Football and Soccer (1872)

Athenians [a'finjənz] – афиняне

Corinthians [kə'rin jənz] – коринфяне

The pastime of kicking a ball around goes back beyond the limits of recorded history. Ancient savage tribes played football of a primitive kind. There was a ball-kicking game played by Athenians and Spartans and Corinthians 2500 years ago. The Romans had a somewhat similar game and are supposed to have carried the game with them when they invaded the British Isles in the 1^st century, B. C.

American football is a distinct type of football that developed in the United States in the 19th century from soccer and rugby. Football is played by school, college and professional teams and is one of the most popular American sports, attracting thousands of participants and millions of spectators annually. Students' teams made American football especially popular. He who has not attended a large college football game has missed one of the most colourful aspects of American college life. Between the two halves of the game, the playing field is taken over by the bands of rival institutions, which take turns doing intricate marches and executing interesting formations.

There professional football teams in all major cities of the United States. Their players are almost always former college football players. The number of spectators at professional football games is larger than at college games, because the professional players are more skilled and perform more spectacularly. The Super Bowl is the final contest of the National Football League's season and determines the league's annual champion.

What the rest of the world calls football, is known as soccer in the United States. It was not widely played until the 1970s, when the North American Soccer League (NASL) brought international stars like Pele and Franz Beckenbauer to the United States. The league left a legacy of growing American involvement in the sport, especially at the youth level. By the 1990s, soccer was recognized as the fastest-growing college and high school sport in the United States. The increased American interest in soccer, sparked by the 1994 World Cup, which took place in the United States, led to the formation of a new professional soccer league, called Major League Soccer (MLS). The league, consisting often teams, began play in 1996.

Check your comprehension.

1. How did ancient tribes play football? 2. When did ancient people play football? 3. Who brought the ball game to the British Isles? 4. What did American football develop from? 5. Which teams made football popular in America? 6. What differs American college spectators from any spectators from other countries? 7. What is the difference between professional and amateur football players? 8. What is the purpose of NFL? 9. When did soccer appear in the USA? 10. What is MLS and what stimulated to its formation?

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