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The history of the soccer club dates back to ancient times. During the early ancestral version of what we now know as soccer, teams and clubs existed throughout ancient China and Mesoamerica. As the game evolved so did the club organization and team structure. It is hard to speculate who formed the first soccer club ever as it is not easy to agree on who was really playing the game that we now call soccer.
The clearest starting point for organized club soccer began in England in October of 1863. What we commonly think of as a soccer club today was created when a group of eleven team’s representatives met at the London Freemason’s tavern to agree upon a set of standard rules that would govern all soccer matches. At that meeting, rules regarding tripping, skin-kicking and carrying the ball finally forced an agreed separation between rugby players and soccer players. On December 8, 1863, the “Laws of the Game” were created and clubs were now able to officially be recognized by a governing body called the Football Association. 50 soccer clubs would be inducted into the association over the following eight years. Uruguay’s National Club was founded in 1900.
