Italian Football Renaissance

Italian football in its infancy was riddled with arguments and fighting due to the smaller clubs holding a majority over the larger clubs in the FIGC.  This struggle is very similar to the way the smaller states did not want to have the larger states always holding the power of decisions in the creation of the United States Congress.  But the way the FIGC handled the situation led to a split in Italian club football, where the smaller teams were left to fend for themselves while the larger teams made all the money and got the best players.  To add to these issues was the inability of the referees to keep control of the game and enforce the rules.

Although widely considered to have been the best referee in Italy at the time, Mauro was far away from the incident in question, which intensified the Bologna fans’ conviction that the ball had crossed the line for a goal. Among those supporters was the leader of the Bolognese Fascist Federation and future mayor, Leandro Arpinati, who, apparently, led a pitch invasion with his squadristi that culminated in shouting, pushing, threats and some skirmishes. 13 Choosing personal safety over conscience, Mauro reversed his decision and awarded a goal. (Martin, 54) Continue reading →

Cole PCQ 1/8/2014

In Peter Swain and Adrian Harvey’s article on the origins of modern football, they explain how football’s origins center around a rudimentary rule system that is almost completely different from any of the rules we know now.

In this early form, football and rugby were very similar in their rules and styles of play.  It wasn’t until Sheffield FA’s football culture improved to the point where they were able to host their own cup competition.

This first football cup was sponsored by a local businessman who even contributed a trophy to the winner of the 12 team competition.

Because of this influence, Sheffield FA was able to prevent the disbandment of the FA.  These early games were not commercial pursuits, rather presided over by amateurs.  But as interest in these games increased, the clubs began charging admission to the games as they were now played in commercial gardens and enclosed public house fields.

French Contributions to the Game of Football:

“During the Third Republic conscripts were required to undergo military service, which was often carried out in regiments far from the Seine De´partement. As soon as Parisian players arrived in their regiment, they almost always got together a football team and, insofar as sport did not figure on the athletics programme of French military training, encouraged practice of it by, among other things, requesting that their home teams sent footballs.

Questions:

• How did the competition between France and Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries contribute to the quality of the players and game of football we know today?
• How did the changing social and economic dynamics of the players and supporters of the game of football influence the spread of the popularity of the game?