The Early Development of Football

This fascinating collection brings together leading football historians and sociologists from the UK, Germany, the USA and Australia to offer fresh perspectives on the early development of football (soccer), not only illuminating our understanding of the early history of the world's most popular sport, but also the importance of sport in our broader social and cultural history. The book presents new evidence and fresh perspectives which will inform the robust debate that has been raging about the origins and early development of football. It addresses key issues at the centre of this debate, including the influence of former English public schoolboys, the development of football subcultures outside of prestige educational institutions, and the intersection and divergence of the various football codes around the world. The Early Development of Football is an important resource for anyone working in the history of football or sports in general, football studies or the sociology of sport. It is also a useful read for those interested in sport management and the development of sports organisations and rules.

Graham Curry teaches Physical Education and served as Head of PE at Tuxford Academy, UK for 30 years. His academic interests lie in the history of Association football, grounded in the figurational sociology of Norbert Elias, and the early football subculture in Sheffield. He also represents England in football in the over-60s age group.

Introduction, 1. Football Outside the Schools in the United States Before Codification, 2. The Beginnings of Football in Germany in the Light of Contemporary Sources, 3. Researching the Origins and Early History of the Football Codes: A View from Down-Under, 4. The Beginnings of Soccer in Melbourne: The Eternal Recurrence of the Game, 5. The Emergence of Club Football in 'The Potteries': Bottle Kilns for Goalposts, 6. A Review of Early Football in Lincolnshire: County Town, Market Towns and Grammar Schools, 7. English Handball Sports in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, 8. Football Grows Far and Wide in the North East: Development to 1890 and the Creation of the Northern League, 9. Early Football in and around Shrewsbury: Soccer in the Sticks, 10. Football in Winchester, in Town and College, before 1884: 'Very Fast and Interesting to Look on at'