Village Football
After 1200 football matches
played all over Britain. In London young men played
near where the Tottenham ground is today.
Welsh villages played
against each other in the early 1800s - and the
games usually ended in fights. In the village of
Scone in Scotland the married men played against
the unmarried men.
A Different Game
Village football was very
different to today's game. It was played by men and
women on public holidays when people did not have to
work.
The aim was to get the ball back to your village – to
score an ‘own goal’.
Early rules
The ball was carried more
than it was kicked. There was very little passing. Each
player ran with the ball until someone stopped him.
There was no time limit. Matches usually lasted from
early in the morning until late at night.
Violent Game
Games were very
violent because there were no rules. Many players
broke arms and legs. Some were even killed.
There were also complaints about footballers ‘breaking
many windows’.
First Bans
Many towns and villages
they to ban the game: In Chester the annual football
match was replaced with horse races in 1539. In London
successive kings tried to ban the game in 1314, 1349,
1388 and 1410.
Street football was banned in Manchester in
1610.