In Mexico, ball has been played since ancient times. This is what President Claudia Sheinbaum pointed out during her short speech at the group draw ceremony for the 2026 World Cup. More than 500 years ago, when the Spaniards set foot on the American continent, the Dominican friar Diego Durán wrote how much he praised the skill, skill and kindness with which the inhabitants of those lands unknown to Europeans used to move a rubber ball, from one side of the field to the other, using only their “buttocks” and knees. The monk was referring to the ball game.
His name in Maya is Book Ta Book. It originated approximately 3,500 years ago, taking into account the recent discovery of a soccer field in Paso de la Amada, Chiapas, one of the oldest stadiums in Mesoamerica (the geographical area where more than 2,500 fields have been found). The activity consists of hitting a hard rubber ball with the hips, buttocks, elbows, or knees, and attempting to pass it through a vertical stone hoop; A mix between what today would be football, volleyball and basketball.
The rules, surface of the courts, number of players, and size and weight of the ball vary by period and region. According to National Geographic, the most popular variant was developed in fields with two parallel rectangular structures, separated by a central rectangular space. The ends can be open or closed with a wall.
The game has been interpreted in different ways over time and is believed to represent, for the Mexica and Maya, a gateway to the underworld, a space to recreate cosmic battles between celestial bodies, fertility rituals, warrior ceremonies, political consolidation of rulers or kings or a place for sacrifices, among others, as published by the Journal of Mexican Archeology.
According to research by historians Mercedes de la Garza and Ana Luisa Izquierdo, “the game essentially represents natural contradictions, such as the opposition of cardinal points, the moments of a star’s disappearance and reappearance, and especially the struggle of the luminous forces against the dark forces, embodied in the stars, which are divine beings.”
In the myth of the twin brothers Xpalanqui and Hunahpu, the central figure in the origins of the universe. Popol vuh —The Holy Bible of the Maya-Kish people—, These gods confront the gods of the underworld, and when they are defeated, Ixbalanqué and Hunahpú become the moon and sun, respectively.
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