The Origins of Football
Written by; Tao MacLeod
Football is in many ways unique in global sport. It has the ability to capture the attention and the imagination of people from a variety of different backgrounds, bridging social divides, generational gaps and even languages. Recently I made a brief connection with a Hong Kongese man in an Edinburgh based gym, after he recognised a replica football shirt that I was wearing from my time working in Shenzhen, a city just over the border in mainland China. He spoke little English and my Cantonese is non-existent, but there was an interaction based around a mutual recognition of a sport that is popular in both of our cultures.
Football is also one of, if not the most, simplest of games to play. All it requires is something to kick, a target to aim for and an opponent (if one fancies a bit of competition). Kids in shantytowns, ghettos and favelas around the world have made ad hoc pieces of kit in order to get a game and to have a kick about. It can be played anywhere that has a level playing surface and in some comically rare examples on fields that are decidedly not flat. Pitches that have been marked out on hills and slops are often used to show the determination to play by those at the grassroots level. The rules of the game and the methodology of play allow for a type of democratic approach to participation where almost anybody is able to give it a go. Modifications have been made in recent years to further allow those with a variety of disabilities to take part, including the visually impaired and athletes with lower limb amputations.
In other ways, however, football is quite similar to sports seen elsewhere. Akin to hockey, rugby, wrestling and boxing, as well as track and field, it is one of these activities that can be seen to have flowered in isolation across a variety of different cultures, going back several centuries. Like many of the sports mentioned above, football is also a sport that was latterly codified by the players, clubs and public schools of Victorian era England. This period of British history and culture lead to what we now know as Association Football. Let’s take a look at how we got here…

Early variations of football were played in Asia, the Mediterranean and the British Isles. These were disparate versions created at different times in the history of the development of the separate civilisations. Cuju or Ts’u-chü, was a game played during the Han dynasty, in China, that resembled football, volleyball, basketball and hacky-sack, where teams competed to aim to get a ball through a central hoop, without the use of their hands. They stayed in opposite side of a pitch, with the target placed between them. This was somewhat less physical than that which was latterly developed in England, but is noted to be the earliest documented ball game that was played with the feet. The proximity to other nations, as well as trading routes such as the Silk Road opened up and allowed the sharing of not only trade, but also ideas and cultural activities. The Japanese latterly played a similar sport to Cuju, called Kemari, during the Asuka period, within the imperial court. Participants would stand in a circle, keeping up an inflatable ball in the air.
Over in the Mediterranean, the Ancient Greeks and the Romans both played a type of ball game. Episkyros was a team sport, played in Greece, that was more similar to modern day rugby. Inspired by this the Romans adapted this into their own version, called harpastum. Not much is known about this but, along with episkyros, it is thought to have been rather physical, with players needing to have been fast, agile and physically strong. Both of these activities have been thought to have prompted the creation of calcio storico fiorentino. Played in Italy, during the middle ages, it was reserved for the nobility as a method of physical training for the military. Two teams of 27 players competed in what was a particularly violent contest, with tactical head-butting, punching, elbowing and choking seemingly allowed. The twentieth century saw a modern day revival, with local teams competing against each other each year, with a final played in June. The word calcio is still used in Italian for what we now call modern day football.

However, the game that we play and watch today started out in England. Mob football was played in Medieval villages, towns and cities up and down the country. Games were often organised during seasonal festivals, such as lent and the associated shrovetide, which marked the passing of time for local communities. Teams of unlimited size would use an inflated animal bladder to knock around with the intention of scoring between markers at either end of a large playing area, potentially the size of the borough, or settlement where the players lived. Similar to other incarnations of football, from the Mediterranean, this was a raucous, physical form of sport, that often led to severe injuries. 14th century monarchs had found issue with the misdemeanours and the betting that came from the playing of footy. In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, the popularity of the game spread throughout the country and even went north to Scotland by the early part of the 15th century. It was periodically banned due to the inherent violence and the distraction caused towards more militaristic activities such as archery, which was thought to be more important for the defence of the realm.
Despite early resistance from the establishment, participation in football persisted and was taken on by private schools, who each developed their own versions of the game. It was thought that sport was an important part of the all-round development of the student. However, the disparity between their different versions became as issue when they played each other. It was the schools (primarily during the 19th century) who helped grow the popularity of organised forms of sport rather than the more disorderly versions that had gone before. This was not only with football, but cricket and rugby as well. This prompted the fashion of creating sports clubs during the Victorian era. The ideology around the benefits of amateurism were formed around this time. The upper classes had been educated within the mindset of playing for the sake of the game, as well as each other, instead of other incentives, such as individual glory, or financial reward. There was most definitely a social expectation of how the gentleman player would conduct himself when on a pitch, court, or playing field. A sense of fair play and loyalty to the group was emphasised. Playing the game was meant to be done so, not only by following a set of agreed upon rules, but also a more philosophical spirit amongst fellow men (who were predominately participating at greater rates than women at the time).
