History of the Game
Soccer, which is known as "Football" in the world outside the USA, has many historical roots. There are mentions of various forms of a sport that involved "kicking" objects from one goal to another goal. Sometimes those objects are described as body parts removed from defeated enemies and sometimes as items from slaughtered animals that were unsuitable for food. Perhaps the clearest early ancestor of modern soccer is a game called "Harpastum" played by the Romans.
The "modern" game dates from 1863 when the first "Laws of the Game" were produced as the result of a meeting, in a pub on Fleet Street in London, between a number of "young gentlemen's schools" that wished to play against each other and therefore needed a single set of Laws. Note: At that meeting one school declined to participate and decided to produce laws for a game of their own. The declining school was Rugby. The game of Rugby Football is also played worldwide and provided the basis of the game of "Football" known by Americans.
The international organization FIFA was initially created in Paris, France, in 1904 and moved to Zurich, Switzerland in 1974. FIFA (Federation International de Football Association), the governing body of worldwide soccer, publishes the Laws of the Game. The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) is recognized by FIFA as the national governing body of soccer in the United States. AYSO is a National Association member of USSF. AYSO is the second largest member of USSF (after US Youth Soccer).