Games that were based on kicking the ball played out in many countries throughout history. The oldest game about which there are documents, cuju, was mentioned during military exercises during the Qin dynasty in China (255 - 206 BC).
Other old age games were Kemari in Japan and Harpastum in Old Rome. The rules of football were made in the mid 19th century to finally unite all kinds of football that was played at various schools across the UK. The first rules were made up in Cambridge in 1848, but was not adopted. During the 50s of the 19th century, numerous clubs in countries with English as their mother tongue played football that differed from one place to another. Some came up with their own rules, most notably the "Sheffield football rules" in 1867. Also in 1862, John Charles Tring brought its own kind of rules that had influence in the creation of the "fixed" rules.
All these rules have had a positive effect; the creation of the first football association, on 26 October 1863. The first gathering of the association was at the Freemason's Tavern in Great Queen Street in London.
The oldest football competition is the English FA Cup, first held in 1872. England is also home to the oldest league, founded in 1888 by Aston Villa. Genuine system of competition brought together 12 teams from central and northern England. European Football Championship is the most important international competition of teams of European states, members of UEFA. Held every four years since 1960. This year's championship will be held in France, where 24 teams will participate. In many countries of the world, due to the fact that football is a team sport, it brings people together and improves relations between, cities and even countries. American TV stations 'ESPN' claims that the placement of the Ivory Coast at the World Cup in 2006 was ended by the civil war in the African country.
Author: Nebojsa Djumic
Publisher: Poste Srpske a.d. Banjaluka
