The whole essence of football lies in its simplest element: the ball. Must have the ability to fly in the air in a certain direction directed by the player with his feet and, most importantly, have a predictable rebound. The first versions of a soccer ball were made with the bladder or the stomach of an animal (pig, ox) but they broke easily when they were kicked with force. But as time passed the ball was refined to make way for the modern soccer balls we know today.

With these rudimentary balls different peoples and civilizations began to develop games that bear a certain resemblance to modern football and it is in the Far East where we find the most antiquated reference.

It is known that 3000 years ago in ancient China an animal fur ball full of fur or feathers was used which had to pass through an arch or goal located on the top of poles up to 5 meters high and it is presumed which developed as a military training. The game was called "Zhu Chu" and according to ancient records they associated passing the round ball in frame with the harmony symbol Yin and Yang.

Chinese illustration showing the game of Zhu Chu and goalpost raised on poles

The Greeks and Romans were famous for their arenas and stadiums where they organized all kinds of fun games, among these was a kind of football called "episkyros" by the Greeks and "harpastum" by the Romans. The objective of both was the domain of the ball. "Harpastum" comes from the Greek word "Harpazein", which means "to catch". The used ball was small (the size of a grapefruit) and rigid because it was full of sand.

Fragment of an ancient Roman mural illustrating the harpastum games.

The game was carried out in a delimited field and where each player occupied a position in the field as it is today and probably the teams consisted of 12 players. The game itself was closer to rugby or handball because the ball was passed with hands and not with feet, and demanded considerable agility. The rules resemble something like football but in reverse, that is, the goal was to keep the ball in its own half of the field and not allow the opponent to take it and take it to their field. A point was scored when the "stolen" ball was taken to its half and touched the ground.

On the other hand, the Viking warriors had games, somewhat grotesque, where they kicked the heads of their decapitated enemies.

Viking warriors used to play kicking the heads of their decapitated enemies.

It is also known that more civilized societies, such as Japanese, Persians, Egyptians, Syrians and Indians, also carried out different types of ball games.

It is also known that more civilized societies, such as Japanese, Persians, Egyptians, Syrians and Indians, also carried out different types of ball games.

One of the most studied is that of the Aztecs in Mexico who created their own soccer game with a stone ball covered with a thick layer of rubber. The game, known as "tlatchi", was played between two teams of 7 people and was a very important event, both of a playful and ceremonial nature, to the point that they built special stadiums to play it.

Tlatchi game practiced by the Aztecs

As you may have realized, modern football is nothing more than the result of amalgamating and debugging different games previously invented by different civilizations, but there is no doubt that running and dominating a ball was, is and will continue to be a game extremely entertaining