10,000-year-old weapon found in melting glacier

Posted by Reza irfan raditya on 10:37 PM

10,000-year-old weapon found in melting glacierWho says climate change doesn't have its good side? Not archaeologists, who discovered a spear from ten millennia ago in a melting ice patch - and that's just the start of what they've found.
The artifact in question is an atlatl dart, a spear-like weapon used by Native Americans. Although the artifact, which you can see below, may look like just a tree branch - a fact exacerbated by it being curved by the melting process and nearly snapped in half by a passing animal - it was actually a state-of-the-art hunting weapon when it was used 10,000 years ago.
10,000-year-old weapon found in melting glacier
The discovery was made possible by the unprecedented melting of ice patches, once permanently frozen areas that are now revealing their secrets. Leading the charge is Craig Lee of the University of Colorado, who explains what his new specialty of ice patch archaeology is all about:The best part is that the artifacts entombed in the ice are often objects that couldn't have survived in any other conditions. A wooden weapon like the atlatl would likely have decomposed long ago if left unprotected against the elements. By carefully studying regions of past human activity to identify the most likely patches to contain artifacts, Lee and other archaeologists can discover everything from human artifacts to plant remains, animal carcasses, and, yes, feces, all of which can help us better understand the ancient past.
Lee explains what is most likely to be found in these ice patches:

wise quotes

Posted by Reza irfan raditya on 7:56 PM
Knowledge talks, wisdom listens.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me !

Only the wisest and the stupidest of men never change.

Don’t let your victories go to your head, or your failures go to your heart.

Those who criticize our generation forget who raised it.

Criticizing is easy, art is difficult.

Violence won’t solve a thing. It makes it more challenging to solve, though.

I don’t know what the key to success is, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.

When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.

Not to care for philosophy is to be a true philospher.

The mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work unless it’s open.

The best mind-altering drug is truth.

Be wiser than other people if you can, but do not tell them so.

Never forget what a man says to you when he is angry.

A winner listens, a loser just waits until it is their turn to talk.

Guns don’t kill people — people do.

He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.

If you are not part of the cure, then you are part of the problem.

The only time you run out of chances is when you stop taking them.

The best things in life are not things.

An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him.

Think like a man of action, and act like a man of thought.

Beware of a man of one book.

He who knows others is learned; he who knows himself is wise.

Man Utd hold off Chelsea to win Shield

Posted by Reza irfan raditya on 7:05 PM
Manchester United inflicted their first defeat on Chelsea since the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti as Blues boss to win the Community Shield and lay down a marker for the new season.

Ancelotti's team ended the last campaign as Premier League and FA Cup champions - inflicting home and away league defeats on United in the process, as well as winning the Community Shield.

But they had no answer to a United team inspired by the evergreen Paul Scholes, who controlled the contest from midfield with a superb passing display.

On an afternoon when England's World Cup flops were booed by the vast majority of the 84,623 inside Wembley, Wayne Rooney played a superb low pass for Antonio Valencia's opening goal.

United received a further fillip when new signing Javier Hernandez scored a somewhat fortuitous goal after coming on as a half-time substitute.

Chelsea, who found Edwin van der Sar in impressive form, pulled a goal back late on through Salomon Kalou after the Dutch keeper had made a brilliant one-handed save from substitute Daniel Sturridge.

But substitute Dimitar Berbatov extinguished any slim hopes of a Chelsea comeback with an exquisite lob from Nani's cute pass in the final minute to complete a successful afternoon for Sir Alex Ferguson's team.

The match enjoyed a particularly lively opening period, during which both teams had clear chances to open the scoring.

Valencia did not put enough purchase on an attempted lob, while Scholes wastefully - and somewhat uncharacteristically - volleyed well wide after he had been picked out completely unmarked 16 yards from goal.

Chelsea, with Nicolas Anelka at the tip of an attacking trio that also comprised Florent Malouda and Kalou, quickly responded.
Van der Sar, with a rare handling error, failed to hold a long-range strike from Anelka, but Kalou could not convert the rebound from a tight angle.

If the Dutch keeper had been less than assured with Anelka's strike, he was simply sensational as he palmed clear a goal-bound header from Branislav Ivanovic with one hand.

On a warm Wembley afternoon, the tempo noticeably dipped as the opening half wore on, but there was still a series of breathtaking passes from Scholes to savour.

His deft chip played Rooney through but the striker could not find the target from an acute angle, while several times the veteran midfielder caught left-back Cole out of position with raking cross-field passes.

From one of them, Rooney played a precise first-time cross that Valencia converted for the opening goal four minutes before the break.

Chelsea, who defeated Portsmouth to win the FA Cup on their previous trip to Wembley in May, responded after the restart, with Malouda and the fit-again Michael Essien shooting narrowly wide from long distance, while Van der Sar denied Kalou and Cole, who was later booed from the field as he was substituted.

United had made a triple change at the break - with Hernandez soon into his stride on his first major outing since joining from Mexican side Guadalajara.

