2-979-711 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Football in Manilla, 1857. Sport in the Philippines: '...Sketch of a game at football, at which the Indians are very great. They stand in a circle, and with their feet keep up the ball for any length of time. The ball is made of wickerwork, and is like a round basket; the game is never to let it touch the ground after it is once up, and always to manage to strike it with the feet. Some players are very expert at the "back-footed" trick; with the sole of their foot they will send the ball right over their heads to the players in front of them, who, in their turn, send it back again. The game is a most extraordinary sight, and the players are wonderfully clever at it. In England, football is one of your oldest games; but I have never seen it played with such dexterity as in Manilla'. From "Illustrated London News", 1857.