In the middle ages there was no such thing as football as we know it. "Futeball" was a tough, rowdy game played by large numbers of young men in the streets or open parks. The ball could be kicked or handled and there were no real rules. The kings and queens in these times were very much against football being played by the common people and preferred them to practice the skills of war.
In 1369, King Edward III passed a law which stated that:
"every sound and healthy man in the city of London shall use bow and arrow in his leisure time and holidays and learn and practice the art of archery. It is forbidden, on pain of imprisonment, to indulge in football, stone throwing, catapulting wood and iron objects and all such frivolous games without gain".
Three centuries later in 1661, football at last gained royal approval when King Charles II agreed to attend a game between the serfs of his estate and those of a neighbouring estate.
When he died in 1685, the interest of the monarchy in football disappeared. The spectator sport for the rich at this time was boxing and the most popular entertainment for the common people was cock fighting.
Around the middle of the 19th century, English public schools such as Eton, Rugby, Harrow and Winchester, were modernised and began to place great emphasis on sport. Three half days were set aside for sport with football and rugby being the favourites.
There were plenty of playing fields available and clubs and teams were formed and tournaments played. The team captains controlled their side and maintained discipline which had been absent in earlier times.
Each school however, had its own variation of the rules. At Harrow, for example, the goals were twelve feet wide and the teams changed sides after a goal was scored. If a match ended in a draw, a return match was played the following day with the goals twice as wide.
At Eton, the goals were eleven feet wide and a goal was scored when the ball was kicked between the goal posts, irrespective of height. This game only lasted one hour.
At each school therefore, it was possible for pupils to play to the same rules. Universities had no common set of rules and difficulties arose. To overcome this problem, meetings were held in 1848 at Trinity College, Cambridge to agree on uniform standards for the rules.
These rules were known as the Cambridge Rules and they were based on three fundamental principles - they should be practical, fair and reasonable. All who accepted these rules could now play against each other without any restrictions.
In 1855 the first English football club was founded in Sheffield. This club followed a set of rules called the Sheffield Club Rules which were very similar to the Cambridge rules but it was difficult, however to have organised competitions until everyone played to the same set of rules.
On October 26th 1863, at the Freemasons Tavern, London, the clubs in the London area met to standardise the Laws of the Game and the Football Association was founded. After a long and heated discussion, a majority agreed on a set of rules based on the Cambridge Rules. The main point was that the ball could only be dribbled on the field as this was regarded as the more civilised way of playing.
There was however, a minority who rebelled against this decision. Their speaker was F.W. Campbell and they advocated the brutal way of playing:
"kicking out at the opponent, that is the real football! It has been like this in the past already and nobody has the right to forbid this through new rules. These would anyway just be invented and made for those who prefer booze and grog instead of the manly game. Those people who are against hacking are too old for the spirit of our game".
The vote went against Campbell by thirteen votes to four and he left the meeting in a very angry mood. In January 1871, he brought into existence the English Rugby Union.
After another five long meetings, fourteen rules were established and these were binding on all members of the Football Association. It was not until April 1877 however, that clubs in the Sheffield area who followed the Sheffield Club Rules finally agreed to follow rules of the newly formed Football Association.
In 1886 the Football Association, The Scottish Football Association, The Football Association of Wales and the Irish Football Association formed the International FA Board. Even today this body alone has the power to introduce new Laws or to change existing ones.
Although in the beginning the Board consisted only of the four British Associations, the founding of FIFA in 1904 was a major development in world football and FIFA became members of the Board in 1913.
The Board is still the custodian of the Laws of the Game - the Laws which apply to football in every country in the world. It meets once each year to consider proposals and amendments to the Laws and the decisions it takes are binding.
The first international match took place between Scotland and England on 30th November 1872, at the West of Scotland Cricket Ground in Glasgow. The Scottish team consisted entirely of Queens Park players and the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Two thousand spectators paid one shilling each for admission which was felt by many to be too high. The Scottish Football Association was subsequently formed in 1873 to be followed by the FA of Wales in 1876 and the Irish FA in 1880. Organised football now covered the whole of Britain.
The development of equipment also helped the game. McIntosh produced a new waterproof leather ball, an inflatable rubber bladder which was covered by eighteen pieces of tanned leather sewn together by hand. Not only did this ball bounce well but it was also well suited for shooting at goal.
Dress in those days did not leave much room for freedom of movement. Heavy boots which gave protection to the ankles were worn. The boots were fitted with leather strips (bars) on the sole but later on, studs which were hammered into the soles were used.
The pants were long and they used to be stuffed into the socks. Sweaters were worn instead of jerseys and the players had to wear caps which fitted tightly. Shin-pads were also strapped to the leg.
The Laws have evolved through the years. In the early days there was no crossbar but only a tape between the goal posts. The crossbar was tested and approved in a trial match between the North and South in January 1891, and goal-nets became compulsory in cup matches from 1893, although they were not mentioned in the Laws of the Game until 1938.
In 1891 the system of referee control as we know it today was introduced. Until 1891 the referee stayed on the touch line and he was assisted by two umpires who were on the field of play. He was referred to whenever a dispute arose between the two umpires. In 1891 however, the umpires were sent to the touch lines with their flags to become linesmen and the referee came onto the field among the players. From then onwards, the referee had to enforce the rules and decide all disputed points. He also had to keep a record of the game and act as time keeper. If any violent conduct occurred, the referee had the authority to rule the offending player out of play.
As the game developed and became more professional, a free kick alone was no longer seen as suitable punishment for foul play near the goal-line, and so the penalty kick was introduced. All players, with the exception of the goal keeper and the player taking the penalty kick had to stand behind the ball and at least six yards away from it. The goal keeper was allowed to approach the scorer by six yards. The introduction of the penalty mark, the goal area and the penalty area did not come about until 1902.
The first Laws of the Football Association state that each attacker who is give the ball from behind by a team-mate is automatically offside, regardless of how many opponents are in front of him. In 1870 this rule was changed and the new Law allowed a player to be onside if there were at least three opponents between the attacking player and the goal-line when the ball was played.
This was modified in 1880 when a player could no longer be penalised for being offside if he received the ball from a goal kick or if the ball was last touched by an opponent. A year later a player was no longer offside from a corner kick, but it was not until 1907 that the Law stated that a player was not considered offside if he was in his own half of the field of play.
In 1925 the Scottish Football Association proposed that instead of a player being offside when there were at least three opponents between himself and the goal-line, this should be changed to only two opponents. This proposal was adopted and had far-reaching effects. It greatly reduced the amount of defensive play which had been introduced and encouraged a technical revolution in the game.
1891 - 1905: The goal keeper could move up to six yards from his goal-line when a penalty kick was being taken.
1913: Until this time the goal keeper was allowed to grab the ball in his own half but this practice was restricted to inside his own penalty area.
1929: Up until this date the goal keeper was allowed to move sideways when a penalty kick was being taken.
1931: Up to now a foul throw was penalised by the award of an indirect free kick against the defending team.
1937: The arc ten yards from the penalty mark (outside the penalty area) was introduced and completed the marking of the field of play as we know it today.
1990: A player who is level with the second last defender when the ball is played to him is not offside.
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