Football Inventions that Changed Football Forever.
Football goal nets, protective shin pads, dugouts, portable goals and safe net fixings are now the norm but they were once football innovations.
Goal nets
The ball hitting the back of the net ! Itsa Goal. The goalpost net adds much more to the game and is also a sensible addition.
The Football Association's first rules in the year 1863 stated the football goalposts had to be eight yards apart ; a rule unchanged. The goalpost crossbar was introduced much later and was initially as tape in 1866. Solid crossbars were mandatory in 1882.
Football Goal nets came a later thanks to Mr. John Alexander Brodie, an engineer from Liverpool. In October 1889, Brodie went to watch his team, Everton play Accrington Stanley at Anfield (Everton’s ground at the time!). He thought they had scored the winning goal but, with no goal net attached it no one could be sure if the shot had passed through the posts. The result was a draw and so the problem needed to be resolved. Mr. Brodie found the solution initially by putting his hands in his pocket whilst considering the problem and hence the idea for attaching a goal net came about.
Following trials and a passing a patent for the idea the very first goal to be scored with a net was by an Everton player Mr. Fred Geary. The actual game was refereed by Mr S. Weller Widdowson, who actually later invented shin pads! Football goal nets featured in the FA Cup final in 1891.
Protective Shin pads
Mr. Widdowson was a sportsman from Nottingham. It was said that Widdowson could run 100 yards in 10.25 seconds and a mile in four minutes, 50 seconds. Widdowson also played cricket and the idea for shin pads was taken from the similar protective pads used in cricket. in 1874 Shin pads were actually used outside the socks and initially. FIFA amend shin guards compulsory in 1990.
Dugouts
Donald Colman introduced dugouts to football. His original surname was Cunningham however, his father was religious and did not approve of football and this difference led to Donald changing his name to his mother's maiden name.
He played for Glasgow Perthshire before becoming a professional footballer with with Motherwell, he also won four Scotland caps.
After his playing careers he became a football coach and Colman coaching methods focused on possession with the creation of space to pass into by other players moving off the ball, this was a new idea t the time. The idea for dugouts was originally seen in a Norwegian club, SK Brann of Bergen coached in huts at the side of pitches shouting instructions.
As an avid coach the idea of having a lower than ground level shelter may help study the players play where it mattered at ball level; this is where the idea originated from. When Colman became the coach at Aberdeen in 1931 he brought this concept of dugouts to Pittodrie – the first to be installed at a professional football ground.
Portable Plastic Goals for children
Mr John Robert Wilson and the company Itsa Goal Posts Limited was the first company in the world to make safe lightweight plastic football goals for children in 1989. The first plastic goal was 12' wide by 6' high and was a proportionally sized goal intended for children. The goal was adopted by the Football Association and the new game was introduced by the F.A. called Mini soccer. This also led to a large increase in girls playing football.
Before the introduction of plastic children’s football goals by our company, it was “Jumpers for goal posts”. All who played in those games will remember the many squabbles that took place with every shot that was within inches of the jumper come goalpost. When a young lad decided to make the very first 12’x 6’ Mini Soccer Goal from wood and pea netting in 1959 he did not realise that this would eventually change the way football would be played by future children around the world.
The first children’s 12’x 6’ plastic goals in carrying bags were manufactured by that same youngster in 1989 and the rest is history. The portable PVC goals were easy to assemble, lightweight yet strong, virtually impossible to knock over and light enough to carry around.
Welcomed by the English Football Association they were approved to launch small-sided games for children where the introduction of proportional goal posts and pitches allowed more touches of the football for everyone. The small sided game introduced and encouraged girls to take up the game at a younger age which led to an explosion of girls and ladies football.
An invitation to F.I.F.A. soon followed and our children’s goal post Goal was subsequently approved by the world’s governing body The Federation de-International de-Football Association.
A whole new manufacturing industry producing low-cost safer children’s goalposts has subsequently been created around this original innovative idea. They say imitation is the best form of flattery and although numerous copies of our concept have been made none have bettered those original football goals we made.
The brand name we adopted is a tribute to the first legendary football commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme who said after the first ever televised BBC “Match of the Day” goal ( scored by Roger Hunt of Liverpool in 1964) “It’s a Goal” The company was formed in 1989 when the small sided game for children “Mini Soccer” was created and the first plastic goal in a bag was invented by our company. Many copies of the original concept of a goal post in a bag have been made but none surpass the speed of installation, the strength, the quality and the longevity of our football goals.
The biggest brand in the world “Coca-Cola “chose our original plastic goals for a unique scheme directed at helping introduce young children to the small sided game. The promotion “The Big Red Bag” was a collaboration with the Football Association aimed at developing the game in schools and junior grass roots football. The equipment provided a complete football pitch in a bag that included two football goals, proportional smaller footballs, corner flags, pitch markers, and players coloured bibs. This low cost easy to use training aid helped increase the participation in kid’s football.
Click here to view the full range of Plastic goals manufactured by Itsa Goal
Safer goal net fixings.
Traditionally steel football goal posts used steel net hooks. These were unsafe and caused many accidents and are now banned by The Football Association. With the introduction of lightweight children's goals the idea for safe arrowhead plastic net hooks was also created to attach nets to Itsa goal posts. These fixings made the ITSA Goal plastic and steel goals stand out from other copies of the concept. Click here to view and buy the safe plastic Arrow head net fixings
Many goal now seen in professional stadiums are made in aluminium with a recessed channels for nylon net fixings to twist and lock in place. Please click here to view
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