Football is a team sport in which players compete to score points. The most important objective is to get the ball into the opposing teams net (a goal), which can be done by kicking or throwing the ball. Each team is allowed a maximum of 11 players and must wear protective gear including shin pads. It is important that players do not touch the ball with their hands, this can result in a penalty and is known as handball. There are several different positions on a football team each with their own specific job to do, these include: goalkeeper – the person responsible for protecting the goals, defensive midfielder – the player who plays between the defence and midfield and helps to protect the goalkeeper. Striker – the attacking player who is responsible for scoring the goals, they must have good dribbling skills. A team is also allowed three substitutions during the game if one of their players gets injured or tired.
The history of the modern game of football began in England, although a number of earlier games were played throughout Europe. Despite its origins, it would not be until the late 19th century that football really took off. This was mainly due to industrialization which allowed larger groups of people to meet and form teams. The game was mainly a social activity and teams were made up of workers from factories and pubs. It was not until the 1880s that paying players became common practice and this helped to bring the game to a professional level.
English public schools are credited with four key developments in the creation of the modern game of football. They are widely believed to have been responsible for taking the game away from its mob form and making it into an organised team sport. They were also the first to codify the rules of the game and to separate it from other running and kicking games.
While there is evidence that a game similar to football was played in medieval villages, the game we know today was largely developed in the elite boys’ public schools of Victorian England such as Winchester School. It was at these schools that the division between ‘running’ and ‘kicking’ football came into being and where the modern game of association football was born.
The first international match was held in 1872 and the Football League was founded in 1888. In 1904 FIFA (Fédération internationale de Football Association) was formed in Paris and became the international governing body for football. It is the largest sports federation in the world with over 210 member associations. There are also many other national governing bodies which oversee the development of the game in their countries. In recent years there has been a huge expansion of the game outside of the traditional European markets. For example, in the United States, American football has been gaining popularity and major leagues are now being established in cities such as Denver, Dallas, and Miami.
