The History Of Soccer Timeline

1170 – William FitzStephen wrote the first description of a soccer match in England.

1314- Edward II states his concern at the impact soccer was having on the skills of his archers as he attempted to raise an army to fight the Scots. “Certain tumults arising from great soccer in the fields of the public, from which many evils may arise.” He outlawed playing the game as a result. He wasn’t the only leader to do so, in between 1314 and 1660, six monarch’s and Oliver Cromwell would all attempt to ban soccer and what was perceived as it’s evil influence on the populace. Despite such opposition, the game was still played throughout this entire period.

1531 – Puritan preacher Thomas Eliot stated that soccer caused “beastly fury and extreme violence”

1747 – The first documented evidence of soccer being played in the Public school system in England, at Eton. Westminster followed in 1749 and several other schools had all taken up soccer by the 1750’s. The games however varied from school to school and were largely organised by the pupils for their own enjoyment, rather than as part of their education.

1828 – The appointment of Thomas Arnold as headmaster of Rugby had a marked effect on public school education. Encouraging the participation in sport, he felt that games like soccer could provide a “formidable vehicle for character building.” Despite its popularity in public schools, the governments of the day still discouraged the working classes from playing the game, mainly due to the fact that games were often violent and unruly.

1848 – The first meeting to lay down some universal rules of the game was called at Cambridge University. They were called the “Cambridge Rules” and enabled schools to compete against each other for the first time. The rules were very different to the game of today. Outfield players, for example, were permitted to catch the ball.

1857 – Sheffield Soccer Club was formed in the city, which had become a popular centre for soccer.

1862 – An updated set of the rules were established at Cambridge University. Teams were limited to 11 players a side and the dimensions of the goal were established, as was the first offside rule and the length of the game was decided at 75 minutes in duration. Old Etonians and Old Harrovians played the first game under these new set of rules in November 1862. However not all schools liked the new rules. At Uppingham, teacher John Thring produced his own set of rules which included rules against serious violent play, which many teachers agreed with and several schools adopted. Still the rules for the game of soccer were dependent on which school you attended and which rulebook you adopted.

1863 – The Football Association was established with the intention of devising a single, unified rulebook for the game. Ebenezer Cobb Morley was appointed secretary and presented a set of 23 rules in draft form at a meeting on 24^th November. On 8^th December 1863, the seminal document “Laws of Football” was published.

1871 – The F.A announced the introduction of the Football Association Challenge Cup (The FA Cup) which was the first knockout competition of its type in the world.

1872 – The First FA Cup competition was contested by 12 clubs. The Wanderers were the first winners of the competition and won it again in 1873. During this year the size, shape and weight of a regulation soccer ball was first decided. In the following ten to fifteen years, the rules of the game would be refined, honed and added to, to produce a game that more resembles the soccer we know today.

1884 – Preston North End played Upton Park in the FA Cup. They were expelled from the competition by the FA after it emerged that they were not an amateur team, but that their players were paid. Preston now joined forces with other clubs, mainly from the north of England, who were paying players and threatened to form their own breakaway Soccer Association. A committee was set up to look into the blight of professionalism.

1885 – Professionalism is sanctioned by the FA but clubs were only allowed to pay players provided “they had either been born or had lived for two years within a six mile radius of their ground.”

1888 – Paying players was proving costly to club owners and the need to arrange more regular fixtures, in front of paying crowds, soon arrived. In April, the Football League was officially formed with six clubs from Lancashire (Preston North End, Accrington, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley, Bolton and Everton) and six from the midlands (Aston Villa, Derby County, Notts County, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers).

1888 onwards – The popularity of the game at home saw it taken abroad and played by British workers, soldiers, missionaries, who would then instruct the local people in the finer points of the game. The simplicity of the game quickly caught on and as such, the popularity of soccer began to spread around the world.

1904 – FIFA was formed in Paris and agreed that it would adhere globally to the laws of the Football Association.

1916 – The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) was formed on the 9^th July.

1923 – The FA Cup final was moved to Wembley stadium for the first time.

1930 – The first World Cup finals were held in Uruguay and won by the host nation. The idea had been the brainchild of Frenchman Jules Rimet.

1954 – UEFA formed on the 15^th June. The Asian Football Confederation was formed on 8^th May.

1955-56 – The first European Cup competition, later to become the Champions League, was contested. Real Madrid were the first winners, beating Stade Reims 4-3.

1957 – The Confederation Africaine de Football was formed on February 8^th.

1958 – Frenchman Just Fontaine scores a record 13 goals during the World Cup Finals in Sweden. Brazil lift the trophy for the second time, defeating the host nation 5-2 in the final.

1960 – The first European Soccer Championships finals were held. The original idea came from Henri Delauney, whom the trophy is now named after. The Soviet Union won the first tournament in France, defeating Yugoslavia 2-1 in the final.

1961 – Luis Suarez becomes the most expensive soccer player ever when he is transferred from Barcelona to Inter Milan for £152,000. On December 18^th CONCACAF (The confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) was formed.

1966 – England, the home of soccer, won what is so far, it’s only World Cup competition. In November that year the Oceania football confederation was formed.

1970 – Brazil became the first club to win the World Cup three times with a 4-1 defeat of Italy in the World Cup final in Mexico city.

1975 – Guiseppe Savoldi becomes the first £1m player when he is transferred from Bologna to Napoli for £1.2m. The record would stand for just a year as in 1976, Paolo Rossi left Juventus to join Vicenza for £1.75m.

1982 – Antonio Cabrini becomes the first player to miss a penalty in the World Cup final, but his Italy team still triumph 3-1 over West Germany in the final played in Madrid, Spain.

1986 – Arguably the finest individual performance in an entire World Cup finals competition sees Diego Maradona inspire Argentina, singlehandedly at times, to a 3-2 World Cup final victory over West Germany. His performance against England in the quarter finals showcasing his unquestioned genius in scoring what is widely regarded as the finest goal ever, allied to an act of blatant cheating in handballing the first goal.

1991 – Lothar Matthaus of Inter Milan and Germany wins the inaugural FIFA World Player of the Year award.

1992 – The World Transfer Record is shattered three times in a year, Milan pay £10m to Marseille for French striker Jean-Pierre Papin only for rivals Juventus to spend £12m on Sampdoria striker Gianluca Vialli, Milan then trumped this spending £13m on Torino winger Gianluigi Lentini. In February 1992, the clubs in the top division of the English Football League broke away to form the FA Premier League, backed by the finance of Sky Television.

1994 – The first World Cup Final to be decided on penalties results in victory for Brazil after Roberto Baggio misses the crucial final kick in the World Cup Final, held this year in the United States. The first time the finals had been played outside of Europe or South America.

1998 – Real Betis break the £20m barrier for a transfer, spending £21.5m on Brazilian winger Denilson. France defeat Brazil 3-0 in Paris to lift the World Cup for the first time.

1999 – Christian Vieri becomes the first £30m player when he is transferred from Lazio to Inter Milan for £32m

2001 – Zinedine Zidane is the first £40m player when Real Madrid break the world transfer record again by agreeing a £46m deal with Juventus for the Frenchman.

2002 – The first World Cup to be split between two hosts, and the first World Cup Finals played in Asia is contested in the countries of Japan and South Korea. Brazil win the competition for a record fifth time, defeating Germany 2-0 in the final.

2009 – Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the most expensive player ever, £80m securing his transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid.

2010 – The first ever World Cup Final to be played on African soil will begin in Johannesburg, South Africa on 11^th June at 4pm with the match between the hosts South Africa and Mexico.