Football, in the sense of modern association football (soccer), was created in England , where the rules of the game were first formally codified in the 19th century.

Quick Scoop: Where was football created?

Short answer

  • The modern game of football (association football / soccer) was created in England, with the Laws of the Game first agreed in London in 1863 under the newly formed Football Association.
  • Earlier ball‑kicking games existed in China , Greece , Rome , and Mesoamerica , but these are seen as distant ancestors rather than the same sport you watch today.

A bit of story time

If you went back to medieval England, you’d already see chaotic village games where crowds kicked a ball through streets and fields with almost no rules. These rough games slowly moved into elite schools like Eton and Rugby, where different rule sets evolved: some allowed handling the ball, some insisted on playing only with the feet.

In 1863, clubs in London met to sort out this confusion and created a unified rulebook that banned carrying the ball by hand and focused on dribbling and kicking, which became the Laws of the Game of association football. This is why England is widely credited as the birthplace of modern football , even though similar games had existed for centuries elsewhere.

Meanwhile, much older kicking games like cuju in ancient China (Han dynasty) and ceremonial ball games in Mesoamerica show that humans have loved ball sports for thousands of years, but none of those had the same global rule system that emerged from England in the 19th century.

TL;DR:

  • Earliest known football‑like games: ancient China (cuju) and other old cultures.
  • The football you know today : created in England , with official rules set in 1863.⚽

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.