Football, also known as soccer in various regions of the world, has a lengthy history. In the middle of the 19th century, football developed in its modern form in England. Alternative forms of the game did, however, exist far earlier and are documented in the history of football.
Old Mesoamerican tribes produced the earliest recorded instances of team games utilizing a ball formed of a rock more than 3,000 years ago. Although there were numerous variations of the game played throughout a wide area, it was created by the Aztecs and was called Tchatali. The ball might represent the sun on certain ritual occasions, and the losing team's captain might be offered as a sacrifice to the gods. A rubber-made bouncing ball was a distinctive aspect of Mesoamerican forms of ball games; no other early culture had access to rubber.
The first documented kick-and-ball game, known as cuju, was played in China between the third and second centuries BC. Cuju was played on a square-shaped space with a circular ball made of stitched leather with fur or feathers inside. Later, a modified version of this game known as kemari was played in ceremonial settings and spread to Japan.
Marn Gook, a ball game played by Aboriginal Australians and described by white immigrants as a game mostly requiring kicking in the 1800s, was possibly an even older version of cuju. Encased leaves or roots were used to create the ball. The majority of the rules are unknown, however keeping the ball in the air was undoubtedly a key component, just like in many other early iterations of the game.
Other types of ball games have existed since the time of Ancient Greece. The ball was created using hair-filled leather slivers (the first documents of balls filled with air are from the 7th century). However, ball games were considered low status and were excluded from the Panhellenic Games. Games using balls did not take place during entertainment in the large arenas (amphitheaters) of Ancient Rome, but rather during military drills known as Harpastum. Football was introduced to the British island by the Romans (Britannica). However, it is unclear to what extent the British population was inspired by this type and to what extent they had created their own variations.
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