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Football is one of the most popular sports in the world. Practiced in hundreds of countries, this sport so interesting because of its attractive form of dispute.

Although no sure about the origins of football, historians have discovered traces of ball games in many ancient cultures. These ball games were still not football, because there was no definition of rules as there are today, but show the man’s interest in this type of sport since ancient times.

Football has become so popular thanks to their simple way of playing. Just a ball, players and teams of the beams, so that any space, children and adults can have fun with football. On the street, school, club, soccer field in the neighborhood or even in the backyard, from early youth from all over the world begin to practice football.

Origins of football in Ancient China
In ancient China, around 3000 BC, the Chinese military played a game that was actually a military training. After the war, formed teams to kick the heads of enemy soldiers. Over time, the heads of enemies were replaced by balls of leather lined with hair. They formed two teams with eight players and the goal was to pass the ball without the standing foot drop to the ground, taking it to within two stakes driven into the field. These piles were connected by a string of wax.

Origins of football in Ancient Japan
In ancient Japan, was created a sport much like soccer today, but was called Kemari. Practiced by members of the Japanese emperor’s court, the kemari happened in a field of approximately 200 square meters. The ball was made of bamboo fibers and between the rules, the physical contact was forbidden among the 16 players (8 for each team). Football historians found reports that confirm the event among teams in the ancient Chinese and Japanese.

Origins of football in Greece and Rome
The Greeks created a game for the first century BC that was called Episkiros. In this game, Greek soldiers were divided into two teams of nine players each, played on a rectangular field. In the Greek city of Sparta, players, also military, used a ball made of ox-bladder filled with sand or earth. The field where the games were held in Sparta, were very large, because the teams were made up of fifteen jogadores.Quando the Romans ruled Greece, came into contact with Greek culture and ended up assimilating the Episkiros, but the game took a connotation much more violent.

Football in the Middle Ages
There are reports of a sport much like soccer, but was used much violence. The Soule Harpastum or in the Middle Ages was practiced by the military to split them into two teams: attackers and defenders. Were allowed to use punches, kicks, sweeps and other violent blows. There are reports that show the death of some players during the match. Each team consisted of 27 players, where groups had different functions in time: corridors, front, drawers and goalkeeper.

Medieval Italy appeared in a game called gioco del calcio. It was done in squares and 27 players from each team should bring the ball up the two poles that were in the two corners of the square. Violence was common, as participants took to their field problems caused mainly by social issues typical of medieval times.

The noise, disruption and violence were so great that King Edward II had to enact a law banning the practice of the game, condemning the arrest practitioners. However, the game is not over, as members of the nobility created a new version of it with rules that would prevent the violence. In this new version, about a dozen judges should enforce the rules of the game.

Football comes to England
Researchers concluded that calcium gioco left Italy and arrived in England around the seventeenth century. In England, the game got different rules and was organized and systematized. The field should measure 120 by 180 meters and would be installed on both ends of two rectangular arches called goal. The ball was leather and filled with air. With clear and objective rules, football began to be practiced by students and the English nobility. He gradually gaining popularity. In 1848, a conference in Cambridge, set up a single code of rules for football. In the year 1871 was created the figure of the goalkeeper (goalie) that would be the only one who could get their hands on the ball and should stay close to the goal to prevent the entry of the ball. In 1875, we established the rule of time of 90 minutes and was established in 1891 the penalty, a punishment for foul inside the area. Only in 1907 was established the offside rule.

The professionalism in football only started in 1885 and the following year would be created in England, the International Board, an organization whose main objective was to establish and change the rules of football when needed.

In 1897, an English soccer team called Corinthians made a tour outside Europe, helping to spread the football around the world.

In 1888, the Football League was founded with the goal of organizing international tournaments and championships.

In the year 1904, they created the FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) which organizes football to date worldwide. FIFA is organizing the major championships teams (World Cup) every four years. In 2006 came the World Cup in Germany, which had as champions Italy and France as vice.