Football

Graeme Dobson takes the reader on a romp through 5,000 years of
extraordinary history as he traces the family tree of all the modern
football codes. He identifies a startling array of ancestors, from
English school boys all the way back, through Vikings, Greeks
and a host of other players, to an ancient Chinese warlord. Along
the way he introduces huge professional football leagues, complete
with female players and fan clubs that existed 1,000 years ago.
Like in any family tree, there are bizarre black sheep and myths
to investigate-like, 'were the first games played with the heads of
executed criminals?' 'Was soccer invented by the English?' 'Did
rugby originate when Web Ellis picked the ball up and ran with it
during a soccer match?' 'Which came first-Australian or Gaelic
football?' and 'Could a mob of Kiwis really be responsible for
rugby league in Australia?'
The answers are both intriguing and unexpecte