Kassmel Zine

History Of Soccer

liament— “Na man play at the Fute-ball” (No
Soccer is one of the most popular sports in man shall play football).
When and where exactly did soccer start is a
Europe and the Americas. It has a vivid and question that has no precise answer to it. You
interesting history in the world of sports. Early can easily say that this popular game has been
evidence of soccer being played as a sport finds played for more than three thousand years.
occurrence in China during the 2nd and 3rd The nativity of modern-day soccer must be
centuries BC. In China, it was during the Han credited to Britain. It was also known as the
dynasty that people dribbled leather balls by association football, with Scotland and En-
kicking it into a small net. Recorded facts also gland being the co-founders of the systematic
support the fact that Romans and Greeks used game of soccer.
to play ball for fun and frolic. Some facts point
to Kyoto in Japan where kicking of ball was a Modern History of Soccer: 18th
popular sport. Century Onward
It is said that early growth of the modern soc-
cer started in England. Some amusing facts In 1815, a major development took place that
even mention that the first ball used was the made soccer popular in Universities, Colleges
head of some Danish brigand. It is said that and Schools. The popular English School and
during medieval times, the old form of soccer Eton College came forth with a set of rules,
used to allow many ill practices like kicking, known as the Cambridge Rules. Football was
punching, biting and gouging. The main aim segregated into two groups; some colleges and
was to carry the ball to a target spot. People schools opted for Rugby rules that allowed
grew so fond of the game that they would tripping, shin kicking and also carrying the
throng the field all day long. Sometimes the ball. These rules were exclusively prohibited as
competition grew fierce and masses got so wild per the Cambridge rules.
that there were frequent incidents of violence The history of modern-day soccer was estab-
during the game. It is also said that soldiers lished in 1863. In October 1863, eleven repre-
admired the game so much that they missed sentatives from London clubs and schools met
archery practice to watch it. at the Freemason’s Tavern to set up common
King Edward III banned soccer in 1365 ow- fundamental rules to control the matches
ing to the growing incidents of violence and amongst themselves. The outcome of this
military indulgence in the sport. In 1424 King
James I of Scotland also proclaimed in the Par-

meeting was the formation of the Football Association.
In December 1863, the Rugby Football and Association
football finally split as the supporters of the Rugby School
rules walked out.
Firmly establishing the foundation of soccer in 1869, the
Football Association strictly banned any kind of handling
of the ball. Soccer’s popularity spread rapidly during the
1800s as British sailors, traders and soldiers introduced
the sport to different parts of the globe.
Italians, Austrians and Germans drew to Europe, while
Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil adopted the sport in
South America. FIFA was established in the year 1904
and by early 1930s, different leagues were operating from
various countries. FIFA is credited with organizing the
first world cup in Uruguay. The history of soccer is rich
with events, development and its growing craze all over
the world. You will find yourself amazed as you learn
about different times of this wonderful sport that has held
our awe and admiration for over 3000 years.

Soccer Rules and Wh

Soccer is a game of skill of which players use their feet to They usually play between the midfielders and the
other team’s goal. Most of the forwards’ game is to
move a ball down the field (roughly the size of a football dribble briefly and shoot the ball to try to score.
field) and kick it into the other team’s goal. A soccer game
consists of two 45-minute halves. Any time used to treat The basic rules of soccer mostly deal with putting
injured players or issue penalties gets added to the end of the ball into play.
the game. Each team needs seven players, including the
goalkeeper, to play, but usually each team usually plays 11 Kick off
players at a time. While some positions vary and get a bit
fancy, soccer players cover for basic positions.

Goalkeeper Before the game, a coin toss determines which team
gets to choose between picking which goal they’ll
The goalkeeper (also called goalie, keeper or goal tender) defend and kicking off to start the game. To kick
is the only player allowed to touch the ball with his/her off, one of the forward players kicks the ball off the
hands while the ball is in play. S/he stays near the goal and center line, usually to a teammate.
may use his/her hands within the penalty box, which is
the larger of the two boxes drawn on the field that extend Throw in
from the goal. His/her main duty is to stop every shot
from entering the goal. When the ball goes out of bounds on either side of
the field, which ever team did not touch the ball last
Defenders gets to throw the ball back into play. The throw in
takes place at the point where the ball left the field
The defenders play in front of the goalie and defend the and requires a player to throw the ball with both
goal. They usually pass the ball to players farther up the hands extending from behind his head while keep-
field rather than dribble the ball toward the opponent’s ing his feet on the ground.
goal themselves.
Goal kick

Midfielders When the offensive team makes the ball goes out of
bounds at the end of the field (aptly called an end
The midfielders (also called half-backs) usually run more line), the defensive team gets a goal kick. A player
than the other players. They move the ball between the from that team may kick the ball from the ground
defensive and offensive ends of the field with a combina- anywhere within the goal area. The ball cannot be
tion of dribbling and passing. While they play the entire touched again until it leaves the penalty box.
length of the field, they often position themselves between
the defenders and the forwards. Corner kick

Forwards When the defensive team makes the ball go out of
bounds at the end of the field, the offensive team
The forwards are the players who score the most goals.

hat The Positions Are

gets a corner kick. A player from that team kicks the ball card. A player can also receive a red card by getting
into play from either corner of that end of the field. The two yellow cards during one game.
other players may touch the ball as soon as it’s kicked. If a player passes the ball to a teammate who has
Some of the basic rules of soccer gives penalties to moved into the defensive team’s end of the field ahead
teams and players who break them. Those rules include of the ball, the team would be called off-sides. The
players using their hands and any action the referees other team would then get an indirect kick. Players
deem dangerous play and inappropriate play. cannot be called off-sides during goal kicks, corner
Hand infractions and other not-so-serious fouls give kicks and throw ins. Off-sides is usually the most
indirect free kicks to the other team. The player to kicks confusing rule.
during the free kick may do so from the point of the
infraction, as determined by the ref. The ball must touch
one other player before going into the goal.

Dangerous plays and other physical contact infractions
lead to direct free kicks for the other team. During a
direct free kick, the ball may go directly into the goal for
a score, without touching any other players first.

Penalty kick

If an infraction occurs within the penalty box (or pen-
alty area), the other team gets to kick the ball directly at
the goal from a point 12 feet away, with no players other
than the goalkeeper in the way. During a penalty kick,
the goalkeeper must not move until the ref blows his
whistle to start the kick.

Yellow card

If a player violates the rules or shows unsportsmanlike
conduct, the referee can issue a caution. The caution is
called a yellow card, which is the color of the card he
shows the player as a warning.

Red card

If a player makes an extreme infraction, the referee can
kick that player out of the game by showing them a red

I have always loved soccer and still play it as of today,
and if it weren’t for my dad who got me into it i would not have
even thought about playing it. I had grown up with asthma and
by playing this sport, it helps my lungs open up and become stro-
onger so that in the future my asthma won’t be such a hugeprobl-
em in my life. The more I play the more experienced I become.
Every year I learn something new about soccer. I highly recom-
mend this sport to anyone who doesn’t play already.

- Justin Kassmel
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Acknowledgements


http://theinspirationgrid.com/

http://www.historyofsoccer.info/
http://www.catalogs.com/

A special thanks to Ty Palmer
for the illustrations