Author: GraysonB

  • Digital Project By Grayson Banks

    This multimedia project really helped me to present my entire thesis on how immigration has affected international football and national identity in a fun and entertaining way. I chose to make a Google map with points on different countries across the globe that have a history of immigration in relation to international football, and how having a higher number of immigrant players on a team affects a country’s national identity. 

    I was able to incorporate links to relevant articles that expanded information on my topics and provided a great overview of some of my topics, like the articles about Jamal Musiala I linked in the Germany section, which talks about the young wonder kid deciding to switch from the English national team to the German national team. I was also able to use YouTube videos to show teams’ rosters like the 2014 German national team or the Malian national team, which have a large number of players with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. I not only included YouTube videos in my research project, but I also included at least three images per point that showed national teams, maps breaking down ethnic areas, and charts that show immigration patterns. I also included images to mark important points on the map. I tried to make sure I used brighter images to contrast the boring background colors that were provided to me by Google Maps. I tried to use countries’ national teams’ logos for most of the points, but for a few points, I wanted to focus more on a specific World Cup, and for those countries, I chose to use a poster from the world cup im wanting to focus on. 

    One drawback I ran into while trying to create my digital research project was the confusing format of Google Maps. The format made it kind of hard for me to formulate my ideas for this project, and I would not recommend that someone create their own Google Maps to complete this project. There are alot of better alternatives to use instead of Google Maps, and if I had known about them before I put alot of my information on Google Maps, I would have used something like Story Maps instead. 

    This was a really fun and interesting way to learn about a specific topic in relation to the World Cup and global competition. Being able to find a way to incorporate multiple different types of media into the project made it alot more complex and interesting to research. It also made the research project more enjoyable as I was just finding text and quotes for something like an essay that I could use to prove my point; instead, I got to watch YouTube videos and search for images, which helped me to learn more about the topic and create a better-looking final project. 

    Link to Project

  • Early WOMEN’S Soccer By Grayson Banks

    After the 1893 soccer matches hosted in the United States, which only featured women, there started to be a bigger push for women to be allowed to compete in soccer at higher levels, more specifically, the collegiate and amateur levels. In some cases, women would even coach or act as administrators to the team. 

    Soon after this first women’s soccer game, the United States and other countries like England would enter World War 1, where a majority of young men would go overseas to fight. This large number of men leaving to fight created some problems for production during the war, which women were quickly able to step up and fix by working the factory jobs that a lot of men left for the war. These jobs were often dirty and dangerous, as most of the time they were working in factories that produced supplies for war, like weapons or munitions. 

    Women all across the world worked in these factories during the war to try and support their home countries, but they also tried to support another way; all 150 of Britain’s women’s soccer clubs played matches to try and gain money for the war effort. There was also an increase in international football matches between women during this time, where in 1920, two years after the war ended, there was an international between France and England that drew 25,000 spectators to watch England win the match 2-0. 

    After this success, men’s leagues in England began to feel threatened by women’s soccer and wished to protect their revenue stream, so they complained to the English FA about women’s soccer and claimed that the women were too feeble to play on the same fields as the men, and the FA agreed. This led to almost all women’s club teams having to play on public land as they were not allowed to share stadiums and fields with other established men’s clubs. This is a terrible thing to do to the women who held down the production in the country while men were off at war. And the British women’s team seemed more than capable at the time, beating France twice in a week in dominant fashion. But it seems that the only thing that mattered to the men’s clubs was profit, so they made all sorts of negative narratives about women playing sports, how it would hurt their reproductive health, or that they were too feeble to play this sport, which is preposterous. 

    It is great to see that women’s football has been getting more of the respect it deserves recently, but it still has a troubled past with men dictating whether these women are suitable to play for most of the history of the sport in Europe and America. I hope that as we continue to move forward, women’s sports start to get more of the respect they deserve, and that we can give little girls someone to look up to and allow them to see that women’s professional sports are just as important and respected as men’s. 

  • Week 11 Spain and Futboleras DIscussion Post BY Grayson Banks

    Football matches have always been bigger than the game, especially when the whole world is watching a country’s national team play in a football match. The King’s Cup in Spain is one of the oldest competitions in football, dating back to 1903. In 2018, the president of Barcelona called for jeering and whistling during the King’s Cup final to not only support FC Barcelona but also to protest certain attitudes held by people towards the Catalonians. He was accused of insulting Spain by calling for this, but he cited the long history of political protest being used for big sporting events like the King’s Cup because these events are a large collection of people who might not be viewed very favorably by the Spanish government and by most Spanish people.

