Soccer Ball is a sport played with two teams attacking and defending each other on a rectangular field under certain rules. Due to the characteristics of strong confrontation, changeable tactics and large number of participants in football, it has come to be known as the “World’s First Sport.”.

Originally, modern football was originated by the ball game “Cuju” in Zizhou, Shandong (now Zibo City) in ancient China. Later, it was introduced to Europe from China by the Arabs and gradually became modern football. Modern football originated in England. 

‘’In 1848, the Cambridge Rules, the oldest written football rule, were drafted.

In October 1863, England established the world’s first football association and unified the rules of football competition. 

In 1872, England and Scotland held the first official inter-association match in football history.

In 1900, at the Second Summer Olympic Games, football was included as an official sport. In most countries, football is translated as “football,” while only in a very few countries, such as the United States, it is called “soccer.” In the United States and Canada, football is called “American football.’’

In 1904, the top football organization FIFA was established with its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.’’

When was the first soccer ball invented? | Ancient soccer ball

ancient soccer history

The origin of football can be traced back to the ancient Chinese ball game Cuju. The original name of football is “Cuju”. It is called Cuju in ancient China. In the Western Han Dynasty, historians Liu Xiang and Liu Xin wrote in their books “Bie Lu” and “Seven Strategies”: “Cuju is rumored to have been invented by the Yellow Emperor.” In the Tang and Song Dynasties, Cuju activities became very popular, became an elegant activity on the court. This ball game was later introduced from China to Europe by the Arabs. 

In 1985, Joao Havelange, FIFA’s seventh president, stated in a speech in China: “It is indisputable that football originated here and has more than 2,000 years of history.”  FIFA’s eighth president, Joseph Blatter, emphasized once more at the “Report on the History of International Football Development” in 2001, that “football originated in China”. In 2005, Linzi, Shandong, China was announced as the birthplace of world football at FIFA’s centennial celebrations.

In the pre-medieval period in Europe, the Greeks and Romans played football. They played on a rectangular field, put the ball on the center line, and kicked it with their feet to an opponent’s field. This was known as “Habastrom.”

During the 19th century, football became very popular throughout Europe, especially in Britain and Latin America, but the rules of football at that time were “varying”. 

In 1848, Cambridge University and Oxford University made the first set of written rules for football games. “Cambridge Rules” were born. The competition at the university was based on dormitories. 

Originally, there were 10 students and one teacher in each dormitory. So each team had 11 players, so the Cambridge Rules gave 11 players to the football field. Additionally, the British created a “nine striker and one guard” football formation, which meant nine forwards, one defender, and a goalkeeper. Later, the formation of “seven fronts and three guards” was formed, which provided a relative balance between the offensive and defensive forces. 

Founded on October 24, 1857, in Sheffield, England, the Sheffield Football Club was the first professional football team established in history. But for three years after its establishment, Sheffield Football Club could only hold matches between married players and unmarried players since there were no opponents

In 1862, Nottinghamshire’s Notts County Football Club was founded. This was the first professional football club in the world.

Who Invented The Modern Soccer Ball?

modern soccer ball

In 1863, several football fans met at the Fremarsen Hotel in Queen Street, London, England, to discuss and to establish the Football Association of England, the first football association in world history to be established. Since then, people have been calling October 26, 1863 as “Modern Football Day.” In addition, the gathering also drafted a relatively unified football competition rules, which became the prototype for the modern football competition rules. At the time, the competition rules allowed the ball to pass between the goal posts. Any ball entering or crossing the space above, regardless of height, counts as a goal as long as it is not thrown, hit, or transported by hand. The establishment of the FA in England led to the development of football in some countries in Europe and Latin America, and various countries have successively established football associations.

In 1870, Scots created the “six forwards and four backs” formation. In response, the British came up with the “tower” formation of “1+2+3+4+5”. The formation had a great influence on world football at the time, as it reflected the basic balance between offensive and defensive forces.

In 1872, England and Scotland held the first official international football match in the history of the game.

In 1882, the four football associations of the Commonwealth (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) adopted unified competition rules in Manchester. Since then, the rules have been revised several times.

In 1885, the FA recognized professional football as a legal entity. And on June 20, 1885, football was professionalized.

In 1888 season, the English Football Association established the EFL League One, the first professional league in the history of football that was won by Preston Football Club.

In 1890, England held its first official women’s football match, which drew tens of thousands of spectators.

In 1894, the Preston Dick and Kerrance Women’s Football Club was founded. Since then, women’s football has continued to expand in the UK, influencing and driving the development of women’s football in other European countries.

In 1900, Football was included in the official competition of the 2nd Summer Olympic Games in Paris in 1900, but it was not taken seriously at the time. Although it was an official competition, it was more of a performance competition. At that time, teams were not made up of national representatives.

On May 21, 1904, France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and other countries initiated the establishment of the highest football organization in the world, the International Football Federation, based in Zurich, Switzerland.

In 1908, at the fourth summer Olympics in London, England, the football team formed the national team for the first time.

In 1926, at the FIFA General Assembly held in Barcelona, Spain, it was decided that the first FIFA World Cup will be held in Uruguay in 1930. It was decided by the General Assembly that the first World Cup will be made up of 13 teams from 4 European countries and 9 American states, and that it will be held every four years thereafter.

In 1930, FIFA promulgated a new “offside” rule, encouraging the formation of more defensive characters on the field, and the offense and defense were increasingly bolstered. As a result, British football coach Herbert Chapman developed a formation called “WM” in 1930, aiming for a balanced distribution of offensive and defensive personnel. This formation spread to the rest of world football in the 1940s. The first FIFA World Cup was held in Uruguay in July. With 18 match days and 18 games, Uruguay used a 2-3-5 formation and won the World Cup.

Since the 1950s, the game of world football has experienced three revolutionary changes: first, in 1953, the Hungarians broke through the traditional “WM” style of play, launching the “3-3-4” formation, which greatly promoted world football at the time.

In 1958, the Brazilians made new breakthroughs in technology and skills, creating a formation called the “4-2-4” to balance offense and defense, winning three titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970. They won the world cup in 1970. Soon after, the “4-3-3” formation and its variants emerged. Because of the balance of attack and defense, the tactics are flexible and changeable, reflecting the trend of comprehensive technological, tactic, and physical fitness development. This is why it is called the third revolution in football history.

Since 1930, the World Cup has been held every four years and has removed all restrictions on professional athletes