Who Really Invented the Game of Soccer

The United States might not be the oldest country to play soccer but the sport is growing in leaps and bounds. More and more children are growing up playing soccer. It probably won't surpass Americans football but it will be ranked right up their with baseball and mom's apple pie.

If you have no idea what the game of soccer is and have never watch a soccer game, then let me tell you first a little history behind the game.

In America the game is called 'soccer" but the real name is "football." America is the only country that calls it soccer.

The English are very quick to claim they invented the game of football but they didn't. The claim of the oldest preceding football has been by several countries and cultures. The Chinese created a game called cuju (kickball), 4,700 year ago, where soldiers would try to kick a leather ball through a hole in a gate. But, there has been found two stone balls that are 6,000 years old in the United States. The Native Americans today, play a football game using balls that are similar to the ones found.

The first continental match that involved kicking took place in Greenland in 1586. There has also been found descriptions of a game similar to football being played in 1633. There are older texts describing a ball game involving kicking but there has been a manuscript in the National Library of Scotland for years. It is written in Latin and dated 1711. No one has ever deciphered it until now.

The book was written over 400 years ago and it describes players passing the ball forward, and attempting to score past a goalkeeper. Two artifacts were with the book documenting how Scottish empire builders helped to spread the game of football worldwide. This is the first document ever found that describes the play of a structured game. So Scotland can take the fame and glory of inventing football.

The oldest form of a ball was a gladder from an animal, and then leather was used. The oldest leather ball ever found is 500 years old and it was found in the roof beams of the Queen's chambers in Stirling Castle and is believed to have belonged to Mary of Guise, the mother of Mary Queen of Scots.

Now that you know a little history of the game of soccer (football), now it's time to become a fan of the sport. The best way is to just watch a game.

Almost all high schools have soccer teams, the ones that don't are your small country schools, so you will want to stick with a city. If you have a college close by, go to one of there's. If your city has a soccer league, you can find out if they do by looking in your phone book or on the Internet, enjoy one of their games. You can also watch soccer on television. There is just about always a game on.

After you have watched several games you'll have to do some reading and learning. Read up on the game of soccer. Read about Major League Soccer (MLS), this will teach you a lot. The MLS in the US consists of Western and Eastern conferences; there are 13 teams.

Learn the rules of the game, corner kicks, penalty kicks, offsides, fouls, goal kick, and more. It seems like a lot but some are just little thing and are easy to understand.

You may even want to play the game yourself. If your city has a sports complex, they will have teams you can join. Just tell them you are a beginner. If you want to just play around, get yourself a soccer ball, remember you can't touch it with anything except your feet. Try dribbling, bouncing it off a wall, juggling with your knees, etc.

Just a few notes before you sign up with that city league. Soccer is played with eleven players from each team. There are two halves consisting of 45 minutes each, with a ten-minute half time. You have to have soccer shoes. These are called soccer cleats and a good pair can run from $30.00 up, so there not to pricey. You also have to have shin guards. These protect your shins when you happen to get kicked.

The one thing about the game of soccer, football, is that it is the only team sport that every country in the world can compete together on. Now you can't say that about US football!