Who Invented Soccer? Where the Game Came From and How Its Rules Began
Official histories name no single inventor of soccer. FIFA says cuju is thought to be its earliest form, and The FA agreed the first Laws in London in 1863.
The official histories of the sport do not name one inventor of soccer. FIFA says cuju, an ancient ball game, “is thought to have been the earliest form of football”. The first shared set of modern rules came much later, in 1863, when The Football Association was set up in London and agreed its Laws of the Game.
The FA’s own history does single out one figure from that period: Ebenezer Morley, the London solicitor whose call for common rules led to the founding meetings. The sections below follow the story from cuju to the 1863 Laws and on to the bodies that look after the game worldwide.
Where Did Soccer Originate?
The answer depends on which part of the story you mean. FIFA’s material points to cuju, which it says is thought to have been the earliest form of football, while the governing bodies place the beginning of the modern, rule-based sport in England.
Cuju
The name cuju is translated by FIFA as “playing a ball with the foot”. In the same FIFA article, the game is described as a popular pastime roughly 200 years before the Christian era.
England and the first universal Laws
The IFAB, which looks after the Laws of the Game, states that the first “universal” football Laws were written in England in 1863. FIFA’s history of the game in London gives the same year for the meeting that started the process. So when people ask where did soccer originate in its modern form, the official sources point to England.
Who Invented Football as We Know It?
The FA’s history gives Ebenezer Morley a special place in the story of the modern game. It says he could be called the “father” of The Association.
The man who asked for one rulebook
Morley was a solicitor in London. According to The FA, he set up a football club in 1862. He then wrote to a newspaper with a proposal: football should be played under one standard set of rules.
The meeting at the Freemasons’ Tavern
His proposal led to a meeting on 26 October 1863 at the Freemasons’ Tavern on Great Queen Street in London. FIFA’s account says Morley sat down with representatives from roughly a dozen clubs from London and its suburbs.
The FA records the reason for the gathering in its own words: it was held “for the purpose of forming an Association with the object of establishing a definite code of rules”.
Six meetings and one sticking point
Agreement did not come at the first attempt. The FA says it took six meetings across 44 days before the new body was able to operate on its own.
The hardest question was hacking, meaning kicking an opponent on the leg. The FA’s history describes hacking as the sticking point. The Laws approved at the sixth meeting, on 8 December 1863, said there would be no hacking.
The first match
The FA reports that the first match under the new Laws was played on 19 December 1863 at Limes Field. FIFA’s account places the ground in Mortlake. The game ended 0-0.
How the Laws Grew After 1863
The game’s rules kept changing after that first agreement. FIFA’s timeline of the early Laws gives these dates:
- 1863: offside was introduced.
- 1869: goal kicks were introduced.
- 1872: corner kicks were added.
- 1878: a referee’s whistle was used for the first time.
- 1891: penalties were introduced.
The same FIFA article notes two later rewrites of the Laws. In 1938, the FA Secretary of that time helped give the Laws a comprehensive overhaul. The second comprehensive revision since then came in 1997.
From English Rules to a World Game
The IFAB
According to The IFAB, it was founded in 1886 by the four British football associations: The FA, the Scottish FA, the FA of Wales and the Irish FA. The IFAB describes its role as guarding the Laws of the Game independently, and says it alone is responsible for developing and preserving them. In January 2014, it was registered as an independent association with its own administration, headquarters and statutes.
FIFA
FIFA was founded on Saturday 21 May 1904 at 229 rue Saint Honoré in Paris. Seven national associations took part: Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
The FA’s history says England was not one of FIFA’s original members, but within two years The FA had “formally approved” the new body. FIFA itself became part of The IFAB in 1913, which completed the board as The IFAB describes it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did one person invent soccer?
The official histories do not name a single inventor. FIFA says cuju “is thought to have been the earliest form of football”. For the modern game, The FA says Ebenezer Morley could be called the “father” of The Association, which agreed the first Laws in 1863.
When were the first Laws of the Game written?
The Football Association was formed at a meeting in London on 26 October 1863. Its Laws were approved at the sixth meeting, on 8 December 1863. The IFAB also places the first universal Laws in England in 1863.
What was hacking, and was it allowed?
Hacking meant kicking an opponent on the leg. The FA’s history calls it the sticking point of the 1863 meetings, and the Laws approved on 8 December 1863 said there would be no hacking.
