The truth must be told.
A litany of issues revolve around football game but many fans have failed to stage a probe so as to find answers.
Have you ever asked a question on why aren’t there two assistants per side of the pitch, for example, so that incidents that occur close to the touchline can be ruled upon with more clarity?…and a question like why does each team consists of only 11 players?
As a matter of truth, all the above cannot be answered if we do not have the basic background where the game originally started.
The truth of the matter is that several decisions were taken during the formative stages of football to the extent that those responsible for its introduction did not feel it necessary to explain the reasoning behind.
Because of that, fans have been left to guess in their attempt to figure out answers.
For your information, football started in Italy since 16 century and it was played only by rich aristocrat.
Originally, each team consisted of 27 players making a total of 54.
Interestingly, no substitution were made.
Four players according history could play as goalkeeper, 3 as fullbacks, 5 halfbacks and 15 forward.
Per historical records, when football arrived in England the rules changed and each team could play with only 15 players.
As time progressed, this combination appeared not to work well because of the fact that the field could congest, making it difficult for referees to make accurate decision.
Premised on that, Football game then began to become more formalised in the 19th century and in 1863 as some official rules were introduced to regulate the situation.
The new regulation permitted only one goalkeeper and that their position would be fixed.
It was again decided that there would be 11 players on each side of the field.
The objectives were to reduce congestion in field, increase referee accuracy of decision making and make football interesting.
Thank you very much for reading this article
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