Football first appeared in England in the middle of the 19th century.
The private schools at the time needed some team activities to occupy the boys after lessons. Despite the famous boy at Rugby School who preferred to play the ball with his hands, the other schools preferred their feet and their own set of rules. It was at Cambridge University that a move to draft a uniform set of rules was adopted thus creating 'the most simple of games', very close to what the world now uses.
And it worked! The simple principles and the fact you can play it almost anywhere are the main reasons why football has become the most widely practised team game in the world. Maybe you have already created a playing field with your rucksacks to mark out the goals. Or perhaps you just get a ball and pass it around between friends, occasionally showing how clever you are with the ball. Well it's the same all over the world! The fact is simple - football is universal and, without doubt, it is by far the most popular game throughout Europe, Africa and South America.
Would you like to know more about the famous Laws of Football? They are very simple:
Football is a team game where you need to score more goals than your opponents. To play the ball, which is spherical, you must use your feet. Or your head. Or your legs. Or your chest. And you must never use your hands or your arms. Unless you're the goalkeeper. It's easy, isn't it?
As well as being played everywhere in the world and in all weathers, football has been adapted to be played indoors, with 5 players in each team: Indoor football is played on a hard surface, where the pitch is roughly the size of a handball court. Five-a-side football is played on a smaller, synthetic, surface but you can also use the side panels that delimit the playing surface to bounce and ricochet the ball.
