This collection offers fresh perspectives from leading international football historians and sociologists on the early development of football (soccer), illuminating our understanding of the early history of the sport and the importance of sport in our broader social and cultural history.

Graham Curry teaches Physical Education and served as Head of PE at Tuxford Academy, UK for 30 years. His academic interests lie in the history of Association football, grounded in the figurational sociology of Norbert Elias, and the early football subculture in Sheffield. He also represents England in football in the over-60s age group.

Introduction, 1. Football Outside the Schools in the United States Before Codification, 2. The Beginnings of Football in Germany in the Light of Contemporary Sources, 3. Researching the Origins and Early History of the Football Codes: A View from Down-Under, 4. The Beginnings of Soccer in Melbourne: The Eternal Recurrence of the Game, 5. The Emergence of Club Football in 'The Potteries': Bottle Kilns for Goalposts, 6. A Review of Early Football in Lincolnshire: County Town, Market Towns and Grammar Schools, 7. English Handball Sports in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, 8. Football Grows Far and Wide in the North East: Development to 1890 and the Creation of the Northern League, 9. Early Football in and around Shrewsbury: Soccer in the Sticks, 10. Football in Winchester, in Town and College, before 1884: 'Very Fast and Interesting to Look on at'