Sociogenesis of Soccer

*Prof. Withycombe has given permission to post late due to medical issues.

Soccer is widely regarded as one of the most popular sports in the world. Many children are introduced to soccer at an extremely young age, sometimes even as young as four or five years old.  I have played soccer since I was at the age of seven and I have been in love with the game ever since. While soccer is not one of the most popular sports in America, its impact on the rest of the world is significant, and has been for some time. The first evidence given regarding soccer was recorded in China during the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries B.C. The Roman and Greek people have also been recorded to have played the game.

The growth of “modern” soccer started in Europe. A common tale is that the first ever ball was a human head, but this is only in speculation. Many say during Medieval times, the game was much more aggressive, disregarding the current rules of today. Some suggest that punching, biting, kicking of others, etc. was allowed during the game, which differs greatly from soccer (or, as the rest of the world says ‘futball’) today. Modern day soccer began in 1863, and a major push occurred to allow and popularize soccer at Universities. FIFA was created in the year of 1904, and by the early 1930’s many different leagues were created. Uruguay held the first world cup ever, through the creation of FIFA.