Football, in a wider sense, refers to different sports involving ball-kicking to varying degrees. However, in restricted sense, the sport of football is limited to only what is popularly known as soccer in some countries. It is played by most of the counties in the world and also very popular with majority of the sports-loving people.

Let us introduce ourselves to some football news from ancient past and modern days.

History of Football

Football has been played from the ancient times though in different forms. In other words, the game has evolved dramatically over the years. In accordance with FIFA, the governing body of world football, the modern-day football originated from a competitive sport namely 'Cuju'. There are scientific evidences in support of FIFA's claim. Cuju seems to be the first competitive sport that involved foot-kicking of the ball through an open passage into the net.

Cuju means 'kick ball'. The game was included in a military manual as a part of exercise from the 3rd and 4th centuries BC. There are documented evidences of football-resembling activities in Zhan Guo, ข่าวกีฬารายวัน the Chinese military manual. The manual was compiled between the 3rd as well as 1st century BC. From the historical evidences, it is now sure that the ancient Romans and Greeks used to play different kinds of ball-games that involved use of feet.

Modern-Day Football

With expansion of the British Empire, football was introduced and popularized in the areas under direct British influence. Distinct regional codes were developed when the nineteenth century was drawing to an end. The Football League was established in England back in 1888. Football, in its different forms, can be traced throughout different periods in history. This league was the first of many professional soccer competitions. In 20th century, different types of football started growing and eventually the sport was recognized as the most popular game worldwide.

Skill in Football

The game of football involves a lot of pace and skill. In addition, the players are required to have a solid physique to withstand tackling which is very common due to physical nature of the game. The game is played between two opponent parties, which could be clubs in the league or countries on the international level. Each party has 11 players including one keeper in front of the net. Body tackling is considered a major skill in football.

Rules of Football

Every form of football has a clearly defined area of playing the game. The number of goals decides the winner of a particular match. A team scores a goal when a player from the team finds the back of the opponents' net. A shot aimed at the opponents' net is considered 'goal' if the ball passes the defined goalline as clearly mentioned in FIFA rulebook. The winner get three points from a match whereas the loser picks up nothing. If the match is a draw between the two participating teams, each of them earns one point from the game.