The diminutive forward showcased a series of flicks and spins, as well as a speed and willingness to create space.

But he was lucky with his goal, snatching at a Valencia cross only for the ball to strike him flush in the face before deflecting into the net.

Chelsea responded, with Van der Sar twice denying the lively Sturridge but unable to prevent Kalou from slotting home a rebound.

It looked as though the Blues might find an equaliser but the prospect of a fourth penalty shoot-out in as many years ended with Berbatov's crafty lobbed finish in injury-time.

Chelsea: Hilario, Paulo Ferreira (Bruma 79), Ivanovic, Terry, Cole (Zhirkov 79), Essien, Lampard, Mikel (Drogba 60), Kalou, Anelka (Sturridge 60), Malouda (Benayoun 72).

Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Van Aanholt.

Goals: Kalou 83.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, O'Shea, Jonathan Evans, Vidic, Fabio Da Silva (Smalling 71), Valencia, Scholes (Fletcher 80), Carrick (Giggs 79), Park (Nani 46), Owen (Hernandez 46), Rooney (Berbatov 46).

Russia Vows Support for Breakaway Georgian Territories

Posted by Reza irfan raditya on 7:00 PM
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has pledged to develop broad economic and security ties with Abkhazia, one of two breakaway Georgian territories recognized by Moscow as independent countries.

Map of Georgia

Mr. Medvedev spoke Sunday in the Abkhaz city of Sukhumi, on the second anniversary of a brief but deadly war with Georgia.

He said the move to recognize the territories was not a simple decision. But he said time has shown it to be the right decision.

Russian forces crushed the Georgian army in the five-day war, and left thousands of troops in place in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Russia's move to recognize the regions as independent countries has been condemned by Georgia and by virtually all Western governments.

Georgia commemorated the war Saturday, with President Mikheil Saakashvili saying it remains Georgia's duty "to continue the struggle every day for the liberation of our land."

Following wreath-laying ceremonies Saturday in the Georgian capital, Georgian Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia vowed that Georgian soldiers who died in the conflict will not be forgotten.

In Washington, U.S. senator and former presidential candidate John McCain called for more U.S. support for Georgia.

Writing in Sunday's edition of The Washington Post, McCain praised President Barack Obama for recent statements supporting Georgia. But he urged the administration to, in his words, "turn these good words into better policies."

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized Russia for what she called its "occupation" of the two Georgian territories.
Posted by Reza irfan raditya on 6:59 PM
Cara Sholat Hajat

Januari 18, 2007

Sebagai seorang muslim, hendaknya kita senantiasa memohon kepada Allah S.W.T. Allah pasti menggabulkan permohonan hamban-Nya, karena Allah selalu dekat dengan hamba-Nya dan Dia Maha mendengar.

Shalat Hajat ialah Shalat sunat yang selalu dikerjakn untuk suatu keperluan (hajat) agar diperkenankan oleh Allah.

Di dalam Al-Qur’an Allah berfirman :
“Hai orang-orang yang beriamn, mohonlah pertolongan (kepada Allah) dengan kesabaran dan shalat, sesuguhnya Allah beserta orang-orang yang sabar.” (QS. Al-Baqarah: 153)

Wallahu A’lam.

Setelah Melihat Dan Membaca Komentar Santi saya tertarik sekali bahwa katanya sholat hajat itu termasuk dalam Bid’ah dan tidak boleh di kerjakan. Saya pun mencoba mencari referensi dari internet dan alhamdulillah saya menemukan tetang sholat hajat tersebut, Dan saya temukan Link seperti berikut ini.

http://www.mail-archive.com/assunnah@yahoogroups.com/msg18785.html

untuk menjaga agar link tersebut tidak hilang maka saya copy disini.

http://unsecure.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/sholat-hajat-bidah/

mungkin anda bingung dan merasa salah. Tapi ada baiknya kita sama sama mencari guru yang benar benar mampu di bidang itu. Untuk memperjelas mana sebenarnya yang lebih baik. Menurut saya pribadi dari pada ragu ragu lebih baik tidak di kerjakan sama sekali

Toh tidak hanya sholat hajat yang bole meminta pada tuhan masih ada sholat lail yang lebih bahkan sangat jelas dasar hukumnya.

Jadi tinggal memutuskan Sholat hajat itu Bidah atau tidak ..?? mari bertanya terhadap yang lebih tau.

untuk saudari Santi Terima Kasih atas comentarnya . Saya sangat senang Sekali :) .Dan kalau hati anda tergerak untuk melihat postingan ini lagi bolehlah kiranya saya tau email anda :) ini email saya/

Saudis, BlackBerry Strike Deal

Posted by Reza irfan raditya on 6:57 PM
Officials say deal involves installing BlackBerry computer servers in the kingdom, which would allow the government some access to user's data
(File Photo)

Saudi Arabia and the company that makes BlackBerry mobile devices are testing a plan that would allow the government to monitor messages sent to and from the smart phones.

