Of course, diehard fans of Manchester United will tell you that the modern version of football or soccer as it is called by many came into being in England, but others all over the world claim that the invention of the sports belongs to their country.
According to the Chinese, they had a version of the game being played as far back as 7,000 years ago! Theie game was called Tsu Chu and the players would hit a fur stuffed leather ball into a hole. Similar to soccer today hands were not allowed to be used and being on the team was thought an honor.
The Japanese called their idea of soccer Kemari and it is said that it originated about three thousand years ago. Their sport was very much like Tsu Chu of the Chinese and according to history it is said that they actually played a game between the two countries in 611A.D.
The records from the Byzantine Empire show that a version of soccer being played there before the rise of the Roman Empire may be the truest version from ancient times. The Romans and the Greeks had many games that were close to soccer and the game called Harpastum is the game thought to be one soccer could have evolved from.
Believe it or not the ancient Mayans in Pre-Columbia America also had a game similar to soccer. It was actually like a combination of soccer and basketball with small stone hoops placed about ten to twelve feet up and the players had to bounce a ball made of a hard rubber like substance through the hoop without using their hands. This version called Pok t’ Pok was also quite violent and the use of weapons was allowed at times. The losing team was beheaded, no worries of a losing streak.
Finally from Britain we get the story of soccer beginning with the beheading of a Danish Prince. It is said that his head was used as a ball and that as he was hated so much that villagers passed around drawings depicting the event with a ball instead of his head and that is how it became a sport kicking the ball into a specified goal or net.
The early sport was extremely violent but very popular all over the country. King Edward III thought it to be so violent that he wanted to ban common people from playing it but that never came to fruition.
Gregg Hall is an author and internet marketing consultant living in Navarre Florida. Find sports collectibles and sports memorabilia at http://www.merchandiseforsportsfans.com
