The Invisible Force Running Football
A story of how football originated in Industrial-era England and what forces were at play to bring football to the land of steam engines.
Hey there! Shounak here 👋
Welcome to Issue #13 of Your Weekend Beer - a weekend newsletter that hits your inbox every Sunday. We are a 100+ member community that helps you make sense of the business world of football - with a pint of Beer.
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Last week, I wasn’t able to ship out an issue. Had some personal affairs to tend to.
This week, we’ll be learning about the origins of football in England.
I am also trying out something else starting this week. Over the last few weeks, lots of readers have reached to me saying they wanted to help me out with small individual contributions - so that I can continue running Weekend Beer.
Therefore, here’s a new model:
You can support Weekend Beer by buying me a Weekend Beer here:
Friends,
In 1778, Adam Smith in his classical book “The Wealth of Nations” coined the term “The Invisible Hand”. This invisible hand drove individuals, nations, and industries towards prosperity, while at the same time, uplifting the poor and the downtrodden. This balance within the economy was maintained, argued Smith, by a certain invisible hand, deeply ingrained in human psychology.
The concept of the Invisible hand is actually derived from that of sociology, as the economy can only operate within a society. This invisible hand also operates within the realm of Evolutionary Biology. In the field of Evolution, the invisible hand, said Darwin, was natural selection, operating on genes over billions of years.
The invisible hand explains why our hunter-gatherer ancestors came to form tribes and families, eventually giving rise to societies. Humans came together because of their vivid powers of imagination and communication.
Ideas began to unite them. These ideas depicted theories often governed by a set of rules. Religion, law, and order were all such ideas bringing people together across varied tribes, who, then went on to form a culture and society of their own.
Sport is also a glaring example of the powers of the human imagination. Our foraging forefathers came together and set up rules as to how or when a particular game was to be played. Rules were also laid down as to who could participate in such sports. Soon local families began to play, and they slowly evolved to become a tightly knit community.
The prevailing rules were solidified, torn down, and evolved to give rise to new rules, according to the needs of the changing society. As societies developed and evolved, so did the rules.
For instance, the Roman rulers played their own version of football. It was played in a court called Sphaerista for Expulsum Ludere. This game was characterized by throwing, kicking, and dodging the ball. Over time, these rules changed to give rise to a style more akin to that of football in Florence which we are familiar with today- the Calcio, a name still associated with Italian Football.
The Calcio was not only popular among the ordinary people, but also among the elite Roman Catholic Popes. Popes Clement VII, Leo IX, and Urban VIII played a little Calcio themselves, in their own backyard- The Holy Vatican Gardens.
The rules of football or the origins of football, so to speak, gained their initial thrust in England back in the 18th Century. This was pretty unexpected as England witnessed the birth of football relatively early.
Football first came to the shores of the British Isles about a few thousand years ago. At that time, football was fiercely dominated by the Celtic tribes of Ireland. Across the English Channel, the French in Brittany and Normandy played their own version of Football- the Soule, since medieval times.
The practice of football, though widely popular in its initial days, faced much resistance, mostly due to the violent manner in which the games were played. Owing to the lack of a fixed set of rules, games often resulted in animosity and hostility among players, spectators, and authorities alike.
In 1314, King Edward condemned the game as unruly and declared it as “evil”.
“For as much there is as great noise in the city, caused by hustling over large balls, from which many evils may arise which Gods forbid”.
Between 1330 and 1660, over 30 orders were passed by the British authorities prohibiting football. The game was viewed as a catalyst for the disruption of public order and argued that the game was causing undesirable effects on military preparedness.
By the eighteenth century, Football was wiped out from the urban social strata, and replaced by tennis and cricket. Football although was continued to be played by a small minority faction of the lower working-class people.
This class separation, which started in England, slowly began to permeate through to other nations as well, most notably in the colonies that the European countries held at that time.
The European powers, at that time, considered themselves to be at the forefront of the global civilization, while other countries held the Western model to be the norm of the day. Gradually, there became an insurmountable gap between the civilized people and the working class “barbarians”.
