The making of modern soccer: a product of multiple interdependencies

ABSTRACT

Over the past two decades, academics have robustly debated the early history of the game of football. Initially, support polarized around two conflicting paradigms, the predominance of public school influence against the impact of a more working class subculture. However, in recent years, scholars have concluded that this simplistic account lacks the depth of research required to clarify the more subtle nuances involved in the topic. In short, the undertaking of more locally based studies has revealed the sport’s history to be a far more multifaceted narrative. These apparently disjointed yet crucial local events, moments and memories in the early history of the game thus provide a nuanced perspective to trace the roots of modern soccer. In this article there will be an attempt to locate the state of play and endeavour to examine briefly more recent contributions and potentially move forward what has, to some, become an esoteric exercise.