The History Of Football / Soccer Rules

Soccer is undoubtedly one of the world's most popular sports. It's following extends across different continents. Modern players like David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Cristiano Ronaldo are worshiped as idols and superstars. But do you have any idea how modern soccer came to be?

The year 1863 marked the beginning of the history of football. The foundation of the Football Association led the inauguration of the game's common rules. But even if they have a common set of rules which were supposedly followed, some clubs still played on their own set of rules.


The birth of soccer features

We may have never really known how soccer features have been brought about. We always hear goal-kicks, corner-kicks, penalties and even the people part of the game. These also were part of the evolution of soccer.

The kicks which we know these days such as goal-kicks and corner-kicks came about in 1869 and 1872, respectively. Penalties only came into being in the year 1891. This was proposed by the Irish Association to be meted out to a player who had committed a violation of the rules. This has been one of the major changes in the rules of the game.

The people who are part of the game known as the "fixtures" have also become part of the rules of the game.

The referee is the person in charge of the game. Decisions made in the middle of the field depend on the referee. Before the 1891 rules, the referee just stood on the touchline and just kept time. He was asked if the umpires were not able to agree on a decision. But over time, the referees became the single decision maker in the game. His role became one of the important fixtures in the sport. The referee also had two assistants, the umpires of linesmen as we know them today.

Along with these changes came the introduction of kick-off rules, penalty specifics, goal area and penalty boxes which became an established part of the game.

Since then soccer had rapidly gained popularity as a sport. It even caused the unity of seven countries through the foundation of the FIFA. The members of this association are France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. This has become one of the major governing body in the sports world with the same voting power as the other big name associations.

The three-player offside rule which was established in 1891 was later changed in 1925 when it became a two-payer offside. This had drastically changed the course of the game.

A member of the International Football Association Board (IFAB), Stanley Rous was given the task to have the rules rewritten and drafted in and organized manner. They had no choice since the laws of the games were too many and it lacked organization. From then on, very little changes were made to the rules of the game.


Original Article By Stanley Lewis For A Specialist UK Based Sports Goals Website Garden-Goals.co.uk Selling Football Goals, Soccer Goals, Rugby Posts, Hockey Goals and Handball Goals.