Football, or at least a version of it a ball game involving the use of feet has been played from back in the day. Literature provides evidence that the ancient Greeks and Romans used to play a game that resembled rugby football. Similarly, evidence of football being played by ancient Chinese, Japanese and Koreans has been documented. There are a number of references of ancient ball games being played by indigenous peoples in many different parts of the world the Eskimos in Greenland, Native Americans in America, Aborigines in Australia and Maoris in New Zealand. Truly, football is a universal game!
However, the main sources of modern football, that is, the football code that we know of now, appear to lie in Western Europe, especially England. One early protagonist included one of the most famous figures of British history, King Henry VIII (1509-1547). In fact, the earliest recorded football boots belonged to him, and were made by his personal shoemaker Cornelius Johnson in 1525, at a cost of 4 shillings, the equivalent of 100 in todays money. These boots were known to have been made of strong leather, ankle high and were heavier than football boots that we see today. Back then, football boots were worn to protect feet.
Fast forward 300 years to the 1800s. Players would wear their hard leather work boots as their football boots, which would also have metal studs or tacks hammered into them to increase grip and stability. In the late 1800s, laws became integrated into the game, and the football boots shifted to a slipper style shoe. Players of the same team started to wear the same boots. Leather studs (cleats) were also incorporated. These boots were 500g in weight, and made up of thick hard leather.
By early 1900s, entrepreneurs capitalised on the football boot craze, and started producing boots. In 1925, the first football boots with replaceable studs were produced. From the early 1900s to the end of the Second World War, there was not much emphasis on football boots, and not many changes occurred. After the Second World War, as air travel became cheaper, the Europeans were intrigued by South American players who wore much lighter and flexible boots, and were fantastic players as a result. Football boot production then shifted to producing a lighter football boot, which helped kicking and controlling.
From then on, football boot development hit the roof. From interchangeable screws made of plastic and rubber, and shoes being produced of a mixture of synthetic materials and leather new designs and features were constantly being thought up. With advances in technology, shoes were becoming lighter, and more flexible. Nowadays, the market for football boots is phenomenal. Many massive companies and brands are producing and selling high quality football boots that help improve performance, speed, kicking and so on. How things have changed from back in the day!