Today you can safely answer the question: “What is football?” - This is the most popular sport. No other game can collect so many people in stadiums. In addition, every modern person at least once, but played this game, perhaps in his youth.
Appearance story
The most ancient foot ball game was found in China. They were created about three thousand years ago. This game was called Tsu Chu. It was used to prepare soldiers for military operations. The Greeks played a similar game. Then they called her "battle for the ball." How exactly they played it is not clear. As in China, the game was part of the military training of soldiers.
The Romans also had a similar game. She looked like Greek and was called "harpast." Ancient ball games were more like rugby or American football, but certainly not the modern prototype.
In England, students came up with a game that is very similar to football in 1840. The very first football organization appeared in 1863. The rules, of course, are already different: one cannot grab an opponent, only the goalkeeper can take the ball in his hands, the rudeness with which one could play in those distant years is forbidden.
In addition to these versions, there are many other references to a similar game in the past. Perhaps the most popular are selected.
The first game
The first competition for this game was held in 1871 on English soil. Held his football association in England. The Challenge Cap was the main award of that event. The match between the national teams of England and Scotland was held in 1872. He was tied, the teams split the world 0-0. It was then that a large mass of people learned about what football is.
The appearance of the game in Russia
There is no single opinion on this issue. But, we can say that football in Russia appeared at the end of the nineteenth century. The very first match was played on September 13, 1893 in the cultural capital of Russia, St. Petersburg.
What is football, Russian viewers learned just then. That match was more of an entertainment and clowning for the audience than an action-packed rivalry: the athletes ran in white suits, while the entire field was covered in mud. Because of the slippery surface of the field, they constantly fell and got dirty. All this looked funny and amused the audience.
At the same time, there is evidence that a similar game was played in Russia during the time of Archpriest Avvakum in the 16-17th centuries. There was even a decree of the king, who in 1648 forbade playing the game with the ball.
Since then, football in Russia has changed very much and also gained very great popularity. This is the game that millions of children and adults play in every yard.
Modernity
Today, football has become a mass phenomenon. None of the invented games in the world can boast that it is just as popular. Perhaps all people in the world know what football is.
Fans create fan clubs, distribute the attributes of their favorite teams, be sure to go to matches of their favorites.
There are organizations at the city, regional, national and international levels that hold championships, as well as popularize this game.
It is worth considering that the cost of selling and buying modern football players may exceed the budgets of some small countries. This is not a typo, today's outstanding players are valued at tens, and some at hundreds of millions of dollars.
How to play football?
There are not so many rules to be followed. In large scale, field players cannot play with their hands, must play within the field, and also not be aggressive towards other players. The athlete who stands at the goal is called the goalkeeper. He can take the ball in his hands, but only in the area reserved for him for this. There are also several referees, one chief referee who is inside the playing space. There are also others who are on the border of the field and help to judge the match.
If we consider the principle by which teams are reduced, then the draw is carried out first. By random selection, a football tournament table is formed. It lists the teams in groups.
After all the teams have played with each other within the group, the next stage is played. It is the most spectacular, since there is only one chance to win, and the teams play football until the last. The table at this stage differs from the first option, since the game is played right through. This stage of football tournaments is called the playoffs. The losing participant immediately flies out of the tournament, and only the winners play. This happens until there are two teams left that are playing the championship cup among themselves.
You can still endlessly describe this game, remember the great achievements and victories of teams that cause pride and symbolize success. In short, football is a great game whose popularity knows no bounds.