Saudi Arabia's telecommunications regulator said the testing is part of a 48-hour grace period before an annouced ban on the BlackBerry's messaging service. The grace period ends Monday.

Officials say the deal involves installing BlackBerry computer servers in the kingdom, which would allow the Saudi government some access to user's data.

Saudi Arabia announced it would suspend messenger services Friday because Research in Motion, the company that makes the BlackBerry, has failed to meet Riyadh's demands for access to encrypted information.

The BlackBerry is still facing potential bans in the United Arab Emirates and India.

Kuwait said Sunday it has no intention of banning BlackBerry services, but is talking to RIM about government concerns.

The UAE has said it will suspend e-mail, web browsing and instant messenger services on BlackBerry devices starting October 11. The ban will not affect telephone and text messaging services.

Like Saudi Arabia, the UAE actively censors websites and other forms of media seen as harming national security.

India has also voiced concern about the fact that BlackBerry technology makes it nearly impossible for a third party to monitor users' communications.

Cara Sholat Hajat

Posted by Reza irfan raditya on 8:05 PM
Sebagai seorang muslim, hendaknya kita senantiasa memohon kepada Allah S.W.T. Allah pasti menggabulkan permohonan hamban-Nya, karena Allah selalu dekat dengan hamba-Nya dan Dia Maha mendengar.

Shalat Hajat ialah Shalat sunat yang selalu dikerjakn untuk suatu keperluan (hajat) agar diperkenankan oleh Allah.

Di dalam Al-Qur’an Allah berfirman :
“Hai orang-orang yang beriamn, mohonlah pertolongan (kepada Allah) dengan kesabaran dan shalat, sesuguhnya Allah beserta orang-orang yang sabar.” (QS. Al-Baqarah: 153)

Wallahu A’lam.

Setelah Melihat Dan Membaca Komentar Santi saya tertarik sekali bahwa katanya sholat hajat itu termasuk dalam Bid’ah dan tidak boleh di kerjakan. Saya pun mencoba mencari referensi dari internet dan alhamdulillah saya menemukan tetang sholat hajat tersebut, Dan saya temukan Link seperti berikut ini.

http://www.mail-archive.com/assunnah@yahoogroups.com/msg18785.html

untuk menjaga agar link tersebut tidak hilang maka saya copy disini.

http://unsecure.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/sholat-hajat-bidah/

mungkin anda bingung dan merasa salah. Tapi ada baiknya kita sama sama mencari guru yang benar benar mampu di bidang itu. Untuk memperjelas mana sebenarnya yang lebih baik. Menurut saya pribadi dari pada ragu ragu lebih baik tidak di kerjakan sama sekali

Toh tidak hanya sholat hajat yang bole meminta pada tuhan masih ada sholat lail yang lebih bahkan sangat jelas dasar hukumnya.

Jadi tinggal memutuskan Sholat hajat itu Bidah atau tidak ..?? mari bertanya terhadap yang lebih tau.

untuk saudari Santi Terima Kasih atas comentarnya . Saya sangat senang Sekali :) .Dan kalau hati anda tergerak untuk melihat postingan ini lagi bolehlah kiranya saya tau email anda :) ini email saya/

DENSUS 88

Posted by Reza irfan raditya on 7:57 PM
Detachment 88, or Delta 88, is a nickname given to the newly anti-terror special force unit formed within Indonesian Police (Polri). According to Brig. Gen. Pranowo, the Indonesian Police Headquarter Anti-Terror Director, the number '88' is taken from the largest number of casualties suffered by a country in the Bali bombings incidents. In that incident, 88 Australians lost their lives.

The number '88' also has some other meanings. The number '8' represents continuity since this number does not show the beginning and the end like other numbers. The number '8' also looks like police handcuffs. These two symbolic explanation depict the mentality of Detachment 88 that is very seious to work continuously to solve the terrorism-related cases.

This special unit is being funded by the US government through its State Department's Diplomatic Security Service. The unit is currently being trained in Megamendung, 50 kilometers south of Jakarta, by CIA, FBI, and US Secret Service. Most of these instructors were ex-US special forces personnels.

Detachment 88 is designed to become an anti-terrorist unit that is capable to counter various terrorists' threats, from bomb threats to hostage situations. This 400-personnels strong special force is expected to be fully operative in 2005. They consist of investigators, explosive experts, and attack unit that includes snipers.

Detachment 88 is equipped with US weaponry and assault vehicles, such as Colt M-4 assault rifles, Armalite AR-10 sniper rifles, and Remington 870 shotguns. It is reported, although has not been confirmed yet, that this unit will have its own C-130 Hercules military transport airplane to increase its mobility. All the equipments, including their training materials, reportedly are exactly the same as those of US anti-terrorist units.

Wise word

Posted by Reza irfan raditya on 8:49 PM
"Sometimes it's not how big the steps are, simply just the direction in which the steps are going."
"How can you face your problem if your problem is your face?"
"The truth which makes men free is for the most part the truth which women prefer not to hear."

