Some people claim the roots of playing with soccer balls go all the way back to ancient China. Others point to various soccer ball type games played by the early Greeks and Romans. Then there are the ball games played by the pre-Columbian tribes of South America. A bit later the Italians developed a ball game that they later introduced to the English. Most of those early games were unlike modern soccer ball matches mainly because they all allowed the use of both hands and feet. The early English games also allowed the use of hands in a sort of rugby-soccer combination game where almost anything was allowed in order to get the ball across the goal line. Those early English games often resembled all-out mob riots where many people were injured. By 1314 the King of England had outlawed the violent games altogether. It wasn’t until 1605 that the game evolved into true soccer ball style football and was legal in England again. By the end of the century soccer was the most popular sport in the country and received royal patronage from the King (Charles ll).
Across the Atlantic at the Jonestown settlement in the early 1600’s, American Indians were playing a rough game kicking a ball across mile-long fields. The Indian games were a combination of competition and celebration involving hundred’s of participants and often lasted several days. By the early 1800’s the modern version of soccer had been adopted in England and the United States. The best real start date we can estimate for the birth of soccer ball sport as we know it today is in 1863 when the Football Association was founded in London.
1863 – The Football Association is founded in London, England.
1871 – Sheffield FA played London FA in one of the first regional matches.
1872 – First international football match is held between teams from England and Scotland.
1883 – The International Football Association Board is formed in England.
1885 –The first international match with soccer balls is played (USA vs. Canada) in the United States.
1888 -The first professional soccer ball players are allowed in the game.
1888 – The penalty kick is adopted into the rules for soccer balls.
1904 – The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is established in Paris.
1908 – Playing with soccer balls is included in the Olympic Games.
1913 – FIFA becomes a member of the International F.A. Board.
1930 – The first FIFA World Cup soccer ball event is held in Uruguay.
1938 – The first live telecast of a soccer ball game in England by the BBC.
1955 – The first European soccer ball club matches are held.
1958 – First live worldwide TV coverage of a soccer ball game at the World Cup.
1966 – The first instant replay cameras are used at the World Cup.
1970 – The World Cup soccer ball games in Mexico are relayed to Europe by satellite.
1985 – The First FIFA soccer ball games are played in China.
1991 – The first FIFA World Championship for Women is held in China.
1993 – Edson Arantes Do Nascimento, otherwise known as Pele’ the most famous soccer ball player in the world, is inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame
1996 – Major League Soccer (MLS) is started in the United States.
1999 – The Women’s World Cup final is held in Los Angeles and is the most-viewed women’s sporting event in television history.
2000 – The first World Cup Championships are held in Brazil.
2002 – The first World Cup soccer ball event outside Europe and the United States is hosted by Japan and Korea.
2004 – Professional soccer ball players from United States MLS teams begin migrating to European teams.
2007 – David Beckham signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy team, becoming the highest paid soccer ball player in history.
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