Soccer the Sport of Kicking

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Assignment #1 –
Expository Writing Piece

Joshua
8/10/13
ENG 1D
Mr. Rostek
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Soccer the Sport of Kicking
Soccer is the world’s most popular sport, played by 250 million players in over 200 countries. The game is played on a rectangular grass field with a goal net at each end and has a simple objective of putting the spherical ball know as the soccer ball in the opposing net with any part of the body besides the hands and the arms.
Soccer is a great sport but how did it become the most popular sport on earth?
Soccer dates back all the way to the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. Early evidence of soccer being played as a sport finds occurrence in China during the Han Dynasty that people dribbled leather balls by kicking it into a small net. Recorded facts also support the fact that Romans and Greeks used to play ball for fun.
It is said that the early growth of the modern soccer started in England in the medieval time, the old form of soccer used to allow punching, kicking and biting. The main aim was to carry the ball to the target spot. People grew so fond of the sport they would throng the field all day long. It is also said that soldiers admired the game so much that they missed archery practice to watch it.
The true modern history of soccer was the 18th century onwards. In 1815, a major development took place that made soccer popular in universities, colleges and schools. The popular English school and Eton College came forth with a set of rules, known as the Cambridge rules. Football was segregated into two groups; some colleges and schools opted for rugby rules that allowed tripping, shin kicking and also carrying the ball. These rules were exclusively as per the Cambridge rules.
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The history of modern day soccer was established in 1863. In October 1863, eleven representatives from London clubs and schools met at the Freemason’s Tavern to set up common fundamental rules to control the matches amongst themselves. The outcome of this meeting was the information of the Football Association.
Soccer’s popularity spread rapidly during the 1800s as British sailors, traders and soldiers introduced the sport to different parts of the globe. Italians, Australians and Germans drew to Europe, while Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil adopted the sport in South America. By the early 1930s different leagues were operating from various countries. FIFA is credited with organizing the first world cup in Uruguay. The history of soccer is rich with events, development and it’s growing craze all over the world. You will find yourself amazed as you learn about different times of this wonderful sport that has held our awe and admiration for over 3000 years.
The name association football was coined to distinguish the game from other versions of football played at the time, such as rugby football in 1863. The word soccer is a colloquial abbreviation of association from (assoc.) and first appeared in the 1880s. An early usage can be found in an English 1892 periodical.
The word is sometimes credited to Charles Wreford Brown, an Oxford University student said to have been fond of shortened forms such as brekkers for breakfast or rugger for rugby football. It is said they took the third, fourth and fifth letters of Association and called it SOCcer. Soccer has 17 laws or “rules” by which the game is played. Most of these laws are easy to understand. The laws are designed to make soccer fun, safe and fair for all participants.
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The object of soccer is for a player to get the ball into the other team’s goal by using any part of the body except the player’s hand and arms. The goalie is the only player allowed to touch the ball with the hands and arms and only while he is located in his own penalty area.
A referee is in charge of the soccer game. A referee’s main objective should be the safety of the players. It is the referee’s responsibility to ensure that the game remains fun for everyone. This includes players, spectators and the officials.
Football was first played in the Olympics in Greece on the program at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, as international football was in its infancy at the time. Tournaments were played at the 1900 and 1904 games and the intercalated Games of 1906, but these were contested by various clubs and scratch teams. Although the IOC considers the 1900 and 1904 tournaments to be official Olympic events.
The world’s first international football match was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between scot land and England, which ended in a 0 – 0 draw. The first international tournament, the inaugural edition of the British home championship, took place in 1884. As football grew in popularity other parts of the world at the turn of the 20th century it was held as a demonstration sport with no medals awarded at the 1900 and 1904 summer Olympics and at the 1906 intercalated Games.
FIFA was founded in 1904 and 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympics tournaments as a “world football championship for amateurs, and took responsibility for managing the event. In 1924 was the start of the FIFA’s professional era.