I had no idea.
I don’t think I’ve ever posted on sports before, so this’ll be a first. A Brit is mad as hell that the head of the Federation Internationale de Football Associatio, Sepp Blatter (what a name) is trying to suck up to the Chinese by telling them they sorta kinda invented soccer. Apparently to an Englishman that’s the equivalent of high treason.
I nearly choked on my chicken chow mein. The news was devastating. Alright, I know the sun has clearly set on the British Empire — all but for the Rock of Gibraltar, that is — but now Sepp Blatter is trying to take away our last vestige of dignity.
The all-powerful president of world governing body FIFA had the nerve to say recently that the Chinese — not the English — invented soccer. The most powerful man in football, who once suggested female soccer players should wear skimpy outfits, is now pandering to the Chinese. He’s even offering so-called evidence that soccer began in the Orient and not on the lush playing fields of Merry Olde England.
Where’s Sir Alex Ferguson when you need someone to kick a soccer boot at someone?
I’m devastated. My forefathers, who once chased a pig’s inflated bladder through muddy fields from one English shire to the next, are turning over in their damp graves. “But you cannot deny the history that in China there is a recollection and evidence that they played the game a thousand years ago,” Blatter told Sky Sports this week.
“When in China, tell the Chinese they invented everything,” seems to be Blatter’s motto. After all, think of all those soccer shirts you can sell to a nation of 1.3 billion people that love David Beckham. We all know the Chinese invented gun powder, printing and fortune cookies, but nowhere in Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book did it mention anything about soccer. Come on Sepp! Are they padding your expense account in that so-called land of great Socialist equality?
I didn’t know articles on sports could be so well written. Maybe I should stop automatically tossing the sports section in the trash.
1
By imron
Yep, I used to hear this all the time when I was in China (especially when the world cup was in progress).
There are a couple of other seemingly common held beliefs too..
For example, you might be interested in learning that apparently the Olympic rings are based on Chinese knot-tying…
haha yeah right!
The other ones slip my mind at the moment, but they were equally ludicrous, had little basis in reality, and seemed to be designed for no other reason than to boost national pride.
July 23, 2004 @ 6:08 pm | Comment
2
By richard
But the guy making the claim this time apparently isn’t Chinese — Sepp Blatter doesn’t sound like a Chinese name, at least not to me. 🙂
July 23, 2004 @ 6:25 pm | Comment
3
By Philippe Roy
Ahhh… truly truly everyone is tending the branch to the Chinese. In the names of what? It smells like money to me, saddly enough…
When I was there last May, Lula (the Brazilian President) was going around with a famous Brazilian movie star signing footballs for business men in really really sexy wear.
It looks like everyone is trying to lick their… errr… wallets!!!
Even the americans are dancing the tango by backing off from Taiwan and leaning towards Beijing (in the latest report about the Taiwan situation).
July 23, 2004 @ 6:41 pm | Comment
4
By eswn
Actually, there are various ancient histories of football (as in playing a ball with the feet).
In Chinese history, the decline of the Song dynasty was due in no small part to a particular Emperor who loved ‘football’. And he trusted the governance of the country to … who else? … a good football player! If the man can organize a good game for the Emperor, he must be able to run the country too, right? Yes, but the man was also very corrupt. This was the background behind The Water Margin.
But elsewhere in the world, the Mayans played football too, as many Mayan palaces have large ‘football’ fields. The big difference in the rules is that the loser gets his head chopped off. The players are ‘recruited’ as ‘prisoners of war’ captured during imperial conquests.
How about that for perfectly useless informatino?
July 23, 2004 @ 7:24 pm | Comment
5
By jacky
Another trivia to eswn’s Mayan soccer – I had thought that the Mayans played a form of basketball, where the ball had to be passed/shot through a vertical hoop, located on side of arena – or were they required to kick it?
I like the idea of losers being executed – I might suggest this to the governing board of that silly game called cricket.
July 23, 2004 @ 7:45 pm | Comment
6
By imron
eswn> Yes it’s true that the Chinese played a game that required use of a ball and the feet, but it’s a bit of a far stretch to call that football – at least with regards to how the game is played today (actually the game was called cu ju, or tsu chu, depending on which spelling you prefer. For those interested this roughly translates to kickball).
