Cambridge Rules of Football 1848 — Rule #7

I recently had occasion to visit Cambridge, England and while I was there, I was interested to learn a unique piece of football history. Apparently, the first known instance of codifying (or writing down) the rules of association football (or, what we Yanks call soccer) happened in Cambridge. In 1848, a group of Cambridge University students wrote out a set of 11 rules. They nailed these to the trees surrounding Parker’s Piece, a large grassy park in central Cambridge. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, I take a look at Rule 7: Goal is when the ball is kicked through the flag-posts and under the string. Rule #7 — we finally get to the good part: goals! Goals are about finishing; goals are about getting past the line in the determined area — and not only in football, but in faith and in life. Sometimes its hard because we cannot see the outline of where we need to be or where we need to go as clear as the goalmouth on the other end of the pitch. I look more at the similarities and this week’s Rule of 1848 on the podcast. From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer). Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd, in the Apple and Google store.