The origins of soccer are very hard to trace. Numerous ancient cultures engaged in sports similar to modern day soccer, making a lone predecessor nearly impossible to arrive at. It is known however that an early variety of soccer can be traced as far back as three thousand years ago. One of the earliest recorded forms of soccer occurred in the year 1004 B.C. in Japan. Other records show that games very similar to soccer were being played in approximately 50 B.C. between China and Japan. Asian cultures were not the sole partakers in games similar to soccer though. The ancient Romans played a game that contained a number of similarities to modern day soccer. The early Olympic games contained a soccer-like game that involved twenty-seven participants on each team who would compete so aggressively that up to two-thirds of the participants would be substantially injured within a fifty minute game.Despite numerous ancient historian accounts of wars and religious ceremonies, there appears to be a severe lack of interest on the part of the historian to record sporting events, leaving questions about how the game originated and spread throughout Asia and Europe a mystery. Soccer’s popularity did not erupt though until it was introduced into English society. At first banned by British royalty because of its bad reputation regarding violent plays, the game eventually became so popular that the government had no choice but to let it be played. In 1863, the Football Association (in many parts of the world the game of soccer is called football because of the use of the feet while playing the game) was created and a standard set of rules was adopted by the organization. In 1872 the first modern day international game of soccer was played between England and Scotland. From that point on soccer spread through the English empire quite rapidly, resulting in an explosion in its popularity. Nations all around the world were participating in the sport of soccer, leading to the creation of an international governing body that controlled the sport of soccer. In 1904 the Federation Internationale de Football Association, better know as FIFA was established. Since its creation, more than 140 nations have joined the soccer federation, resulting in FIFA’s overseeing of approximately 39 million players worldwide.