Football is one of the most popular team sports. "Sport number one", "King of sport" - these phrases have been heard everywhere for a century and a half. It does not require any special equipment or special skills. It can be played anywhere and by anyone that fits the definition of "ball". Even a briefcase after school in the schoolyard.
Each country with an ancient history claims to be the first to create this game. Just like painting, theater, playing football at the dawn of mankind had an applied, ritual character. Competitions in honor of the gods, sacrificial games, where the winners received not only the approval of the crowd, but also of life - this was the main rule and goal of the game.
Archaeologists have found images of people playing with an object that looks like a ball on the most ancient rock paintings. Every nation had a ball game. The only difference was in the filler, which was made from improvised means. The Eskimos used moss, grass, wool; the Australians used the skins of marsupial rats and the bladders of large animals. In Egyptian burials, linen or woven balls were found, which, for shock absorption, were tied with bovine veins. The North American Indians had strict rules: the losing team faced the death penalty. However, the right to be called the homeland of football officially belongs to ancient China. Old engravings from the beginning of the first millennium show men and women playing ball with their feet. The rules of the game were similar in all corners of the globe: there were no rules, the size of the fields and the number of participants were unlimited.
To some extent, the Italian game of the 14th century Calcio can be considered a prototype of football. It was in Calcio that the team members were divided into defenders, forwards and referees. It is believed that the Italians brought this game to the British Isles.
In the Middle Ages, the ball game did not.