Potential for the capital city of Palangkaraya RI (translate from indonesian)

Posted by Reza irfan raditya on 8:41 PM
Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, potentially be used as the capital of Indonesia because of the geopolitical side, the geological, geographical and strategic enough, said a political observer from the University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta Nurmandi Achmad.

"Making Palangkaraya in lieu of Jakarta, the geopolitics is an equitable distribution business development because during this time infrastrukktur development is concentrated in the western part of Indonesia especially Java," he said in Yogyakarta, Wednesday (08/04/2010).

In addition, according to him, the geographic position right in the middle of Palangkaraya Indonesia and has the geological conditions are relatively safe from natural disasters. Palangkaraya tends to be safe from earthquakes and floods than other cities.

"The cost to build Palangakaraya a city that is ready to become a center of government to provide infrastructure, both buildings and roads, is estimated to reach Rp 100 trillion," he said.

He said the fund of Rp 100 trillion is more or less efficient than the cost to solve current problems such as traffic jams in Jakarta, floods and other problems.

"The amount of Rp 100 trillion that could be repayable over 10 years of state budget to build a new capital," said professor of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (Fisipol) University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) it.

However, according to him, the transfer of capital would have led to resistance from the parties who have interest in Jakarta, such as DKI Jakarta, West Java and Banten. "Resistance can emerge from the three parties because all three requiring closer political access and quick response to the central government. If you move the capital, political access will also be more distant," he said.

He said that, there's one thing to be anticipated if Palangkaraya became the capital of Indonesia, namely the readiness of the local population. "Local residents should be prepared and should not be marginalized. So, all should be prepared carefully," he said.

Palangkaraya Potensial untuk Ibu Kota RI

Posted by Reza irfan raditya on 8:39 PM
Kota Palangkaraya, Kalimantan Tengah, potensial dijadikan ibu kota Indonesia karena dari sisi geopolitik, geologi, dan geografis cukup strategis, kata pengamat politik dari Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta Achmad Nurmandi.

"Menjadikan Palangkaraya sebagai pengganti Jakarta, secara geopolitik merupakan sebuah usaha distribusi pembangunan yang merata karena selama ini pembangunan infrastrukktur terkonsentrasi di Indonesia bagian barat khususnya Pulau Jawa," katanya di Yogyakarta, Rabu (4/8/2010).

Selain itu, menurut dia, secara geografis posisi Palangkaraya tepat berada di tengah Indonesia dan memiliki kondisi geologi yang relatif aman dari bencana alam. Palangkaraya cenderung aman dari gempa dan banjir dibandingkan kota lain.

"Biaya untuk membangun Palangakaraya menjadi kota yang siap menjadi pusat pemerintahan dengan menyediakan berbagai infrastruktur, baik bangunan maupun jalan, diperkirakan mencapai Rp 100 triliun," katanya.

Ia mengatakan, dana Rp 100 triliun itu lebih sedikit atau lebih hemat dibandingkan biaya untuk mengatasi permasalahan Jakarta saat ini seperti kemacetan, banjir, dan berbagai masalah lain.

"Jumlah Rp 100 triliun itu bisa dicicil selama 10 tahun dari APBN untuk membangun ibu kota baru," kata dosen Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik (Fisipol) Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) itu.

Namun, menurut dia, pemindahan ibu kota pasti akan memunculkan resistensi dari pihak-pihak yang memiliki kepentingan atas Jakarta, seperti DKI Jakarta, Jawa Barat, dan Banten. "Resistensi bisa muncul dari tiga pihak itu karena ketiganya membutuhkan akses politik yang dekat dan cepat terhadap pemerintah pusat. Jika ibu kota berpindah, akses politik juga akan semakin jauh," katanya.

Ia mengatakan, ada satu hal yang perlu diantisipasi jika Palangkaraya menjadi ibu kota Indonesia, yakni kesiapan penduduk lokal. "Penduduk lokal harus disiapkan dan jangan sampai terpinggirkan. Jadi, semua harus disiapkan secara matang," katanya.

