Soccer in the history

[Alex_K]

Why before WW1 in particular?

Anyway: England, Scotland, Germany (remember the 1914 Christmas truce and the soccer game in no man's land), probably most of Europe as well except in places where cycling or rugby was more popular at the time (ie, France). All or most of South America, too; the sport was still young there, but it was the most popular, especially true in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay.

It gets confusing when you have to decide what is meant by "most popular" since things were still in a state of flux in some countries.

In Germany not until after World War I. The sport saw a huge rise in popularity during the 1920s.

[Metropolitan]

By the end of the 19th century, football started to spread from England through the largest world harbours. As such, you have to imagine the shores visited by British merchant ships to see how the game has spread worldwide: Copenhagen (Denmark), Hamburg (Germany), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Le Havre (France), Bilbao (Spain), Lisbon (Portugal), Montevideo (Uruguay), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Eastern coast of the US. However, the game needed time from those cities to reach popularity at a national level.

Anyway, globally, the first nations outside England where football has spread were predominantly bordering the Atlantic Ocean. However, I don't believe soccer could be really considered as an international sport before world war 1. Even at the time of the creation of FIFA in 1904, the game was still at its pioneering age at the international level. It's really in the 1920's that things started to really get serious.

[Excape Goat]

By the end of the 19th century, football started to spread from England through the largest world harbours. As such, you have to imagine the shores visited by British merchant ships to see how the game has spread worldwide: Copenhagen (Denmark), Hamburg (Germany), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Le Havre (France), Bilbao (Spain), Lisbon (Portugal), Montevideo (Uruguay), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Eastern coast of the US. However, the game needed time from those cities to reach popularity at a national level.

Anyway, globally, the first nations outside England where football has spread were predominantly bordering the Atlantic Ocean. However, I don't believe soccer could be really considered as an international sport before world war 1. Even at the time of the creation of FIFA in 1904, the game was still at its pioneering age at the international level. It's really in the 1920's that things started to really get serious.


Ironically, the sport did not take off in some of Britain's biggest colonies or former colonies, namely the US, Canada, Australia, and India.

[Sagy]

Ironically, the sport did not take off in some of Britain's biggest colonies or former colonies, namely the US, Canada, Australia, and India.

Correct. One could also add South Africa and New Zealand to the list.

Any idea what's the largest former British colony in which the this is the top team sport?

What are the leading theories for the game being successful in the UK and most of the rest of the world, but plays second fiddle in former British colonies?

[Excape Goat]

Correct. One could also add South Africa and New Zealand to the list.

Any idea what's the largest former British colony in which the this is the top team sport?

What are the leading theories for the game being successful in the UK and most of the rest of the world, but plays second fiddle in former British colonies?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_European_colonies

British colonies:
Canada, USA, Belize, Nicaragua(coastal area), Bahamas
Barbados, Jamaica, Leeward Islands , Windward Islands, British Guyana, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (Sudan), Basutoland (Lesotho), Bechuanaland (Botswana)
British East Africa (Kenya), British Somaliland (northern Somalia), British Togoland (eastern Ghana), Cameroons (split between Nigeria and Cameroon), Egypt, Gambia, Gold Coast (Ghana), Nigeria, Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), Nyasaland (Malawi), Sierra Leone, South Africa, Laccadive Islands, Maldive Islands, Mauritius, Seychelles, Aden Protectorate, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, South Arabia, Transjordan, Trucial Coast (United Arab Emirates), Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Fiji, Gilbert Islands (main island group of Kiribati), Hawaii, etc.

Nigeria is the largest former British colony where soccer is the top team sport. Indonesia is very big into the sport, but it is more of a Dutch colony.

[Disco Dale]

Before WW1 Glasgow alone had the three grandest stadiums in the world... by 1902 Ibrox had a capacity of 75,000.

From the very earliest days even the English game was largely populated with Scottish players. The Scottish invented the passing game.

If you have the slighest interest in the game, and its global history, I would strongly recommend The Ball Is Round by David Goldblatt. Really the finest work on footy history without a doubt.

Incidently those three stadiums (Ibrox, Celtic Park, Hampden Park), like many many others, were the work of Archibald Leitch. There are very few that survive, but next time you watch Fulham, the Main stand at Craven Cottage is his, and the facade (only) of the Ibrox Main Stand is also his.