Football Day: the history of the game and the date of celebration

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Football is not just a sport, it is a whole culture, a lifestyle. This is a world that has its own stars, its own traditions and laws. Football has long been recognized as the most popular sport in the world, the number of fans of this game is huge. Nowadays, it has become part of pop culture - titled athletes turn into real idols for millions of fans, and hosting a major match in the city is always a bright and significant event.

Football Day is a holiday celebrated not only by professional football players, fans of kicking the ball, but also by people who just like to watch what is happening on the field. How did this game come about, and is there a date dedicated to it on the calendar?

When is World Football Day celebrated?

This game is popular in all countries. Officially, Football Day is not celebrated in the world, there is no such date in the calendars. True, there is a version on the Internet that the United Nations once proposed declaring December 10 as the International Day for celebrating this sports game.

There is no such information on the official website of the UN. But the fact remains that for several years nowOn this day, friendly matches of various levels are held all over the world. World Football Day is secretly celebrated on December 10th. Boys in the yards organize competitions of local teams, and professional football players hold exhibition performances and open trainings, allowing everyone to enjoy the spectacle of this exciting game.

Football Day in Russia also does not go unnoticed. It is unlikely that there is a man in the world who, as a child, did not like to kick the ball in the yard or at school breaks with friends. Everyone plays football, regardless of physical abilities, interests and temperament. This is an incredibly democratic game - unlike many other sports, it does not require a specially equipped hall and expensive inventory or equipment. It is enough just to take the ball and go outside. Perhaps that is why this game is so popular and Football Day is celebrated all over the world?

Invention of the ball

Since we are talking about balls, we suggest recalling the history of the creation of this seemingly simple toy.

Where exactly the first balls appeared is not exactly known. But objects similar in function and appearance were used in war games in Ancient Greece, Egypt, Mexico and Ancient China, and a little later appeared in Russia. Animal skins were then used as a material, which were stuffed with fig seeds, sand or feathers. In the Middle Ages, pig bladders began to be used to make balls, however, it was difficult to give it a perfectly round shape.

Finally, in1836 Englishman Charles Goodyear patented volcanic rubber, and in 1855. designed the first ball from a new material. This year can be considered the year of the birth of modern sports balls.

By the way, the oldest surviving ball is about 450 years old! It was found in 1999. in one of the castles in Scotland.

The origin of the game of football

This collective game is popular all over the world today, and not only among men, but also among women.

Football Day is celebrated not so long ago, and the history of the game has more than one millennium. For a long time it was believed that the British were the first to play football. England still retains its status as one of the football capitals of the world, and it was in this country that the first football association was created. But football was brought to England by the Spaniards, presumably in the 14th century. And how football was born in Spain is not known for certain.

As mentioned above, ball games were common in different parts of the world. But the oldest written record of the game comes from the Han Dynasty, the ruling dynasty in ancient China. In the annals, which are more than 2 thousand years old, there are references to the game, the literal translation of the name of which literally means “push with the foot”. Thanks to these records, China has been recognized as the birthplace of football. In 2004 FIFA published such a statement, and now we can say that we owe China not only the invention of paper or china, but also the game loved by millions.

Football in numbers

Here are some interesting numbers regarding the popular game.

1. The International Football Association reports that about 250 million people in the world play football, of which 120 million are professional football players.
2. There are 300,000 registered clubs and 1.5 million teams
3. The longest match in history lasted 65 hours and 1 minute.
4. The score 149:0 was recorded between the teams of Madagascar and became the most devastating score in history.

At this match, one of the teams, after entering the field, began to continuously score into their own goal in protest against the dishonest, in their opinion, refereeing in the previous match.

Conclusion

Well, the history of football is really interesting and entertaining. And the place that he occupies in the world sports culture is hard to overestimate. Therefore, the approval of the official status of such a holiday as International Football Day, of course, would be an invaluable gift for thousands and thousands of fans from all over the world.