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Games revolving around kicking a ball have been played throughout history. No one knows exactly when or where or even who invented soccer, but the earliest variations of it have been traced about three thousand years ago. It was also found that the Chinese, Japanese, and Romans played many games similar to how soccer is played today. Since historians did not have the biggest interest in how soccer came to be, no one knows how the great game played by so many, spread throughout the world. |
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Soccer, also known as football, seems to have originated in Europe and Asia, because it has been played there for centuries. In the early 16th century a form of soccer was played in the public schools, which give the English a lot of credit on of the modern day soccer. Yet still not much is known when it really came to be. |
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The first official world cup was in 1930, and was held in Uruguay. A total of ten nations took part, four were from South America, another four were from Europe, and two were from North America. The first two matches took place at the same time and France beat Mexico 4-1 while the USA beat Belgium 3-0. Lucien Laurant, of France, scored the first goal of the world cup. The finalists ended up being Uruguay and Argentina, and Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 and was the first world cup champion. |
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For the first 40 years of the world cup the winners would receive the Jules Rimet Trophy. In 1970 though, when Brazil one the world cup for the third year in a row they were entitled to keep it. A new cup was designed and regardless of how many years in a row a country one, the cup would continue to pass to the winner of each world cup. The trophy will be retired in 2038 when the plaque on the cup will be filled with names. |
| Through out history men have just seemed to play soccer but women have played as well. Women in fact, have been playing soccer as long as it has existed. It was not very common for women to play though. Around World War 1 women’s soccer started becoming more and more popular. One of the most successful ladies teams was Dick, Kerr’s Ladies of Preston. The ladies played in the first women’s national matches in 1920. They played teams from Paris and France, and they made up most of the team |
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In 1991, the first FIFA women’s world cup was held in China, 65 years after the first men’s world cup. A total of the twelve teams competed, Nigeria, China, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Brazil, New Zealand, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and the USA. The US end up winning, they beat Norway 2-1. The 1995 women’s world cup was held |
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for England when they played against Scotland in 1921, winning 22-0. They returned to Scotland in1921to play a second international match in front of an audience of 75,ooo people. Sadly though, in the end of 1921 the football association banned women’s soccer in Scotland and England. But that law was later lifted in 1971.
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in Sweden with Norway beating Germany2-0 and the USA came in third. In 1999, it got over 650,000 fans to the matches. It was held in the USA and they beat China 5-4 in a penalty shot out, and won the 1995 world cup.
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