What year did futball (soccer) became an official sport?
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In 1815, the famous English School, Eton College, established a set of rules which other schools, colleges and Universities began to use. Later, these were standardised and a version, known as the Cambridge Rules, was adopted by most of England's Universities and Colleges in 1848.\n\nBut now, football was divided into two separate camps. Some colleges and schools preferred to follow rules drawn up by Rugby School - rules which permitted tripping, shin-kicking and carrying the ball - all forbidden by the Cambridge rules.\n\nOn 26 October 1863, eleven London clubs and schools sent their representatives to a meeting in the Freemason's Tavern to establish a single set of fundamental rules to govern the matches played amongst them.\n\nThis meeting created The Football Association.\n\nThe supporters of the Rugby School rules walked out - and On 8 December 1863, Association Football and Rugby Football finally split.\n\nIn 1869 The Football Association included in their rules a provision which forbade any handling of the ball - so establishing the foundation on which the modern game stands.
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People have been kicking balls about for thousand of years, but soccer (short for asSOCiation football) was invented by public schoolboys in England in the 1860s. (NB You need to know that in England a 'public school' is actually a private, fee-charging school. Go figure!)
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Fédération Internationale de Football Association.  This is the international governing body of soccer.
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The need for a single body to oversee the worldwide game became apparent at the beginning of the 20th century with the increasing popularity of international fixtures. The English Football Association had chaired many discussions on setting up an international body, but was perceived as making no progress. It fell to seven other European countries to band together to form this association. FIFA was founded in Paris on May 21, 1904 - the French name and acronym persist to this day, even in English-speaking countries. Its first president was Robert Guérin.\n\nFIFA presided over its first international competition in 1906, however it met with little approval or success. This, in combination with economic factors, led to the swift replacement of Guérin with Daniel Burley Woolfall from England, by now a member association. The next tournament staged, the football competition for the 1908 Olympics in London was more successful, despite the presence of professional footballers, contrary to the founding principles of FIFA.\n\nMembership of FIFA expanded beyond Europe with the application of South Africa in 1909, Argentina in 1912 and the United States in 1913.\n\nFIFA however floundered during World War I with many players sent off to war and the possibility of travel for international fixtures severely limited. Post-war, following the death of Woolfall, the organisation fell into the hands of Dutchman Carl Hirschmann. It was saved from extinction, but at the cost of the withdrawal of the Home Nations, who cited an unwillingness to participate in international competitions with their recent World War enemies.\n\nThe FIFA collection is held by the National Football Museum in England.
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The word soccer is a colloquial abbreviation of association (from assoc.) and first appeared in the 1880s. The word is sometimes credited to Charles Wreford Brown, an Oxford University student said to have been fond of shortened forms such as brekkers for breakfast and rugger for rugby football. In the late 19th century the word soccer tended to be used only at public schools; most people knew the game simply as football. Today the term association football is rarely used, although some clubs still include Association Football Club (AFC) in their name. The game is sometimes known colloquially as footy; the term footer was also once used but is now obsolete.
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In the early days of this game, an association was set up in England to codify the rules.  The game was sometimes referred to as "association football," probably to distinguish it from other variations.  "association" was abbreviated to "assoc.," so the game was nicknamed "soccer."\nSince the term "football" was already used in the U.S. to describe a different game, the name "soccer" stuck here.
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Over 240 million people, according to a surveyconducted by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), football's governing body, published in the spring of 2001, regularly play football (soccer) in more than 200 countries in every part of the world.
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FIFA was founded in Paris, France in May of 1904
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The  International Federation of Association Football known worldwide by its acronym FIFA, is the international governing body of football (soccer) and the largest sporting organization in the world
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The name of the sport in England was called "Association Football."  That was shortened in the U.S. to "Assoc. Football" then eventually to "soccer" from "Assoc."
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Fédération Internationale de Football Association(FIFA)
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Association football, soccer or simply football is a team sport played between two teams consisting of eleven players each. It is a ball game played on a rectangular grass field with a goal at each end. The objective of the game is to score by manoeuvring the ball into the opposing goal. Other than the goalkeepers, players may not use their hands or arms to propel the ball in general play. The winner is the team which has scored most goals at the end of the match.\n\nThe sport is known by many names throughout the English-speaking world, although football is the most common. Other names, such as association football and soccer, are often used to distinguish the game from other codes of football, since the word football may be used to refer to several quite different games.\n\nFootball is played at a professional level all over the world, and millions of people regularly go to football stadia to follow their favourite team, whilst billions more avidly watch the game on television. A very large number of people also play football at an amateur level.\n\nAccording to a survey conducted by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), football's governing body, published in the spring of 2001, over 240 million people regularly play football in more than 200 countries in every part of the world. Its simple rules and minimal equipment requirements have no doubt aided its spread and growth in popularity. In many parts of the world football evokes great passions and plays an important role in the life of individual fans, local communities, and even nations; it is therefore often claimed to be the most popular sport in the world. Because of this it is often dubbed the World's Favourite Pastime.
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The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, universally known by its acronym FIFA, is the international governing body of football (soccer) and the largest sporting organization in the world. Its headquarters are in Zürich, Switzerland and its current president is Sepp Blatter.
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Attached source has an array of information of FIFA:\n\nFIFA was founded in Paris on May 21, 1904 - the French name and acronym persist to this day, even in English-speaking countries. Its first president was Robert Guérin.
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La FIFA veut dire: la Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Elle est créée à Paris le 21 mai 1904.
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The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, universally known by its acronym FIFA, is the international governing body of football (soccer). Its headquarters are in Zürich, Switzerland and its current president is Sepp Blatter
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The proper name of soccer is "association football".\n\nSource-SAMMM