    The Copa Del Rey, also known as the King’s Cup, has long been known to be an exceptional opportunity for soccer fans, political figures, and the media to help express their vision of the Spanish nation. The Copa Del Rey in football has always run parallel to more than a century that was marked by tumultuous changes in government systems in Spain, including monarchy, republic, civil war, dictatorship, and democracy. The trophy given for this competition is always sponsored by whoever is in control of the Spanish state at the time, and by the government they represent. The tournament represents a story that Spain tells about itself as a nation with a strong national identity. But this can often be argued because of all of the people in the country who relate more with their communities and separate states within the nation of Spain. 

    During the mid 2000’s into the early 2010’s, the Spanish national team dominated international competition, even being referred to as a “Great Generation of footballers” that were coming out of the country. During this time, the Spanish national team went on to win three successive international competitions, one of which was the infamous World Cup in South Africa in the year 2010. Despite alot of the players on the national team having heritage from different parts of the world and coming from different areas of Spain that usually don’t get along, the players on this national team were able to get past these differences and see themselves as Spanish first, which helped them to play better together as a team and dominate international competitions for many years. This was demonstrated in the video I watched that showed the Spanish national team’s 1-0 victory against the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup. The Spanish goalkeeper was a brick wall during this final, making multiple difficult saves that helped to keep Spain in the game. The defence for Spain was also playing extremely hard, and they refused to give up on plays, chasing down players on the Netherlands who were streaking and getting ready to be in a good position for an easy goal. The game remained gridlocked at zero to zero until Andrés Iniesta found the back of the net to give Spain the victory over the Netherlands. The whole team ran to the corner to celebrate with Iniesta after his brilliant goal, showing just how close and connected all of these Spanish players were despite their different backgrounds and heritage.

    The history of Spain is long and convoluted due to the immense amount of different states in the country and the constant unification and separation of these city-states throughout its history. The country also has had a long-standing history of people claiming their city-states more than they would have claimed the entire country. But through the story of the 2010 Spanish national team, we can see that countries can push past these hindrances by coming together as a group and seeing themselves all as Spanish instead of as individuals with different pasts and struggles.

  • Heroes and VILLAINS By Grayson Banks

    Mythmaking has always been a big part of soccer, especially when all eyes are on the best players in the world in a very nationalistic competition like the World Cup. This mythmaking can transform players into things greater than just pure men or women; they become icons that transcend their normal role of being athletes. Instead, these people become heroes and villains that help to define certain World Cups, teams, and play styles. 

    The World Cup is a global spectacle that is celebrated in many countries all around the world, and this diversity allows for different ideas and play styles to flourish and create a very diverse playing style amongst teams. These differences in play styles between countries can allow for a player to be both a hero and a villain. While they might be a hero for their country because of how well they play, they can also be viewed as a villain by their opponents because they don’t like their play style or how the player presents themselves. 

    Alot of things can create the doctrine of a player being a villain, such as playing too aggressively, diving, complaining to the referees, trash talking, being overly confident, and instigating problems with other players who are loved. Every good hero needs a villain to contrast their good with evil. But the thing about heroes and villains in the World Cup is that there is no objective good or evil for soccer fans to base their love or hatred of these players on; instead, it is much more driven by nationality and personal feelings about a player that fans harbour. For example, in the Bleacher Report article that ranks the twenty-five worst villains in World Cup history alot of beloved players were on the list, like Ronaldo and Antonio Rattin, who were loved by the countries they represented but not by the masses who watched the World Cup. Ronaldo is widely recognized as one of the best players to ever touch a soccer ball, and his accolades back that up, but when it comes time to play in national competitions with his home country of Portugal, Ronaldo transforms into a global villain. In the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo got Wayne Rooney sent off for England after complaining to the referee, and this made him seem like a crybaby in the eyes of alot of English fans and really fans all over the world. While Ronaldo didn’t really do anything that heinous to warrant becoming a villain, the fact that he complained to the ref was enough for some fans to turn their backs on one of the best players of all time. When the stakes get higher in international competitions, the narratives of players can transcend the game itself, and when all eyes are on you, there are bound to be differing opinions on whether you are a hero or a villain.

