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.