Unit1-Part3-Reading

Is football an ancient game?

The official rules of football were established in England, but the earliest forms of the game

were played in Asia almost 3 ,000 years ago.

One of these is the ancient Chinese game Kuju, which was played in the 3rd to 2nd century

BCE.

It was played with 2 to 10 people and involved kicking a ball into a net.

The use of hands was not allowed.

Centuries later, the Greeks and Romans had a game that was very similar to today's football.

Football did not make its way into Europe until 1000 AD.

As it became popular in England, it began to resemble modern football, except it had

no rules, and it was played by large crowds and in villages only.

People of the upper class disliked football.

It was a brutal sport, and involved kicking, handling, and biting.

Many injuries and deaths occurred, and buildings were damaged in every game.

Therefore, the game was banned during the reign of King Edward, 1307 to 1327.

Anyone who was caught playing it was punished.

This did not stop people from playing football, and it continued to grow in popularity.

The kings who came to power after King Edward continued to ban football.

Many people were imprisoned for playing it.

A few centuries later, football became popular in the cities too, and was not banned.

Schools formed teams that competed with each other.

There were some rules, which varied from place to place.

Soon there were tournaments across the country.

In 1848, some fixed rules were listed in Cambridge.

Finally, in 1863, the first official rules were written down by the newly formed Football Association.