History of football in England

== Early football == All modern forms of football have roots in the "folk football" of pre-industrial English society. === Early references (14th to 18th centuries) === The earliest reference to football is in a 1314 decree issued by the Lord Mayor of London, Nicholas de Farndone, on behalf of King Edward II. Originally written in Norman French, a translation of the decree includes: "for as much as there is great noise in the city caused by hustling over large footballs in the fields of the public, from which many evils might arise that God forbid: we command and forbid on behalf of the King, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used in the city in the future".

Source: Wikipedia — History of football in England (CC BY-SA 4.0)