    Despite how different public opinion can vary in such a global competition like the World Cup, some players find a way to navigate the sport without doing anything to have them looked upon as a villain. For example, in the CNN article about Lionel Messi and how he won over the hearts of Argentinians by winning the World Cup in 2022. Messi found a way to touch Argentians ‘ hearts before even winning the World Cup; he found a way to make the people feel something by watching him play. Argentina is a soccer nation having won World Cups on the back of the legendary Maradona. Messi managed to touch fans’ hearts by just focusing on what he can control in the game and playing with such passion that the fans can feel how much he wants to win. If you’re willing to give it all for your country, then your country will be willing to give its all to support you. Messi never made himself bigger than soccer, and he recognized his place amongst the Argentine people, and the fact that he’s one of the greatest soccer players, and he has no ego, makes him marketable and loved all over the world. When Messi put it all on the line in the 2022 World Cup and left it all out on the field to win the World Cup for his country, that earned him respect not only in his country but all over the world.

    When the stakes get higher, emotions can tend to take over certain players, and that can lead to them doing whatever it takes to win. And when you care more about winning than being a good person and a respectable soccer player, you can be viewed as a villain by some people. This is a weird paradox because you have to give it all for your country to be considered a hero, but you have to do that with grace to be considered a true hero on the global stage.

  • Week 9-Fandom and Mythmaking

    Soccer is a sport all about rhythm and flow, as the game has become more globalized through the ease of access to media such as sporting events, thanks to the development of television, streaming services, and radio worldwide. As interest in soccer grows, players become national celebrities not just in their home countries or the countries where they play, but around the world. Heroes, villains, and supporting cast are all very crucial parts of the story that soccer is trying to tell, and we as humans always tend to create narratives around these celebrities that make them larger than life when compared to most average people. 

    With the rise of the internet, it has allowed more people to constantly interact with others and to also constantly be consuming soccer media, whether that be through games being watched on television or highlights of the match being shown on TikTok. The experience of being a soccer fan in the modern age allows you to connect with your team alot more, but the overexposure of your team can take away from the overall magic of the experience. Teams used to invest very heavily in their stadiums and the environments that were a part of those stadiums because that is the only place you would be able to see the team play; you couldn’t watch a highlight on TikTok or watch the game on television; you had to actually be in the stadium to experience the environment.

     Teams have more to focus on in the modern age, like streaming rights and who has deals with what television companies. They often put less focus on the stadium and its environment, and that can take away from the experience of watching a game in a stadium. Soccer has always been a sport of spectacle because of the number of people around the world who watch and care about soccer. This has led countries to invest alot of money into these teams and the stadiums they play in. Some stadiums can hold up to 200,000 people, and they are filled quite regularly. The accessibility and flow behind soccer have led to the sport becoming so popular, and with countries like Brazil, England, Italy, and Argentina investing so heavily in the sport, it has allowed it to flourish and become the beautiful game it is today. 

    The story of soccer’s beautiful evolution throughout the seventies sadly contrasts with the political situation of the seventies in South America, where the decade was marked by political turmoil and dictatorships. The most prominent country that was an example of this was Argentina and its militaristic dictatorship, which had hundreds of thousands of college students and professors “vanish” from the country, all while Argentina was hosting the world cup that they would eventually win. South American countries were entering a great period of political reform and contrasting political ideas on the continent, and this led to many external conflicts as well as internal conflicts, like the one in Argentina. 

    The biggest external conflict that arose from this time was the aptly named football war between El Salvador and Honduras. After the two countries competed against each other in qualifying matches for the 1969 World Cup, riots broke out over some more deep-rooted issues the two countries had been facing for years, like the mass migration of Salvadorians into Honduras and land reform disputes between the two countries. 

    Soccer, especially in international competition, can become something more than a sport because of the nationalism most people feel in watching their team play, and if they lose, that can often feel like a reflection of the country, which people do not like. Soccer competitions are often where people feel the most nationalistic, so it would only make sense that it is also the place where they throw the biggest tantrums when their team loses or is “cheated” by the referee.

  • Week 8 Discussion

    The video about Pelé really helped to open my eyes and show me how much of an impact Pelé had on the World Cup success Brazil had. I have always viewed soccer as a team sport and believed that since there are eleven players on the pitch, it is hard for one specific player to stick out and be the heart of the team. 

    But when I saw some of the video clips of Pelé playing on the international stage, I realized that it was possible for one player to completely take over the game. The clips of a 17-year-old Pelé scoring a hat trick to help beat Sweden in the World Cup final on Swedish soil are extremely impressive, and they speak to his composure and ability to live up to big moments. When Pelé was on the pitch, he was usually the best player on it, but he had some trouble staying on during the 1962 and 1966 World Cups in Chile and england respectively. He was injured before the final in the 1962 World Cup, but his Brazilian teammates were able to power through without him, leading to their back to back world cup wins. 

