History of Football
The history of Football is indeed a long one . There has been evidence that ball games were played in China 3,000 years ago . In addition to that , there have been pictures of ancient Greek playing with a ball along with the Romans who played proto-football called "Harpastum" .
Football may have been banned in England during 14 th century , but it was lifted later on .
Early Football Associations
1863 - England
1873 - Scotland
1876 - Wales
1880 - Ireland
1889 - Denmark and Netherlands
1893 - Argentina
1895 - Belgium , Chile , Switzerland
1898 - Italy
During the 19 th century , Britain did not have a fixed type of game , rather it varied from school to school . it was only during 1848 that the first attempt to codify the rules of the game began . Although it was only later that the version of Football we see today came into the light .
The First League System
William McGregor , a Scottish director of the English club Aston Villa wrote to a number of clubs in 1888 suggesting a formation of a Football League . A meeting was held on 23 March in Manchester , with no Southern clubs present and it was decided that a 12 club league would be formed the next season ,
The Original Clubs of The League Were : Accrington , Aston Villa , Blackburn Rovers , Bolton , Burnley , Derby County , Everton , Notts County , Preston North End , Stoke City , West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers .
Famous Landmarks in British League History 1848 - First code of rules written at Cambridge University . 1866 - First offside rules were introduced . 1869 - Goal Kicks introduced . 1870 - Clubs accepted 11 a side as the norm . 1872 - Introduction of corner kicks , ball size , England drew with Scotland in the worlds first International match . 1873 - Introduction of free kicks . 1874 - Introduction of Umpires . 1875 - Crossbar replaces tape . 1891 - Penalties introduced . | Linage of Famous Clubs 1855 - Sheffield FC - Worlds Oldest Club . England . 1873 - Rangers - Scotland . 1878 - Manchester United - England . 1886 - Arsenal - England . 1887 - Hamburg - Germany . 1888 - Celtic - Scotland . 1891 - Penarol - Uruguay . 1892 - Liverpool - England . 1893 - Genoa - Italy . FC Porto - Portugal . Sparta Prague - Czechchoslovakia . 1897 - Juventus - Italy . 1898 - Marseille - France . 1899 - Barcelona - Spain , Eintracht Frankfurt - Germany . AC Milan - Italy . Nacional - Uruguay . Rapid Vienna - Austria . |
Football Becomes Business
As early as the 1904 - 5 season , Newcastle United recorded a turnover of 25,000 pounds , in gate receipts . The transfer of players from one club to another for large fees was increasingly common , and Football was becoming a lucrative business .
The Home Championship This fiercely patriotic contest Between England , Scotland , Wales and Ireland began in the 1880's . England or Scotland won the trophy every year until 1902 - 3 when Ireland shared it and 1906 - 07 when Wales won outright . In 1928 , Scotland achieved a memorable victory over England , earning themselves the nickname Wembley Wizards . by taking the the English apart 5 -1 . That legendry team consisted of Alex James , the captain of Arsenal at that time . | The Televised Game The first Football game ever to be Televised was an Arsenal practice match at the Highbury ground in 1937 . |
Arsenal in The 1930s
Arsenal was a dominating force of English Football in the 1930s . This was due to one man known as Herbert Chapman . Chapman was given the job of Arsenal manger after Arsenal began fading away . He brought many players and introduced the WM formation .
Arsenals league and cup successes in the 1930s
English League Titles - 1930 to 1935 and then from 1937 - 38 .
Fa Cup Winners - 1930 and 1936 .
