By Michael Kachitsa The game’s official history spans over 100 years, but people have enjoyed the sport of kicking around a ball for thousands of years, according to FIFA. While the first World Cup tournament happened in Uruguay in 1930, early scientific evidence of the game is traced back to the second and third centuries BC in China, in a military exercise practiced by the Han Dynasty, the BBC reports. The Chinese game consisted of kicking a leather ball filled with feathers through a small net, fixed into long bamboo canes. The players couldn’t use their hands, relying on their feet, chest, back and shoulders. Another ancient form of the game is Japanese Kemari, which is still played today. The sport doesn’t involve any struggle for possession of the ball. Players stand in a circle and pass the ball to each other, trying not to let it touch the ground. The modern game of soccer evolved after the Romans took their version of the game to Britain in the 1800s, FIFA states. In 1863, school officials at Cambridge University began to divide the sports of soccer and rugby, as more people disapproved of the rugby rule that allows players to run with the ball. That year marked the birth of the Football Association. British imperialists, missionaries and traders brought soccer to the African continent in the 1800s. The first documented professional teams in Africa were established in the 1880s, and the first international match was played in 1872, between England and Scotland. The first full league championship was celebrated in 1888. FIFA was founded in Paris in May 1904. It had seven founding members: France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain (represented by Madrid FC), Sweden and Switzerland. By the late 1930s, there were 51 FIFA members. Over the next half-century, football’s popularity continued to attract new devotees and at the end of the 2007 FIFA Congress, FIFA had 208 members in every part of the world. The United States, along with Mexico and Canada have been selected to host the World Cup in 2026.
Category: Football
When referees were introduced in football.
By Michael Kachitsa In 1581 Richard Mulcaster was writing about a game called ‘foteball’ and suggested that things might go smoother if there was a ‘judge over the parties’. Of course we all know from reading the History Of Football article elsewhere that ‘foteball’ probably had more in common with rugby than the game we know and love today. It wasn’t until the 1840s that players and organisers sought a clarification of the rules of the sport, so it’s interesting that reference to a referee was made in a match report from a Rochdale game in 1842. Having said all of that, these ‘referees’ didn’t operate in quite the same way as we understand the role today. At the start of modern football’s life it was believed that the players were gentlemen. They would never, under any circumstances, deliberately cheat or foul another player. The ‘referee’ was merely there to keep time as accurately as possible so everyone knew when the game was over. Of course, not everyone is a gentleman. Believe it or not there are some unscrupulous characters out there and they began to come to the forefront as the sport of football became more serious and more competitive. When that happened it was decided that each team should have an ‘umpire’ to make decisions when contentious moments arrived in the game. The umpires would discuss the matter between themselves and try to come to an agreement, but if they couldn’t then the issue would be referred to the ‘referee’ who was keeping time and he would have the deciding vote. It wasn’t until 1891, when the Football Association agreed a re-structuring of the Rules of the Game, that referees began to take centre stage and the umpires were turned into linesmen, who assisted from the side. The first ever referee’s society was formed in 1893 in London. The primary purpose of the society was to speak to the different people purporting to be referees in order to discover their qualifications before then appointing them to officiate a given match. The North Staffs Referees’ Club, formed in 1896, came about because the popularity of the game caused more and more people to become referees. They began to get together and teach each other the rules of the game in order to ensure that things went as smoothly as possible, yet in those early days there was no set ‘qualification’ that a person had to have in order to be able to referee a football match. By 1899 there were 27 referee’s societies with 773 members, so the appointment of people to officiate different games became too complicated. It was at that point that responsibility for the organisation of all of the referees swapped over to the Football Association. By 1904 the game had taken off around the rest of the world and that led to the formation of a governing body called FIFA. After initial scepticism, the English FA joined FIFA in 1906. They began to introduce some new rules, such as the one in 1912 that stopped goalkeepers from being allowed to handle the ball outside the area. Source – Football Stadiums
When Mbappe became youngest player to score in a World Cup final since Pele
By Michael Kachitsa Kylian Mbappe became the youngest player to score in a World Cup final since Pele when he put France 4-1 ahead against Croatia. The Brazilian superstar burst onto the scene back in 1958 at the age of just 17, scoring against Sweden in the final of that competition, and Mbappe has done so now in 2018 aged 19. No teenager has scored in the showpiece match since Pele, a run that lasted 60 years, however the Paris Saint-Germain forward has enjoyed a phenomenal tournament. The former Monaco forward is the third youngest player to take part in a World Cup final. Mbappe has scored four goals in his seven appearances in Russia and only Pele bettered this return as a player competing at a World Cup whilst under the age of 20. It was a World Cup in which few teenagers were taken to Russia but one of them, Kylian Mbappe, was among the very best of the entire tournament and claimed the official Young Player award on Sunday. With a goal in the final, the Paris Saint-Germain star made it four in seven games with his pace, dribbling ability and confidence shining throughout. The 19-year-old was named just before the trophy was lifted in Luzhniki Stadium with Luka Modric winning the Golden Ball for best player and Harry Kane the Golden Boot for top scorer.
