In October 1863 football came of age, and the true foundations of the modern game were laid in a London public house, the Freemasons Arms, by a body which called itself the Football Association. From this moment on, through much bitterness and at times fury, the game passed from the schools and universities to the clubs. From the time of this meeting until the turn of the century, the game took its definitive shape.
Running with the ball was soon dropped and a player was not allowed to ‘hack’ – meaning to kick a man on the shin when dribbling. Out went ‘making a mark’, achieved by catching the ball, marking the spot with the boot and therefore winning a free kick. Out, quite quickly, went an original FA rule of ‘touch-down’; this was allowing a free kick at goal after the ball had been kicked or carried over a goal line and touched down by an attacking player. Offside, though, continued to cause considerable argument. The FA’s early directive was ‘no one interfering with play in front of the ball’. It is obvious how much of the essence of rugby football as we know it is in these rejected rules. In fact, it was not long before the ‘manly and courageous’ gentlemen, who favoured ‘marking’, ‘touch-down’ and carrying the ball, called the dribbling-men ‘absolute cowards’ and walked out of the FA to form their own association, linking strongly with the universities, and identifying their game as rugby football.
Now minds of one accord could get on with developing football. Very soon, only the goalkeeper could handle the ball, and attacking play came into force by allowing forward passing of the ball, making football much more exciting to watch. In 1872, nine years after the London pub meeting, the first ever official international match was played. It was between England and Scotland. A most diplomatic result was achieved – a 0-0 draw.
In 1871 the FA Cup began its famous history. In 1878, referees were first allowed to use whistles. Rigid goal cross-bars were made compulsory in 1882, an to go with them, goal nets and linesmen in 1891. That same year, penalty kicks were allowed for the first time. The ‘honourable game of football’ was fast becoming the most popular team sporting pursuit that Great Britain and subsequently the world was to know.
From now on, the game spread rapidly abroad. British businessmen, soldiers, sailors, and engineers introduced the game to Europe and South America. By 1889, Holland and Denmark had founded their own football associations. In 1892 Argentina became the first country outside Britain to inaugurate a national championship. At the same time football was being played in Austria and at the turn of the century the game had reached Germany, Hungary and Uruguay, where national football associations were founded.
Football became one of Britain’s greatest exports. Even in Russia, two Englishmen launched the game through their cotton mill in Orekhovo Zuyero. In Chile and Uruguay there are still clubs named Everton and Liverpool, so called after the sailors who played matches against the locals when their ships were in dock. In the USA the universities, once again, were the first disciples and the names of early clubs such as Kensington FC of Saint Louis and Shamrock FC of Cincinnati indicated their British origin.
Children in grimy back alleys in the north of England or on soft sand in South America were now playing a universal game; football had travelled far. However, although the British were undisputed leaders in the field of football legislation – a British team had in fact toured Germany and Czechoslovakia, and the country had played hosts in 1900 to a team from Brussels – they declined to take part in the organising of football internationals. Just when Europe looked to them to establish a world governing body, the FA cold shouldered the idea. It was left to the French to implant the idea of international competition, the springboard that would eventually bring about the World Cup.
Four now legendary gentlemen, Robert Guerin, a lawyer, C. A. W. Hirschman, a Dutch banker, Henri Delaunay, a printer and Jules Rimet, a publisher, called a meeting in Paris on 21 May, 1904.
These men, excited by the upsurge in the popularity of the game and seeing the potential of soccer as a world sport, decided to organise a world championship. They grandly called themselves the Federation Internationale de Football Association, or as the organisation is more generally known today, FIFA. These pioneering French gentlemen were joined at that summer meeting by representatives from Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands. A World Cup would not be contested, though, for another 26 years.
However, Jules Rimet, whose name belongs to the original World Cup statuette, and Henri Delaunay worked slavishly over the years to bring about their cherished dream. Rimet loved the game dearly and was a great and charming diplomat. His record as President of the French Football Federation from 1919 to 1949 and President of FIFA from 1921 to 1954, not long before his death, was a rather special achievement. Delaunay, his counterpart, was a tireless worker, full of the vision of a world championship and determined to see it realised. FIFA’s seven founder members started the laborious task of linking the various national federations into one organization to co-ordinate the game throughout Europe, and as one proud clause stated in the statutes of the first meeting, FIFA has the sole right to organise a World Championship.
A world championship must have seemed a viable proposition which could be swiftly brought about, as the Olympic Games in 1900 and 1904 had launched a football competition. However, much time and patience was required to bring about the first World Cup in 1930. By 1914 there were twenty-four members including England, who had joined in 1905 and had D. B. Woolfall, a member of the Football Association, made President of FIFA in 1906. FIFA’s yardstick for law-making was measured against England’s own International Board which was formed for the express purpose of drawing up and carrying out the laws of the game. FIFA gained representation on this board in 1913. Germany, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Finland were now present and FIFA was starting to become a very powerful body.
That power was to be drained away during the 1914-18 War. The work and ideals of FIFA were halted whilst the bigger game of war was played. Obviously the idea of international football was shattered; FIFA’s ideals lay in shreds and it was to take the organisation a full 15 years to recover and regain many of its former members.
When the war ended FIFA had to cope with bitter reactions. England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Belgium, Luxembourg and France herself decided to boycott Germany and her allies in the Association. Eventually, England and the other three home countries left FIFA in 1920, which unfortunately ended FIFA’s representation on the International Board. Nevertheless, slowly but surely FIFA began to resurrect its ideals. Jules Rimet was firmly in the driving seat now, and in 1921, at the age of 48, he became President, a term of office which was to last 33 years. The Olympic Games Football Finals in 1924 were a success and this boded well fora stronger FIFA. England returned and so did many of the original members. In 1928 international football was further strengthened in the Olympics of that year and FIFA campaigned for all the competing footballers to be paid to compensate for loss of earnings. The International Olympic Committee grudgingly accepted this, though it was against their sporting principles. England was not prepared to see the game pushed into a financially competitive arena and left FIFA again, not to return this time for more than eighteen years.
At this time the South American Football Federation was formed and the Republic of Uruguay was pioneering this Continent’s football. The 1928 Olympics saw the Uruguayans win the football competition as they had done in 1924. Rimet, with superb timing and showmanship after the 2-1 victory over Argentina, interested the President of Uruguay in hosting the first tournament. As one Uruguayan politician said: ‘Other nations have their history, we have our football.’ 1930 also marked the centenary of Uruguay’s independence and the first World Cup took place in Montevideo. Rimet and Delaunay were at last to see their dream fulfilled.
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