History of FIFA

Posted by Reza irfan raditya on 6:59 PM

The Football Association
The Cambridge rules, first drawn up at Cambridge University in 1848, were particularly influential in the development of subsequent codes, including Association football. The Cambridge Rules were written at Trinity College, Cambridge, at a meeting attended by representatives from Eton, Harrow, Shrewsbury, Rugby, Winchester schools. They were not universally adopted. During the 1850s, many clubs unconnected to schools or universities were formed throughout the English-speaking world, to play various forms of football. Some came up with their own distinct codes of rules, most notably the Sheffield Football Club, formed by former public school pupils in 1857, which led to formation of a Sheffield FA in 1867.
During the early 1860s, there were increasing attempts in England to unify and reconcile the various football games that were played in the public schools as well in the industrial north under the Sheffield Rules. In 1862, J. C. Thring, who had been one of the driving forces behind the original Cambridge Rules, was a master at Uppingham School and he issued his own rules of what he called "The Simplest Game" (aka the Uppingham Rules). In early October 1863, a revised version of the Cambridge Rules was drawn up by a seven member committee representing former pupils of Eton, Harrow, Shrewsbury, Rugby, Marlborough and Westminster.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ef/Ecmorley.jpg/145px-Ecmorley.jpg
http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png
Ebenezer Cobb Morley, who is regarded as the "father of football".
Ebenezer Cobb Morley, a solicitor from Hull, wrote to Bell's Life newspaper in 1863, proposing a governing body for football. Morley was to become the FA's first secretary (1863-6) and its second president (1867-74), but is particularly remembered as it was he who drafted the first Laws of the Game at his home in Barnes, London, that are today played the world over. For this, he is considered not just the father of the Football Association, but of Association Football itself.
On the evening of 26 October 1863, representatives of several football clubs in the Greater London area met at the Freemasons' Tavern on Long Acre in Covent Garden. This was the first meeting of The Football Association (FA). It was the world's first official football body and for this reason is not preceded with the word English. Charterhouse was the only school which accepted invitations to attend. The first meeting resulted in the issuing of a request for representatives of the public schools to join the association. With the exception of Thring at Uppingham, most schools declined.In total, six meetings of the FA were held between October and December 1863. Committee member J. F. Alcock, said: "The Cambridge Rules appear to be the most desirable for the Association to adopt."
After the third meeting, a draft set of rules were published by the FA. However, at the beginning of the fourth meeting, attention was drawn to the recently-published Cambridge Rules of 1863. The Cambridge rules differed from the draft FA rules in two significant areas; namely running with (carrying) the ball and hacking (kicking opposing players in the shins). The two contentious FA rules were as follows:
IX. A player shall be entitled to run with the ball towards his adversaries' goal if he makes a fair catch, or catches the ball on the first bound; but in case of a fair catch, if he makes his mark he shall not run.
X. If any player shall run with the ball towards his adversaries' goal, any player on the opposite side shall be at liberty to charge, hold, trip or hack him, or to wrest the ball from him, but no player shall be held and hacked at the same time.
At the fifth meeting a motion was proposed that these two rules be removed from the FA rules. Most of the delegates supported this suggestion but F. W. Campbell, the representative from Blackheath and the first FA treasurer, objected strongly. He said, "hacking is the true football". The motion was carried nonetheless and — at the final meeting — Campbell withdrew his club from the FA. After the final meeting on 8 December the FA published the "Laws of Football", the first comprehensive set of rules for the game later known as association football. The game also came to be called "soccer" as a shortening of "Association" around the same time as Rugby football, colloquially referred to as "rugger", was developing as the main carrying of the ball version of English football, and "soccer" remains a common descriptor in countries with other prominent football codes today.[citation needed]
These first FA rules still contained elements that are no longer part of association football, but which are still recognisable in other games (Rugby Union, Australian rules football): for instance, a player could make a fair catch and claim a mark, which entitled him to a free kick, and; if a player touched the ball behind the opponents' goal line, his side was entitled to a free kick at goal, from 15 yards in front of the goal line.
The laws of the game agreed on by the FA members stipulated a maximum length and breadth for the pitch, the procedure for kicking off, and definition of terms, including goal, throw in, offside. Passing the ball by hand was still permitted provided the ball was caught "fairly or on the first bounce". Despite the specifications of footwear having no "tough nails, iron plates and gutta percha" there were no specific rule on number of players, penalties, foul play or the shape of the ball, captains of the participating teams were expected to agree on these things prior to the match.
Foundations of a competition
The laws laid down by the FA had an immediate effect, with Sheffield and Nottingham (now Notts County) playing an annual fixture on the FA code among others. Over the next two years Chesterfield and Stoke joined the code, which meant that the codified form was no longer an exclusive sport of public schools. By this time teams had settled into 11 players each, and the game was played with round balls. It previously stated that all players in front of the ball were offside, eliminating passing of the ball forwards, much like in rugby today. The rule was relaxed. A Sheffield against London game in 1866 had allowed the FA to observe how the rules were affecting the game; subsequently handling of the ball was abolished except for one player on each team, the goalkeeper. A red tape was added between the two goalposts to indicate the top of the goal, and a national competition was proposed. 1867 saw the introduction of the first competition and oldest existing trophy in soccer, the Youdan Cup.
First FA Cup
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/1stRoyalEngineers.png/300px-1stRoyalEngineers.png
