The history of soccer can trace its roots back almost 2000 years to ancient China. Since then, archaeologists have found evidence of early versions of soccer in records on every continent. But it was the British who transformed soccer into the game we play today when they formalized a set of rules in the 19th Century.

The history of soccer dates back over 2000 years ago. It’s a little unclear when soccer was invented. However, the Aztecs may have invented the earliest version of the game. The Aztec soccer game was known as ‘Tchatali,’ where the aim was to get the ball through a stone hoop…without using your hands.

The Chinese were the first to get their kicks by kicking balls into nets for sport in the third century B.C., and the game known globally as football was formalized in England in the 19th century. But the predecessor of most modern ball games can be found in the Americas. (See vintage pictures of soccer players around the world.)

Games like soccer were played in China more than 2,000 years ago. Similar games were also played in ancient Greece, Rome, Japan, and Mexico. But the modern game of soccer started in England. In 1863 several English soccer teams formed the Football Association (FA). It created the first standard set of rules for the game.