History of football in England

[1] The earliest reference to football is in a 1314 decree issued by the Lord Mayor of London, Nicholas de Farndone, on behalf of King Edward II.

Originally written in Norman French, a translation of the decree includes: "for as much as there is great noise in the city caused by hustling over large footballs in the fields of the public, from which many evils might arise that God forbid: we command and forbid on behalf of the King, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used in the city in the future".

The following year, Henry IV imposed fines of 20 shillings on certain mayors and bailiffs who had allowed football and other "misdemeanours" to occur in their towns.

In all cases, the object of the exercise was to drive a ball of varying size and shape, often a pig's bladder, to a goal.

The very idea of a game taking several hours over huge areas ran counter to "the discipline, order and organisation necessary for urban capitalism".

[7] Although Strutt claimed that folk football was in disrepute and was "but little practised", there is no doubt that many games continued well into the nineteenth century before codification took effect.

Football progressed internationally mainly through education systems that encouraged young men to pursue playing the sport and create their own clubs post graduation.

[11] The British Empire's influence on the sport during the 1800s is the reason why some big clubs like AC Milan, Genoa, Grasshoppers, and Young Boys decided on English names despite being in Italy and Switzerland respectively.

As the 19th century began, football became increasingly significant in the public schools because it was well suited to the ideals of the "Muscular Christianity" cult.

[13] By the 1820s, other public schools began to devise their own versions of football, rules of which were verbally agreed and handed down over many years.

Albert Pell, a former Rugby pupil who went to Cambridge University in 1839, began organising football matches there but, because of the different school variations, a compromise set of rules had to be found.

The written version of Rugby School Football Rules in 1845 allowed the ball to be carried and passed by hand.

[16] In the winter of 1855–56, players of Sheffield Cricket Club organised informal football matches to help them retain fitness.

[21] In 1862, an impromptu team formed in Nottingham is understood to have been the original Notts County, which was formally constituted in December 1864 and is the oldest professional association football club in the world.

This was shortly before a meeting on Monday, 26 October, of twelve clubs and schools at the Freemasons' Tavern on Great Queen Street in London.

[24] In 1874, Charles W. Alcock coined the term "combination game" for a style of play that was based on teamwork and co-operation, largely achieved by passing the ball instead of dribbling it.

It was played on 30 November 1872 at Hamilton Crescent, the West of Scotland Cricket Club's ground in the Partick area of Glasgow.