http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png
The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final
On 20 July 1871, C. W. Alcock, a gentleman from Sunderland and a former pupil of Harrow School proposed that "a Challenge Cup should be established in connection with the [Football] Association",[1] the idea that gave birth to the competition. At the first FA Cup in 1872, Wanderers and Royal Engineers met in the final in front of 2,000 paying spectators. Despite the Royal Engineers being the heavy favourites, one of their players sustained a broken collar bone early on and since substitutions had not yet been introduced, the Engineers played a man down for the rest of the match which they eventually lost 1-0.
The FA Cup was a success and within a few years all of the clubs in England wanted to take part. To do so they had to accept the FA code, which led to the quick spread of a universal set of rules. These rules are the basis of which all association football rules today stem from.
Later competitions saw the 'Gentleman' or Southerners dominate with Old Etonians, Wanderers, Royal Engineers and Oxford University who amongst them took 19 titles. Queens Park withdrew in the semi-finals of the 1873 cup (which due to the format being played that year meant that all the challengers to Wanderers' trophy played a competition for the right to throw down the gauntlet and play the holders, hence the full name FA Challenge Cup) because they had trouble raising travel expenses to pay for the constant trips to England, this directly led to the formation of the Scottish FA. However despite this, Queens Park continued to participate in the FA Cup, reaching the final twice, before the Scottish FA banned Scottish clubs from entering in 1887.
In 1872, Alcock purchased the Football Association Cup for £20. That year, fifteen clubs entered the competition. Queen's Park reached the semi finals without playing due to withdrawals, but then after a goalless draw with Wanderers, were forced to withdraw as before the advent of penalties and extra time, they could not afford to come back to London for the replay. Wanderers won the cup outright in 1878 after what remains to this day one of only two hat tricks of wins ever. However they returned the cup to the FA in order for the competition to continue, on the condition that no other club could win the cup outright ever again.
first league
In 1888, William McGregor a gentleman from Perthshire and a director of Aston Villa F.C was the main force between meetings held in London and Manchester involving 12 football clubs, with an eye to a league competition. These 12 clubs would later become the Football League's 12 founder members. The meetings were held in London on 22 March 1888, the main concern was that an early exit in the knockout format of the FA cup could leave clubs with no matches for almost a year, not only could they suffer heavy financial losses, but fans didn't often stick around for that long without a game, when other teams were playing. Matters were finalised on the 17 April in Manchester.
McGregor had voted against the name The Football League, as he was concerned that it would be associated with the Irish Land League.[2] But this name still won by a majority vote and was selected. The competition guaranteed fixtures and members for all of its member clubs. The clubs were split equally among North and Midlands teams. It excluded Southern teams, who were still strictly amateur.
A rival English league called the Football Alliance operated from 1889 to 1892. In 1892 it was decided to formally merge the two leagues, and so the Football League Second Division was formed, consisting mostly of Football Alliance clubs. The existing League clubs, plus three of the strongest Alliance clubs, comprised the Football League First Division.
First International
The first international game was played in Scotland on 30 November 1872. Charles Alcock, who was elected to secretary of the FA at the age of 28, devised the idea of an international competition, inaugurating an annual Scotland-England fixture. In 1870 and 1871 he placed advertisements in Edinburgh and Glasgow newspapers, requesting players for an international between the two countries. The only response that he received stated: "devotees of the "association" rules will find no foemen worthy of their steel in Scotland"[3] For this reason the 1870 and 1871 matches were composed entirely of Scots living in England. Notably, however, Smith of the Queen's Park football club took part in most of the 1870 and 1871 international matches. As early as 1870, Alcock was adamant that these matches were open to every Scotsman [Alcock's italics] whether his lines were cast North or South of the Tweed and that if in the face of the invitations publicly given through the columns of leading journals of Scotland the representative eleven consisted chiefly of Anglo-Scotians ... the fault lies on the heads of the players of the north, not on the management who sought the services of all alike impartially. To call the team London Scotchmen contributes nothing. The match was, as announced, to all intents and purposes between England and Scotland".[4]
In 1872 the challenge was eventually taken up by Queens Park FC.[5] The first international currently recognised as official by FIFA (which took place on the 30 November 1872, Glasgow, Scotland) ended in a goalless draw between the two sides and thus, one of the most bitterly disputed fixtures in footballing history was born. The 2nd game between the two sides, on the 8 March1873, ended 4-2 in favour of England, the Scots then went on to win the next game 2-1. The fourth game ended in a 2-2 draw after which the Scots enjoyed a 3 game winning streak (every recorded result between these two sides can be found using the official FIFA website). Current head to head statistics between the two sides stand as...
The first non-European international was contested on the 28 November 1885, at Newark, New Jersey, between the USA and Canada, the Canadians winning 1-0.[citation needed]
 From amateurism to professionalism
When football was gaining popularity during the 1870s and 1880s professionals were banned in England and Scotland. Then in the 1880s, soon after Wanderers disbanded, in the north of England, teams started hiring players known as 'professors of football', who were often professionals from Scotland. This was the first time professionalism got into football. The clubs in working class areas, especially in Northern England and Scotland wanted professional football in order to afford playing football besides working. Several clubs were accused of employing professionals.
The northern clubs made of lower class paid players started to gain momentum over the amateur 'Gentleman Southerners'. The first northern club to reach the FA Cup final was Blackburn Rovers in 1882, where they lost to Old Etonians, who were the last amateur team to win the trophy.
