The Origins of Football and codes.



•               Football started as different codes around the world but specially in the Britanic Islands. Some examples of this codes were the carnival football, but it was baned because of it's violence. Another version of the carnival footall was the "calico florentino" from Florence wich rules are the closest one to the modern day football with a more violent twist in term of rules and the environment caused by the  spectators. 

Representation of thr Florentine footall
. (image taken from Wikipedia)

              

               But codes weren't only found in Europe but in China with a game called "cuju". Acordimg to FIFA cuju is the oldest form of football ( 3rd-2nd century). It's been proven by scientific resech that the participants could use any part of their body apart from their handas and had to score through a open space of a net ( wich in modern football it would be the goal).





https://p21chong.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/chinese-ancient-football.jpg

 







•        That's enough talk about old versions of football, let's talk about how did the modern day football started.

                  The fist attempt to create football as we know it now was the introduction of the "Cambridge rules" in 1856. The rules were simple:

1.    The players couldn't touch the football with their hand.
2.    To score point's the ball had to pas through a goal made of 2 posts and below a string.
3.    Even the rule of the "off side" was created.
4.    The team to score more goals would win.

                   But it didn't take long until new rules were added, in fact just the year after the                 " Cambridge rules" were introduced the "Sheffield code" made their appearance, adding rules that are still used in the modern day football such as:

1. Free kicks were introduced after fouls.
2. Corners kicks were given to the attacking team, if the defender was the last player to touch the ball if it went over the line at the side of the goal.
3. Throw-ins were given to the  opposite team of the last player to touch the ball before it went over the side line.
4. The crossbar was changed from a string to a metal bar like the other two posts.

This rules that were created between 1856 and the 1870's have been the origin of the football that we all now, even if football has improved with technology during the last years, football would of never be the same with out the Cambridge and the Sheffield codes.