Different forms of football have existed for centuries.

(For more on the development of football sports, see football.

) In Britain, football 🛡 games may have been played as early as the time of Roman occupation in the 1st century bce.

During the 14th 🛡 and 15th centuries ce, Shrove Tuesday football matches became annual traditions in local communities, and many of these games continued 🛡 well into the 19th century.

These localized versions of folk football (a violent sport distinctive for its large teams and lack 🛡 of rules) gradually found favour within the English public (independent) schools, where they were modified and adapted into one of 🛡 two forms: a dribbling game, played primarily with the feet, that was promoted at Eton and Harrow, and a handling 🛡 game favoured by Rugby, Marlborough, and Cheltenham.