Growing up and living in the United States, most people don't pay much attention to Soccer. In America, soccer is not even close to becoming a major sport, but to the rest of the world it is a sport which is taken very seriously. Soccer or "football" is the most popular sport in the world. It is played in over eighty countries, and is enjoyed much in the same way that Americans enjoy football, basketball, or baseball. But where did this sport start and how did it manage to develop into the great sport that it is today?
             The game of soccer can be traced back to as far as the eleventh century. The sport started in England, but the actual inventor or specific time the sport was invented remains unknown. In the beginning, it was a sport that was played during religious ceremonies or large gatherings, but it is widely agreed upon that by 1175 it became a game that was played by English schoolboys. Throughout the medieval period many rulers such as Edward II in 1314, put a ban on "soccer" supposedly because it was a distraction. Edward II believed that more time should be spent practicing archery, so although it was still played it didn't become very popular. The sport didn't become popular throughout the country of England until1603, when King James I urged the people to play "football". I thought it was interesting that King James I gave this proclamation during the point in history when firearms were beginning to be used in warfare instead of bow and arrows. It's just one example of how a sport changes over time and that there are often very interesting reasons behind these changes and adaptions of a sport.
             After King James' proclamation in 1603, the popularity of soccer in England just exploded. It was played in every town, neighborhood, and province in Great Britain, and it wasn't too long before this popularity spread to other parts of t
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