The History of English Football

History of English Football – Medieval Roots Ever since medieval times, football seemed to fit the English people like a glove. Legend tells us that the first "football" matches were played by the mobs at public executions, using the unfortunate victim's head as a ball. Although this gory image is probably not true, the history of English soccer did start in medieval times, but in a less gruesome scenario. One of the first references to a kicking game comes from Norfolk, in a 1321 document where it is stated that a young man hurt himself during a "game as he kicked the ball". Other references of kicking games abound during that period and the first mentioning of the word "football" was made by King Henry IV of England, who issued a proclamation that forbad betting on "foteball". In any case, it's well known that the history of English football as we know it begins with the game being introduced in physical education classes throughout the entire public school system of England. These public schools had their own rules that they played by, although the object of the game, the boundaries and several other aspects started to become common for all of them. History of English Football – The Rules In 1848, as the game started growing more and more popular in the public school system, Henry de Winton and John Charles Thring organized a meeting at Trinity College in Cambridge, with several representatives from other colleges being invited. They devised a set of soccer rules known as the "Cambridge Rules" and despite the fact that they haven't been found yet, it's believed that they played a major role in England's football history, as they are allegedly the base on which the Laws of the Game would later be constructed. In 1863, several football clubs were called upon to decide a set of organized rules for the game of soccer, since it was growing popularity and needed some form of organization. Representatives from these clubs met in London, at the Freemason's Tavern in Great Queen Street, where they set up the first soccer organization in the World, called the Football Association (FA). Two months after the FA was formed, another great step in the history of British soccer was taken, namely the birth of the Laws of the Game, which are still the constitution on which soccer is based (although they have underwent several major and countless other minor changes). It wasn't long before the first football league was formed (1888), established by Aston Villa director William McGregor. This league would suffer a lot of structural changes in the history of English soccer, gaining a pyramidal configuration over time, with different lower and upper leagues that teams could promote and relegate from. Despite the fact that in 1992 the top Football League clubs formed a new league, called the Premiership, the FL didn't die down. Instead, it continues to exist as the Championship, League One, League Two and Conference divisions, which are the lower tired leagues of the Premiership. As you can see, the history of English soccer is as long as it is complicated, but we can't blame them. It was up to them to devise a set of working rules for the game, create an organization to lead it and make the game popular and they succeeded brilliantly, so we have to be thankful to the English people.