RFU, most notably with the abolition of the line-out.
This was followed by the
replacement of the ruck with the "play-the-ball ruck", which allowed a two-player ruck
contest between the tackler at marker and the player tackled. Mauls were stopped once
the ball carrier was held, being replaced by a play-the ball-ruck. The separate
Lancashire and Yorkshire competitions of the NRFU merged in 1901, forming the
Northern Rugby League, the first time the name rugby league was used officially in
England.
Over time, the RFU form of rugby, played by clubs which remained members of national
federations affiliated to the IRFB, became known as rugby union.
Globalisation of association football
Main article: History of FIFA
The need for a single body to oversee association football had become apparent by 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 associations from
seven other European countries: France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain,
Sweden, and Switzerland, to form an international association. The Fédération
Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in Paris on 21 May
1904.[130] Its first president was Robert Guérin.[130] The French name and acronym has
remained, even outside French-speaking countries.
Further divergence of the two rugby codes
Rugby league rules diverged significantly from rugby union in 1906, with the reduction
of the team from 15 to 13 players. In 1907, a New Zealand professional rugby team
toured Australia and Britain, receiving an enthusiastic response, and professional rugby
leagues were launched in Australia the following year. However, the rules of
professional games varied from one country to another, and negotiations between
various national bodies were required to fix the exact rules for each international match.
This situation endured until 1948, when at the instigation of the French league,
the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) was formed at a meeting
in Bordeaux.
During the second half of the 20th century, the rules changed further. In 1966, rugby
league officials borrowed the American football concept of downs: a team was allowed
to retain possession of the ball for four tackles (rugby union retains the original rule that
a player who is tackled and brought to the ground must release the ball immediately).
The maximum number of tackles was later increased to six (in 1971), and in rugby
league this became known as the six tackle rule.
With the advent of full-time professionals in the early 1990s, and the consequent
speeding up of the game, the five-metre off-side distance between the two teams
became 10 metres, and the replacement rule was superseded by various interchange
rules, among other changes.
The laws of rugby union also changed during the 20th century, although less
significantly than those of rugby league. In particular, goals from marks were abolished,
kicks directly into touch from outside the 22-metre line were penalised, new laws were
put in place to determine who had possession following an inconclusive ruck or maul,
and the lifting of players in line-outs was legalised.
In 1995, rugby union became an "open" game, that is one which allowed professional
players.[131] Although the original dispute between the two codes has now disappeared –
and despite the fact that officials from both forms of rugby football have sometimes
mentioned the possibility of re-unification – the rules of both codes and their culture
have diverged to such an extent that such an event is unlikely in the foreseeable future.
Use of the word football
Further information: Football (word)
The word football, when used in reference to a specific game can mean any one of
those described above. Because of this, much controversy has occurred over the
term football, primarily because it is used in different ways in different parts of
the English-speaking world. Most often, the word football is used to refer to the code of
football that is considered dominant within a particular region (which is association
football in most countries). So, effectively, what the word football means usually
depends on where one says it.
Heading from The Sportsman (London) front page of 25
November 1910, illustrating the continued use of the word "football" to encompass both
association football and rugby
In each of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, one football code is
known solely as football, while the others generally require a qualifier. In New
Zealand, football historically referred to rugby union, but more recently may be used
unqualified to refer to association football. The sport meant by the word football in
Australia is either Australian rules football or rugby league, depending on local
popularity (which largely conforms to the Barassi Line). In francophone Quebec,
where Canadian football is more popular, the Canadian code is known as le
football while American football is known as le football américain and association
football is known as le soccer.[132]
Of the 45 national FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) affiliates in
which English is an official or primary language, most currently use Football in their
organisations' official names; the FIFA affiliates in Canada and the United
States use Soccer in their names. A few FIFA affiliates have recently "normalised" to
using Football, including:
Australia's association football governing body changed its name in 2005 from
using soccer to football.[133]
New Zealand's governing body renamed itself in 2007, saying "the international
game is called football".[134]
Samoa changed from "Samoa Football (Soccer) Federation" to "Football Federation
Samoa" in 2009.[135][136]
Popularity
Small football stadium in Croatia
Several of the football codes are the most popular team sports in the
world.[9] Globally, association football is played by over 250 million players in over 200
nations,[137] and has the highest television audience in sport,[138] making it the most
popular in the world.[139] American football, with 1.1 million high school football players
and nearly 70,000 college football players, is the most popular sport in the United
States,[140][141] with the annual Super Bowl game accounting for nine of the top ten of
the most watched broadcasts in U.S. television history. [142] The NFL has the highest
average attendance (67,591) of any professional sports league in the world and has the
highest revenue[143] out of any single professional sports league.[144] Thus, the best
association football and American football players are among the highest paid athletes
in the world.[145][146][147]
Australian rules football has the highest spectator attendance of all sports in
Australia.[148][149] Similarly, Gaelic football is the most popular sport in Ireland in terms of
match attendance,[150] and the All-Ireland Football Final is the most watched event of that
nation's sporting year.[151]
Rugby union is the most popular sport in New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji. [152] It is
also the fastest growing sport in the U.S.,[153][154][155][156] with college rugby being the fastest
growing[clarification needed][157][158] college sport in that country.[159][dubious – discuss]