    The 1966 World Cup in England was rather controversial as Portugal was attempting some rough tackles against Pelé, which eventually led to him having to come off the pitch, which would lead to the Brazilians losing three to one against Portugal. In fact, the treatment of Pelé was so bad at the 1966 World Cup that he actually vowed he would never play in a World Cup again. Thankfully, Pelé decided that he would give the World Cup another shot, and he played in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, where he did well, scoring four goals and assisting his teammates with a multitude of other goals. Pelé helped to deliver a header goal and an assist in the world cup final game against italy and his contributions helped lead Brazil to a four to one victory over Italy and Pelé’s third World Cup, which then subsequently put an end to his World Cup career.

    Brian Phillips article Diamond in the Rough ” discusses new technology that has been created that could create diamonds out of things like human ashes and hair. He then goes on to describe the 1,283 gemstones that were created out of Pelé’s hair that signify every goal he scored throughout his career. Pelé is attempting to sell each of these gemstones for $7500, and the proceeds will be donated to the pediatric complex of Brazil. This seems to be a noble thing for Pelé to do, and I do think it’s awesome for him to donate the money he earns to the pediatric complex, but Phillips argues that this sort of grand act of making his hair into diamonds shows the disconnect between Pelé and the modern Brazilian society. 

    Phillips looks into the argument that Pelé makes about the huge wealth disparity between rich and poor in Brazil and how Pelé believes that people should not protest things like the building of new stadiums for the World Cup when hundreds of thousands of Brazilians live in extreme poverty with no real help from the government and with no real social services being provided. Pelé has long navigated being a living god and being a corporate shill who will put his name on anything for a check. 

    I personally don’t hate Pelé for doing this, as I see him alot like Shaq, who is using his likeness to make as much money as they can, and they earned that through their hard work in sports and their hard work in showing their personalities to the world. Phillips frames Pelé as a star who went out of touch with people when he got money and I can kind of see that with some of his opinions on people protesting the 2014 world cup but I also think he has made his way out of poverty and built something from nothing so he can have his views on the protests and can market himselff however he wants. And I don’t think we should fault someone for wanting to donate money to the pediatric complex, even if it is through something weird like diamonds made out of Pelé’s hair; the money is still going to a good cause. 

  • Week Seven Discussion

    This section of the book, The World Cup as World History by William Bowman, focuses on the negative stereotypes players receive when they have a different heritage than the national team they are playing for. 

    An example of this in the text is the 2014 German national team, which fielded a bunch of players who weren’t one hundred percent ethnically German. Some players of note are Miroslav Klose, whose family is originally from Poland, Mesut Ozil, the midfielder who is from a Turkish background, and Sami Khedira, who is of Tunisian heritage. Mesut Ozil was born in Germany and came up playing in a local club around the area where he was born, called Schalke 04, before he eventually moved his way up to Arsenal by the end of his career. Despite being born in Germany and playing in and winning a World Cup with the the german national team, Ozil’s Turkish heritage complicated his playing career as alot of people didn’t view him as truly German. 

    This increase in migrants to Germany is relatively new, however, as German immigration laws have previously made it very hard to immigrate to the country and still receive the same rights that naturalized German citizens already have. Germany’s super strict citizenship laws, which had been in place since 1913 and were removed in 2000, made it extremely hard to receive citizenship if you were a minority coming from another country. 

    Germany isn’t the only country that has been dealing with the problem of stereotypes and discrimination in World Cup events. Brazil has also had a very storied history in its path to winning five World Cup titles. The Brazilians were super excited to host the 1950 World Cup and show off their country and how rapidly the economy had been growing. And the tournament went great for Brazil until the final, where, heartbreakingly, the Brazilians lost 2-1 to an underpowered Uruguayan national team in front of thousands of loyal Brazilian fans.

     After this game, many Afro-Brazilian players were sent death threats and desriminated agaisnt, and this event led to Brazil deciding to have only players of European descent play on their national team for the next couple of years. This changed when a bunch of young, exciting, and ethnically diverse Brazilians went on to win three World Cup titles in 1958, 1962, and 1970. Names like Vavá, Didi, Mário Zagallo, Garrincha, Rivellino, Nilton Santos, Gérson, Tostão, Jairzinho, and Carlos Alberto all shone and showed off their different heritages on the biggest stage in the world, showing that despite their differences, they were all still Brazilians. The biggest player of Afro-Brazilian descent who played for the national team, however, was Pele whose poise and grace with a soccer ball allowed him to not only capture Brazilian favor but also the favor of other countries, who really liked to watch him play. 

