Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with a foot to score a goal. Unqualified, the word football is understood to refer to whichever form of football is the most popular in the regional context in which the word appears. Sports commonly called football in certain places include association football (known as soccer in some countries); gridiron football(specifically American football or Canadian football); Australian rules football; rugby football (either rugby league or rugby union); and Gaelic football. These different variations of football are known as football codes.

There are a number of references to traditional, ancient, or prehistoric ball games played by indigenous peoples in many different parts of the world. Contemporary codes of football can be traced back to the codification of these games at English public schools during the nineteenth century. The expansion of the British Empire allowed these rules of football to spread to areas of British influence outside the directly controlled Empire. By the end of the nineteenth century, distinct regional codes were already developing: Gaelic football, for example, deliberately incorporated the rules of local traditional football games in order to maintain their heritage. In 1888, The Football League was founded in England, becoming the first of many professional football competitions. During the twentieth century, several of the various kinds of football grew to become some of the most popular team sports in the world.

It may come as a surprise to many, but football has a long and interesting history; sources suggest that the sport was first introduced in England as early as 1170 when an account describes youths going to the fields for a ‘game of ball’. Aspects of the game can even be traced back to as early as the second and third century BC in China. Sources taken from military manuals at the time describe an exercise called Tsu’ Chu, in which opponents used a leather ball filled with feathers and hair. The aim was to get the ball into a small net fixed on to bamboo canes while also defending themselves from attacks. Variations of the game are also documented in Egyptian and Greek society, proving that the sport has a long tradition throughout history.

In comparison to China’s advanced version of the football itself, the English equivalent was made using an inflated animal bladder. The game’s appeal continued to increase in England so much so that in the 1300s, its popularity became a bone of contention for Edward II. The king became increasingly concerned that football was distracting people from practising archery, at a time when he was preparing to go to war with Scotland. The solution to this problem was to enforce a ban on everyone playing football. This was to be the first of many bans to be instituted by leading figures such as Edward III, Henry IV and Oliver Cromwell.

Nevertheless, football re-emerged and continued to increase in popularity, particularly amongst the working classes, who saw the game as an opportunity to channel their grievances and socialise with people from similar backgrounds. But these matches did not always end in a civilised manner; with limited rules and no referees at the time, the pitch often became violent. It was acceptable to beat or punch opposing team players including destroying their personal property and even, on occasion, their homes or businesses. Volumes of players also varied in some circumstances to as many as 1000 people at any one time, so it wasn’t surprising that football matches often spiralled out of control. It became such a problem in the 1800s that a highway act was eventually introduced in 1830, stating that those who played football on highways would be required to pay a fine.