December 19th, 1863 Association football and rugby football were officially divided on December 8, 1863. Later that year, on December 19th, 1863, the first soccer match was played on Barnes Common in Mortlake, London, between Barnes Football Club and Richmond Football Club. The game finished in a stalemate. It is not known who scored any of the goals because no scores were kept at the time.
The earliest evidence of soccer clubs in Europe can be traced back to the early 1830s when gentlemen's clubs such as the Wanderers (London) and Royal Engineers (Liverpool) began playing what we know today as proper soccer matches. These were simple affairs where each team had a ball and whoever got it into their opponent's end won. There were no rules except that you could not use your hands or feet while fighting over the ball; if you did, you were out for the day. This rule seems quite logical since people were using their heads and fists rather than balls nowadays for fighting purposes anyway. A formal association game with a ball came much later, in England, in 1863.
This is certainly a controversial topic but if we look at achievements throughout sports history, there are several players who stand out as being both excellent on-field leaders and winners.
Salvadoran football began in the city of Santa Ana, on a field known as "Campo Marte." This was the first time El Salvador hosted a football game. On July 26, 1899, players from Santa Ana and San Salvador competed in the inaugural game. The visitors won 1-0.
Two years later, in 1900, the national federation was founded with representatives from all over El Salvador. They held their first official tournament that same year. Santa Ana's team was named "Rojos" or "Red Rovers" after its color. They defeated Alba 4-1 in the final.
Football became popular throughout El Salvador. There were many clubs who played against each other for prestige and money. The most famous match was probably the final of the first national championship which took place in Santa Ana on November 12, 1901. Racing Club beat Alba 5-4 in front of 10,000 people. This is when they invented the "clásico" or classic between two teams from San Salvador: Olimpia and Vista Alegre. These games were very important at the time because the winners would play in the final match of the season against another club from San Salvador for the title.
The number of spectators at football matches increased every year. This made it difficult for fans to get in so police started allowing groups of ten people into the stadium.
Scotland and England played each other in the inaugural international soccer competition in 1872. In 1886, the International Football Association Board was established, and in 1888, the world's first professional soccer league was established. Scotland has been more successful than England at this time, having won four out of five matches between the two countries.
England's first win came when World Cup winner Fred Archer scored one goal and assisted on another as they defeated Scotland 2-1 at Edinburgh Cricket Ground. Two years later in 1890, again in Edinburgh, England won their second match 3-0 against a weak Scottish side. In 1894, with both countries now members of the association board, they met for the final time at Hamilton Crescent in Glasgow. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, but England won the right to host the next tournament by virtue of being top nation on the board.
England had success early on in World Cups, winning three out of four games they played in the first edition in 1930. But they were beaten by Uruguay in the quarterfinals, who went on to win the cup. It was also over 30 years before England would win another match, when they beat Northern Ireland 4-2 at Windsor Park in Belfast in 1966.
However, it was not until after the creation of the European Championship that England started to compete regularly at global tournaments.
Copyright © 2020 - 2023 Sportsmanist Inc.