    I think that ignorance is the main cause of discrimination against certain players on these national teams and when these teams are good, like the German side who won the World Cup or even legendary like the Brazilian teams of the 60’s and 70’s it helps people to open their eyes more and see individuals who may look different than them in a more positive light. Winning really helps to put players on a pedestal in the eyes of the world and their country, and I think more places should embrace their strong immigrant communities and find ways to show respect to that culture, but also still recognize them as citizens of that specific country. 

  • Week 6 Reading By Grayson Banks

    There was alot of political and economic turmoil between countries after the end of World War II in 1945. Despite issues like the Cold War arising and wars in countries throughout Eastern Europe, Korea, and eventually Vietnam, FIFA was able to host a World Cup every four years without alot of issues. 

    The 1950 World Cup took place in Brazil, and the Brazilian government was extremely excited to host the World Cup and prove that they were on the same level, if not better than, their European counterparts. The Brazilian government, in partnership with its football federation, developed elaborate plans for its national team and the competition. One of these plans included a brand new state-of-the-art stadium called Maracana, which hosted several key matches. Maracana was one of the largest stadiums in the world, and it was a testament to the global growth Brazil had been seeing during the time. The 1950 World Cup marked a change in how people viewed soccer because of how fanatacial brazillians were about their national team. The energy and support they showed for their national team were amazing. 

    Despite this support, Brazil would not be able to win the 1950 World Cup, as in front of an estimated 200,000 fans, Brazil lost 2-1 to Uruguay for the World Cup title. This disappointing result stunned Brazilians and left the country wondering what had happened. They had invested so much money and time; how could they not have won? Unfortunately, the answer most Brazillians came to was because of the race of some of the players, mostly those of african desecent. Brazil has been battling racial thinking and stereotypes for many years, but it seems that the World Cup only worsened those ideas for some Brazilians. In fact, it would be many years before the Brazilian national team would have another goalkeeper of African descent play for them. Thankfully, legends like Pelé would come to play for the Brazilian national team soon after this defeat, and many players of African descent would become national heroes in Brazil after winning the World Cup in 1958, 1962, and 1970. 

    The World Cup bounced around from South America to Europe every four years, and the choice of countries in Europe was mostly based on who had survived World War II without major damage, so countries like Switzerland and Sweden were chosen because they stayed neutral in the conflict years earlier. This eventually leads to the 1966 World Cup, which was hosted by england who is often viewed as the father of modern association rules football and is responsible for spreading the sport as far as it has been spread. England stayed out of the first couple of World Cups because they viewed it as below them, but when they actually started to compete in these global competitions, they started to lose to other countries realize that maybe they weren’t the top footballing country in the world anymore. 

    When the World Cup came to British soil, they knew that they had to make a statement and win the World Cup. They prepared meticulously for the competition and composed a team that reflected England’s political and cultural values to a tee. They brought together a team of hardworking and competitive men with enough scoring options to win matches. This World Cup was covered in controversy however, as a lot of African teams chose not to participate in their playoff matches and chose to boycott FIFA because they were only given one representative at the World Cup matches. There was also tension between teams as the Argentines were called animals by the British coach because of their more aggressive style of play, which, coupled with the extreme European bias of this World Cup, made it hard to play as a Latin American. And there was also a claim by a lot of German fans that there was some biased refereeing in the World Cup final they played against England that year. African, Asian, and Latin American teams felt slighted and betrayed by FIFA as an organization after this World Cup. This led to a lot of changes in FIFA as an organization and really helped to push for more representation of teams in the World Cup. 

