History of Football

24 snips

Dec 15, 2025

Explore the chaotic origins of football, from medieval town scrambles to royal bans. Discover the pioneering women like Nettie Honeyball and Lily Parr, who broke barriers long before the sport was widely accepted. Laugh along as tales of gruesome incidents and absurd tactics highlight the game's wild history. Learn how public school rules shaped modern football and hear about the significant impact of World Wars, all while enjoying humorous sketches and sound effects sprinkled throughout the journey.

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INSIGHT

Medieval Football Was Town-Wide Chaos

Medieval football was a large, chaotic community event played on festival days like Shrove Tuesday and Christmas.
Games involved hundreds of players, few rules, and no referees, turning whole towns into the pitch.

ANECDOTE

A Deadly Game Led To Papal Intervention

In 1321 William de Spaulding accidentally stabbed his friend during a game and had to seek papal forgiveness.
The episode highlights how violent and legally consequential medieval matches could become.

INSIGHT

Kings Tried To Ban Football For Military Reasons

Several monarchs tried to ban football to force people to practice archery for war readiness.
Despite royal bans from Edward III to James IV, the sport remained deeply popular across society.

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Dead Funny History: History of Football.

Join historian Greg Jenner for a funny and fascinating journey through the History of Football. A laugh-out-loud episode of Dead Funny History, the family podcast that brings the past back to life.

From medieval madness to the modern game Football might be the world’s favourite sport today, but its early days were anything but beautiful. Greg takes us back to medieval Britain, when football was a chaotic town-wide scramble played on Pancake Day, complete with hundreds of players, broken windows and absolutely no referee in sight.

Kings, chaos … and the rules of the game We meet monks who first wrote about the sport and kings who tried (and failed) to ban it. Then, in the 1800s, posh public-school students invented their own versions, and their many arguments eventually gave us both football and rugby.

Enter the gloriously named Ebenezer Cobb Morley, the man who helped create the Football Association and the rulebook that changed the game forever.

The women who made football their own Greg also features the brilliant women who played, led and loved football long before it was accepted. There’s Nettie Honeyball, who founded the British Ladies’ Football Club, and Lily Parr, the teenage superstar striker of the Dick, Kerr Ladies, famous for her unstoppable shot and trailblazing spirit.

Even when the FA banned women’s matches in 1921, these pioneers kept playing, paving the way for today’s Lionesses.

History meets hilarity With jokes, sketches and sound effects galore, from “Vatican VAR” to medieval mob matches, Greg Jenner and the Dead Funny History team bring the story of football roaring to life. It’s packed with fun facts, silly moments and quick-fire quizzes that make learning irresistible for children, families and football fans alike.

The perfect family listen If you’ve ever wondered how football began, why kings banned it, or how women’s teams made sporting history, this episode delivers a clever mix of comedy and education. Funny, factual and full of heart, Dead Funny History: The History of Football is history with extra time and plenty of laughs.

Host: Greg Jenner Writers: Jack Bernhardt, Gabby Hutchinson Crouch and Dr Emma Nagouse Performers: Mali Ann Rees and John Luke-Roberts Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse Associate Producer: Gabby Hutchinson Crouch Audio Producer: Emma Weatherill Script Consultant: Professor Jean Williams Production Coordinator: Liz Tuohy Production Manager: Jo Kyle Studio Managers: Keith Graham and Andrew Garratt Sound Designer: Peregrine Andrews

A BBC Studios Production