History of Football- What You Need to Know?

Football was merely a sport until the unbound popularity of players like Fabregas, Neymar, Messi, and Ronaldo made it a global sensation.

But there is a lot more to the sport than just the leagues and World cups, which has made football the most watched and played sport globally.

Despite the popularity, many don't know about the history of football.

Football originated in China in 476 BC, and since then, it has undergone centuries of evolution.

If you are a fan of football, then read ahead to know about the beginning of the international spotlight game and its evolution to date.

Ancient civilization

The craze for football existed among the ancient ancestors.

Numerous evidences shows the early Chinese, South American, and Roman civilizations played with a spherical-shaped ball made using animal bladder and skull, cloth, or human heads.

The Chinese version of football which the FIFA is considered as the first qualified ancestor of sport known as Tsu Chu.

1855

Thanks to Charles Goodyear, the era of playing football with animal parts came to an end.

He introduced the world wealth first-ever rubber football in 1855.

Also, he created panels that were similar to today's basketball and placed them at the seams.

Before this, pig and cow bladders covered in leather were used for the sport.

However, it restricted the players from aiming well in a certain direction. Thus, it took away the key factor of bounce.

1872

In 1872, the English football association specified the official weight and size of a football.

It was stated the football mass must be within the circumference of 27 to 28 inches.

While the weight must be between 13 to 15oz which was later changed to 14-16oz in 1937.

The early 1900s

During the early 1900s, football was less complicated than today — the balls during those times would be unusable after a single match.

The balls were reinforced with tanned leather covers with 18 sections of 6 panels to make them tough.

All of this was handstitched with an opening to insert the inflated bladder.

1940

During the 1940s, the focus was on the capability of the players to control the ball.

The experts now advised the use of stable and strong materials between the inflated bladder to increase durability.

Also, during this year, the football was coated with non-porous and synthetic material to prevent water absorption.

1951

White football was introduced for better visibility on the field. While for the players who played in the snow, there was orange football.

1960

During this year, first part-synthetic football was manufactured. However, the fully-synthetic leather football came into action in 1980.

The 1970s

During the next two decades, football evolved into a completely synthetic object. R. Buckminster Fuller designed the model which is used till date.

Adidas manufactured the ball with classic 20 hexagons and 12 pentagonal spherical balls, which is used to date.

1980 to present

The changes have been made continuously to ensure better performance.

In 2014, Adidas first introduced the most tested football ever, the Brazica, during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.