The Football Association was founded on October 26, 1863, at a tavern in London, where representatives of a dozen clubs met to agree on one set of rules. Until then each school and town played its own version, and a kick could mean a foot or a carry. The group wanted order.
The talks were not calm. The biggest fight was over hacking, the practice of kicking an opponent's shins, and over whether a player could pick up the ball and run, so Ebenezer Cobb Morley drafted the first laws and the clubs that liked running with the ball walked out and later formed rugby. The split was born.
The new code spread fast. The FA Cup began in 1871 and turned local clubs into names known across the country, and the rules crossed the sea to Europe and South America through British sailors and traders who carried the game wherever they landed. A game once played by a few schools became the world's sport. Clubs formed in mill towns and ports, and the Saturday match became a fixed point in working life across the country.
The body still governs the game in England. The laws of 1863 were revised many times, yet the core idea held: one rule book for all. Football's reach now spans nearly every country on earth.