Read on to learn
more about the
most popular
sport on Earth.
• Soccer traces its roots
to medieval Britain.
There, villagers often
played a “folk football,”
making up their own
rules.
• The sport became
especially popular at elite
British universities, such as
Oxford and Cambridge, in
the 19th century.
• In 1863, the English
Football Association
formalized how the game is
played. Its rules prohibited
players from touching the
ball with their hands.
• Throughout most of the world, what
we know as “soccer” is called
“football.” The “foot” part of the word
was originally used to distinguish the
sport from rugby, in which players
are allowed to use their hands as
well as kick the ball.• The American game of football
evolved from both soccer and rugby.
The first American football game was
played
in 1869 between
Rutgers University
and Princeton
University.
• In the late 19th century, soccer spread
throughout Europe. Through colonization
and trade, Europeans introduced it all
over the world.
• In 1904, European soccer leagues formed
the Fédération Internationale de Football
Association (FIFA), which oversees
international professional soccer today.
• Soccer became popular in part because
all that is needed is a ball. In poor
countries, kids
make balls out of
anything they can—
even rags.
• FIFA organized the World Cup after
the International Olympic Committee
refused to include soccer in the 1932
Summer Olympics.
• The first World Cup was played in
Uruguay in 1930. Teams from 13
countries competed. Uruguay beat
Argentina 4-2 in the final.
• Brazil has won five World Cups, the
most of any national team. Italy, in
second place with four titles,
defeated France in the 2006 final
(see photo).
• Teams that make it to the World
Cup are the object of great national
pride.
• In some countries, more than half
the population watches their team’s
World Cup matches on TV.
Thousands
of people gather before large
public screens, and kids are let out
of school early.• In recent decades, fan violence
has been a major problem for
professional soccer. Hooliganism,
as it is known, is common in parts
of Europe and South America.
• The first matches of
World Cup 2010 will be
played on June 11 in
Johannesburg and Cape
Town, South Africa.
• Thirty-two national teams—
including South Africa’s
(above)—will compete. They
will play several rounds until
the last two surviving teams
meet each other in the final
on July 11.
• No team from Africa has
ever won the World Cup.
This year South Africa,
which is hosting the event,
and five other African
nations will be competing.
Could this
be Africa’s year?
1. Why do you think soccer is so popular around the world?
2. Why do South Africans have mixed feelings about hosting the World Cup?
3. How could the World Cup help foster greater cooperation among nations
—or spark tensions?
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