Football in Asia
By Michael Kachitsa Football in Asia is growing and it is the most popular sport in many of the Asian countries like Iran. According to FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association), the earliest form of football (soccer) was played in China and it was dated back to centuries. The game was called cuju and it was played as the same way as soccer- without using hands or arms and a player had to kick the ball through two goal posts to score a goal where the ball was made of leather. Football in Asia is enormously diversified and it banks on various surroundings and periods. During the 21st century, football is emerging as a prominent sport in the Asian countries, with Qatar hosting the 2022 FIFA world cup, India introducing the Super League in 2013 and Qatar and United Arab Emirates’ huge investment in clubs overseas. Only one Asian team (South Korea) has made it through the quarterfinals of the FIFA World cup since the tournament expanded to 32 teams in 1998 while other Asian teams like Saudi Arabia and North Korea have suffered huge defeats in the World cup in 2002 and 2010 respectively. Asia has the largest fan following of soccer than any other continent which is approximately 800 million and it also exhibits 32 percent of the viewership for the English Premier League. The former President of FIFA, for the year 1998-2005, Sepp Blatter asserted his confidence that the future of football must lie in Asia because half of the world’s population is in Asia. AFC’s (Asia Football Confederation) official slogan is ‘The Future is Asia’ and the AFC aims to develop football in Asia even more in the coming years.
The Development of African Football
By Michael Kachitsa Association football is the most popular sport in South Africa, followed by rugby union and cricket. The governing body is the South African Football Association (SAFA). The country’s top league is the South African Premier Division, while the main cup competitions are the Nedbank Cup, Telkom Knockout, and the MTN 8 Cup. Football first arrived in South Africa through colonialism in the late nineteenth century, as the game was popular among British soldiers. From the earliest days of the sport in South Africa until the end of apartheid, organised football was affected by the country’s system of racial segregation. The all-white Football Association of South Africa (FASA), was formed in 1892, while the South African Indian Football Association (SAIFA), the South African Bantu Football Association (SABFA) and the South African Coloured Football Association (SACFA) were founded in 1903, 1933 and 1936 respectively. In 1903 the SAFA re-affiliated with English The Football Association after the Second Boer War between the British Empire and the Boer state. There was a plan to play a tournament held in Argentina, with South Africa and Fulham as guest teams, but it was not carried out. Nevertheless, South Africa traveled to South America in 1906 to play a series of friendly matches there. South Africa played a total of 12 matches in South America, winning 11 with 60 goals scored and only 7 conceded. Some of the rivals were Belgrano A.C., Argentina national team, a Liga Rosarina combined, Estudiantes (BA) and Quilmes. The only team that could beat South Africa was Argentine Alumni by 1–0 at Sociedad Sportiva stadium of Buenos Aires, on 24 June, although the South African would take revenge on 22 July, defeating Alumni by 2–0. The players were exclusively white, civil servants, government employees, bankers and civil engineers. Seven of the 15 players were born in South Africa and 8 originated from England and Scotland. South Africa was one of four African nations to attend FIFA’s 1953 congress, at which the four demanded, and won, representation on the FIFA executive committee. Thus the four nations (South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan) founded the Confederation of African Football in 1956, and the South African representative, Fred Fell, sat at the first meeting as a founding member. It soon became clear however that South Africa’s constitution prohibited racially mixed teams from competitive sport and so they could only send either an all-black side or an all-white side to the planned 1957 African Cup of Nations. This was unacceptable to the other members of the Confederation and South Africa were disqualified from the competition, however some sources say that they withdrew voluntarily.
