Football, one of the world's oldest and most popular sports, will be grabbing everyone's attention over the next few weeks following the kick-off of Euro 2004 in Portugal. While you may be a fan of David Beckham or Francesco Totti thanks to their talent and good looks, how much do you actually know about the game?
While modern football originated in England, an early form of the game was already being played in China and Japan before the first century. Football was originally banned in England because it was considered indecent. It is said that Queen Elizabeth I even had people jailed for a week for playing football.
However, the game continued to flourish around the globe following the introduction of the Cambridge Rules in the 19th century that standardised the game. So what makes football such an irrepressible sport?
According to Kenny Lai Sun-cheung, head coach of the Hong Kong national football team, football is about fighting spirit - something that makes the game so unpredictable and interesting.
'As long as the match is not over, nothing is concluded yet,' says Lai. 'Whether you are down by a single goal, five goals or even 10 goals, you have to handle the remaining time in a way to makes the game difficult for the opponents.'
This is a quality that Lai finds many Hong Kong teenagers are lacking due to the protected environment they grow up in. Young people here are not well-challenged, he says.
