Sociogenisis of Soccer

There are many debates as to when soccer first originated.  According to fifa.com, the Han Dynasty played a game that seems very similar to soccer called Tsu Chu, that involved kicking a leather ball filled with feathers and hair through a goal of some sort.  Although there are numerous accounts of past cultures who played games that required kicking a ball, The Football Association, was formed in 1863 in England and became the sports first official governing body that set down the ground rules for soccer. At this time, soccer was mainly played by central and southern European immigrants.  People in the United States were discouraged from playing soccer because it "...was believed to undermine loyalty to the United states by perpetuating potentially dangerous identifiable links with foreign cultures" (Coakley, 73).  This is why soccer is not as popular in the United States even today.  Since then, football, or soccer has come a long way. Some of the same rules, such as the offside rule were thought of in 1863 with the creation of the Football Association but has since changed. Other rules like goal kicks were not introduced until 1869 and corner kicks were not part of the game until 1872.  Six years after that in 1878, was the first time a ref used a whistle during a match. Uniforms have stayed somewhat the same for certain football clubs. For example the Argentina mens team from 1930 pictured below.

And the Argentina men's team today.

We can see the similarities in the stripes and overall design of the jersey has remained the same throughout the years.  One of the most significant events of soccer history was idea of the World Cup in the 1920's. This brought the best soccer clubs from all over together to compete for the right to be called World Champions. Although this has helped the sport grow tremendously, soccer is still not a very important sport in American society as it is overseas.

References

http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/the-game/origins.html

Jay Coakley; Sports in Society, Issues and Controversies