The Beautiful Game

By Ya Boy Erick (The Ultimate G) Maldonado
  • 206 BCE

    Cuju

    Cuju
    FIFA recognizes Cuju as the earliest sport resembling football. It was a game played in China involving a ball and the player's feet. During the Han Dynasty, rules were officially established.

  • First Rules

    First Rules
    In England, the growing popularity of football came with many troubles. The rules were not consistent, and they varied from school to school. In 1848, representatives from different school drew up the Cambridge Rules.

  • New Association

    New Association
    With so many efforts to regulate the game, the Football Association (FA) was born. Representatives from many teams came up to create more rules. However, some teams didn't agree with how they would handle the ball. They split off and made their own organization, the Rugby Football Union. The remaining clubs ratified the new rules.

  • International

    International
    In 1872, the first international football match was played between England and Wales.

  • IFAB

    IFAB
    In 1886, international games were getting hard to play as different countries had different rules. Finally, the football associations of four countries met, and solidified the rules of the game. After FIFA joined, their rules were brought to the world-wide stage. To this day, the International Football Association Board governs the game, and makes new rules.

  • FIFA

    FIFA
    FIFA was founded in 1904 to organize the growing number of international teams. They created many different world tournaments, and the game of football grew under FIFA.

  • World Cup

    World Cup
    In 1930, FIFA organized an international tournament that would come to be known as the World Cup. It was held in Uruguay, with the host nation winning and becoming the first nation to be crowned world champion.

  • Postponed

    Postponed
    As said earlier, the World Cup has been held every four years. However, the 1942 edition was cancelled, as Adolf Hitler and the Nazis had started World War 2.

  • The Football War

    The Football War
    Though there was much more that fueled the war, what started it was a qualifying match for the 1970 World Cup between El Salvador and Honduras. In previous games, violence had erupted. After the defeat of Honduras, El Salvador cut ties then invaded them, stating that they had done nothing about the riots.

  • Corruption

    Corruption
    The sport of football has always been marred by corruption and bribery. On December 21, 2015, FIFA President Sepp Blatter was banned for 8 years on charges of corruption. While he has made many great contributions to the game, FIFA has upheld its suspension.