9、The game of football began in England in the middle of the nineteenth century. But the Chinese played a game _ _ 21 _ _ football over 2000 years ago. In the beginning, it was very _ _ 22 _ _ and dangerous. There were not a fixed number of players and there was always a lot of fighting. In 1863 the Football Association was founded to bring _ _ 23 _ _ to the game. Since then, millions have played football, making it the world's most _ _ 24 _ _ sport. It's the strongest in Europe and South America, but it is popular in Africa as well and now is played also by women; women's football is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. The World Cup is the most important _ _ 25 _ _ in international football. The competition is held every four years at different countries around the world. The first competition was held in 1930 and the winner was Uruguay(乌拉圭).