What’s the most exciting word in the English language? If your answer is ‘Goal!’, then you’re already a fan of the beautiful game.

And you are not alone. There are millions of people like you all over the world – playing football, watching it, wearing the football shirts of their favourite team, travelling hundreds of kilometres to watch their club or their country play, or just kicking a football around on a beach or in the street.

So here is the story of the beautiful game – from its beginnings thousands of years ago to the international game of today. The rules, the players, the cups, the clubs, the stars, the fans – this is football, from Argentina to Zidane.

英語中最令人激動的詞匯是什么？如果你的回答是“進球！”，那么你早已是這項美妙運動的愛好者了。

而且不止你一個人，世界上還有千百萬人和你一樣，他們也踢足球，看比賽，穿自己最愛的球隊的球衣，甚至不遠千里去觀看自己支持的俱樂部或者國家隊的比賽，不過他們也可能只是在沙灘上或者街頭巷尾踢踢球。