EI football is no stranger to the crisis. Not even the most emblematic places, those without whom it would be impossible to understand it as it is now. One of those scenarios is Freemasons Tavern, the place where a December 8, 1863 sat the bases and rules so that the ball could be started with the feet. It was there, between its four walls, where football was really born.
Situated in Long Acre 81-82, this mythical place in London today suffers the consequences devastating coronavirus. From the December 16 remains closed and semi-abandoned. Everything is the same as your employees left it on the closing day. “The place is closed until the government from United Kingdom lift restrictions about giving meals indoors, “his manager, Jonathan Neame, tells As.
A letter addressed to customers and fans also explains why the decision to cease activity. The note is in two different spaces on your glass. There are those who stop to read it, but the neighborhood has already assumed that Freemasons Arms, the name by which it was renamed in its day, is closed. “Delivery is offered, check the phone,” says another note.
“The moment of closing caught us doing some reforms. That is why it is not in the best conditions, “explains the owner. There are messy chairs, a lot of noise and even a staircase in the middle of the main hall. The municipal letters reveal that there is no activity on the premises.
It has nothing to do with your current appearance with which historically always had, crowded with fans. Have passed 158 years since eleven representatives of British universities and societies met to shape that sport that loomed, football. They were people from Kilburn, Barnes, War Office, Forest, Crusaders, Perceval House, Blackheath, Kensington School, Crystal Palace, Blackheath School, and Surbiton.
It took six peaks in order to reach an agreement, for there were two divided streams. There were the followers of Rugby code, who defended the legality of kicking, tripping, hitting the opponent and being able to play the ball with their hands. And they were those of the Cambridge code, who advocated suppressing rudeness and banning hands.
In these meetings they created the Football Association (the current FA) which required them to pay an annual membership fee. In addition, the first 14 rules were set, what they called The Laws of the Game, taking as a model the Cambridge code 1848. Those same rules, with logical variations, are still used today.
It is a unique place for football, but it does not live outside the pandemic that is devastating many businesses. “We hope to reopen when end the restrictions. But it will be after the European Championship … “, laments its owner, knowing that he has lost a business opportunity with a tournament like the one the creators of football.