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PREPARING SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE WORLD |
With the international spotlight still focused on last month's Thierry Henry handball incident and FIFA's executive committee addressing the issue, there has been a great deal of interest in the lawas of the world's most popular sport. Sheffield Football Club - the oldest team in the world - owns the original Rules of Football and the hand-written book is currently on display in South Africa. Project 2010 spoke to club chairman Richard Tims...  When did you beccome aware that this document existed? It's been football's best kept secret for 150 years. When I started marketing the club, I tried to track down the original club document. In an archive at the city council, I found the original minute book containing the laws of the game and later that year the first printed version from 1859. It is probably the first printed word of football. And then? There was a great deal of interest in the club and its history. I was invited to a FIFA function in Paris where we were awarded an order of merit. The only other club that has ever received that award was Real Madrid as the most successful club of the century. How did you mark the 150th anniversary of the club? We used that event - in 2007 - as a marketing tool and we ended up playing Inter Milan and Ajax in a friendly. It was a hell of a party and Sepp Blatter came along. With this remarkable piece of history, what was your take on the Thierry Henry handball incident? Ironically, the original rules allowed for the use of the hands - to a limited degree - but that would later be abolished. How is Sheffield FC today? Great. We have 26 teams catering for the disabled, disadvantaged youths and ladies. Our greatest claim is that we have played for the love of the game for 150 years. more interviews... |