During the summer of 1885, there was pressure put on the Football Association to accept professionalism in English football, culminating in a special meeting on 20 July, after which it was announced that it was "in the interests of Association Football, to legalise the employment of professional football players, but only under certain restrictions". Clubs were allowed to pay players provided that they had either been born or had lived for two years within a six-mile radius of the ground. There were also rules preventing professional players playing for more than one club in a season, without obtaining special permission, and all professional players had to be registered with the F.A.[6]
Early English women's teams, such as the Dick, Kerr's Ladies from Preston, were so popular that their matches raised money for charities. The first recorded women's football match, on 23 March 1895, was held in England between a northern and southern team. The fundraising matches continued, in spite of objections. A maximum wage was placed on players, players challenged this and came close to strike action in 1909, but it was not to be for another fifty years before the maximum wage was abolished. In 1921, women were banned from playing on FA league grounds. FA history states that this ban "effectively destroyed the game" in England for the next 40 years.[7] Hakoah Vienna was probably the first non-British club to pay their players during the 1920s[citation needed].
In 1934 the Swedish club Malmö FF was relegated from the top division after it had been discovered that they paid their players, something that was not allowed in Swedish football at the time.
Wartime football
Between 1915 and 1919 competitive association football was suspended in England. Many footballers signed up to fight in the war and as a result many teams were depleted, and fielded guest players instead. The Football League and FA Cup were suspended and in their place regional league competitions were set up; appearances in these tournaments do not count in players' official records.
Football spreads around the world
Continental Europe
The oldest club in continental Europe could be the Swiss club Lausanne Football and Cricket Club, founded 1860.
Association football was introduced in the Danish club, Kjøbenhavns Boldklub (KB) by English residents,[8] and in the Swiss club FC St. Gallen in 1879. This makes KB and St. Gallen the oldest still existing football clubs on Continental Europe. The Danish Football Association was founded in 1889. Italian football was played in regional groups from its foundation in 1898 until 1929 when the Serie A was organised into a national league by the Italian Football Federation. La Liga, Spain's national league, had its first season in 1928, with its participants based on the previous winners of the Copa del Rey, which began in 1902. The modern German national league, the Bundesliga was late in foundation, especially for European countries, given it wasn't founded until 1963. The German Football Association was founded as early as 1900 with the first German football champions being Leipzig in 1903. However, prior to the formation of the Bundesliga, German football was played at an amateur level in a large number of regional leagues.
South America
The first recorded association football match in Argentina was played already in 1867 by British railway workers. The first association football team in South America, Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata (now in professionalism) was created in Argentina, in 1887. The Argentine professional leagues (previously, association football was an amateur sport) were founded in 1931 by the Argentine Football Association, which itself was founded by a Scottish schoolteacher Alexander Watson Hutton in 1893.[9] The first ever championship to take place in Argentina was the AAF Championship of 1891[10] making Argentina's the oldest association football league outside mainland Britain.[11]
In the 1870s an expatriate named John Miller who worked on the railway construction project in São Paulo together with some 3000 other immigrant families from the British Isles in the last decades of the 19th century, decided to send his young boy Charles William Miller to England for his education. In 1884 Charles aged 10 was sent to Bannisters school in Southampton. Charles was a natural footballer who quickly picked up the arts of the game. The football association was being formed at the time. Eton, Rugby, Charterhouse and other colleges all had developed their own rules to the game. As an accomplished winger and striker Charles held school honours that were to gain him entry first into the Southampton Club team and then into the County team of Hampshire.
In 1892 a couple of years before his return to Brazil, Miller was invited to play a game for the Corinthians, a team formed of players invited from public schools and universities.
On his return Miller brought some association football equipment and a rules book with him. He then went on to develop the new rules of the game amongst the community in São Paulo. In 1888, six years before his return, the first sports club was founded in the city, São Paulo Athletic Club. São Paulo Athletic Club won the first three years championships. Miller's skills were far and above his colleagues at this stage. He was given the honour of contributing his name to a move involving a deft flick of the ball with the heel "Chaleira".
Charles Miller kept a strong bond with English assocation football throughout his life. Teams from Southampton and Corinthians Club came over to Brazil and played against São Paulo Athletic Club and other teams in São Paulo. One on occasion in 1910 a new local team was about to be formed after a tour of the Corinthians team to Brazil and Charles was asked to suggest a name for the team. He suggested they should call themselves after Corinthians.
In 1988 when São Paulo Athletic Club celebrated its centenary and the English Corinthians Team came across again to play them at Morumbi Stadium. The end of the tour was against the local professional Corinthians Paulista team with Sócrates and Rivelino amongst its players. This game was played at Paecambu Stadium in São Paulo and true to Corinthian principles of good clean association football the score was 1 to 0 in favour of the locals when as agreed Socrates changed shirts to play alongside the English amateurs. This did not affect the score unfortunately although a largely packed stadium was cheering on for a drawn result.
The Brazilian Football Confederation was founded in 1914, and the current format for the Campeonato Brasileiro was established in 1971.
United States
