Most popular sport in the world.
Earliest record: 11th century England
Evolved from folk to popular culture.
Origins are obscure, but first recorded event: 1042, England (hearth)
Excavators use a Danish soldier’s head for a ball
Ball evolves to an inflated cow bladder.
Evolved to a “mob game” between local villages.
Local folk culture at this point.
Clubs founded in 1800s England
Churches & Factory workers
Taught in schools
Professional players by mid-century
Soccer exported through colonization
Folk: Traditional Local start Rivalries between
English villages
Popular: Innovative International
organizations and rules
Adoption of modern technology
Folk: communal Village competitions Local clubs
Popular: individualistic
Still communal event Also, accessible at
the individual level: Video games Stats analysis
Folk: Slow Local diffusion for
many years Spread slowly
throughout centuries
Popular: FastDiffused internationally within several centuries
Folk: Slow and Limited Possible contagious diffusion within England
Popular: Rapid and Extensive Hierarchical and contagious diffusion through
colonialism
Folk: Oral Communication
Small village contests
Contagious diffusion
Popular: Mass Media
Adoption of mass media and technology