The wikipedia has an excellent entry detailing the origins of football, and the various different football codes played in the world today:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football
as well as an excellent entry solely regarding the form of football otherwise known as soccer:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_(soccer)
I think it’s fair to say that football (of the soccer variety) as it’s played today was developed and formulated in Britain sometime during the mid 19th century, and had nothing at all to do with game the Chinese played.
Anyway, I’m sorry for going on, and I realise you were just listing some interesting trivia, but it’s inaccurate at best to say that the Chinese invented football (i.e. soccer), and it’s even worse when people say it solely to help inflate the Chinese ego – which this Sepp Blatter seemed to be doing.
July 24, 2004 @ 1:18 am | Comment
7
By Phil
Tsu Chu arguably has more to do with rugby than soccer football.
The theory is that the Romans took a version back to Italy, and a version of this took root in Ireland where it became Gaelic football. The inventor of rugby, William Webb Ellis is though to have been familiar with the Irish game when he famously rebelled against the rules of foorball and launched a new code back in the 1800s.
But all of these are games that developed in their own nations – to suggest that the Chinese invented soccer is the same as suggesting they invented aeroplanes just because you see Boeings in China these days. They may have invented rockets, yep, but they weren’t the first nation to put a man in space either…
July 24, 2004 @ 3:42 am | Comment
8
By chriswaugh_bj
And in a completely different tone: Richard, I don’t know about America, but in New Zealand at least sports writing, and rugby writing in particular, is the closest thing to poetry you’ll find in a newspaper. You should definitely check it out, the best of it does come close to true art.
July 24, 2004 @ 6:55 am | Comment
9
By Sam_S
Sports includes a lot of valuable political and strategic lessons, too. Not to pimp too heavily for my little blog, but I just wrote a bit on politics and power at the Tour de France (yes, I’m a fan, and a bit obsessed til Monday). That story here
Sam
July 24, 2004 @ 10:56 am | Comment
10
By Sam_S
Sorry, almost wandered OT, but the Chinese invented bicycles, too, didn’t they?
July 24, 2004 @ 10:57 am | Comment
11
By Simon World
Asia by Blog
Let’s plunge straight into today’s Asia linkfest: Hong Kong, Taiwan and China More on the Taiwan-China potential for conflict. Firstly Richard points to a story of some Taiwanese people perpetually in the wrong place at the wrong time. Joseph Bosco fol…
July 26, 2004 @ 12:45 am | Comment
12
By Jim
And here I always thought it was the (former) Soviets who invented everything. Could this be the reason behind the traditional ill feelings between China and Russia?
I believe the game Jacky is referring to was actually played by the Aztecs and evolved into jai alai.
Seems to me I saw somewhere that fortune cookies first appeared in New York as a marketing gimmick for competeing restaurants. May or may not be true.
July 26, 2004 @ 9:32 am | Comment
13
By GAY BOY
Just cos the chinese may have played with a ball 2000 years ago doesnt mean they invented it, that sepp blatter guy is obviously an english hater and just wants 2 ruin british pride!!!
August 14, 2004 @ 1:33 pm | Comment
14
By jezza
no dickhead when was it invented.Like 1576 or somefin bitch
September 6, 2004 @ 5:32 am | Comment
15
By alysha
i just love soccer. if you guys have never invented it i would not be interested in any other sport i play soccer durring witer summer spring and fall and it is sooooo awsome but if you guys have anything you would like to share with me can you please e-mail be back at deviledlittlediva549_549@hotmial.com
September 29, 2004 @ 12:36 pm | Comment
16
By Ava Brueggeman
Hello,
my name is ava as you know.I’m doing my homework on who invented sports & stuff so I poped over here.I’m in soccer & from china. I was adopted so now I live in the U.S.
I have lots of things from china so I think
this is real neat.
October 4, 2004 @ 7:53 pm | Comment
17
By Gianluca
you guys are stupid no chinese ppl invented soccer cuz they cant see the ball lol jks.. i think it was europeans that invented soccer because we are truly the gods of soccer
October 7, 2004 @ 7:37 pm | Comment
18
By lacy
love your site .
November 17, 2004 @ 4:54 pm | Comment
19
By lacy
p.s. its me lacy again i love chinese food you made me hungry.i love soccer to
November 17, 2004 @ 5:11 pm | Comment
20
By anonymous
i thought soccer originated in Germany
November 21, 2004 @ 6:46 pm | Comment
21
By alex
I luv socer
January 4, 2005 @ 5:56 pm | Comment
22
By Mary
Who cares who invented the sport????!!!!! Whoever did “congrats”! BUT REALLY COME ON… I don’t care who invented it (it’s an interesting fact to know of course) just as long as it was invented. It probably developed from several different places each making their own change till it became the soccer we all know and love today. SOCCER ROXX!!!!!