The History of Borussia Dortmund
By Michael Kachitsa Dortmund was founded in 1909, by a group of eighteen youths unhappy with the local chaplain’s treatment of their church-sponsored football team. Being a relatively small club, Dortmund’s ambitions were moderate to start with. The club barely avoided bankruptcy in 1929, and being an anti-Nazi oriented club during the Third Reich regime certainly didn’t help matters. Their first taste of silverware came in the mid-50s, with two consecutive national titles in 1956 and 1957. Having proved themselves by winning the last German national championship ever held (1963), Dortmund were among the sixteen clubs invited to play in the newly-formed Bundesliga. In general, the 60s were a fruitful period for the club, which claimed its first DFB-Pokal in 1965 and its first and only Cup Winners’ Cup the following year. This would be their last trophy for a while, as the next three decades were fraught with continual financial troubles. The loss of Hitzfeld to Bayern Munich after the Champions League victory was a tough pill to swallow, but their financial troubles would prove an even greater hindrance. After Dortmund became the only German football club to enter the stock market at the turn of the millennium, their shares had started falling and the club found itself deeply in debt. The Bundesliga title in 2002 was not enough to turn the tide, and the club had to resort to selling their best players in order to survive. As a result of a sponsorship deal with an insurance company, Westfalenstadion would in 2005 change name to Signal Iduna Park for a limited time (until 2021). After a couple of miserable seasons, Jürgen Klopp’s arrival in 2008 would set them back on the road to greatness. Under his leadership, Dortmund would prove to be the only true challenger to Bayern; their reignited rivalry was the main talking point of German football in the years that followed. During Klopp’s seven years at the helm, Dortmund claimed two more Bundesliga titles (2011 and 2012) and their third DFB-Pokal (2012), but lost to Bayern in the 2013 Champions League final. Even with the club winning its second DFB-Pokal in 1989, the future wasn’t looking too bright. Their fortunes would finally change with the hiring of Ottmar Hitzfeld in 1992; with the genius strategist in charge, Dortmund soared to the top of German football. After winning two consecutive Bundesliga titles in 1995 and 1996, Dortmund set off to conquer the rest of Europe. In 1997, they advanced to the Champions League finals, where they handily defeated the favored Juventus 3-1.
The history of Old Trafford
By Michael Kachitsa The Old Trafford stadium, commonly known as “The Theatre of Dreams,” was originally opened on February 19, 1910 with a capacity of approximately 80,000. During the Second World War, Old Trafford was used by the military as a depot, and on March 11, 1941 was heavily damaged by a German bombing raid. The stadium was rebuilt following the war and reopened on August 24, 1949. The addition of floodlighting, permitting evening matches, was completed in 1957 and a project to cover the stands with roofs was completed in 1959. After a series of additions during the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, capacity at Old Trafford reached 56,385 in 1985. The conversion of the stadium to an all-seater reduced capacity to approximately 44,000 by 1992, the lowest in its history. Thereafter, we began to expand capacity throughout the stadium, bringing capacity to approximately 58,000 by 1996, approximately 68,000 by 2000, and approximately 76,000 in 2006. Current capacity at Old Trafford is 75,454. In the late 1940s, we returned to on-field success, winning the FA Cup in 1948 and finishing within the top four league positions during each of the first five seasons immediately following the Second World War. During the 1950s, we continued our on-field success under the leadership of manager Sir Matt Busby, who built a popular and famous team based on youth players known as the “Busby Babes.” In February 1958, an airplane crash resulted in the death of eight of our first team players. Global support and tributes followed this disaster as Busby galvanized the team around such popular players as George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law. Rebuilding of the club culminated with a victory in the 1968 European Cup final, becoming the first English club to win this title. In 1986, our club appointed Sir Alex Ferguson as manager. In 1990, we won the FA Cup and began a period of success that has continued until the present day. Since 1992, we have won the Premier League 13 times. In total, we have won a record 20 English League titles, a record 12 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, 3 European Champions Cups and 1 FIFA Club World Cup, making us one of the most successful clubs in England.
Five key Incidents for African Football In 2020
By Michael Oduor, Africa News Agency The African football landscape had a number of major occurrences over the course of the year, from tournament cancellations, a historic player of the year win, leadership campaign and a FIFA ban on CAF boss. As part of our 2020 review, we look back at five top news items in Africa’s world of sports for 2020. November: CAF president banned from football The head of Confederation of African Football (CAF), Ahmad Ahmad, was late this year banned from football for five years by FIFA’s adjudicatory chamber. The decision came following an ethics investigation by world soccer’s governing body. FIFA said in a statement the independent Ethics Committee had found Ahmad guilty of offering and accepting gifts and other benefits, and misappropriation of funds. Ahmad had declared his intention to seek re-election as the continent’s football chief in March 2021. He has confirmed he will be appealing the ruling. March: CAF postpones AFCON 2021 The Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football, CAF, postponed the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON to January 2022 citing the coronavirus pandemic. The tournament had been scheduled to take place between January and February 2021. The football governing body, however decided that the local version of the AFCON, the Championship of African Nations, CHAN, will take place in January 2021. It had originally been slated to be played in April this year. Both competitions will be hosted by Cameroon. Cameroon suspended the CHAN in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The local organizing committee after a meeting announced the decision to suspend