The Foot-Ball Club was a football club in Edinburgh, Scotland, formed in 1824. The club met in the summer months to play a form of football. Nevertheless, the organization can claim to be the earliest recorded club playing football of any kind. A modern association football club with the same name was formed in 2007, in an attempt to revive the legacy of the old club.
Founded by John Hope in 1824, the club played its games in the city's Dalry Park until 1831, when they moved to Greenhill Park. The club appears to have met and played every summer, but there is no record of it after 1841. The game the club played included running with ball in hand, kicking the ball, full bodily tackling, and scrums.
In 2017, a brief set of handwritten rules was found on the back of the club's 1833 budget statement. This has been described as the earliest known written rules of football.
1. Single soled shoes, no iron
2. No tripping
3. Ball to pass imaginary line
4. A free kick if ball out of bounds
5. Pushing is allowed. Holding not illegal
6. Allow the ball to be lifted between fields
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