As those who enjoyed sport at school and university graduated and entered their various work places, industries and businesses, they maintained an urge to play. It was at this point they looked around, saw that there was a lack of options and banded together to create clubs where they could participate in the activity of their choice. These people followed the calendar that they had learnt from the private school system, with football, field hockey and rugby played during the winter season and cricket in the warmer summer months, a tradition that has been maintained to this day. As participation grew, matches were organised between different teams. Eventually, some of the separate clubs decided to find common ground. On 26 October 1863, the Football Association was formed at the Freemasons’ Tavern in Great Queen Street, London. The clubs represented at this first meeting were Barnes, War Office (who became Civil Service FC and still turn out an amateur side), Crusaders, Forest (Leytonstone), No Names (Kilburn), Crystal Palace (apparently, no relation to the modern day side), Blackheath, Kensington School, Perceval House (Blackheath), Surbiton, Blackheath Proprietory School and Charterhouse. It was during these early days of collectivism that a set of rules for playing the game were created for the first time, thus making a break from the sport we now know of as rugby.
A distinction between the games of rugby football (shortened to rugger, or just rugby) and what was named association football (nicknamed by some as soccer), due to the desire to include varying types of physicality within their respective codes. Although a certain amount of handling of the ball was initially favoured, hacking was a talking point of particular merit within the newly formed Football Association. Blackheath were keen to keep a strong element of physicality, in order to maintain some pluck and courage, but it was decided by the others that a man of business had to take care of himself. The English Rugby Football Union was formed in 1871 and has since maintained a rather more physical sport.
Even though not every footy club in the country had joined up with the FA, it continued with it’s efforts to grow the game. The creation of the world’s oldest football tournament is the Football Association Challenge Cup (now simply referred to as the FA Cup), was announced in July of 1871. By this point the FA had 50 member clubs, however only 15 had initially entered this first ever straight knock-out tournament. Those teams were Barnes, Civil Service, Crystal Palace, Clapham Rovers, Hitchin, Maidenhead, Marlow, Queen’s Park (Glasgow), Donington Grammar School (Spalding), Hampstead Heathens, Harrow Chequers, Reigate Priory, Royal Engineers, Upton Park and Wanderers. The Scottish entrant listed here is the oldest team north of the border. They were obviously looking for games, as it would not be until 1873 that the Scottish Football Association was formed. Only 12 of the initial 15 actually played in the inaugural English FA Cup consisted of 13 games in total, culminating in the Grande Finale being played at the Kennington Oval, London. Wanderers ran out one nil winners over the Royal Engineers in front of 2,000 spectators.
The popularity of the FA Cup led to a desire for more regular games. In 1888, William McGregor, an administrator for both Aston Villa FC and the Football Association prompted the creation of the Football League. This is the organisation that ran the early championship and to this day still looks after the three professional divisions below the English Premiership. This was not set up instead of the FA, but instead to work with and under the overarching national governing body, a relationship that is maintained in the modern era. The inaugural competition involved twelve teams; Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Every team played each other twice, between the autumn of 1888 and the spring of 1889. Preston North End won the league, having been undefeated that season. They also took home the FA Cup, making them the first ever side to win the ‘Double’. In the succeeding years the league system has grown and now includes 92 clubs. We have a promotion and relegation set-up across four divisions, with semi-professional and amateur structures feeding into the current setup.
The English footballing culture of the medieval and Victorian eras has lead to a truly global sport, enjoyed by millions all over the world. Although, still with it’s historical roots in local communities in the British Isles and elsewhere, football has become a massive business on a par with film, television, music and other entertainment industries. Conglomerate organisations have brought their way into clubs, who work alongside fan and community lead teams, creating a varied and complicated ownership structure. Similar to when English mob football and the calcio storico fiorentino, found in Italy, was played during medieval times games are still organised around seasonal landmarks. However, instead of focusing of religious festivals like lent, we mark the passage of time with memorable cup finals, as well as domestic championships and international tournaments. The quadrennial football World Cup is one of the most watched sporting events on the globe, on a par with the Olympic Games. It has come a long way since those early days in the fields, streets and imperial courts of England, Asia and the Mediterranean.