From the outside looking in, you can easily see that the history behind association football, normally known as simple football, is able to be traced all the way back to the traditional football games that were played within Europe in ancient times, specifically Medieval Spain. Whereas on the other hand, the modern game of football has buried its roots within the overall formation of the FA or The Football Association, that took place in England during eighteen sixty three.
There were several different clubs that met within London in order to create some type of universal code, which would allow all of the clubs to have the ability to play one another without the worry about a dispute. It was at this time, that all of the football clubs were played by some of their very own individual rule codes, and the rules for game-day had to all be agreed upon by both teams before they could ever play one another.
Because football as a sport was still thought of as an amateur activity, the football association code was immediate. After some of the working class people started taking part in the sport, the very first professional clubs were then formed, and all of the entrepreneurs saw a very great opportunity to earn money from all of the spectators that were coming to see all of the star players. Once the time came and professionalism took hold, football’s popularity became very immense and it was soon spread by British expatriates throughout the entire world.
A Look into the Football Association
In England, within the early part of the eighteen sixties, there was an increase in the attempts that were made in order to reconcile and unify several football games that were being played within England’s public school. Then in eighteen sixty two, one of several driving forces in place behind the original set of Cambridge Rules, J.C. Thring, also a master at the Uppingham School, took the time to issue his very own set of rules that he referred to as “The Simplest Game”. Later in the early part of the month of October, eighteen sixty three, there was another new revised version that surfaced of the Cambridge Rules which was drawn up by a committee of seven members that represented the former pupils from Shrewsbury, Harrow, Rugby, Eton, Westminster, and Marlborough.
One of the solicitors from Hull, Ebenezer Morley, wrote in the eighteen sixty three newspaper by Bell’s Life, proposing that there should be a governing body in place for the sport of football. It wasn’t long before Morley was able to become the football association’s first secretary which he held the position from eighteen sixty three until eighteen sixty six and then he was moved up to second president from eighteen sixty seven to eighteen seventy four, however he is especially remembered for being the one that drafted the very first Laws of the Game, which took place at his home within Barnes, London, which are played today all over the world.
It is for this reason, that he is not only considered the football association’s father but of association football altogether.
