[Kool Guy]

HISTORY OF FOOTBALL

The contemporary history of the world's favourite game spans more than 100 years. It all began in 1863 in England, when rugby football and association football branched off on their different courses and the Football Association in England was formed - becoming the sport's first governing body.

Both codes stemmed from a common root and both have a long and intricately branched ancestral tree. A search down the centuries reveals at least half a dozen different games, varying to different degrees, and to which the historical development of football has been traced back. Whether this can be justified in some instances is disputable. Nevertheless, the fact remains that people have enjoyed kicking a ball about for thousands of years and there is absolutely no reason to consider it an aberration of the more 'natural' form of playing a ball with the hands.

On the contrary, apart from the need to employ the legs and feet in tough tussles for the ball, often without any laws for protection, it was recognised right at the outset that the art of controlling the ball with the feet was not easy and, as such, required no small measure of skill. The very earliest form of the game for which there is scientific evidence was an exercise from a military manual dating back to the second and third centuries BC in China.

This Han Dynasty forebear of football was called Tsu' Chu and it consisted of kicking a leather ball filled with feathers and hair through an opening, measuring only 30-40cm in width, into a small net fixed onto long bamboo canes. According to one variation of this exercise, the player was not permitted to aim at his target unimpeded, but had to use his feet, chest, back and shoulders while trying to withstand the attacks of his opponents. Use of the hands was not permitted.

Another form of the game, also originating from the Far East, was the Japanese Kemari, which began some 500-600 years later and is still played today. This is a sport lacking the competitive element of Tsu' Chu with no struggle for possession involved. Standing in a circle, the players had to pass the ball to each other, in a relatively small space, trying not to let it touch the ground.

The Greek 'Episkyros' - of which few concrete details survive - was much livelier, as was the Roman 'Harpastum'. The latter was played out with a smaller ball by two teams on a rectangular field marked by boundary lines and a centre line. The objective was to get the ball over the opposition's boundary lines and as players passed it between themselves, trickery was the order of the day. The game remained popular for 700-800 years, but, although the Romans took it to Britain with them, the use of feet was so small as to scarcely be of consequence.

FIFA YEARLY AWARDS

FIFA World Player GALA 2007

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Player of the year:

KAKA (BRA)
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Player of the year:

MARTA (BRA)
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FIFA Presidential award:

PELE (BRA)
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FIFA Fair Play Award:

FC Barcelona

FIFA World Player GALA 2006

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Player of the year:

Fabio CANNAVARO (ITA)
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Player of the year:

MARTA (BRA)
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FIFA Presidential award:

Giacinto FACCHETTI (ITA)
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FIFA Fair Play Award:

Brazil, Spain
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Top Team of the Year Award:

Brazil
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Best Mover of the Year:

Italy
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FIFA Interactive World Player:

Andries Smit

FIFA World Player GALA 2005

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Player of the year:

RONALDINHO (BRA)
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Player of the year:

Birgit PRINZ (GER)
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FIFA Presidential award:

FRISK Anders (SWE)
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FIFA Fair Play Award:

football community of Iquitos (Peru)
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Top Team of the Year Award:

Brazil
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Best Mover of the Year:

Ghana
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FIFA Interactive World Player:

Chris Bullard

FIFA World Player GALA 2004

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Player of the year:

RONALDINHO (BRA)
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Player of the year:

Birgit PRINZ (GER)
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FIFA Presidential award:

Haiti
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FIFA Fair Play Award:

Confederaçao Brasileira de Futebol
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Top Team of the Year Award:

Brazil
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Best Mover of the Year:

China PR
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FIFA Interactive World Player:

Thiago Carrico de Azevedo

FIFA World Player GALA 2003

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Player of the year:

Zinedine ZIDANE (FRA)
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Player of the year:

Birgit PRINZ (GER)
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FIFA Presidential award:

The Iraqi Football Community
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FIFA Fair Play Award:

Fans of Glasgow Celtic FC (SCO)
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Top Team of the Year Award:

Brazil
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Best Mover of the Year:

Bahrain

FIFA World Player GALA 2002

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Player of the year:

RONALDO (BRA)
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Player of the year:

Mia HAMM (USA)
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FIFA Presidential award:

Parminder Nagra (ENG)
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FIFA Fair Play Award:

Football communities of Japan and Korea Republic
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Top Team of the Year Award:

Brazil
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Best Mover of the Year:

Senegal

FIFA World Player GALA 2001

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Player of the year:

LUIS FIGO (POR)
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Player of the year:

Mia HAMM (USA)
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FIFA Presidential award:

Marvin Lee (TRI)
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Top Team of the Year Award:

Honduras
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Best Mover of the Year:

Costa Rica

FIFA World Player GALA 2000

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Player of the year:

Zinedine ZIDANE (FRA)
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FIFA Fair Play Award:

Lucas RADEBE (RSA)
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Top Team of the Year Award:

Netherlands
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Best Mover of the Year:

Nigeria

FIFA World Player GALA 1999

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Player of the year:

RIVALDO (BRA)
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FIFA Fair Play Award:

New Zealand’s football community
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Top Team of the Year Award:

Brazil
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Best Mover of the Year:

Slovenia

FIFA World Player GALA 1998

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Player of the year:

Zinedine ZIDANE (FRA)
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FIFA Fair Play Award:

The national associations of Iran, the USA and Northern Ireland
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Top Team of the Year Award:

Brazil
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Best Mover of the Year:

Croatia

FIFA World Player GALA 1997

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Player of the year:

RONALDO (BRA)
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FIFA Fair Play Award:

Irish spectators of the World Cup preliminary match versus Belgium, Jozef Zovinec (Slovak amateur player), Julie FOUDY (USA)
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Top Team of the Year Award:

Brazil
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Best Mover of the Year:

Yugoslavia

FIFA World Player GALA 1996

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Player of the year:

RONALDO (BRA)
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FIFA Fair Play Award:

George WEAH (LBR)
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Top Team of the Year Award:

Brazil
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Best Mover of the Year:

South Africa

FIFA World Player GALA 1995

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Player of the year:

George WEAH (LBR)
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FIFA Fair Play Award:

Jacques Glassmann (FRA)
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Top Team of the Year Award:

Brazil
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Best Mover of the Year:

Jamaica

FIFA World Player GALA 1994

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Player of the year:

ROMARIO (BRA)
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Top Team of the Year Award:

Brazil
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Best Mover of the Year:

Croatia

FIFA World Player GALA 1993

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Player of the year:

Roberto BAGGIO (ITA)
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FIFA Fair Play Award:

Nandor Hidgekuti, (individual award) (HUM), Football Association of Zambia
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Top Team of the Year Award:

Germany
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Best Mover of the Year:

Colombia

FIFA World Player GALA 1992

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Player of the year:

Marco VAN BASTEN (NED)
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FIFA Fair Play Award:

Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association