America may indeed be the birthplace of most modern ball games.
While the rules of football were formalized in England in the 19th century, as early as the 3rd century BC, the Chinese were the first to kick a ball into a net. However, it is America that may very well be the origin of most modern ball games.
Starting from Central America?
Mary Miller, a Professor of Art History at Yale University, who has had the opportunity to study evidence proving the existence of this king of sports, explains: “The concept of team sports was invented in Central America.”
Relief symbolizing human sacrifice after the game. (Photo: Martin Gray).
Central America is a vast region stretching from Mexico to Costa Rica, where civilizations developed long before Christopher Columbus “discovered” it. Many ethnic groups began playing a sport using a ball made from materials derived from tree resin.
Although it is unclear exactly when this game began, it was popular among Central American cultures, including the Teotihuacan, the Aztecs, and the Maya around 3,000 years ago, with various names: ullamaliztli among the Aztecs, pok-ta-pok or pitz among the Maya.
They established its rules: allowing the ball to be kept in play by hitting it with body parts or using paddles or sticks. Today, many archaeological repositories still hold 7 kg rubber balls. Other artifacts such as pottery and 1,300 large ball courts found in the region also indicate the existence of such a game.
Aztec players were only allowed to pass the ball using their hips and buttocks (hands and feet were prohibited). They aimed to hit the ball against the wall at the end of the opposing court, and sometimes the heavy, hard ball would bounce back and hit them in the head, causing injury or even posing a life-threatening risk. If the ball passed through a ring placed high in the opponent’s court, victory was declared, and everyone celebrated.
As a popular sport during that era, much like football or basketball today, this ball game also held a sacred position in the religion and martial arts of Central American civilizations.
It is said that Aztec kings used it as a substitute for war and to gain privileges or could ease diplomatic crises through playing ball. In Maya and Veracruz society, betting was even more complicated: losers could become sacrifices.
While details about this are unclear, some courts were adorned with signs depicting the bloody sacrifices of the losers. Sacrifice and sports were also closely linked in the mythological tale of the Maya’s cosmic origin: two twin brothers defeated the lords of the underworld on the playing field. They then became the Sun and the Moon.
Olmec-origin rubber ball made about 3,000 years ago. (Photo: Kenneth Garrett).
Survival and Development
Although unofficial variants played by Indigenous Americans and natives existed for centuries, the modern sport known as football originated from schools in England and was formalized only in the 19th century.
By the mid-19th century, advancements in transportation, engineering, and technology saved labor time, providing leisure time and easy means for people to attend football matches held in open spaces known as grass fields.
Starting in the 1840s, many schools in England developed their own standards, allowing for organized tournaments among players with similar rules. Over time, two competing management systems began to dominate football. While the Sheffield Football Club allowed a team to benefit from a direct free kick when the opponent fouled, Cambridge University prohibited players from handling the ball.
The ball game played by the Maya about 3,500 years ago, a precursor to football. (Photo: Alicia Vera).
Before the development of football, players gathered in the London Football Association. In 1877, Sheffield officially adopted “The London Rules.” By this time, some teams had begun extensive recruitment and secretly paid members of the working-class league.
Upper-class players wanted the sport to remain amateur. However, by 1885, they had to accept the existence of professional players, leading to a renewed boom in the sport. By 1904, football had become so popular that it transcended borders, leading to the establishment of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
Since then, nothing has hindered the growth of this king of sports. After first appearing at the 1908 Olympics and the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930, professional football continued to develop, becoming the most captivating sport on the planet. Today, FIFA is the governing body of football, earning over 700 million euros in 2021 alone.
