How Has Soccer Changed

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Soccer, also known as futbol, has been around for hundreds of years, and billions come together every season to cheer their favorite teams. Where did the modern and loved around the world sport come from? Well, that is precisely the debate. There are many possibilities as to where soccer originated. Examining where soccer came from is interesting because you can compare and contrast modern soccer against soccer from the past, and from this, you can see all of the many ways in which this game has changed and developed. In order to fully understand the sport and the development of the soccer game we must understand what soccer is, where it came from, and how the rules of the game have changed throughout the years. Soccer (also known as futbol)…show more content…
The first sport that soccer originated from is called Tsu’Chu. This sport originated in ancient china in 2500 BC. The word Tsu’Chu literally means “kick a stuffed ball made of leather”. Tsu means kick and Chu means a ball made of leather, the ball was made of leather and it was stuffed with feathers and hair. The objective of Tsu’Chu was similar to that of soccer. The goal of the sport was to kick a ball through an opening about one foot in diameter that was nine meters above the ground. Because the goal was so difficult to achieve, many assume that the sport was one that required a very high level of ball handling skill and athletic talent. Records within the Ts’in dynasty show that Tsu’Chu was traditionally played as a celebration of the emperor’s birthday. The same records show that the sport was used as training for soldiers, because it required so much coordination in order to win the game. The second sport that soccer originated from is called episkyros. This form of soccer rose from Greece, the word episkyros means “common ball”. This was a game that incorporated two teams of 12 players and one ball. The teams would try to throw the ball over the heads of the opposing team. There would be lines behind each respective team and the objective was to push the opposing team behind their line. This game was very violent because the teams would use force in order to push each team behind their line. There is a depiction on an attic lekythos in the Acropolis Museum in Athens that shows a Greek athlete balancing the ball on his thigh. The FIFA association recognized that this was one of the starting points of soccer, and knowing that, the association put the depiction on the European Cup soccer

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