The Rule Book of Association Football

“The game of football has, over the last century, totally changed the worlds of sport, the media and leisure. It was able to that solely because a book of laws - more commonly called rules - written by a group of former public school men in 1863 in London. Without that book, 'the beautiful game' as the great footballer Pelé, called it, would not have kicked off. Because of that book and the proselytising enthusiasm of British sailors and merchants and adventurers on their expeditions around the planet, it is now estimated that this year - 2006 - eight out of ten people in the world are expected to watch something of the World Cup being held in Germany.

Football is played worldwide by more than one and a half million teams and three hundred thousand clubs. This does not include the hundreds and thousands of schools and youth clubs. There are over 5 million officials involved in the game. More than 20 million women play the game and their numbers are growing.

It has become part of the national consciousness of almost every country in the world. It would be fair to say that it has become more than just a game: it attracts tribal followings, it produces icons, it provokes passions sometimes not too far removed from extreme politics and a devotion which has religious connotations. It is a colossal money-spinner and money-eater on an ever increasing scale. It drivs television channels and radio stations and newspapers national, local and specialised. It is a form of universal language, perhaps the most effective form. It has caused at least one war and many battles, often tragic, off the pitch. It has always triggered outbursts of local and national joy, pride, unity. It is colour blind and its influence on breaking down racial prejudice has been strong and widely noted. And all this flowed from the meeting of a few Victorian Oxbridge graduates in a pub in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London in 1863. Before the afternoon was out they had called themselves 'The Football Association'and the Rule Book was on its way.

This short book made it possible for everyone everywhere to play the same game. Before 1863, football had been a riotous confusion.

There are several versions of how the game began. One is that it has its origin in the Roman city of Chester where, half a millenium after the Romans departed from Britain, the Anglo-Saxons played a sort of football with the heads of the conquered Danes ...”


Melvyn Bragg beschrijft twaalf (Britse) boeken die volgens hem de wereld veranderden. The Rule Book of Association Football is er een van. Bovenstaand citaat is het begin van het hoofdstuk over dit boek.

uit: 12 Books that changed the World
Melvyn Bragg
isbn: 9780340839836
prijs: € 14,95
paperback, 300 pagina's
verschenen april 2006
Engelstalig