Cambridge Rules of Football 1848 — Rule #8

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 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 8: When a player catches the ball directly from the foot, he may kick it as he can without running with it. In no other case may the ball be touched with the hands, except to stop it. Rule #8 — this one’s a little bit more difficult to understand when you think about the modern game. There is no touching of the ball with the hands except for the goalkeeper and except within a certain area of the field. In today’s podcast though, I talk about why this rule might be there and what it represents from the aspect of having to compromise. You’ll have to listen to learn more. 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.