Welcome to FootballHistory.org, a website about football history including competitions, teams and players. Football (or soccer as the game is called in some parts of the world) has a long history. Football in its current form arose in England in the middle of the 19th century.

Football’s roots can be traced back to ancient civilizations, where various forms of ball games were played. The earliest recorded instances date as far back as 2500 BCE in ancient Egypt, where a game known as “Harpaston” involved teams competing to control a ball.

The game has ancient origins, but in the late 19th century, Walter Camp helped shape football—the American kind—into the sport we know today. Updated: June 1, 2023 | Original: September 25, 2013 The sport we in the United States know and love as football is more properly called gridiron football, for the vertical yard lines that mark the field.

In 1863, the Football Association (FA) was founded in England, and it played a crucial role in codifying the rules of the game, making it more recognizable to modern football enthusiasts. As of 1880, Walter Camp tailored rule changes to American football – properly called gridiron football – making way for the modern game.