History

In the past, soccer is identified as a popular peasant game in England and other parts of Europe. In 1363, King Edward II banned the football games (which was then referred to as mob-football) because he was troubled by the unruliness of the game in London and because it distracted the English population from practicing archery, which was necessary for war during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. An early reference to a game that was probably soccer can be traced back to 1280 at Ulgham, Northumberland, England. In Ireland, the sport was played since 1308. In 1314, Nicholas de Farndone, Lord Mayor of the City of London issued a decree banning the game in France because of the hustling and commotion that were linked to the game. The Ancient Greek and Romans have played a similar game called harpastum, adapted from the Greek game Episkyros or phaininda. The Chinese has their own version of the game that dates back to the third and first century and was described as cuju; this later spread to Japan and Korea. The Japanese version was called Kemari. In 1841, the aborigines of Victoria, Australia played a similar game called Mam Grook. In New Zealand, the Mauri also played a similar game called Ki-o-rahi.

Check out the links below for the skills we have been working on in class

Soccer Terms:

Center back - A soccer player that is the central defender. The center backs main job is on defense. Covering and marking players in the middle area of the field.