A Brief History of Football

Civilisations all over the world and in all periods of time played ball games and many of these can be considered forerunners of the modern game in one way or another.

The game of football as we know it today was established in the late nineteenth century but ball games were played as early as 1800 BC in Egypt. Some sources say evidence of even earlier games have been found in Ancient China, perhaps going as far back as 2500 BC. In Ancient Egypt, the games were linked to fertility rites and religious ceremonies (some might say that hasn't changed much) and evidence has also been found that the games were used as an exercise to till the soil.

A game called Episkyro was played by the Greeks around 800 BC and was close to modern football in that there were twelve players on each team and the dimensions of the pitch were similar. However, players were allowed to use their hands and the other popular game at the time called Harpastron actually means 'handball' not 'football'. The Romans took the idea and evolved this game into Harpastum, adding kicking into the mix. This is widely considered to be a real influence on today's game.

To try and put a date to the discovery of Harpastum is difficult, but since the Romans conquered Greece in 146 BC, it is fair to assume that the Greek versions were learned around this time and evolved over a few years. Little is known about the rules of Harpastum, but we do know that the pitch was rectangular and the number of players varied from game to game. It was a violent and physical game, Julius Caesars' army was known to play to keep them at the peak of physical fitness, and tackling was allowed. Harpastum was only played on grass or dirt, as the players were expected to end up on the floor.

Harpastum travelled with the army to the territories they conquered, and proved most popular. So, there you have it; it is the Romans who are responsible for delivering football to countries around the world, including the UK.

On to modern day footall and if you need to know the latest football scores as they happen, then www.footballscores.com is the place to head to. Not only do they offer live scores from the premiership, but football games being played all over the planet!