Who Really Invented Modern Football
Introduction:
-Football became a means of maintaining rivalries and boosting nationalism during the 19th century.
The Rules of football and Sheffield’s contributions:
-We also see in Great Britain during the early 19th century the guidelines of Rugby and how the abstract rules of the game broke off into the creation of football in the UK.
-Also, in Sheffield during the 1850s, there was the idea that the game of football was played as “a purely amateur pursuit, such gate money as was generated being donated to local charities”(1431). So we see that initially this game was meant for charitable and social purposes, a vastly different way it is played in todays game where money and publicity are primary factor.
Professionalism in Lancaster sport:
-While football was not the primary sport in the UK at the time, it was quite evident that being in Lancashsire, a place where spectators came from all around to watch sports, would spearhead the mass popularization of football.
-Later in the 19th century, the game of football became far more accessible to lower class citizens, a feature not common to other popular sports at the time such as cricket, pedestrian races, etc.
Conclusion:
-In the early stages of football in society, we see how Lancashire helped develop football into an easily accessible game that allows for many to view and follow clubs with ease.
-In the early stages of football it is evident that communal support was a dominating factor to its success, another piece which ties into nationalism and the overall expansion of football.
A History of Football in Paris: Challenges Faced by Sport Practised within a Capital City
Introduction:
-The centrality of Paris was a driving force in the shaping and strong influence of football in France.
Interface for French Football Prior to the First World War:
-Parisian teams were at the forefront of soccer in France and the world. A highly popular theme was seeing Parisian teams playing in the suburbs of France.
-“The influence of Parisian football could be measured by the reputation of its teams and players throughout the rest of the country”(1127)
-“Parisian players not only contributed to developing football among conscripts, mainly from rural and provincial areas, but form the 1900s also worked more widely and broadly towards passing on football techniques to people who lived nearby”(1128)
Acts of Parisian Centrality:
-It is important to also see from a socioeconomic standpoint regarding why football is so centralized in France.
-There is a huge divide between Paris and the rest of the suburbs around the city.
– Successful soccer clubs are far more prevalent in Paris because that’s where all the money is.
Birth of a Sports Periphery During the Inter-War Years:
-While football had been centralized in Paris, the game became completely redefined post WWI and WWII due to the loss of various French colonies and the mass immigration of various ethnic groups which altered the face of French soccer
-As seen today, the French national team consists mostly of people with African and Algerian/Turkish descent.