About Soccer: A Short History of Soccer
Soccer is the most widely played team sport worldwide with more than 240 million people playing the sport in more than 200 countries. It is known as football in most of the world, the name soccer being derived from “Association Football”.
The history of soccer predates American football and rugby with roots in the native sport of differing cultures. Who invented soccer? The precise answer is difficult as the ball kicking game dates back to Cuju in 2nd & 3rd century China, and differing versions of the game were played in medieval Europe. Soccer balls were made of leather in early times.
Soccer began to be formally organized into its modern form when the Cambridge Rules were set in 1848. The Cambrige Rules did allow the ball to be caught with the hands, but not carried. In 1863 The Football Association created “Laws of the Game” which is the foundation of modern soccer. In modern soccer “handling” of the ball is a strict foul. Current soccer rules are defined in The Laws of the Game under FIFA.
Probably the most accurate understanding of the history of soccer as it relates to American football and rugby, is that they share common roots. As the many early variations became normalized into a standard game, soccer emerged with distinctions like the offside rule and the rule against using the hands. Later rugby and American football emerged from soccer, incorporating elements of play which had been probably been included in some of the early variations of the game, but left out in the standardization process. All three sports can trace a common lineage back to the 2nd century.
The FIFA World Cup is held every four years, with qualifying spanning the years beforehand. The World Cup is by far the most widely viewed sporting event in the world.
Soccer balls come in differing sizes adjusted for age level, with the Size 5 being the full size adult soccer ball. A regulation Size 5 soccer ball will have a circumference of 27-28 inches, inflate to 8-12 psi, and weigh 14-16 ounces. Futsal, the indoor soccer game, uses a Size 4 ball and is built to have less bounce. The classic football look comes from a design of 32 panels, 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons, in a black and white pattern, however regulation soccer balls can be made of other panel designs.