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Eskimos and Aqsaqtuk
No one knows for sure how long the Inuit have been playing their specific style of football called Aqsaqtuk, which literally means soccer on ice. However the game has been mentioned in the myths and legends of the Inuit for hundreds of years. One belief of the Inuit is that the spirits of the dead travel to the northern lights where they play an eternal game of football using the head of a walrus as the ball!!
The game of Aqsaqtuk is played between two teams (of varying numbers) who line up to face each other at kick off. The ball is kicked between the lines until it crosses one line of players….then all the players rush to kick the ball into their opponent's goal.
The length of the pitch can vary dramatically - there is a legend, which tells of a game between two villages that had goals 10 miles apart!!! The football is made of animal hide and whale bones. It is stuffed with hair, moss, feathers and wood shavings.
The two teams were normally named after birds. In most cases it was the ptarmigans (an arctic bird similar to a grouse) versus the long-tails. In summer, the two teams would play a game with the long-tails playing towards the water and the ptarmigans playing towards land, their favored habitat. The two sides would also engage in song battles, with the players trying to outdo each other and embarrass the other team.
After the game, celebrations would be held in a large communal igloo called qaggi.
The American Indians and Pasuckuakohowog
It's a mouthful isn't it?
Records show The Native American Indians played football or Pasuckaukohowog from approximately 1620. Although it is highly likely that they were actually playing football earlier. The word Pasuckuakohowog actually means '..They gather to play ball with the foot…'.
These games were not very nice and incredibly violent. It was quite often that players would retire with broken bones and other serious injuries. In fact the game was almost a war with up to 500 players on each side.
The players understood the violent nature of the game as they would often disguise themselves with lots of war paint and ornaments to avoid retribution after the game. The game was normally played on a pitch that was often a mile long with goals at either end. The game could last for hours and often carried on from one day to the next.
At the end of the match both sides would meet for a celebratory feast. (Hence the need for a disguise during the game!)
The Aztecs and Tlachtli
Tlatchi was a game played by the Aztecs and some individuals have claimed that it is over 3000 years old. We cannot verify this but it is quite possible that the game was being played around 500 BCE. This would make it older than the Chinese game of Tsu Chu. However Tlachtli was more a mix of basketball, volleyball and football rather than just a forerunner of football. One key rule was that players could not use their hands, although they could use their heads, elbows, legs or hips(?).
The ruins of almost every ancient city include a walled court for the sacred game of Tlachtli. The courts were often close to temples, reinforcing the spiritual nature of the game. Tlatchi has been described as a spectator sport, an astrological study and a political engagement all at the same time.
The sense of astrology comes from the fact that the Aztecs and particularly the priests felt that the movement of the rubber ball during the game symbolized the future path of the sun.
Great prominence was given to the mystic similarities between ball and sun. Only the ruling elite were allowed to watch the game and gambling on the outcome of the game was very popular. Money, clothes and even slaves were bet on games.
Tlachtli was played in a sunken stone walled court surrounded by fans. The court was normally an 'I' or 'H' shape with one stone ring at each end of the court. (The stone rings were similar to basketball hoops and were 8-10 feet off the ground. The actual hole was less than 30 cm wide.
The actual game involved passing the ball from side to side without it touching the ground. If the ball fell to the ground on the other side your team would win a point and vice versa (similar to volleyball.) If you struck the ball with an incorrect part of your body you could lose points for your team.
However the real purpose of the game was to get the ball through the hoop at each end. The team that did this first won, irrespective of the current score of the game.
Players were given kneepads and helmets to protect them from the heavy rubber ball, although this was only a temporary measure as the losers of the game were sacrificed to the gods!
The Italians and Calcio
The history of Calcio officially stretches back to the 16th Century. However the roots of Calcio can be found in the Roman game of Harpastum.
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The most famous game of Calcio took place on 17th February 1530 in Piazza Santa Croce in Florence. At the time the entire city of Florence was under siege from the Medici. Even though the siege was taking its toll, the people of Florence were determined to go ahead with the game in order to maintain the tradition of playing during the February carnival and to show contempt to the invading army. Musicians even played on the rooftops to enliven the game. The result of the game was not recorded, maybe because the game was really about the city of Florence showing unity in the face of the Medici. |
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The game of Calcio itself was similar to rugby and a lot more violent than the game played today. Young men of exceptional strength, notably the aristocrats, played it on special occasions.
The game itself involved teams of 27 players who could use both their feet and hands to play the ball. Matches were generally played in the piazzas (city squares) of major cities. Goals were scored by throwing the ball over a designated spot at the opposing end of the field of play. The key rule in Calcio is that the ball is kept moving. If the ball stops, play is paused and resumed.
Calcio was an incredibly popular game in Italy and its influence even stretched to the Vatican where popes such as Pope Clement VII, Leo IX and Urban VIII were known to play occasionally.
In 1580 a gentleman called Giovanni Bardi published the first set of rules regarding Calcio, approximately three hundred years before the rules of association football were recorded.
Calcio is no longer played in Italy with the exception of the June festival in Florence, when exhibition matches are held.
However the name of Calcio lingers on as the Italian football league still uses the name in its official title.
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Peace Education
Does fairness stand a chance?
