“Soccer” or “football”, as was it previously known and still referred in some countries, has in its background the numerous and unforgettable illustrious stories ever since it came into existence. The glorious game of ball has left behind it a similar glorious history. This game of ball is no more referred as a game of 11 players running after a single ball, but it has become more than a matter of life and death for those who preach it.

The old saying goes “until and unless you are aware of the roots of the thing, you are unlikely to understand it and still more unlikely to comprehend it well”. Soccer over the years has evolved as religion for both, its players and fans. A glide through the pages of olden times will tell us the glamorous past and evolution of this game of ball.

The first question that might have come into your mind on hearing the term ‘history of soccer’ is that when and who invented the game of soccer? The answer to the question is not as easy as the question sounds. Before the 19th century when the first version of modern soccer comes into play, the soccer has gone through many changes here and there and evolved as the game what we see, play and preach. It leaves behind it an extensive past.

Starting from as early as second century, the contemporary game similar to soccer was played by Chinese. The game was known as Cuju and involved the kicking a leather ball through a small hole in the piece of silk cloth strung between two high poles. Sliding through the timeline, we see Mesoamerican civilizations playing a game which was combination of present day soccer, basketball and volleyball. The imperial armies played the game called Pheninda which was a combination between soccer and rugby.

From the Asians to Europeans, the game of soccer not only changed its name but also various variations were seen in the foreplay of the game. One of the popular forms of the game termed as mob soccer involved the count of unlimited players and made the game rather chaotic. Moving to medieval France, a game which seemed to be a combination of soccer, handball, hockey, baseball and kickboxing was played in town gatherings on special occasions. The nature of the game turned out to be violent and it was banned, yet it continued to add the pages in the book of the history of soccer.

The game of soccer then became popular amongst the English school children who played in order to keep themselves fit. This sparked the idea of holding an organized tournament amongst the school children in the early 19th century. A semi professional soccer club was formed in 1862 which lead the way of forming a governing body for the game of soccer. The idea come into realization in the year 1863 and the founding members of several soccer club in London gave birth to the first ever ‘Football Association’.

The association drew up the laws of game which took around three decades and since then the game is governed by those rules with a little changes and knick knacks. During the early 1930’s the game became international, with many of the European and American nations becoming part of FIFA. The first national teams were formed in the dawn of 20th century.

Since then the game of soccer no more remained just a game of locals but it turned out into a frenzy of the three billion people worldwide.