Midfield Player: Mary
February 24, 2005 @ 6:38 am | Comment
23
By Jackal
Gianluca, is that’s your main point on who invented soccer, well i guess brazilians invented soccer? they r so good at it man.. 5 titles?? and if u have watched copa america, wow, the teams played beautiful football, superb skills, beautiful goals.
March 29, 2005 @ 8:20 pm | Comment
24
By jessie
i didn’t kno that it was invented by them thats really weird… i like egg rolls hahahaha
March 31, 2005 @ 11:14 am | Comment
25
By corina
no i did not know that they did .
April 7, 2005 @ 11:32 am | Comment
26
By Emily H.
hey waz up i did not know that but its pretty cool……..
Not
April 7, 2005 @ 11:34 am | Comment
27
By Bobby Oxenfrie
Duck tastes like chicken!
April 15, 2005 @ 5:54 am | Comment
28
By Boby OXenferie
Soccer rules…its the best! I didnt kno that it came from China though. Thats pretty kool cause u play a sport that peopl were playing hundreds of years ago!…i still think duck tastes like chicken….im only here for a school project….(thanx GOOGLE!)
April 15, 2005 @ 5:58 am | Comment
29
By jakey boi
wht the hell china invented soccer?
April 19, 2005 @ 3:50 pm | Comment
30
By jakey boi
k_den guys and girls live in hawaii see you lata!!!!!!!!!!!
April 19, 2005 @ 3:53 pm | Comment
31
By Caila
i really needed this cuz i broke ma wriste i cant do p.e. and i had to do a reachrche on soccer and i needed to knoe who invented soccer
May 9, 2005 @ 2:50 pm | Comment
32
By None Of Your Bussneiss
DID YOU INVENT SOCCER
May 20, 2005 @ 7:54 am | Comment
33
By Quak Quak Boy
Hello I Soccer And I Like duck !
May 20, 2005 @ 7:57 am | Comment
34
By richard
Yes, I invented soccer.
May 20, 2005 @ 8:14 am | Comment
35
By Hello
I Like Soccer
May 23, 2005 @ 7:20 am | Comment
36
By Jesus
Soccer was invented by martians fools!
May 30, 2005 @ 10:23 am | Comment
37
By Anonymous
no way
June 2, 2005 @ 6:44 pm | Comment
38
By Sad case don der work
I’m here 4 my assignment google does fail ya at times
June 8, 2005 @ 7:56 am | Comment
39
By Austin
China didn’t invent soccer.. England invented soccer.
You can’t have a sport without rules and England invented the rules for it.
June 9, 2005 @ 10:57 am | Comment
40
By Anonymous
haha same here bad information…soccer is fun tho
June 10, 2005 @ 12:41 pm | Comment
41
By defender
bastards… how could it be u all know the english invented it!
July 18, 2005 @ 9:10 pm | Comment
42
By Scott
Actually it was the Scottish who invented soccer, in the 1600s. Get your facts straight!
The love of your life has a past you don’t know about.
The English myth
In 1863 the London Football Association was founded with their London rules and were ignored by everyone else. Sheffield had the oldest two clubs in the world and their Sheffield rules. Most other English cities had their own rules too.
The English game was odd. Dribbling was important, passing was not. You got the ball and ran for your opponents’ goal.
Things were a little different in Scotland. Since the sixteenth century at least, passing and running had been the proper form of football for Scots.
Scotland founds modern world football
In 1872 Queen’s Park FC hosted the world’s first international against England. It was played at the West of Scotland Cricket Ground in Partick, Glasgow.
I would have loved to seen the English players coming to tackle the Scots. They must have been amazed and confused when the Scots simply passed their way around the England players.
The ‘Scotch Professors’
The English clubs started importing players to teach English players the passing and running game. They called them ‘Scotch Professors’. When England was still divided over which set of rules to use, Scotland had the Scottish Football Association (SFA), one set of rules for Cup-ties and one style. The SFA was the world’s first true national association.
