History Of Soccer- The Evolution Of A Ball Game

Soccer started out in early Asia. Soccer was invented over 2000 years ago in China. They used human heads of their enemies for soccer balls. In most parts of the world soccer is also called football. It is one of the first organised sports. The Ancient Greeks  are known to have played many ball games, some of which involved the use of the feet which appear to resemble like football. 

The earliest record of soccer is of 1872 when the first international match was played between England and Scotland. In that match players not only wore “knickerbockers” or long pants but bobble hats or caps too.The ball used in the first club and country matches was not exactly round. Instead a pig’s bladder was blown up like a balloon, tied at the ends and placed inside a leather case, making it an egg shape. But later on with the discovery of Indian rubber in 1860 gave better and round shape.

Earlier the rules were completely different like there was no mention of a crossbar.  But some revolutionary changes took place when it was thought that football was very much an upper class sport in England during its infancy and the rules of the game were largely drafted by students belonging to public schools and universities. The working class adopted the sport during the late 19th Century. In the original rules penalties or referees found no place. It was only in the 20th Century that the penalty spot was introduced.

Many of football’s terms and expressions are of military origin: defence, back line, offside, winger, forward, attack, etc. The official rules were made in England.  There was also a soccer organization called FIFA invented in Europe. Ebenezer Cobb Morley is sometimes called the father of soccer. He was born in Hall but moved to Barnes. He drafted the first rules of soccer.

 The foundation of soccer was firmly established in 1869, the Football Association strictly banned any kind of handling of the ball. Soccer’s popularity spread rapidly during the 1800s as British sailors, traders and soldiers introduced the sport to different parts of the globe. Italians, Austrians and Germans drew to Europe, while Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil adopted the sport in South America. FIFA was established in the year 1904 and by early 1930s, different leagues were operating from various countries. The history of soccer is rich with events, development and its growing craze all over the world. The first world cup was hosted in Uruguay and the credits are given to FIFA.  Thirteen nations took part in the event which saw four European teams make a 15 day boat ride only for there to get knocked out in the 1st round. Uruguay became world champions, beating Argentina 4-2 in the final.

The football association was established in October, 1863. The first meeting took place at the Freeman's Tavern London. The clubs represented in the meeting included Barnes, Blackheath, Perceval House, Kensington School, the war office, Crystal Palace, Forest, the Crusaders and No names of Kilburn. In 1885 Arbroath beat Bon Accord ina Scottish cup match by 36-0 which was the largest known win in professional win. 

Though football was considered a male sport, but it was not exactly true as women have been involved in the game since the late nineteenth century. It became increasingly popular during World War I when women had taken on the jobs traditionally done by men. The first team to compete in an international game against Paris was a ladies team from Preston. There was a brief ban after World War I made by the Football Association who deemed women’s football to be inappropriate. However, the formation of the English Women’s FA saw the ban eventually lifted in 1971. Since then women’s football has continued to grow in Britain and abroad. Some of the largest football clubs such as Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea all have female teams which compete at home and internationally.

There were various attempts been made to ban football games. This was especially the case in England and in other parts of Europe, during the Middle ages and early modern period. During 1324 and 1667, football was banned in England alone by more than 30 royal and local laws. The reasons for the ban by Edword III, on June 12, 1349, was given that football and other recreations distracted the people from practicing archery, which was necessary for war. So this was all about Soccer’s history, how it started and grew up especially in the European part of the world.

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History Of Cricket- The Starting Of A New Era In Modern Sports

This is my first ever post in this blog, so I was just wondering how to start off and  what topic should I be writing on. So few days ago I was watching ICC CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY it was then when I realized that maybe I should start with CRICKET so here iam bringing you a brief HISTORY on CRICKET and how it started. It was way back in late 16^th century when the journey of CRICKET started, although officially CRICKET attained its international recognation in 1844. The first match ever recorded was played in SUSSEX, ENGLAND in 1697.

CRICKET actually started off as a child’s game but eventually the adult version of this game was said to have started in 17^th century. Some speculate that CRICKET is take off of a game called BOWLS and LAWN bowling with the slight variation that a bat is used to keep the ball from reaching the target almost similar tobaseball. The basic tools used to play CRICKET were thought to be matte lumps of sheep’s wool to be used as the ball and the stick, crook or farm was also used as the bat that time.

CRICKET began to grow after the restoration of 1660 and this when the this game attracted gamblers to itself. In 1664, the Gaming act was passed and it put a limit on the stakes of a game for 100 pounds. By the end of 17^th century CRICKET was becoming the game that was betted on daily, and this game was starting to attract more and more gamblers to it.

In17th century North America was introduced to this game by the Englishmen. By the end of 18^th century it has spread through other parts of the world as well. Let me tell you a short story on when the name of cricket was used. It was 1598 when this name cricket was first came under lights. It was 1598 and there was a court case being contested in Surrey, ENGLAND. The court case was regarding the ownership of a plot of land. An old man had testified to the court that he and a group of his friends has played a game called ‘CRECKETT’ (I know  it might sounds odd but this was what the old man had spelled that time) on that land 50 years prior when they attended school there. I don’t know who won the case but this was the first time that an adult has confessed or mentioned playing the game rather than attending a church mass.

In 1719, the first "county" match was played, with the Londoners (Middlesex) vs. the Kentish. It gained publicity in the southern counties of England, but was eventually transplanted to be mainly in the London grounds of wealthy patrons. During this time, crowds were often rowdy, with high monetary stakes on important matches.

Coming to international matches, The first ever internatinal game of cricket was played  between USA and CANADAin 1844. This match was played in NEWYORK. In 1859, a team of leading English professionals set off to North America on the first-ever overseas tour and, in 1862, the first English team toured Australia. And this continued as both Australia and England both started exchanging visits which lead to the famous ‘The Ashes’ series.  According to the records these were the two countries that inaugurated the Test matches. Later on South Africa joined it and became the third official Test playing nation.

When the Imperial Cricket Conference (as it was originally called) was founded in 1909, only England, Australia and South Africa were members. Later on India,West Indiess and New Zealandd became Test nations before the Second World War and Pakistann soon afterwards. The international game grew with several "affiliate nations" getting involved and, in the closing years of the 20th century, three of those became Test nations also: Sri Lankaa, Zimbabwae and Bangladesh. Test cricket remained the sport's highest level of standard throughout the 20th century.

Earlier in the intial days when CRICKET was played only 4 balls per overs were balled which was then replaced by 5 balls and later on changed with the current six balls per over. Many other nations experimented with 8 balls per over too but that didn’t last long. But after the second world war it was fixed that it will be bowled 6 ball per over only.

Today, Cricket is still a major sport that still attracts players, spectators and even media interest as well. The ICC has over time expanded the development of the game and it hopes to produce more national teams that are capable of competing at the Test level. In June of 2001, the ICC has brought the Test Championship Table and in October 2002, the One Day International Championship Table was introduced.

The newest addition to Cricket is the Twenty20, this a style of Cricket that was first seen in England for professional inter county teams and it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board. If you have never seen a game of Cricket, go see one, it really is very fun and exciting. That was all about CRICKET and it’s history. Hope you all find it informative.

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