From the beginning of this class i knew that soccer originated in the 19th century Britain. I understood that it really became big with the younger generations there, and it eventually caused the two forms of soccer we know today. However i never thought about the intricacies of it. Things like how fast it spread throughout the culture of the world. British imperial and economic networks foster the growth of the sport. That’s why it became so popular in South America; the sailors who traveled there spread the sport. British imperialism also facilitated the growth of soccer in Africa. If there were British nationals, they carried Soccer with them.
This is interesting to think about today. How the sport originated in Britian but it spread and became famous in their territories. So much so that the first major worldwide soccer tournament, the 1930 World Cup, was held in Uruguay. This chapter teaches us about the spread of the sport across the world. It also implies a subtext of control. Soccer spread through colonialism; areas that Britain controlled had the most soccer growth. Professor Sibaja made an interesting point in class, talking about how Soccer could also be a form of social control. Soccer was promoted in school to help get the youths’ energy out and promote attention in the classroom. Soccer was a booming industry in American mining towns, where the workers were treated poorly by the companies that owned the mines (look into early mining towns, Pullman, Alcoa).
This chapter talked a lot about the early formation of soccer and the slow solidification of rules. I enjoyed the information about the booming industry of the sport, not just in Britain, but South America and Africa. I lookforward to learning more about the expansion of Soccer and why it became so popular in these countries.
-Porter Cockrum
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