The establishment of football as a proper sport
The first signs of football developing from its mob roots came with the publication of the naturalist Francis Willoughby’s ‘Book of Sports’ around 1660. In this work, Willughby described the game of ‘football’, identifying the pitch, two ends with gates known as ‘goals’, basic positioning (notably that some of each team’s best players were left to ‘guard the goal’) and the objective as scoring the first goal. Even some details were included, such as avoiding high tackles (referred to as ‘striking’).
That said, it would be almost exactly two centuries until the formation of the modern game took place. The decisive moment was October 26th 1863 when, following a meeting by all the clubs in existence in England at the Freemason’s Tavern in London’s Great Queen Street, the Football Association was founded. Five subsequent meetings over the next two months saw the drawing up of the code, predominantly informed by the recently published Cambridge Rules but excluding regulations on running with the ball ‘properly’ and the acceptance of ‘hacking’.
The latter caused considerable uproar, with the representative from Blackheath Rugby Club claiming ‘hacking is the true football’ and thus voicing an opinion echoed today by many ex-footballers turned television pundits. The meetings also saw the institution of ‘soccer’ as a potential abbreviation for ‘Association Football’ comparable to ‘rugger’ in rugby, again igniting a debate currently raging as a result of football’s increased popularity in America (also home to American Football, a.k.a. Gridiron).
On a practical level, the meetings led to the inauguration of the first coded match (see the section below on Rules) between Sheffield and Nottingham (now Notts County), and the subsequent foundation of Nottingham Forest FC n 1865 and many other clubs across England. The FA Challenge Cup followed in 1871 with great success and Aston Villa director William McGregor eventually mooted the concept of a league competition in 1888 in collaboration with 11 other clubs. Initially set up as the Football League, with a 50-50 split between the North and the Midlands on one side and the South on the other, the true First Division only came as a result of the merger with the rivalling Football Alliance (set up in 1889) in 1892. The list of clubs went as follows:
* Accrington
* Aston Villa
* Blackburn Rovers
* Bolton Wanderers
* Burnley
* Derby County
* Everton
* Notts County
* Preston North End
* Stoke City
* WBA
* Wolves
* Ardwick (later Manchester City)
* Burton Swifts
* Lincoln City
The rise of club football made international football an obvious idea and, the first international match was played between England and Scotland in Partick in November 1872, ending in a disappointing 0-0. However, Scotland’s influence on England even at this early stage was palpable. After a number of English teams started hiring Scottish players, the debate over football’s amateur status was inflamed and resulted in a move to professionalism in 1885. Initially instituted with a wage limit, this was a massive boon for the northern, predominantly working-class clubs, as opposed to the ‘gentleman’ dominated south. The impact on results for the former was overwhelmingly positive, with the last amateur team to win the FA Cup being the Old Etonians in 1882. Although the wage cap was only abolished in 1959, the foundations of modern-day professional club and international football in Britain had been established.
That said, it would be almost exactly two centuries until the formation of the modern game took place. The decisive moment was October 26th 1863 when, following a meeting by all the clubs in existence in England at the Freemason’s Tavern in London’s Great Queen Street, the Football Association was founded. Five subsequent meetings over the next two months saw the drawing up of the code, predominantly informed by the recently published Cambridge Rules but excluding regulations on running with the ball ‘properly’ and the acceptance of ‘hacking’.
The latter caused considerable uproar, with the representative from Blackheath Rugby Club claiming ‘hacking is the true football’ and thus voicing an opinion echoed today by many ex-footballers turned television pundits. The meetings also saw the institution of ‘soccer’ as a potential abbreviation for ‘Association Football’ comparable to ‘rugger’ in rugby, again igniting a debate currently raging as a result of football’s increased popularity in America (also home to American Football, a.k.a. Gridiron).
On a practical level, the meetings led to the inauguration of the first coded match (see the section below on Rules) between Sheffield and Nottingham (now Notts County), and the subsequent foundation of Nottingham Forest FC n 1865 and many other clubs across England. The FA Challenge Cup followed in 1871 with great success and Aston Villa director William McGregor eventually mooted the concept of a league competition in 1888 in collaboration with 11 other clubs. Initially set up as the Football League, with a 50-50 split between the North and the Midlands on one side and the South on the other, the true First Division only came as a result of the merger with the rivalling Football Alliance (set up in 1889) in 1892. The list of clubs went as follows:
* Accrington
* Aston Villa
* Blackburn Rovers
* Bolton Wanderers
* Burnley
* Derby County
* Everton
* Notts County
* Preston North End
* Stoke City
* WBA
* Wolves
* Ardwick (later Manchester City)
* Burton Swifts
* Lincoln City
The rise of club football made international football an obvious idea and, the first international match was played between England and Scotland in Partick in November 1872, ending in a disappointing 0-0. However, Scotland’s influence on England even at this early stage was palpable. After a number of English teams started hiring Scottish players, the debate over football’s amateur status was inflamed and resulted in a move to professionalism in 1885. Initially instituted with a wage limit, this was a massive boon for the northern, predominantly working-class clubs, as opposed to the ‘gentleman’ dominated south. The impact on results for the former was overwhelmingly positive, with the last amateur team to win the FA Cup being the Old Etonians in 1882. Although the wage cap was only abolished in 1959, the foundations of modern-day professional club and international football in Britain had been established.
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