The 1820s in the development of soccer
Medieval origins of football
‘Folk football,’ ‘mob football’ and ‘Shrovetide football’ are alternative names for the game that began to develop in the towns and villages of medieval England. With few rules, the matches were usually chaotic and typically involved teams of unlimited players attempting to drag by any means an inflated pig's bladder – later referred to as a ‘football’ - by any means possible to markers at each end of the locality.
English public schools essentially converted football from its mob origins into an organised team sport, codifying the game for the first time including the first offside rules which had been first introduced towards the end of the 18th century. Players were not allowed to pass the ball forward - by foot or hand – and were only allowed to dribble with their feet, or ‘advance the ball’ in a scrum. The first sets of rules appeared at Eton in 1815 and Aldenham in 1825.
However, although public schools saw football as a means of encouraging their boys to be fitter as well as competitive, each school tended to draft its own versions of the prevailing rules. Some such as Rugby, Marlborough and Cheltenham favoured a ‘carrying’ game whereas ‘kicking and dribbling’ was preferred by Eton, Harrow, Westminster and Charterhouse.
English public schools essentially converted football from its mob origins into an organised team sport, codifying the game for the first time including the first offside rules which had been first introduced towards the end of the 18th century. Players were not allowed to pass the ball forward - by foot or hand – and were only allowed to dribble with their feet, or ‘advance the ball’ in a scrum. The first sets of rules appeared at Eton in 1815 and Aldenham in 1825.
However, although public schools saw football as a means of encouraging their boys to be fitter as well as competitive, each school tended to draft its own versions of the prevailing rules. Some such as Rugby, Marlborough and Cheltenham favoured a ‘carrying’ game whereas ‘kicking and dribbling’ was preferred by Eton, Harrow, Westminster and Charterhouse.
Year |
Event |
1823 |
It was alleged that a pupil at Rugby School – William Webb Ellis - "with a fine disregard for the rules of football, took the ball in his hands and ran with it". Some say this marked the birth of rugby union as a distinct form of football, with a dribbling game thereafter becoming mainly a handling one. However, 'taking the ball in his arms' is often misinterpreted as 'picking the ball up.' This was often permitted at the time. What was not permitted was running forward with it (individual players were only allowed to retreat backwards or kick the ball forwards). |
1824 |
The Foot-Ball Club of Edinburgh was the earliest, documented club to play football of any kind and the first to describe itself as a football club. |