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History of
Football - Asia |
Tsu Chu
The earliest form of football, with creditable
historical evidence, is Tsu Chu. It was mentioned in a military manual of the
Han Dynasty in the 2nd and 3rd Centuries BC. It appears to be kicking a ball
through an opening 30-40 cm in width in a piece of silk cloth. The ball was made
of leather filled with feathers and hair. The game was often played to celebrate
the Emperor's Birthday. The penalty for loosing was death.
The stamp at right (Sc 2073, SG 3476) is one of an issue of
China on the 20th December 1986. The series was "Sport in Ancient China". The
stamp below is one of the Sharjah series (SG 244) and depicts the net and
players in approximately 175 BC. |
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Kemari
Kemari was played 500-600 years latter in Japan.
This is a game where players pass the ball to each other without it
touching the ground around a square. It is similar to a soccer drill of today
and indeed Kemari is still played in Japan.Sepak
Raga
It was the name of an ancient game played in the
Malay states and probably in neighbouring countries as well. Raga was the rattan
ball used in the game (a woven cane ball). |
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It involved the players standing in a circle keeping the ball in the air, not
just with their feet but also with various other parts of the body, all except
the hands. It was similar to Japanese Kemari. It was the precursor of
Sepak
Takraw which uses a badminton net for the ball to be kicked over. |
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