DORSET COUNTY FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

Where it all began.

FORERUNNERS OF DORSET FOOTBALL

Dorset, through the known Roman occupation of parts of the County, may well have been among the forerunners of football played in Britain. A version of football is on record as having been played at time of the Han Dynasty (206B.C. to A.D. 220) in China. Whether or not European awareness of the game came from China is not known, although there is acknowledgement that features of Chinese culture came into Europe from East China via the Silk Road, an ancient trading route.

In the Rome of that time, apart from any acquaintance with "Tsu chu", by which name a Chinese form of the activity was known, the Romans used their own style of football, known as "harpastum", as part of military training. There is some assumption that from their occupation of Britain from 43 A.D., the occupying forces, as well as the training uses of football, might well have explored recreational opportunities of such a practice.

To find out more about the history of Dorset FA contact Colin.Chainey@dorsetfa.com