#445 Why is England the birthplace of football?

When watching the World Cup or the Premier League,

"England is the birthplace of football"

is a phrase you might hear.

England is one of the world's leading football powerhouses and has even won the World Cup.

However, it does not boast an overwhelming number of titles like Brazil.

Even so, why is it called

"the birthplace of football"

all over the world?

In fact, games that served as the prototypes for football existed in various parts of the world.

The reason only England is considered the birthplace is because

it was the first country in the world to standardize the current rules of football

.

Behind this lies a history unique to England, involving school education and the Industrial Revolution.

"Games like football" also existed in ancient times

First, what you should know is that

England is not the country where the ball was kicked for the first time in the world

.

For example,

・Ancient Chinese "Cuju"
・Japanese "Kemari"
・Ancient Roman ball games
・Central and South American ball games

Games using balls have existed in various parts of the world since long ago.

However, Japanese kemari was not a sport where you competed for victory or defeat against an opponent, but rather a game enjoyed by keeping the ball in the air without letting it drop.

In other words,

the "culture of kicking a ball" and "modern football" are separate matters

.

The legend that it originated from "kicking the heads of enemy soldiers"

There is a famous story often introduced as the origin of football.

It is the legend that

it began when the people of England, having won a battle, played by kicking the heads of enemy soldiers.

that is the legend.

In particular, there is an anecdote often told about kicking the heads of enemy soldiers after a battle with the Danes.

However, this story has not been confirmed as a historical fact.

Nowadays, it is generally introduced as

one of the famous legends surrounding the origin of football

.

The fact that such a legend was born suggests that a culture of kicking a ball had been rooted in England since long ago.

It was a dangerous ball game in medieval England

In medieval England, too, a game called

"football"

was played.

However, it is completely different from modern football.

There were almost no limits on the number of players,

hundreds of people would run around the town,

and the game was essentially won by carrying the ball to the opposing town.

Punching, pushing, and pulling were not uncommon,

and it is said to have been a dangerous sport that resulted in a constant stream of injuries.

Because it was so dangerous,

successive kings even issued bans on it.

Public schools created the rules

The turning point was the 19th century.

In England at that time,

there were many prestigious schools

known as public schools.

While the name might sound like a public school, they were actually prestigious private boarding schools.

Football was popular at each of these schools, but

the rules differed from school to school.

At some schools, you were allowed to use your hands.

At other schools, hands were prohibited.

At some schools, you were allowed to tackle your opponent.

At other schools, it was a foul.

When schools played against each other,

Because the rules were different, it was impossible to play a match.

So,

a movement emerged to

create a common set of rules.

The world's first football association was born.

In 1863,

in England,

the Football Association (FA)

was established.

For the first time here,

unified rules for football

were created.

For example,

not using hands
the shape of the goal
the concept of fouls

were organized,

and the foundation of modern football was completed.

Meanwhile,

the group that wanted to use their hands as well

developed into a different sport.

This is

Rugby

is.

In other words,

football and rugby were originally like sibling sports.

The Industrial Revolution spread football to the world

Even if the rules were completed, that alone would not have spread it around the world.

That is where a major role was played by

the Industrial Revolution

.

In the 19th century, England became the world's largest industrial nation, and many merchants, engineers, and sailors traveled to all parts of the globe.

They brought not only their work but also their own culture overseas.

Football was among them.

In this way, football spread not only to Europe,

but also to South America and Asia.

The background to football culture taking root in Brazil and Argentina

also involved the presence of the British.

How was football transmitted to Japan?

So, how was it transmitted to Japan?

Football was introduced to Japan in earnest during the Meiji era.

Japan at that time, having gone through the Meiji Restoration, was actively adopting Western culture and technology.

Among them,

it is said that British teachers, foreign engineers, and naval personnel introduced football.

In the 1880s, it was incorporated into school education,

and it spread as a student sport, centered around institutions like the Tokyo Higher Normal School (now the University of Tsukuba).

After that, it spread to high schools and universities,

and eventually became a nationwide sport.

Then, in 1993, the J.League kicked off,

and today it has become one of the most popular sports in Japan as well.

In other words, the football that many people enjoy in Japan,

if you trace its roots, leads back to England.

Why did Brazil become the strongest in the world?

There is something a little mysterious here.

The birthplace is England.

However,

the country said to be the strongest is Brazil.

Why is that?

As I mentioned before in

"Why is Brazil so strong at football?"

which I covered in detail,

in Brazil, football has taken deep root as a popular culture,

An environment where children can touch a ball from a young age has spread.

In other words,

the birthplace of a sport and the strongest nation in it do not necessarily coincide

is what it means.

England was the country that created the "rules"

Football has now become the most popular sport in the world.

If you trace its roots,

you arrive at English school education and the Industrial Revolution.

England is not the country that first kicked a ball.

However,

it was the first country to create a system where anyone in the world could play by the same rules

that it was.

That is precisely why,

England

is called the "birthplace of football"

as it is.

The matches we watch in the World Cup,

and the football that was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era,

have their origins in the rules created in England over 160 years ago.

When you trace the history of sports,

You can see how it connects to school education, the Industrial Revolution, and even the modernization of Japan.

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