An almanac of world sport
Where sport comes from,
and how it actually works.
Most sports writing tells you who won. This is the other half: how each game was codified, what its laws really say, where its trophies came from, and who decides the rules. Traced to governing-body texts, competition archives and museum records.
Sources cited on every page Claims dated and verified No betting content
Contents
- 01 Origins & History Where each sport actually came from — who codified it, when, and which rules changed along the way. Dated to primary sources rather than repeated folklore. 3 entries
- 02 Trophies & Competitions The history of the trophies themselves and the competitions behind them — what they are made of, who made them, and how each contest has changed shape. 3 entries
- 03 Rules & Techniques The actual laws of the major world sports in plain language — scoring, positions, officiating and the techniques that follow from them. 17 entries
- 04 How Sport Is Run Governing bodies, qualification formats and competition structure — who sets the rules, who runs the tournaments, and how teams actually get in. 5 entries
Recently published
- 01 Rugby Rules Explained: How Rugby Union Actually Works The laws of rugby union in plain English — scoring, offside, the tackle, ruck, maul, scrum and lineout — taken directly from World Rugby's 2026 law book.
- 02 The Offside Rule Explained: What IFAB's Law 11 Actually Says Offside in soccer, explained from IFAB's Law 11 — why being offside isn't an offence, why arms don't count, and the deflection rule that decides most VAR calls.
- 03 Table Tennis Serve Rules: What Makes a Serve Legal The official ITTF service laws in plain English — the open palm, the 16cm toss, the hidden-serve rule, and why you don't have to serve diagonally in singles.
- 04 The FIFA World Cup Trophy: Who Made It, What It's Worth, and Why Winners Don't Keep It The World Cup trophy explained — Gazzaniga's 1974 design, its real specifications, why winners hand it back, and the trophy it replaced that was stolen and never found.
- 05 Ice Hockey Rules Explained: Offside, Icing and Penalties Ice hockey rules in plain English from the IIHF rulebook — six players a side, three 20-minute periods, and the two stoppages that confuse everyone: offside and icing.
- 06 Badminton Service Rules: What Makes a Serve Legal The BWF service laws explained — the 1.15m height rule that replaced the old waist rule, why the receiver must stand still too, and which court to serve from.
- 07 The Rules of Golf Explained: How 25 Rules Actually Work The Rules of Golf in plain English — the two principles everything rests on, the 14-club limit and its exceptions, and why match play and stroke play need different rules.
- 08 Basketball Rules Explained: FIBA's Game in Plain English Basketball rules from the FIBA rulebook — the four clocks that govern every possession, why FIBA games are 40 minutes not 48, and the new disruptive foul.
- 09 Volleyball Rules Explained: Scoring, Rotation and the Three-Hit Rule Volleyball rules from the FIVB rulebook — why sets go to 25 but the fifth goes to 15, how rotation actually works, and why the block doesn't count as a hit.
- 10 The 17 Laws of Soccer: The Complete Rules, and What Changed for 2026/27 All 17 Laws of the Game listed and explained from IFAB's rulebook — plus the 2026/27 changes, including five-second countdowns on throw-ins and goal kicks.