Association football, aka soccer, is the world s most popular sport. As is known, its rules were drawn up in England between the 1840s and 1860s, largely at the behest of ex public school and university players. Rugby, another version of football honed between the 1820s and 1870s, split from the Association clubs in the 1870s, and subsequently split itself into Rugby Union and Rugby League in the 1890s. Meanwhile, different versions of football developed in the US and Australia. Ireland has its own version, called Gaelic Football.
Amid all these developments, and in stark contrast to the...