Are you fair? Or do you just like to think you are? Does fairness have a place in areas that are very competitive such as politics and business? Can fairness be used to describe a particular attitude towards one's opponent? Do you have rivals? Do you respect them as partners? Does fairness as a principle stands any chance whatsoever of prevailing in a society where gaining a competitive edge and breaking the rules is done intentionally on a regular basis?
What is fairness? Fairness is used to cover a wide range of meanings from beauty, justness, politeness, honesty, directness, frankness, peacefulness and being dignified to gentleness, even-handedness and impartiality. Those with a sense of fairness stick to the written and unwritten rules understand what it means to have good manners, to be tactful and to respect customs and practices. Where there's fairness, sincerity, love of justice and courage of one's own convictions will not be far away. Fairness promotes tolerance and harmony and the will to treat an opponent fairly.
But fairness has rivals: cunning and trickery, deception and deceit. Faced with tough competition and situations in which the gloves are clearly off and it's all about being number one, it's tempting to turn your back on fairness, to break the rules here and there and to try to use this to one's own advantage. Greed and pressure to succeed leave no room for the sprit of fair play. In these situations, fair play becomes a luxury and nothing more than a wild dream.
Although fairness refers to acting properly in everyday life, it has become more and more associated with sporting competition. A large number of fair-play campaigns have been established in sport. (...). According to the dictionary of sporting ethics, "fairness is demonstrated by the efforts of those participating in a competition consciously to stick to the rules even under difficult circumstances."
Fairness comes first. Does fairness come first? The English author, George Orwell, wrote in 1948: "Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. Hard competition is associated with hate, jealousy, showing off and disregarding all the rules." Indeed, you don't have to look far to prove this point. Take a typical Saturday Premiership game for example. The ball hasn't crossed the line, but the referee blows for a goal. It would be easy for the striker to tell the referee that it wasn't a goal. But the striker doesn't. Take the football manager that tells his defender to make sure that his opponent is not sitting a the after-match dining table. This is nothing more than a thinly veiled appeal for him to take out the opposing striker. And then, of course, there is the case of one of the world's best footballers using his hand to score a goal in a key World Cup match and then boasting afterwards that it was the "Hand of God". A large number of sports are plagued with attempts by athletes to fill their bodies full of drugs in an attempt to gain an unfair advantage.
Doping is a word that goes hand in hand with unfairness. Indeed, the incredibly contradictory term of fair foul is very much a part of football terminology. And a word such as killer instinct needs little explaining. All these aspects conspire to destroy the fun of the game and turn the opponent into the enemy.
Is there anything that can be done about this? Philosophers Hans Lenk and the Sports Sociologist, Gunter A. Pilz, pointed out years ago that it's essential to make sure that fairness is taught, that it is a cause worthy of support and that it is a concept that is desperately needed in a society on the verge of rack and ruin due to the pressures of success. They also called for people to learn composure and a more easy manner, which serve in automatically promoting fair play. (...) Only in this way might the following sentence be disproved: "The first myth about fairness is that it exists at all." In sport as in life.
What is fair? The painter Vincent van Gogh put it like this: "The aim is to find a place in the sun, without forcing anyone else into the shade."
Eleven rules for making sure that a game is played fair
Before the game
1. Decide that you are going to play fair and not intentionally injure anyone!
2. Exchange a few friendly words with your opponents and ask them their names!
3. Look forward to the game rather than the victory!
4. Form a circle and emphasize the following: We are a team and the others are just sporting opponents!
During the game
5. Stick to the rules and follow the instructions of the referee!
6. Stay relaxed, even if you are being provoked by others!
7. Ignore supporters that are calling for you to go in harder!
8. If things go wrong or you're facing defeat, always bear in mind that football is only a game!
9. Treat all the players on the pitch the same even if they speak a different language, are a different color or have a different nationality!
After the game
10. Enjoy winning, but don't mock the other team! Congratulate the winning team!
11. Express your thanks to your fellow players for the game even if things went wrong!
Unfair! Nine steps leading up to a seriously bad tackle
1. Atmosphere
An uncomfortable tension can be felt in the air before the game begins and the atmosphere is charged. Memories of the last game are still vivid. If things don't go right this time, all our efforts will have been wasted.
2. Provocation
A very hard, perhaps over-the-top challenge raises the stakes. It's difficult to say whether it was accidental, on purpose or targeted provocation.
3. Very physical
The game has only just begun, but it's getting more and more physical. The referee is unsure and is showing restraint for the moment. Things are getting more and more tense. It won't take a lot now for the game to get out of hand.
4. Ganging
Another petulant challenge. Half of the team rushes over to confront the perpetrator. The first yellow card is shown. But it had nothing to do with the actual game!
5. The finger
Clearly intentional, this obscene gesture is clearly intended as an insult! Not reacting in kind will lead to ridicule after the game!
6. Threats
Exchanging insults instead of playing football: Concentration is lost and threats are made: I'll see you after the game!
7. Fouls
The number of fouls being committed behind the back of the referee increases. It hurts. The blood begins to boil and you're just waiting for a chance to get your own back.
8. The crowd is baying for more aggression
The tension on the field is transferred to the crowed. Supporters are demanding that the players go in harder. The danger of off-the pitch fighting is increasing.
9. Merciless tackle
An opponent is subjected to a merciless tackle. The result is a serious injury and red cards are shown; the players and supporters are out of control and the game is abandoned. Points for nobody, just empty faces, tears and accusations against the opponents and yourselves.