The history of football

piao

How the most popular sport in the world evolved

The early days

The origins of football remain the subject of debate among football historians.

250-200 BC: A Chinese military manual from this time is the earliest evidence of 'football'. The game of Cuju, or Tsu Chu, involved trying to kick a leather ball filled with feathers and hair through a narrow goal made of bamboo canes.

700: A version of football in Britain evolved after a legendary game that involved kicking around the severed head of a Danish prince defeated in battle.

1314: King Edward II banned English 'mob football' owing to serious injuries and deaths that occurred during games. A number of English, French and Scottish kings, including Edward III of England (1349), Phillippe V of France (1319), and James I of Scotland (1424), also passed laws forbidding the game.

1608: William Shakespeare coined the word 'football' in his play King Lear.

19th century: key moments

In the history of football the 19th century was a crucial time. The game's rules became established; clubs, some of which still exist today, were formed; and the first international matches were played.

1815: Eton College, in England, established the first set of rules for the game of 'football' that had been played by students at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities since the 14th century.

1848: The Cambridge Rules were introduced, further standardising the laws of the game.

1857: The Sheffield Rules were devised for use by the newly-founded Sheffield Football Club, the world's oldest football club. Free-kicks, corner kicks, throw-ins and rope crossbars were introduced.

1863: Thirteen teams and schools from London congregated to form the Football Association and establish a single set of rules.

1871: The Wanderers beat Royal Engineers 1-0 in the first FA Cup final in London. Fifteen teams had entered the world's first knockout competition.

1872: England drew 0-0 with Scotland in the world's first official international fixture in Partick, Scotland.

1875: Wooden crossbars were introduced for the first time, replacing ropes tied across two upright stakes.

1885: Canada beat the USA 1-0 in Newark, New Jersey, in the first international match played by countries outside Great Britain.

1888: In England, Aston Villa director William McGregor became founder of The Football League. The 12 original member clubs were Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Derby, Everton, Notts County, Preston, Stoke, West Brom and Wolves.

1888: The penalty kick was introduced.

1890: Goal nets were invented.

20th century: the modern era

The history of football in the 20th century was dominated by the formation of FIFA and regional confederations. The World Cup and regional nations and club tournaments were also founded and the sport was shown live on television.

1904: Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was formed by delegates from France, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

1908: Football was played at the Olympic Games for the first time.

1916: Conmebol, the South American Football Confederation, was formed and the first nations tournament in the region, the Copa America, took place.

1930: Fifa held the first World Cup tournament in Uruguay. The hosts beat Argentina 4-2 in the final.

1954: Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) was formed at a meeting in Switzerland.

1954: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) was formed in Manila, Philippines.

1955/56: The first European club competition, later known as the Champions League, was played. Real Madrid beat Stade de Reims 4-3 in the final in Paris.

1957: The Confederation of African Football (CAF) was formed and the first Africa Cup of Nations took place.

1958: The World Cup finals in Sweden were watched by the competition's first live worldwide TV audience.

1960: The Soviet Union beat Yugoslavia 2-1 in Paris to win the first European Championship.

1960: The first Copa Campeones de America, a South American club championship, took place. It was later renamed Copa Libertadores de America.

1961: The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) was founded in Mexico City.

1966: Action replay machines and videotape were used for the first time on television at the World Cup finals in England.

1966: The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) was formed.

1970: Brazil became the first country to win the World Cup three times after beating Italy 4-1 in the final in Mexico City. They were allowed to keep the Jules Rimet trophy permanently and FIFA commissioned a new World Cup trophy to be used from 1974 onwards.

1991: Germany and Inter Milan midfielder Lothar Matthaus won the first FIFA World Player of the Year award.

1991: The USA won the first FIFA Women's World Cup.

1994: Brazil won the first World Cup final to be decided on penalties when they beat Italy 3-2 in a shoot-out. Hosted in the USA, it was the first World Cup to be played outside Europe and South America.

2000: Corinthians won the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil.

21st century: commercialisation

So far this part of football's history has been dominated by greater commercialisation and globalisation of the sport.

2002: South Korea and Japan co-hosted the first World Cup to be held outside Europe and the Americas. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time.

2010: The World Cup finals were staged in South Africa, the first time they had been held on the African continent.