The English FA fought to stop the Scottish game taking over. They lost. It’s funny then how you will read how the ‘combination game’ of passing and running was perfected by Preston North End in England, they had eight Scots in their team! You will read that the Brazilians learnt football from the English (no they didn’t: Archie McLean was from Paisley near Glasgow) or that England invented football. Why spoil a good story with the truth?
Thank you Scotland
Scotland was in the right place at the right time and was the right size to perfect the modern world game and export it to all corners of the globe.
All hail to World Football: the Scottish Game
September 23, 2005 @ 9:55 am | Comment
43
By kelvin d.
all i know is i love soccer and as far as i know it was invented in europe but allcountry had/have some version of it and can all logically be called football
October 5, 2005 @ 7:47 pm | Comment
44
By what person invented soccer
what person invented soccer
October 10, 2005 @ 6:58 am | Comment
45
By richard
Joe W. Soccer
October 10, 2005 @ 8:17 am | Comment
46
By Sahra
hey, chinese dude!! wats up!! well i just wanted to say FUCK YOU ALL!!! my last name is fortin….. i live in scarborough!!
October 14, 2005 @ 5:34 pm | Comment
47
By Brittany
hey!!! love chiness!! my last name is
mc donlad!!woowoowowow!!!
October 14, 2005 @ 5:39 pm | Comment
48
By KYLE
I dont give a crap who invented it but im glad they did soccer is the most beast sport out there.So for all you jackasses that play something other then soccer go to hell. SOCER RULES
October 20, 2005 @ 4:17 pm | Comment
49
By Layne
Soccor sucks
December 8, 2005 @ 9:08 am | Comment
50
By liony
wow
December 12, 2005 @ 5:30 pm | Comment
51
By candelaria Bedolla-Olvera
i did NOT got the information that i was looking for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 19, 2005 @ 11:41 am | Comment
52
By Rochelle Gillilan
i love soccer. i’ve played soccer ever since i was little. this web site has taught me so much more than i have ever thought about knowing. soccer is the sport to play!
January 12, 2006 @ 11:17 am | Comment
53
By Trick
Can everyone please stop accociating food with Chinese culture? Just becasue we make crappy food for you westerners it doesn;t mean it represents our culture, we have many other traditions and things that are worth mentioning….
, the ****ing foutune cookies jokes are wearing thin now so change the subject.
February 12, 2006 @ 11:54 pm | Comment
54
By michael
go fu*k ur self, chinese can see the ball, and u dear dis it im gona give u a FU*KING HIDING
May 23, 2006 @ 3:10 am | Comment
55
By jason
some people posts stuff merely from a very personal experience, so let me post something more neutral and more accurate.
Chinese written history recorded this game called cuju, which the soldiers were trained agility, fexlibility by kicking the ball to a wooden goal.
However the recorde game between chinese and japanese were more soccer than just a military excersice called cuju.
The players kick the feather ball to the opponent’s goal.
Ofcourse modern soccer rules were not invented by chinese.
The greeks get credits by making the ball with pig and buffalo skins not hair or feather.
In roman time they recorded the similar cuju game in the west.
I would say i give the credit to england for its development on the game rules.
German get credits for making the ball with 6 sided partern on the ball.
The americans get credit for making the ball two layers and putting a valve on it.
Ofcourse we can’t say chinese invented soccer as it is now. Its the continuous development from the accent game of kicking feather ball to modern games credited by all those folks above.
I would not say only the english knew soccer and the invented the whole thing.
Many things in ancient cultures are developed and refined by latter advanced societies. That would include soccer.
I dont think people say chinese invented soccer just because you are in china or its 1.3 billion market. Its studip to say that. Whats true is written and recorded.
May 27, 2006 @ 3:23 am | Comment
56
By bob
chck chong chick chong hong gong thong
June 2, 2006 @ 7:24 am | Comment
57
By Geoff
It seems many ancient society’s had games that involved kicking objects around.
But let’s not kid ourselves, The Football (soccer) that we play today was developed in 19th century England and was exported to the rest of the world. Please learn to deal with it, and stop being so jealous and petty.
You may not like the fact, you may all have your various reasons to hate the English, but the truth is that we wouldn’t all be playing it now if the English hadn’t formulated the modern game in their public schools back then.
June 10, 2006 @ 3:36 am | Comment
58
By David Beckham
We must have invented the game cos we’re so crap at it – isn’t that right Vic?
July 3, 2006 @ 3:45 am | Comment