Football (or soccer as the game is called in some parts of the world) has a long history. Football in its current form began in England in the middle of the 19th century, but alternative versions of the game existed much earlier.

The most common story is that the game was developed in England in the 12th century when playing games that resembled football were played on meadows and roads in England. As well as kicking the ball, the game also involved punches of the ball with the fist. This early form of football was also much more rough and violent than the modern way of playing. 

It took a long time for the features of today’s football to be taken into practice. For a long time there was no clear distinction between football and rugby. There were also many variations concerning the size of the ball, the number of players and the length of a match. 

The sport was at first an entertainment for the British working class. Unprecedented amounts of spectators, up to 30,000, would see the big matches in the late 19th century and the game soon expanded to other parts of the world. As with many things in history, women were for a long time excluded from participating in games. It was not before the late 19th century that women started to play football. The first official women's game took place in Inverness in 1888.

DID YOU KNOW…

1 - On the evening of 26 October 1863, representatives of several football clubs in the Greater London area met at the Freemasons' Tavern on Long Acre in Covent Garden. This was the first meeting of The Football Association (FA).

2 - In 1888, William McGregor a gentleman from Perthshire and a director of Aston Villa F.C was the main force between meetings held in London and Manchester involving 12 football clubs, with an eye to a league competition. These 12 clubs would later become the Football League's 12 founder members.

3 - The standard length of game in football is 90 minutes. This duration was established for the first time in 1866 when London and Sheffield played against one another. For one reason or another, from here onward, 90 minutes was set as the standard duration for football games.

4 - It was in April of 1877 that a cohesive set of rules for football were finally drawn up and agreed upon.

5 - In 1958 came the introduction of substitutes. Prior to that players simply had to carry on through injury and illness if they didn’t want their team to be reduced in number in their absence.

6 - In 1970 yellow and red cards were introduced.

7 - The biggest change to football in modern times came in 2012 when goal-line technology was introduced. This system alerts the referee to whether or not the entirety of the ball has crossed the line. It was used for the first time during the FIFA Club World Cup of 2012.

Ashby is blessed with FIVE football clubs for the community to enjoy. All details are listed on the Ashby Sport website, and they would all welcome new members in their clubs. They are:

Ashby Ivanhoe FC

Ashby United CFC

Malborough Rovers FC
Sands United FC

Ethan United FC