Football, Association, History of

D

African Football

In Africa, the main international event is the Africa Cup of Nations—first held in 1957 when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) was created. The first final took place in Khartoum and involved only Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia. South Africa was due to take part but the CAF insisted on a multiracial team. South Africa withdrew and was not readmitted by the CAF until 1992. Since 1968 the competition has been held every two years; the last time was in 2008 when the winner was Egypt.

In Africa the premier club tournament is the African Champions Cup which is run along similar lines to the European equivalent, held annually with the champions of each country, plus the defending champions, playing on a home-and-away knockout basis. The early years of the competition were dominated by clubs from West and Central Africa. In the 1970s Cameroon and Ghana were in the ascendancy. After 1981 the North African countries held the upper hand. In 1997 it was replaced with a Champions League; past winners include Raja Casablanca, Morocco (1997 and 1999); ASEC Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (1998); Hearts of Oak, Ghana (2000); Al-Ahly, Egypt (2001, 2005, and 2006); Zamalek, Egypt (2002); Enyimba, Nigeria (2003 and 2004), and Étoile Sahel, Tunisia (2007).

Encouraged by the success of the African Champions Cup, the CAF, in 1975, began a competition for each nation’s Cup winners. This is organized like its European counterpart and has been dominated by clubs from West and North Africa. Egyptian clubs have done particularly well, especially Cairo’s Al-Ahly. Like the precedent set by the Jules Rimet trophy, the Abdelaziz Mostafa Cup was won for a third time by Al-Alhy and was awarded to the club permanently. It was followed by the Mandela Cup, which was won in 2003 by Étoile Sahel of Tunisia. In 1992 the CAF introduced a third tournament for the best of the other clubs not taking part in the other two cups. The CAF Cup is the equivalent of the UEFA Cup and run along similar lines. The first winners were Nigeria’s Shooting Stars; the winner in 2003 was Raja Casablanca of Morocco. In 2004 the Cup Winners' Cup and the CAF Cup were replaced by a single tournament called the Confederation Cup, which was won by Hearts of Oak of Ghana in its first year, by FAR Rabat of Morocco in the second, Étoile Sahel of Tunisia in the third, and Club Sportif Sfaxien of Tunisia in the fourth.

E

Central and North American Football

The Central American Championship was contested under various formats and with various numbers of participants from 1941. In 1961 the Central and Caribbean Confederation merged with the North American Football Confederation to form CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football). Up to 1965 the competition was dominated by Costa Rica. Thereafter Mexico did well. Canada won in 1985 and the United States in 1991. In that year it was renamed the CONCACAF Gold Cup. It was won by the United States in 2007. The CONCACAF Champions Cup was the premier club competition for teams from Central America and the Caribbean. It was inaugurated in 1962 and was then held annually. The Mexican clubs were the most successful. It was replaced in 2002 with a Champions’ League-styled tournament.

F

Asian Football

The Asian Cup for national teams was inaugurated in 1956 and thereafter staged every four years. South Korea and Iran were the most successful teams up to 1976. Thereafter Kuwait and Saudi Arabia began to show their strength. In 2004 the tournament was won by Japan and in 2007 by Iraq. An Asian Club Championship was staged from 1967, with a pause between 1972 and 1984, with winners coming from Japan, South Korea, Israel, Qatar, China, Iran, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia. The Asian Cup Winners’ Cup was first held in 1990 and was dominated by Saudi Arabian and Japanese club sides. A Champions League was formed in 2002 that merged these two tournaments. The first winner was Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates in 2003; Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia won the competition in the next two years; with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of Korea winning in 2006 and Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan in 2007.

VII

Women’s Football

Interest in football among women has been greatly on the increase since the 1970s. It is played in many schools and its organization at senior levels has developed along the lines of the game as played by men. There are professional and semi-professional teams in many European countries including Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Spain. In these countries, several thousand spectators may attend matches and the levels of skill on the pitch can equal those seen in the men’s game. Women’s football in Britain is almost exclusively amateur and less well attended, but like the men’s game, is organized into league divisions: leading clubs include Doncaster Rovers Belles, Arsenal Ladies, and Fulham Ladies. In 2000-2001 Fulham Ladies became the first professional ladies’ side in Britain.

In 1991 the first Women’s World Cup (contested by 12 nations) was held and the finals took place in Guangzhou, China. Norway faced the United States who won 2-1. The current World Cup holders are Germany, who beat Brazil in the final in 2007. The European Championship for women was begun in the 1983-1984 season, when Sweden won. Since then the championship has been dominated by Norway (winning in 1987 and 1993) and Germany (1989, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2001, and 2005). In 2001-2002 a UEFA Women’s Cup (played for by European club sides) was instituted; Umeå IK of Sweden have appeared in four of the six finals, winning twice; FFC Frankfurt of Germany have also won on two occasions. The winners in 2007 were Arsenal Ladies of England.

VIII

Football Culture

During the second half of the 20th century the game became increasingly commercialized. In effect it became very big business and a branch of the entertainment industry. Inevitably, there has been corruption and bribery (in itself nothing new in football or other sports), and instances of match-fixing, fraud, and illegal or irregular payments. The top players are paid huge salaries and millions of pounds change hands over transfers of players between clubs. The media have played an ever more powerful role. In fact, football could not easily survive without television and its vast investment in the game.

During the 1970s and 1980s, hooliganism, drunkenness, and violence among club supporters (especially of British clubs) began to bring the game into disrepute and to deter spectators. Riots—before, during, and after matches—and running battles in the streets between fans became commonplace.

There have been several major disasters: at Ibrox Park, Glasgow, in 1902 and 1971, at the Lenin Stadium, Moscow, in 1982, at Heysel, Brussels in 1985, at Valley Parade, Bradford, England in 1985, at Hillsborough, Sheffield, England in 1989, at Bastia, Corsica, in 1992, Ellis Park, Johannesburg, South Africa, and Accra Stadium, Ghana, both in 2001.

It was essential for football authorities to clean up the game on and off the field and to make life safer for spectators. The general improvements include the introduction of all-seater stadia (and some indoor stadia), big video screens for pre-match entertainment, facilities such as family stands to encourage women and children to attend and to promote family participation, crèches, better catering arrangements, much better club match programmes in the shape of glossy brochures, and fanzines (fan magazines) in which club supporters can express their views. Other features are improved surveillance by stewards, police, and video cameras. Hospitality/executive boxes have been installed to bring in more money. By the mid-1990s the measures seemed to have largely succeeded.

Football, like other games, tends to inspire intense rivalry among club supporters and supporters of national teams. Allegiance is expressed by wearing club or national colours (replica shirts, hats, scarves, badges, etc.) and by the display of flags and banners. Danish fans introduced the practice of face-painting in national and club colours. This has caught on around the world and many fans also dye their hair in appropriate team colours. Chanting and the use of musical instruments are also characteristic of modern football crowds. In Brazil, and other Latin American countries, dancing by the spectators to the sound of drums is a common sight. The terms “Samba soccer” and “Mexican Wave” have now been adopted in many other sports.