During the 12th century, what you could call the “bare bones” of soccer

was being played in the meadows of England. This early version was
called ‘Folkball,’ and while it barely resembles the modern sport, as it
involved punching the ball with your fist and violently tackling the
opposing team, it did focus on kicking. But the game was far too violent.
It wasn’t until the 1800s after the British government had banned it for
centuries, that it was re-established as a winter sport with much safer
rules. The game was played between English public schools like Eton,
Winchester, and Charterhouse. The only problem was that each school
had its own rules. Some allowed the limited carrying of the ball, like
rugby, while others didn’t allow players to touch it. The different rules
made it hard for schools to compete. That is until 1848 when the
Cambridge Rules were adopted. These rules were the first set of widely
accepted soccer laws, but they still didn’t specify whether the ball could
be handled.