The Football

Introduction

A football is an inflated sphere and as such moves in any direction with equal ease, its speed and flight-path being determined by the way it is struck. This may sound obvious but it is the very essence of the game of football.

A true football story - Playing the Game

During the first world war Captain Nevill was a company commander in the 8th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment. On 1 July 1916 his men were to be part of the first attack on Montauban Ridge on the Somme. He was concerned about how his men would react as they had not been in an attack before.

Whilst on leave a few days before the battle was to begin, he bought four footballs, one for each of his platoons.

On his return to the battlefield he offered a prize to the first platoon to kick their football up to the German trenches when the attack began.

Nevill kicked off and his men dribbled and kicked their footballs as they advanced through heavy machine gun fire. There were many casualties - but the ridge was captured.

The winning platoon was unable to collect their prize because sadly Captain Nevill was killed in the attack. One of his footballs is in the National Army Museum and another is in the Queen's Regiment Museum, Howe Barracks, Canterbury.

The spherical ball used in football, as opposed to the oval ball used in rugby and American football, allows a high degree of 'kicking skill' to be achieved. Contact with the football can be developed to a stage where its flight and direction can be very accurately controlled. The precision demonstrated in footballing skills today is dependent upon top quality footballs being produced worldwide to standards enforced by the International Board set up by FIFA.

Laws of the Game

A football used for a professional match must always be the right size, weight and pressure. The footballs are always provided by the home club.

Law 2 states:

The ball shall be spherical, the outer casing of leather or other approved materials. No material shall be used in the construction which might be dangerous to the players.

At the start of the game:-

The circumference of the ball shall be not less than 27 nor more than 28 inches (68.5 - 71cm)

The weight of the ball not less than 14 nor more than 16 ounces

The pressure of the ball shall be equal to 600-1100 gr/cm2.

Law 5 states:

The referee shall decide that the ball provided for the match meets the requirements of Law 2.

The bounce of a football, which complies with the laws, is usually 30%-35%. This means a football dropped from a height of 10 metres should bounce back up to a height of 3 to 3.5 metres.

Although the laws specify the material, shape, size, weight, and pressure of the football, there is no standard for the amount of bounce.

These precise requirements are made possible because of modern methods of manufacture. This has not always been so.

History

Ancient Egypt

The history of 'the sports ball' is an interesting one.

The oldest ones in the world that have survived to the present day come from Ancient Egypt and are owned by the British Museum. They are red, green and yellow, made of linen and stuffed with straw.

Even when new they were too dainty and delicate for rough play. Perhaps they were used for simple rolling and catching indoor games.

Since then footballs made from pieces of animal skins (leather) stitched together and stuffed with earth, hair, feathers or grain (similar to bean bags) have been used for sedate ball games. Later Inflated animal bladders provided a more 'bouncy ball' but because they were easily burst they were no use for 'kicking' games.

Ancient Greece

Records, dating from about 50BC, in the Munich Ethnological Museum, show that the Ancient Greeks played a ball game called Episkyros. The Greeks used games merely as a form of exercise, to keep fit and to build beautiful bodies.

Ancient Rome

The Romans adapted this game and called it Harpastum. They changed it into a vigorous game in which the ball had to be won from all opponents. It has been suggested that the Roman soldiers sometimes used the heads of their enemies as footballs.

Normans

In 1066 The Normans invaded England perhaps bringing with them a game derived from Harpastum which they called LeSoule

1195

A friend of Thomas à Becket described a tradition which took place in London on Shrove Tuesday.

"all the youths of London go to a flat patch of ground just outside the city for the famous game of ball. These games are more like battles than sport. Players chase through the streets with little regard for people or property".

Not surprisingly the game became known as ‘mob football’. Throughout the Middle Ages it continued to be played in the streets of London and other cities especially on Bank Holidays.

The game took the form of a rampage through the streets kicking a blown-up pig’s bladder. The object was to force the 'ball’ across boundaries usually miles apart and in the process often breaking windows and players’ legs and filling peaceful folk with fear.

An artist's impression of mob football around the 15th Century. The early forerunners of modern-day matches were timeless brawls between neighbouring parishes or villages

In the centuries that followed ball games were rough and ready and rowdy. They were informal sports of little importance with virtually no organisation.

However, in spite of several attempts to ban them they never died out.

The significance of the ball in these earlier games is much different from modern football. Then the ball was protected and defended, a prize to be fought for and carried off. It was thought of as TheTrophy. In the modern game it is a missile to be aimed at the opponent's goal, making football essentially an attacking game.

Modern Shrovetide Football

Today Shrovetide Football still takes place annually in some parts of England.

• The game is played by one team against another.

• Anyone can join in or leave the game whenever they like.

• There are no rules.

• The goal areas can be several miles apart and are often well known landmarks, such as statues.

• The 'goal area' has to be touched by the ball to score a goal.

• The object of the game is to carry the ball to one's own goal. Scoring a goal not only ends the game but makes the goal scorer the proud owner of that year's special football.

A modern game of Shrove Tuesday football is held in Ashbourne, Derbyshire every year. This picture shows the goal scorer for 1994.

These two Shrovetide footballs are displayed in the bar of a
hotel in Derbyshire .

They are made of painted leather stuffed with cork shavings.

One is used in the local Game on Shrove Tuesday and the other on the following day - Ash Wednesday.