In this light, football became a sport for the barbarians and the football pitch was seen by the civilized people as a battlefield. Gradually, the game became more condemned and less practiced. However, this was all to change, as it was in England where the modern game, which we know of today, would be born.
The transition from the revolutionary, violent sport of the barbarians to the sport which was considered greater than life and death itself began in the 19th century. However, the seeds of the rebirth of football were planted long before, towards the end of the 18th century, courtesy of a movement, which would change the course of mankind forever- The Industrial Revolution.
The Industrial Revolution was unlike anything that mankind had ever witnessed before. It brought about an immense social, political, cultural, and economic upheaval in all of Europe. England being the birthplace of the Revolution was at the very core of all these changes. Adam Smith’s invisible hand was at work.
The mass urbanization which ensued during the Industrial Revolution was gruesome for many of the workers. Most workers were paid low wages and were forced to work long, tiring hours.
Working people were discouraged from getting together, and organizing in groups as the authorities saw in it a chance for revolt against the power of the factory owners.
During the middle of the 18th century, the legislators in England came to realize that weak and sickly workers would not be productive. There was a growing need for the establishment of new open spaces for the workers and the funding of healthy leisure pursuits.
In 1850, the British Parliament passed the Factory Act. Workers now could not be made to work before 6 in the morning and after 6 in the evening. On Saturdays, the workers could not be made to work post 2 pm.
Four years after the passing of the Factory Act, the first Football club, Sheffield United FC was formed. It was a club formed by students as well as by the emerging industrial and merchant class.
Sport participation was promoted to ensure that workers were in a healthy physical condition to contribute to the factories. Now up until the Industrial Revolution, Football and Rugby were indistinguishable from one another. The rules of play varied according to where the game was being played.
This changed in November of 1863 with the creation of the Football Association (FA).
The FA was formed in a meeting held at the Freemason’s Tavern in Central London. Representatives from eleven teams, among which were Kennington School and Crystal Palace, intended to establish a set of definitive rules for the governance and development of the game.
The FA had two new rules- the use of hands and tripping players was prohibited. It was also here in the FA Rules that the offside rule was first incorporated.
In 1871, many clubs left the FA due to these new rules. These clubs, in turn went on to form the Rugby Football Union, formally severing the ties between rugby and football.
By 1881, the third official, previously relegated to merely assisting the two umpires on the field, now became a referee. This referee was given full control of the game, and how it was to be played. By 1887, the penalty kick was introduced for fouls committed within the 18-yard box. 1912, the goalkeeper was allowed to handle the ball in his own area.
In 1867, the FA had only ten-member teams. By 1871, the number had risen to 50. By 1888, the FA had 1000 members. By 1905, the FA had a record-breaking 10,000 clubs as members. The FA had become the spectacle of the masses.
Football thrived in towns that were heavily industrialized. Towns such as Liverpool and Manchester became the hotbed of football. Migrant workers coming from different parts of Europe began to share a mutual interest with the Englishmen. Football was the answer.
Football unified workers across nations, religions, and cultures. It had now, well and truly become a sport of the masses. The invisible hand of sport which had united our foraging ancestors would now unite the world in its grasp.
For Your Eyes Only…
Spain Dictator General Franco hands over the European Cup to Real Madrid Captain Miguel Munoz in 1957.
Bob Paisley of Liverpool shows off his trophy haul for the year: The 1977 League and European Cup.
82,905 fans for Chelsea v Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in 1935.
What Else Are We Reading…
- LaLiga becomes the first major European sports competition to join Twitch, expanding its digital offering in the process.
- A wonderful breakdown of Manchester United’s financial statements released earlier this month.
- This Soccerex playlist of videos on the business of football.
- Gary Neville, Olympian Denise Lewis, and ex-Football Association chairman David Bernstein have combined to call for independent regulation of English football to solve its "crisis".
Strike Of The Day…
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Until next Weekend…