Football has existed for thousands of years, but the modern game we know today can be traced back to English playgrounds in the 1800s. As the sport grew in popularity, organisations such as The Football Association helped to create official rules, transforming the sport from an ancient pastime of kicking objects with our feet to a highly skilled and regulated game. By 1900, football had become Britain’s national sport, and developments in transport and media meant that its popularity was spreading rapidly across the world.
In 1927, the administrator of the French Football Federation, Henri Delaunay, suggested that countries across Europe bring their passion for the sport together for an intracontinental competition. This vision would eventually become reality when it was organised in 1960 – unfortunately this was five years after Delaunay had passed away. To celebrate the man who first envisaged the Euros, the trophy awarded to the winning country was named after him.