Fascinating history of football

New Delhi: From its humble origins on the playing fields of English schools to becoming a global phenomenon, football has grown fast and how.

The contemporary history of football spans almost 150 years. It all began in 1863 in England, when Rugby Football and Association Football branched off on their different courses and the world's first football association was founded - The Football Association in England.

Playing a ball with the feet has been going on for thousands of years. About 2000 years to be specific. And there is absolutely no reason to believe that it is an aberration of the more natural form of playing a ball with the hands.

It was a tough bodily tussle for the ball, employing the legs and feet, often without any laws for protection.

And it was recognised right at the outset that the art of controlling the ball with the feet was extremely difficult and, as such, it required special technique and talent.

The game originated in different parts of the world, in various forms. Each region had it's set of rules and method of play.

The very earliest form of the game for which there is scientific evidence was an exercise of precisely the skilful technique dating back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC in China.

A military manual dating from the period of the Han Dynasty includes among the physical education exercises, the Tsu'Chu.

The exercises consisted of kicking a leather ball filled with feathers and hair through an opening, measuring only 30 -40 cm in width, into a small net fixed onto long bamboo canes - a feat which obviously demanded great skill and excellent technique.

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A variation of the Tsu'Chu exercise also existed, whereby the player was not permitted to aim at his target unimpeded, but he had to use his feet, chest, back and shoulders whilst trying to withstand the attacks of his opponents. Use of the hands was not permitted.

The ball artistry of today's top players is therefore not quite as new as it seems.

Another form of the game, also originating from the Far East, was called Japanese Kemari, which dates from about 500 to 600 years later and is still played today.

The Greek game episkyros, relatively little of which has been handed down, was much livelier, as was the Roman game Harpastum.

Harpasatum was played with a smaller ball with two teams contesting the game on a rectangular field marked by boundary lines and a centre-line.

The game that flourished in the British Isles from the 8th to the 19th centuries had a considerable variety of local and regional versions - which were subsequently smoothed down and smartened up to form the present day sports of association football and rugby football.

They were substantially different from all the previously known forms - more disorganised, more violent, more spontaneous and usually played by an indefinite number of players.

Kicking was allowed, as in fact was almost everything else. However, in some of these games kicking was out of the question due to the size and weight of the ball being used.

In such cases, kicking was instead employed to fell opponents. Incidentally, it was not until nine years after the football rules had been established for the first time in 1863 that the size and weight of the ball were finally standardised.

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Up to that time, agreement on this point had usually been reached by the parties concerned when they were arranging the match, as was the case for the game between London and Sheffield in 1866. This match was also the first where the duration of the game was prearranged for one and a half hours.

Finally, in 1863 a fresh initiative began in Cambridge University to establish some uniform standards and rules that would be accepted by everyone. It was at this point that the majority spoke out against such rough customs as tripping, shin-kicking and so on.

As it happened, the majority also expressed disapproval at carrying the ball. It was this disapproval that caused the Rugby group to withdraw.

This Cambridge action was an endeavour to sort out the utter confusion surrounding the rules. On October 26, 1863, 11 London clubs and schools sent their representatives to the Freemason's Tavern.

These representatives clarified the muddle by establishing a set of fundamental rules, acceptable to all parties, to govern the matches played amongst them.

This meeting marked the birth of The Football Association.

On December 8, 1863, football and rugby finally split. Their separation became totally irreconcilable six years hence when a provision was included in the football rules forbidding any handling of the ball (not only carrying it).

Only eight years after its foundation, The Football Association already had 50 member clubs. The first football competition in the world was started in the same year - the FA Cup, which preceded the League Championship by 17 years.

This international football community grew steadily, although it sometimes met with obstacles and setbacks.

In 1912, 21 national associations were already affiliated to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

By 1925, the number had increased to 36 and in 1930 - the year of the first World Cup - it was 41. Today the number of members stand at 205.