The Game of Soccer The game of soccer, or association football as it is properly called, is the world's most popular team sport. Virtually every country on Earth plays the game in some form or another. It is both physically and intellectually demanding, requiring athletic skill and quick thinking. Brazil's Pele, perhaps the greatest player the sport has ever known, called soccer "the beautiful game." Various civilizations lay claim to discovering the sport. There are records of soccerlike games having been played in China more than 2,000 years ago as well as in ancient Greece, Japan, and Mexico. The Romans played a game known as harpastum that spread througho