Soccer cannot be traced back to the very first people to play it. The Romans, Chinese, and Japanese have all played their own slightly different forms of soccer. Soccer we know today began in England. In the early 1800's, soccer was a school boy's game. School administers saw soccer being played and liked that it promoted physical strength and health. The game spread and then schools began making their own fields, teams, and rules. In 1862, members of soccer clubs around England met at a tavern and wanted to create universal rules for the game. They came up with 14 rules that made soccer a more civilized game. Today there are 17 rules for the game of soccer.
The first professional soccer league was the English Football League. The 12 founding teams were:
Accrington
Aston Villa
Blackburn Rovers
Bolton Wanderers
Burnley
Derby County
Everton
Notts County
Preston North End
Stoke City
West Bromwich Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Professional soccer was legalized in 1885. The oldest soccer tournament is the FA Cup. English teams participate in the FA Cup every year since 1872. The first international soccer competition was between England and Scotland in 1872.
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. It has more viewers than baseball, football, and basketball combined. It's requirement of minimal equipment makes it the most played sport in the world.
In the early days of soccer, it was a very brutal game. Picking the ball up, kicking shins, and punching were allowed. It was so brutal in fact that it was out lawed by several Kings and Queens. King Edward III passed a law to ban soccer in 1331. King James I of Scotland banned soccer in 1424. Queen Elizabeth I made it so soccer players would be jailed for a week and have to attend church.
Some wonder where the name soccer came from. It was Charles Wreford Brown to first call the game soccer instead of football. He came up with the name by shortening the title AsSOCiation Football.