Soccer? Footy?

Want to hear an interesting fact about soccer? Credit where it's due, it was taught to me by a friend at dinner in San Francisco, and I was bemused it took me this long to learn. soccer vs. football has been an age-old debate. Parts of the world where a different "football" exists (think Australia, USA) stand by soccer, which pisses off the Europeans to no end. I personally grew up thinking soccer was a soft sport played by pansies, and real athletes yearned for contact. It wasn't until I moved to Singapore, and subsequently, London, that I truly gained an appreciation for the world's game.

So back to this fact. The English have a history of using slang to the point where there is a whole dialect dedicated to it. Trust me, if you tried to converse with someone Cockney rhyming, the conversation would not get far. This extends to Association Football, the legal name for the sport, becoming SOC-cer from the former half of its name. I found this hilarious; I have defended "football" with my life and yet it isn't an American derogatory term. After this, I was curious if there were any other fun facts I'd missed for the game I'd spent so much time following.

I do have another interesting connection to the history of football; I've actually been to the pub where the rules were written. In 1863, the pioneers of this game met at Freemasons Arms in Covent Garden to hash out a unified ruleset for the game we all love. This was the birth of the Football Association (FA), although I doubt any of them would've predicted the FA to generate $650 million in revenue in 2023. The Freemasons Arms still operates for anyone wanting a taste of this history, although they do serve a significantly more expensive pint.

The origins of football can be traced long before the FA was formed. Some reports state it was created 2000 years ago by the Aztecs with a rubber ball. Others give credit to the ancient Chinese sport "cuju," played in 200 BCE and involved kicking a ball through an opening. In England, "folkball" started in the 12th century, although it would be almost unrecognizable today. This sport involved punching the ball with your fist while violently tackling the other team. So violently, in fact, that the British government banned it for centuries to come.

Eventually in the 1800s, the sport reappeared with much safer rules. Various schools, such as Eton, Winchester, and the Rugby school, played their version of the game with their own rules. Please note the foreshadowing mention of the Rugby school. Unfortunately, this meant that it was almost impossible for these students to play each other. Eventually, in Parker's Pierce at Cambridge in 1848, a group of University students codified the first eleven rules of the game. The Cambridge Rules became the first widely accepted set of football laws.

Although monumental, the Cambridge rules still did not specify whether or not the ball could be handled. This brings us back to our heroes at the pub, who separated football into a sport where only the feet can be used and created the first Laws of the Game that the FA still uses today. This was also the start of Rugby, as those who still enjoyed contact and handling the ball (the Rugby School) could still have fun.

After this, the landscape of football shifted. In addition to schoolboys, factory workers took up the sport and created teams. With the introduction of railroads as well, teams could now travel to one another and compete. The first official amateur Soccer Club actually resides in Sheffield. Wanting to stay active in the winter months, Sheffield’s cricket team organized friendly soccer matches their members could partake in, which eventually led to an official team. That’s how the oldest club, Sheffield FC, was established in 1857. Sheffield FC is actually older than the Premier League, which wasn't established until 1888.

The rest is, as they say, history. After remaining in Great Britain for years, football was swiftly adopted across the globe, becoming the monstrosity it is today. Tell me how a group of lads at a pub eventually led to a youngster with big calves and a middle part being purchased for one hundred million pounds. Football or Soccer, it's hard not to love it. I'll check back in when it comes home after the Euros.