The game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju, literally “kick ball”) is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence.

The goalkeepers are the only players allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play and only in their penalty area. Cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to modern football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty (206 BC — 220 AD), cuju games were standardised and rules were established.

Timeline

2002 — 2005

Canada participates in the First Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba

The name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The first written “reference to the inflated ball used in the game” was in the mid-14th century: “heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe”. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word “soccer” was “split off in 1863”. According to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford “-er” abbreviation of the word “association”.

2005 — 2008

Canada participates in the First Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba

The name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The first written “reference to the inflated ball used in the game” was in the mid-14th century: “heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe”. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word “soccer” was “split off in 1863”. According to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford “-er” abbreviation of the word “association”.

2008 — 2011

Canada participates in the First Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba

The name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The first written “reference to the inflated ball used in the game” was in the mid-14th century: “heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe”. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word “soccer” was “split off in 1863”. According to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford “-er” abbreviation of the word “association”.

2011 — 2014

Canada participates in the First Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba

The name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The first written “reference to the inflated ball used in the game” was in the mid-14th century: “heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe”. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word “soccer” was “split off in 1863”. According to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford “-er” abbreviation of the word “association”.

2014 — 2016

Canada participates in the First Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba

The name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The first written “reference to the inflated ball used in the game” was in the mid-14th century: “heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe”. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word “soccer” was “split off in 1863”. According to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford “-er” abbreviation of the word “association”.

2016 — 2018

Canada participates in the First Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba

The name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The first written “reference to the inflated ball used in the game” was in the mid-14th century: “heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe”. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word “soccer” was “split off in 1863”. According to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford “-er” abbreviation of the word “association”.

Honours

2012 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
2016 MLS LEAGUE CUP
2016 BUNDESLIGA CHAMPION CUP
2016 WORLD CUP CHAMPION
2016 PREMIER LEAGUE CUP

Social Media

League Table