This article has been updated to comply with the Laws of the Game 2023/24. It lists all the rule changes in the Laws of the Game and other association football codices before 1886 I know of. More on trials or withdrawn and defeated football rule proposals discussed at the Annual General Meeting of The IFAB on request (Contact).
In this article the development of the corner kick is described.
| Year (Source) | new or changed laws (proposing club/association, if known) |
| 1857 (Eton Field Game) | Choice between throw-in or a bully at the opposite of the field. |
| 1858 (Sheffield FC) | If the ball went into touch, the person who touched the ball first was allowed to throw the ball into field from the point where the ball went out. The Sheffield FC Rules also fixed that the distance between all other players must be at least 6 yd until the ball was back in play. |
| 1858 (Harrow Football) | Kick-in (nothing else is mentioned). |
| 1862 (The Simplest Game) | Kick-in from the point where the ball went out. |
| 1862 (Blackheath FC) | Throw-in from the point of touching the ball. |
| 1863 (FA) | If the ball went into touch, the person who touched the ball first was allowed to throw the ball into field from the point where the ball went out. The FA Rules fixed, too, that the throw-in had to be thrown at right angles. |
| 1866 (FA) | The player performing the throw-in must not touch the ball again until it was touched by another player. |
| 1867 (Sheffield FC) | Throw-in in right angle. |
| 1868 (Sheffield FA) | Kick-in. The other players must be at least 6 yd away until the ball was back in play. |
| 1871 (FA) | While throw-in in the other players must be at least 6 yd away until the ball was back in play. |
| 1873 (FA) | The throw-in is given to the opponent of the team that played the ball into the touch (Maidenhead FC, