Question

[toshes mate]

@Peabody
My previous comment was entirely a response to the origins of kicking a ball around and was part of longer comment I decided not to make.  Here's the remainder of it.

Prior to Victorian industrialisation and urbanisation, 'Folk Football' was truly 'tribal' pitting villages against towns and the working classes against the gentrified who dared to play.  It was described as all in enjoyment.  This had been the case since medieval times and attempts to introduce unified or codified rules failed miserably.  Even when our public schools (Eton, Harrow, Winchester etc) attempted to standardise rules to benefit their own students they failed finding that different practices (such as picking the ball up) which others disallowed was still the norm.  Folk Football was in many case considered violent (e.g. rugby tackles) but even the legal measures attempting to tone things down were frowned at by the working classes who played Folk Football according to tradition,  Attempts at codification were seen as being simple devices introduced by the ruling classes to take away 'freedoms' that many believed were theirs by right.  It seemed the working classes even in those days had their own ideas what a good time was.   

In 1843 Cambridge University introduced the Cambridge Rules whereby 'handling' was first prohibited, but this didn't stop all the many variations there were.   However, Cambridge graduates started many football clubs in London and the South East which held many meetings over several years culminating in the eventual beginnings of a Football Association.

Ebenezer Cobb Morley was a gentleman who supported the Cambridge Rules although I cannot find any confirmation he attended Cambridge University.  It seems his connection was more likely via HM Civil Service as founder members of the FA.  There was an amateur club playing in London as HM Civil Service.  Morley was an administrator and likely well versed in how to get middle class players to join a fraternity.  The founder members of the FA all remain existing football clubs to this day.

[Logicalman]

Interesting post Peabody ,thanks.
PS. The word "Football" has yet to arrive in the States.

Nah, it arrived moons ago, it's just they got the sport wrong, they assigned it to their derivative of Rugby Football, rather than the real beautiful game!  :012: