The most popular belief is that in 1823, a pupil at Rugby school in England, William Webb Ellis, picked up the ball and ran with it during a school soccer match. The problem with this belief is that soccer did not exist at that stage either. So how did the game come about? Rugby was just not born one day, it is a game that developed through the centuries, and its origins can be traced back nearly two thousand years when China and Japan were playing an early form of the sport.
The Greeks who were also very keen games players played a similar game. When the Romans conquered the Greeks, they brought back to Italy this game called 'harpastum', and the Romans then spread it throughout the western sector of their Empire. The French and Flemish nations took a particularly keen interest, but each country called the sport a different name.
In Britain, the Roman soldiers stationed there introduced the game to the locals, who called it football, although the spelling was rather different. There is mention of it as far back as 1175 in the book 'History of London', and in those days it was a contest between two villages. Up to two thousand people used to take part, there being no age restriction nor was it limited to the male population. There is evidence that matches took place between married women and spinsters.
The teams would meet at noon at a point decided upon by the leaders of the two villages, usually a point midway between the two, and a ball would be thrown in the air. The object being to take the ball back to one's own village where the goalposts were situated; these could be anything from a pool of water to the town square. The actual ball also varied from a piece of animal hide to a bundle of rags and signified either an item of warfare or of hunting. The most popular thought is that the ball represented an enemy King's head or possibly that of an animal. The means of getting the ball back to the goals were not specified but carrying it, kicking it and hitting it with sticks and clubs were the most popular.
The Greeks who were also very keen games players played a similar game. When the Romans conquered the Greeks, they brought back to Italy this game called 'harpastum', and the Romans then spread it throughout the western sector of their Empire. The French and Flemish nations took a particularly keen interest, but each country called the sport a different name.
In Britain, the Roman soldiers stationed there introduced the game to the locals, who called it football, although the spelling was rather different. There is mention of it as far back as 1175 in the book 'History of London', and in those days it was a contest between two villages. Up to two thousand people used to take part, there being no age restriction nor was it limited to the male population. There is evidence that matches took place between married women and spinsters.
The teams would meet at noon at a point decided upon by the leaders of the two villages, usually a point midway between the two, and a ball would be thrown in the air. The object being to take the ball back to one's own village where the goalposts were situated; these could be anything from a pool of water to the town square. The actual ball also varied from a piece of animal hide to a bundle of rags and signified either an item of warfare or of hunting. The most popular thought is that the ball represented an enemy King's head or possibly that of an animal. The means of getting the ball back to the goals were not specified but carrying it, kicking it and hitting it with sticks and clubs were the most popular.
