The history of sports goes long back, but it is very difficult to determine what was one of the first games that were played, especially to be considered a sport. But there have always been competitions around. The competitions could always be about something even simpler, like running, kicking, hitting something with an object similar to a ball, hunting, and throwing would also be expected.

Sports have been part of every culture, whether in the past or present. Every society has its own definition of what could be sports. The most important point that carries out throughout is sports and its relationship with play. What were the different games that were played that ended up being something that could be commonly taken out as sports? Which sports can become a part of a person’s life for it to become more than just a play?

Before reaching out through the history, we need to remember what makes a game different from playing and sports. Sports have legitimate rules and regulations, people to look after said rules and regulations that they are bound to follow no matter what. Rules are the key to transforming plays into sports. Some sports have very few simple rules, whereas some tend to have complex list of rules.

Another genuine distinction could be the level of competitiveness. So, for example, a play could be something like playing chess and hide and seek. One is competitive in a way where there are contests and there are certain winners, and the other is not that competitive.

So what were one of the first sports, or let's make it easy and ask which were one of the first activities that ended up being a part of competition?

There is no such defined record when it comes to when sports essentially started. There has always been play involved since being born. It is adults who make it into sports as physical contests. Prehistoric times do show hunting as something that has been happening a long time ago. But it is also documented that hunting soon became a sport for royalty, where they enjoyed hunting not necessarily as a part of survival but for enjoyment. As discussed before, different cultures also had different sports being built with them. Many cultures have the notes of ball games included in their scriptures as a part of play as well.

With time, conquests of war with bow and arrow, archery became an essential part of a soldier’s skills, similar to sword fighting. Uses of horses, which helped in developing many horse races along the way. A lot of these sports have been developed in the northern part of Africa. Some sports, like ball games and wrestling, come from different tribes of the continent. These contests held a sense of competitiveness with the winner getting a prize by the end of the game. A few years ahead, Asian civilizations also had similar games of wrestling coming into the picture. Archery became one of the biggest sports, especially needed for war practice. A new game among these was developed called polo. Polo is referred to in many ancient books. And badminton was developed during the first century.

During the earlier first century, chariot races were famous during Greek times and even Roman times. Physical exercise was definitely emphasized for being part of the military. But Romans preferred boxing, wrestling, javelin, and footraces.

A lot of these games developed going through the time with small changes being constantly made to accommodate it better throughout the time. The addition of different sports came especially during the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution brought the sports that would require grace inspired by ballet. These ideologies are still seen in sports like figure skating, diving, and gymnastics. Other new games, such as volleyball, team handball, and basketball, were also introduced.

By the time of the 18th century, organized games such as cricket and new games for the impaired were made. Inclusivity for handicapped people was brought in for many available sports. Boxing had developed better rules, and rowing was introduced in universities in England. In 1864, track and field games became renounced as athletics. Football also gained popularity within England, developing different clubs, and became ‘people’s game’ by the end of the century.

By the 19th century, with the British ruling over most of Africa, Australia, and India, sports also followed them. Cricket has currently become one of the popular sports in these countries. Sports like rugby and football also gained popularity in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Latin America had the influx of popularity with football.

A lot of sports by the end of the 19th century started having small changes till the time that it occurred to have a modern take on the old sports. A lot of organizations and committees started having new rules and how to make it better worldwide. The popularity of cycles in France brought the first Tour de France in 1903.

One of the first organisations started was the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that organised the first modern olympic games in Athens in the year 1896. Followed by in 1904, the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was established which was led by Robert Guerin. In 1912, Swedish Industrialist, Sigfrid Edstrom founded IAAF - International Association of Athletics Federations. The English name for the same was International Amateur Athletic Federation since 1912 which was recently changed to current IAAF in 2001.

Japan was one of the non-western countries where traditional sports were more popular than western sports. Judo is an example of becoming one of the Olympic sports in 1964, which was an effort made by Kano Jigoro to combine western and Asian traditions. In the 20th century, sports went through a social change. With a lot of struggles, African Americans, Latin Americans, and Asians got the opportunity to participate in the Olympics.

Sport has been evolving ever since. A small dream of becoming an athlete has been increasing day by day. The emergence of popularity gained in certain sports makes it a worthwhile experience, whether that sport is involved in the Olympics or not.