Soccer, or football as it is known every country but the United States, has a long and rich history that began somewhere in England back in the 1900s. While the sport is popular all over the world, the sport traces its' roots back to England, which is often called the "home of football" because the first soccer leagues were started there, as well as the first official governing organization.
Many experts believe that football was played in some form or other before the 19th century, but the fact remains that there were no official rules until then. In 1863 the Football Association was established in England and they proceeded to hold meetings to come up with what would become the official rules that still hold true today. Games soon commenced using the new guidelines in 1864.
Every sport eventually needs a tournament, and football was no different. Just seven years after games started under the rules established by the Football Association, they started the FA Cup. This was at first a tournament that only featured amateur teams, but within a couple years it was expanded as soccer became more and more popular.
While the football season and tournament was still fairly disorganized, this all changed in 1888 when a football league was finally established. The original Football League had 12 clubs that played one game against each team at home and one at the visitor's home. Teams got 1 point for a tie and two for a win. This was the first official league in the world, and soon it expanded into more divisions and teams all over England.
As soccer quickly gained momentum in England it started to expand into other countries all over the world. It was especially popular not only in Europe but also South America. Eventually the best team from each country started playing the best from other countries; notably, Scotland and England, who were two of the first national teams, began to venture outside the UK to play other nations' teams. This created the need for an international governing body and soon FIFA was established in Paris in 1904 to fill this need. FIFA organized the first tournament at the London Olympics in 1908, which was incredibly successful. As more countries became involved, a World Cup was developed by FIFA, or the International Federation of Association Football, in the 1930s.
Soccer continues to become more and more popular internationally. The World Cup is by far the most watched sporting event in the whole world, and it continues to enthrall fans far beyond England. FIFA now has over 200 national football associations within its membership, which is more countries than are involved with the United Nations. While some would argue that the sport is still more popular in England than anywhere else, there are probably millions of fans all over the world who would argue that their country loves the sport more. While America has been slow to catch on, there is evidence that the sport is getting even more popular there as well because of a professional league that is attracting some of the biggest football names in the world.
Darcey Deeds is a freelance writer out of Austin, Texas. She currently has teamed up with Avila Soccer which is the leader in Austin soccer camps for both kids and adults.
