The Evolution of Football Passing in Nineteenth-Century Britain

Abstract

Passing is a fundamental and frequent activity in the modern game of association football, which has been exemplified by teams such as Barcelona, Manchester City and Spain. Yet, its development has not been researched in detail. There are match reports of passing in 1860s Sheffield and it would appear that passing and combination play were a natural development of competitive territorial games. Football in the mid-nineteenth century was often conducted in a pack with individual players dribbling the ball; yet, this strategy proved ineffective compared to combined play with players positioned across the playing field. The tactical developments in the game were interlinked with the evolution of the rules and particularly the offside rule which was different in Sheffield and Scotland compared to the Football Association’s more stringent rule employed in London. This encouraged passing and forward kicking sometimes with long balls which also encouraged heading.