Where Football Really Began: China, Not England

As the World Cup returns, English fans again sing “It’s coming home,” reflecting the common belief that football was born in England. The article says that is only partly true: England played a decisive role in shaping modern football, but FIFA recognizes ancient China as the game’s original source.

The earliest documented roots go back to the Han dynasty, in the third and second centuries BCE, in a game called Cuju, meaning “to kick a ball.” Cuju was not invented for entertainment, but as a military training exercise. Soldiers used a stuffed leather ball filled with feathers and hair to improve fitness, coordination, and teamwork. The rules were strict: the field was square, the goal was a net suspended on bamboo about 10 meters above the ground, and players could use their feet, chest, shoulders, and back, but not their hands.

Over time, Cuju moved from military bases to the imperial court and became a favorite aristocratic pastime. By the Song dynasty, in the 10th to 13th centuries CE, it had turned professional, with formal teams, paid players, and women also taking part in their own matches. The game became so popular that those who lacked kicking skills could struggle socially.

The article notes that many cultures developed their own ball games, including Kemari in ancient Japan, Harpastum in Greece and Rome, and Pitz among the Maya and Aztecs. England’s contribution was organization: before the mid-19th century, British “Mob Football” was chaotic, violent, and largely unregulated. In 1863, club and school representatives met in a London pub and founded the Football Association, wrote the first unified rules, set pitch size and team numbers, and permanently separated football from rugby. England did not invent kicking a ball, the article concludes, but it codified and exported the modern version of the sport.