  • Week 5 By Grayson Banks

    In The World Cup as World History by William D Bowman, chapter two focuses on the politics behind the first couple of World Cups, like the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay, where a lot of significant European teams declined the offer to participate in the World Cup. The four European nations that went to the first World Cup were France, Yugoslavia, Belgium, and Romania. Most European countries were concerned about the cost of travel and the logistics of getting their teams to Uruguay, except for Britain, which believed that the competition was beneath them and that English soccer was better than any other soccer team in the world.
    The 1930 World Cup also held a lot of political significance because one of the main reasons it was hosted in Uruguay was because it had already shown its soccer prowess on the national stage in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics. Uruguay also wanted to prove its position in South America, especially to its much bigger and stronger neighboring countries of Brazil and Argentina.
    The 1934 World Cup in Italy was also used as a political display for Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime. The ultranationalist and anti communist views of Mussolini had started to intertwine with sport as sports started to rise in popularity across the world, including soccer. Sixteen teams competed in this World Cup, which was an improvement over the World Cup in Uruguay, which only saw thirteen teams compete. Uruguay did not compete in this world cup however as the national team was having financial difficulties, and they were still angry about European teams like England refusing to come to the country to participate in the World Cup.
    The 1934 World Cup took on very serious political undertones being pushed by Mussolini, who used the international platform he was provided by the competition to advertise himself and his movement insistently. This caused England to reject the invitation to participate in the World Cup again. Many teams went through issues with playing in the tournament like Argentina, which was the runner-up in the 1930 World Cup, who had their roster severely weakened by a lot of the better players on their roster choosing to migrate and play for Italy instead. Argentina and Italy had a long history of shared immigration, and the Italian government was able to nationalize the new Argentinian players very quickly.
    Other countries’ teams like Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic had formed a center of footballing excellence in the 1920’s and 30’s, but political strife in all of these countries affected their players’ effort and play on the pitch. Italy won the1934 world cup by playing a very aggressive and foul-heavy form of football that a lot of other countries complained about, and some even claimed that Italy had the ref in their pocket. But Mussolini denied all of these claims and celebrated the World Cup win fully because a world championship is worth its weight in gold for political propaganda.
    After the World Cup, Italy started to move aggressively into overseas military campaigns, like when they started fighting Ethiopia in 1935 and when they supported the authoritarian nationalist Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War in 1936. While you cannot directly connect world politics to international sporting competitions, it is safe to say that Italy’s confidence was very high after winning the World Cup in 1934.
    International sporting competitions are always a good time to show what your country is about and project your beliefs on a global scale. I think the World Cup connects to politics almost as much as it connects to the sport of soccer itself.

  • The Origins and Evolution of Soccer By Grayson Banks

    The World Cup as World History by William D Bowman starts off by looking at the history of the game of soccer and how it can be hard to trace its exact origins. Soccer is by far the most popular sport in the world, and that has led to many different countries and nations laying claim to their own version of how the game was invented. However, the truth, Bowman argues, is that ball and kicking games are deeply rooted in the human experience, as evidenced by the discovery of people participating in games similar to soccer in ancient China and Mesopotamia.  

    The story of the Han dynasty in China and the ball game they played that involved two teams, a leather ball, and two goals. You could advance the ball in several ways when playing this game, but the preferred method seemed to be the feet, and we have recorded evidence of this game being played as far back as 618 CE. While these games don’t directly connect to soccer, it is still extremely important and show that society has always practiced sports, which directly ties into our sporting culture. 

    While kicking ball games were being played in Asia by the elites, these kicking ball games were also being practiced in Mesoamerica by civilizations like the Aztecs and the Mayans. Archaeological evidence indicates that kicking games had been played in Mesoamerica since 1500 BCE and were played through modern day central america, more or less, until the collapse of the Aztec empire. 

    Europeans, mostly Spaniards, were very interested in these kicking games when they first made contact with the indigenous people of Central America and of the rubber balls they used, which made the game faster and physically demanding. Catholic figures would often come back from expeditions to the New World and talk fondly about the games that the Aztecs played and tried to describe the games in a way the Europeans could understand. While being fascinated by this game, the clergy and conquistadors who went to Central America were also worried about the rowdiness and violence of the games that they witnessed. 

    The origin of modern soccer is in England. Kicking the ball games were a pastime that had existed in England for many centuries. But in public schools, which were usually reserved for the elite, young men started creating different varieties of soccer that they would play. Then the desire came to standardize the game so that schools could compete against one another, and this eventually evolved into clubs playing against one another. 

    In 1863, the football association was formed out of necessity because of the number of different clubs and organizations that were popping up around England at the time, playing different versions of soccer instead of the public school version. The creation of the football association gave more shape to the game and gave it a more comprehensive set of rules. After England had fully developed the sport, fandom took over, and it quickly became the country’s favorite sport. England’s political, economic, and cultural connections to Europe helped to allow the sport to spread all across the continent and beyond, with the sport becoming the most popular sport in the world by a clear landslide. 

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