the competition which would have taken place between April 4 – 25. CHAN is a version of the African Cup of Nations but is reserved for players that ply their trade on the continent. The current champions are Morocco who beat Nigeria in the final of the last tournament in 2018. March: FIFA reschedules congress slated for Ethiopia In March, football’s world governing body, FIFA, announced rescheduling its 70th Congress that was scheduled for May 2020 at the African Union’s headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. At the time, FIFA said it will be moved to September 2020 in Addis Ababa. It has still not taken place. An official statement issued on March 11 read in part: “On account of the spread of COVID-19, numerous international bodies and public health authorities have advised against the organisation of international events. Concerns over the health and well-being of participants, as well as travel restrictions in many countries, have resulted in the cancellation or postponement of many such events in various parts of the world. Mindful of this, and given the wish of FIFA to organise a Congress which all member associations are able to attend, the Bureau of the FIFA Council has decided to reschedule the 70th FIFA Congress from Friday 5 June 2020 to Friday 18 September 2020 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. February: FIFA’s mission to clean African football ends FIFA’s six months joint control of African soccer ended in February when Secretary-General Fatma Samoura’s temporary leadership of the continent’s governing body was not extended by CAF ExCo members. Samoura was dispatched to CAF in August 2019 with the task of cleaning up the organization. FIFA also declared Samoura’s mission as “General Delegate for Africa” complete after a meeting of the CAF executive committee. Changes implemented during Samoura’s mission include enhanced financial controls, better salaries for staff and new ethics structures, FIFA said. CAF president Ahmad Ahmad’s ethics probe was still underway at the time as he faced accusations of sexual harassment and bribery, as well as claims of personal and financial impropriety. January: Mane finally wins African best award Senegal and Liverpool forward Sadio Mane won the African best player 2019 award at an event in the Egyptian city of Hurghada on January 7. He became the final awardee for the decade 2010 -2019. He succeeded Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah who was also shortlisted along with Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez. Mane helped his club side win the UEFA Champions League in the 2018/2019 season and was captain of the Senegal side that lost the 2019 AFCON to Algeria in Egypt. He eventually helped club side Liverpool to a historic Premier League trophy. It was the fourth straight time that he had been shortlisted for the award. He lost in 2016 to Gabon’s Aubameyang (at the time with Dortmund), then missed out to Salah twice in 2017 and 2018.
The rise of Jamie Vardy
By Michael Kachitsa Jamie Vardy, arguably has a more impressive story. From a young age, Vardy had dreams of one day being a professional footballer, but as a teenager he was released from the youth academy of Sheffield Wednesday, who currently play in English soccer’s second division (Scott). Determined not to give up, Vardy continued to play football with the Stocksbridge Park Steels, a team in the seventh-tier of English football. Working at a carbon fiber factory to make ends meet and receiving a criminal assault conviction, Vardy probably experienced his most trying years with the Steels. Vardy was an exceptional player, scoring 66 goals in 107 league games for Stocksbridge. Many teams took an interest in Vardy, and in May 2012 the 25-year old was bought by Leicester City from Fleetwood from 1 million euros. Although he had finally earned professional status, his struggles were far from over. A poor first season performance left him wondering if he should continue with football. But like he had always done in the past, he persevered. In the 2013-2014 Leicester earned back a spot in the premier league with the help of Vardy’s 16 goals, and the man was once working at a factory to get by would now be playing in the top league of English football. His first season saw him put on a spectacular performance in Leicester’s win over Manchester United as Leicester managed to retain their spot in the Premier League. Vardy started the season in fantastic form. On August 29, Jamie scored a late penalty against Bournemouth to tie up the final score. In his next match, he scored against Aston Villa. And then against Stoke. Then against Arsenal. And again against Norwich. On November 21, he scored just before halftime against Newcastle. But this goal was special. It meant that Vardy had scored in 10 consecutive Premier League matches, tying the record set by Manchester United’s Ruud van Nistelrooy. But could possibly Vardy beat the record? Perhaps there was no better opponent to stop him than Manchester United themselves. But they couldn’t, and after receiving a wonderful through ball behind United’s defence, Vardy claimed his place in the record books. The season far from over, but Vardy and Leicester City have already staged one of the greatest stories in football history. It’s a wonderful tale of hard work, perseverance, and pure talent, and it’s hard not to hope that it ends in a title for Vardy and the foxes. Source – Soccer politics
Football whilst in lockdown
By Michael Kachitsa Reflecting on the research, Marco Paans, CEO of 90/24 Media, said: ‘In these insecure times we are all trying to find means of communications. With our friends, family’s and colleagues but also with our customers. It’s good to see how football players and fans are connecting and engaging in these times. We are humble and proud that we are allowed to play a key role in this.’ Calum Hopkins, commercial partnerships, adds: ‘It’s very hard for brands to keep the continuity up in a sport that isn’t being played right now and deliver strong content that is sensitive to this difficult time we are all in. Football will return though, so how will your brand stay relevant? This will be defined by what your brand does now. At 9024 we are thankful that we are having a part to play in keeping our players connected with their fans on a daily basis by providing engaging content. Fans still need to feel connected with their heroes even though there isn’t any football being played and a brand can be part of this message by collaborating with these heroes to tell authentic stories.