When you see the multi million pound industry that football has become, it's hard to imagine how this huge global sport started from very humble beginnings. In fact, nobody really knows for sure when the first football match was played and although FIFA, the game's governing body, claim that the first organised matches took place in China around 2 BC, it's almost certain that the sport has been played in some form for many thousands of years.
The game of football continued for many hundreds of years but in the second half of the 19th century, some major developments were to take place. Although the game was immensely popular in the UK and was being played by all the major public schools, there was no uniform set of regulations. Therefore, in 1848, the Cambridge rules were established and all clubs and schools came to abide by them.
At this point, many of the great English club sides had been formed including some, such as Notts County and Aston Villa that are still in existence today. As a result, the Football Association was formed in 1863 and has looked after the interests of the game in England ever since.
Following these crucial landmarks, the game became more organised right across the globe and leagues started to form in other countries. However, the next major development took place in England again with the inauguration of the FA Cup during the 1871/72 season.
The FA Cup is now the most famous knockout competition in the world but it grew from a quiet start and gathered in popularity until 1923, when Wembley stadium opened its doors for the first time to welcome Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United in that season's cup final.
With football now becoming a major global phenomenon, the first ever world cup tournament took place in Uruguay in 1930. Unfortunately, many of the game's top nations, including England, decided not to attend the tournament, which was eventually won by the host country Uruguay.
The World Cup continued in this fashion until 1938 and then the game stopped during the outbreak of World War II. When the tournament returned in 1950, all of the major countries took part and from this point, the sport started gaining a momentum that has grown ever since.
Back in England where so many of the game's major developments had taken place, television money led to the formation of the Premier League at the start of the 1992/93 season. Now you could watch so many games from the top league and many of the world's greatest players had arrived to take part.
The success of the Premier League was mirrored across the world as money from TV and advertising led to the boom years which we are still experiencing today and from those very humble beginnings, the sport itself is completely unrecognisable.
However, rather than just sit in your armchair, the best way to experience the excitement of football is to attend a match yourself. This is the only way to really take in the atmosphere of a game so look out for some Groupon deals and make sure you get to a match very soon.