What Is The History And Background Of Soccer?
The word soccer is the shortening of the word ‘association’, association football being the correct name for the game which most of the English speaking world knows as just ‘football’. The principal exception is the United States of America, where ‘football’ means American football and Pele’s game is called soccer. Football as we know it today is a British invention. It arose from a haphazard game played in one form or another in many countries of the world. The Chinese have records of a game called ‘tsu chu’ played over 2000 years ago. Tsu means the kick and chu means the ball. These games of mob football, involving sometimes hundreds of players all trying to force the ball through ‘goals’ by almost any means, were played for many centuries. One is commemorated in England each Shrove Tuesday in Ash Bourne, Derbyshire, where the popularity of games between neighbouring towns led to the term ‘local derby’. These rough games led to football being banned by law in England more than once.
