Football is the most popular sport in the world. It unites hundreds of countries and brings together numerous cultures by engaging world issues with sport with slogans that say "say no to racism". Football is played with one ball and eleven players from each team on the pitch at each time, there are many rules involved in the sport which are reviewed every day by FIFA. FIFA stands for Federation International Football Association. In the Middle Ages people kicked a pig's skull or bladder. A game in which people kicked a ball-shaped object dates back to 2500 BC, at which time Greeks, Egyptians and Chinese appear to have participated in this activity. In 1855 Charles Goodyear created the first vulcanized rubber ball. Before that, the ball depended on the size and shape of the pig's bladder, so it moved across the ground unpredictably, like today's soccer balls. Over the years soccer balls have been improved by using different materials, changing the size and weight required, and adding different qualities to the ball so that it has different effects. Different effects include using materials to help have better control of the ball or making the ball lighter so that it moves unpredictably in the air. New advancements in footballs have caused much controversy over the years, most recently at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. These balls caused a lot of problems for the goalkeepers and many shots went in that normally don't happen. They also caused problems for players who sent balls 40 yards over the bar due to the lightness of the ball. The first football league was in 1888, called "The Football League" and consisted of twelve teams. The need for this league arose from... middle of paper... Some of the greatest players in history have played there such as Figo, Beckham, Ronaldo, Raul and Zidane, just to name a few. Technology and advancements are continually happening in the soccer. Goal Line technology is coming into play to assist referees because there has been a lot of controversy in allowing goals. In the 2010 World Cup Frank Lampard took a shot against Germany and replays showed that the entire ball crossed the line but the referees said no, and since referees cannot review plays like they do in other sports , England was not. It is not allowed to score a goal. Football is the most popular sport in the world, played in every country, whether it's a professional team or kids playing against each other in the streets. Soccer has come a long way since its founding and is still expanding, especially here in the United States where we become a better team every year.