The first ever football was made of leather. The game is called football because it was played 'on foot' and not on horseback as other sports were.
The Ancient Greeks and Romans were known to play ball games, some of which involved the foot. A Chinese gamed called Cuju was the first version of the game with rules.
The advantage of football is that you can play it more or less anywhere, and with little equipment. Even a tin can will do instead of a ball if, as in some countries, people are too poor to afford the real ball or do not have proper goals.
In Medieval times, football became more popular in Britain, and towns and villages would play against each other. These games were violent and often banned. A game called football was played in Scotland as early as the 15th century. In 1409 King Henry IV used the word 'foteball' (an old spelling of football), and King Henry VIII ordered a pair of football boots from the Great Wardrobe in 1526.
Football was played throughout the 19th century and England was the first country to have football rules. This was because many independent (public) schools wanted to compete against each other.
Football became a national sport in Britain with the rise of cities in the late 19th century. As people had at least one day a week off work for the first time, they were able to take part in sport, and also to go to football matches. The first stadiums were built close to where working people lived, which, at that time was close to the factories where they worked. Stadiums also took up a lot of space, so they were placed at the edge of the city as it was at that time. They were very often at the end of tram lines. Of course, cities have expanded greatly since then, which is why many older stadiums are in the middle of cities, hemmed in by houses.
The popularity of football meant that, when the British army wanted to recruit young men in 1914, they used football stars as heroes. There was a part of the army made entirely of football players.
An extraordinary football game was played on Christmas Day 1914. The French, British, and German soldiers stopped fighting to play a game of football. This was known as the 'Christmas Truce.' This game is so famous because it was a moment of peace during a very violent war.
Football was played by both men and women, although often in very different clothing from that of today.
Football in America was formed in the late 1800s at colleges. American football has different rules to English football, and uses a different ball. English football in America is called 'soccer', and has become increasingly popular, with the US having a successful international team.
Football League
The English Football League was founded in 1888 as the Football League, and the league is the oldest competition in world football. In 1992 the top 22 clubs split away to form the Premier League.
The league has 72 clubs divided into three divisions, which are known as the Championship, League One and League Two. There are 24 clubs in each division. Each year the winners and losers within their league can be promoted or relegated. This allows the top Championship clubs to exchange places with the lowest-placed clubs in the Premier League, and the bottom clubs of League Two to switch with the top clubs of the National League.
The Premier League contains 20 clubs. The league season is from August to May with each team playing 38 matches (playing each other home and away). The Premier League broke away from the Football League in order to take advantage of the money that could be made from selling rights to television companies.
The Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, broadcast to 643 million homes and almost 5 billion people.