The first association football club in the United States was the Oneida Football Club of Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1862. It is often said that this was the first club to play association football outside Britain. However, the Oneidas were formed before the English Football Association (FA); it is not known what rules they used[12] and the club wound up within the space of a few years. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, the club is often credited with inventing the "Boston Game", which both allowed players to kick a round ball along the ground, and to pick it up and run with it.
The first U.S. match known to have been inspired by FA rules was a game between Princeton and Rutgers in 1869, although the game included features such as extremely physical tackling and teams of 20 each. Other colleges emulated this development, but all of these were converted to rugby-oriented rules from soccer-oriented rules by the mid-1870s on, and they would soon become famous as early bastions of American football. (For more details see: History of American football and 1869 college football season.)
Early football leagues in the U.S. mostly used the name football leagues: for example, the American Football Association (founded in 1884), the American Amateur Football Association (1893), the American League of Professional Football (1894), the National Association Foot Ball League (1895), and the Southern New England Football League (1914). However, the word "soccer" was beginning to catch on, and the St Louis Soccer League was a significant regional competition between 1907 and 1939. What is now the United States Soccer Federation was originally the U.S. Football Association, formed in 1913 by the merger of the American Football Association and the American Amateur Football Association. The governing body of the sport in the U.S. did not have the word soccer in its name until 1945, when it became the U.S. Soccer Football Association. It did not drop the word football from its name until 1974, when it became the U.S. Soccer Federation.
Two further football leagues were started in the 1967, the United Soccer Association and the National Professional Soccer League. These merged to form the North American Soccer League in 1968, which survived until 1984. The NASL also ran an indoor league in the later years.
Indoor soccer was a great success in the 1980s to the 90's, in part due to the input of the North American Soccer League. When the NASL folded, other leagues, including the Major Indoor Soccer League filled in to meet the demand. A new MISL exists today with eight teams slated for the 2007-2008 season.[13] However, it is unrelated to the original MISL.
The highest level of football in the United States is Major League Soccer.
FIFA
The need for a single body to oversee the worldwide game became apparent at the beginning of the 20th century with the increasing popularity of international fixtures. The English Football Association had chaired many discussions on setting up an international body, but was perceived as making no progress. It fell to seven other European countries to band together to form this association. FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) was founded in Paris on 21 May 1904 - the French name and acronym persist to this day, even outside French-speaking countries. Its first president was Robert Guérin.
FIFA presided over its first international competition in 1906, however it met with little approval or success. This, in combination with economic factors, led to the swift replacement of Guérin with Daniel Burley Woolfall from England, by now a member association. The next tournament staged the football competition for the 1908 Olympics in London was more successful, despite the presence of professional footballers, contrary to the founding principles of FIFA.
Membership of FIFA expanded beyond Europe with the application of South Africa in 1909, Argentina in 1912 and the United States in 1913.
FIFA however floundered during World War I with many players sent off to war and the possibility of travel for international fixtures severely limited. Post-war, following the death of Woolfall, the organisation fell into the hands of Alexander Bartholomew[citation needed]. The organisation had a new leader though after Bartholomew's death in 1919. It was saved from extinction, but at the cost of the withdrawal of the Home Nations, who cited an unwillingness to participate in international competitions with their recent World War enemies.
In 1946 the four British nations returned. On 10 May 1947 a 'Match of the Century' between Great Britain and 'Rest of Europe XI' was played at Hampden Park in Glasgow before 135,000 spectators - Britain won 6-1. The proceeds from the match, coming to £35,000, were given to FIFA, to help re-launch it after World War Two. This was followed by FIFA's first post-war World Cup in 1950, held in Brazil. FIFA, meanwhile, continued to expand so that by the time of its fiftieth anniversary it had 84 members.
FIFA Men's World Cup
Main article: FIFA World Cup
The first football world cup was played in Uruguay in 1930. In the first championship match between Argentina and Uruguay, both teams couldn't decide on a ball so they used Argentina's ball the first half and Uruguay's in the second. Many countries did not enter, with most of the ones that did coming from the Americas. By 1950 however, European teams took interest, and the competition blossomed into the world's biggest footballing event. From this, other championships emerged - the AFC Asian Cup (since 1956), the African Cup of Nations (since 1957), the European Championship (since 1960), North America's Gold Cup (since 1991) and Oceania's OFC Nations Cup (since 1996). These championships, along with the South American Copa América, which was first contested in 1916 and precedes the World Cup, are the main competitions of each continent. The Brazilian team, known as "Seleção", is the biggest title holder in the World Cup, having won five times. The runner-up is Italy, with four titles, having won the latest edition in 2006.
FIFA Women's World Cup
The FIFA Women's World Cup was inaugurated with the FIFA Women's World Cup 1991, hosted in China, with 12 teams sent to represent their countries.
Over 90,185 spectators attended the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup and nearly 1 billion viewers from 70 countries tuned in. By the FIFA Women's World Cup 2003, 16 teams competed in the championship finals. Of the four tournaments held to date (2006), the USA has won the championship twice, Norway once and Germany most recently. Women's confederations are the same as men's: Oceania (OFC), European (UEFA), North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF), South American (CONMEBOL), Asian (AFC) and African (CAF).