Soccer, or football as it's known in most of the world, has origins dating back more than 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest team sports in history.
Ancient Origins- The earliest known version of the game was played in China around 200 B.C., called Cuju, which means "kick ball."
- Cuju was played with a leather ball filled with feathers and hair, and the objective was to kick it through a net without using hands.
- Similar games existed in ancient Greece, Rome, and Mesoamerica, where teams used balls made of natural materials.
- In medieval England, large-scale ball games were played between rival villages, often with few rules.
- In 1863, the Football Association (FA) in England established formal rules, separating soccer from rugby.
- This marked the official birth of modern soccer, leading to its spread worldwide.
- Today, soccer is the most popular sport in the world, with over 4 billion fans.
- The FIFA World Cup, first held in 1930, is the biggest sporting event globally.