football codes.
Various forms of football can be identified in history, often as popular
peasant games. Contemporary codes of football can be traced back to
the codification of these games at English public schools during the nineteenth century.
[3][4] The expanse of the
British Empire allowed these rules of football to spread to areas of British influence outside of the directly controlled Empire.
British Influence
[5]
By the end of the nineteenth century, distinct regional codes were
already developing: Gaelic football, for example, deliberately
incorporated the rules of local traditional football games in order to
maintain their heritage.
[6] In 1888,
The Football League was founded in England, becoming the first of many
professional
football competitions. During the twentieth century, several of the
various kinds of football grew to become some of the most popular team
sports in the world.
[7]
