Football, the most popular played and watched sport on the planet, was born in China in 300 BCE. The game was called Tsu Chu and was part of military training. A thousand years later the game took root in England where it developed into the sport we love today.
HISTORY
1200
Football’s roots in England are established with games played annually on Shrovetide. These games, often violent and ruleless, were frequently banned. The first kicking ball game is noted in the year 1280.
1526
Henry VIII orders a pair of football boots from the Great Wardrobe. Sadly, they are no longer in existence.
1800
Football is thriving in northern industrial communities and at southern universities.
1863
The modern game is first codified in London to unify the games played at English public schools and universities.
1888
The Football League was formed with 12 clubs, six from Lancashire and six from the Midlands.
1893
Woolwich Arsenal becomes the first London team to join the new Division Two.
1930
First World Cup held. The British Empire was still at its zenith, taking its zeal for football ti every corner of the globe.
1966
England wins the World Cup on home soil.
Fascinating Facts
Hy Money (above left) is known as the first woman sports photographer in Fleet Street.
Sheffield FC, founded in 1857, is the oldest club currently playing football at any level. The oldest team still playing professionally is Notts County of League Two, who were founded in 1862.
The first international match was played between England and Scotland at The Oval in London in 1870. It was a 1-1 draw.
A crowd estimated at more than 200,000 swarmed into Wembley for the first FA Cup Final played at the stadium, between Bolton and West Ham, in 1923.
Since its inception in 1992, no English manager has won the Premier League.
Manchester United have won the English league championship (including the Premier League) a record 20 times. Liverpool are second in the all-time standings with 18.
Players from 46 different countries – including Algeria, Iceland, Latvia, and Switzerland – have won the Premier League. But none from the USA.
Goalscorers in the Premier League have come from no fewer than 92 different nations.
An estimated 40% of all footballs are manufactured in the city of Sialkot in Pakistan.
The most red cards shown during a single match is 36. The referee at a match between Claypole and Victoriano Arenas in Argentina in 2011 dismissed all the players, all the substitutes and some technical staff after the brawl.
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