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A short history of football (soccer).

By Yiannis Samatas from Explore Crete.

A short history of football (soccer).

Football is one of the most popular sports today and millions of people worldwide are entertained by it. The history of football is lost in the depths of time. For 4,000 years people have had fun kicking a ball or at least something resembling the football we all know today.

Any spherical object could be an ancient football: human or animal skulls, pieces of cloth or leather sewn into a ball, even inflated pig bladders.

The first rubber ball was invented in 1855 by Charles Goodyear. Today balls used in football championships are designed to strict specifications.

Ancient games resembling modern football are known form various countries including North America, Japan, Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome.

Football in Ancient Greece

In Ancient Greece the sport most like football was the game of Episkyros. It was played on a rectangular field with a centreline, and each team had its own area and goal, which was defined by a line. The ball was made of pieces of leather sewn together and painted in bright colours.

The two teams tried to get the ball into the opposing area and “score a goal” using their hands and feet.

Ancient Greek football was more like rugby, as rough pushing and shoving was often used.

We do not have exact details on the number of players in each team or the prizes awarded, but we do know that Episkyros was a popular game in which anybody could take part, as it could be played anywhere with no need for expensive equipment.

Football in Ancient Rome

The Greek game of Episkyros was later adopted by the Romans, who renamed and transformed it into Harpastum. Harpastum was played by 5-12 players on a rectangular field marked by boundary lines and split by a centreline.

Roman football was played in a similar way to the Ancient Greek game, like a mixture of football and rugby.

The Romans used it as part of military training and there are records of matches between Roman soldiers and locals in occupied Britain. The game gradually lost its popularity and was forgotten, although a similar, rougher game was played by apprentices in the Middle Ages in Europe.

Football in Britain

What made team ball games popular was the Industrial Revolution in the 19^th century. Factories drew people into the towns, and workers wanted new amusements in their free time.

In the late 19^th century, football became the most popular ball game in Britain and quickly spread to the rest of the world.

At a meeting of the London Football Association (FA) in 1863, the game of football was split into rugby football (the parent sport of American football), in which handling and carrying the ball was allowed, and association football, which banned the use of the hands. The FA established the first set of rules for soccer, which at that time, was played competitively (or officially) only in private schools and universities.

The first international football match was played in Glasgow, Scotland, on 30th of November, 1872 when an English all-star team met its Scottish counterpart.

From 1960 onwards, television has made football what it is today: the most popular sport in human history.

Football in Greece

The Greek Football Federation was founded in 1926, by a decision of the three major Unions of the country (Athens, Piraeus, Thessalonica). Its foundation marked the organization of Greek football according to international standards. From that day on, the Greek Football Federation has grown into the largest sports federation of the country, with podosfairo (podi = foot + sfaira = sphere) occupying the first place in sports fans’ preferences in Greece, as it does worldwide.Greek

Football Federation The Greek Football Federation is a private legal entity and a non-profit association which, under Civil Law, has its registered offices in Athens under the name of “Hellenic Football Federation”.

The Greek Football Federation abstains from any political or religious matters and prohibits any form of political, religious, national or racial discrimination.

The Greek Football Federation is the sole and exclusive qualified, competent authority representing Greek football. It is a member of the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the European Football Federation (UEFA). Its obligations include accepting the statutes, regulations, directives and decisions of FIFA and UEFA and ensuring that all of the above are also accepted by everyone in the field of Greek football Super League First National Football Division in Greece.

The Super League First National Football Division is the highest professional football league in Greece.At present, sixteen Greek football teams compete in the league, playing each other twice, once at home and once away. At the end of the season, three football teams are relegated to the Second Division (Beta Ethniki), the second-level football league, to be replaced by the top three football teams from that league.

Article by Yannis Samatas of www.greeceindex.com - Read more about Football in Greece