of players to carry the ball with their hands, and to throw it to teammates, unlike association football where the use of hands during play is prohibited by anyone except the goalkeeper. They also feature various methods of scoring based upon whether the ball is carried into the goal area, or kicked above the goalposts. They are broadly divided into two families:The Rugby codes are notable for a prohibition on passing the ball forwards with the hands
Gridiron codes share a history with rugby codes, but allow some forward passing
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These codes have in common the absence of a full offside rule and the subsequent man-to-man nature of defending, the prohibition of continuous carrying of the ball (requiring a periodic bounce or solo (toe-kick), depending on the code) while running, handpassing by punching or tapping the ball rather than throwing it, a major and minor scoring system, and other traditions.
More distant sports:
Although similar to football and volleyball in some aspects,Sepak takraw has ancient origins and cannot be considered a hybrid game.Teqball, however, which derives some of its rules and traditions from Sepak takraw, also has hybrid elements.
Games still played at UKpublic (private) schools:
The international game is called football and we're part of the international game so the game in New Zealand should be called football
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and is an industry worth over US$400 billion world wide. 80% of this is generated in Europe, though its popularity is growing in the United States. It has been estimated that there were 22 million soccer players in the world in the early 1980s, and that number is increasing. In the United States soccer is now a major sport at both the high school and college levels
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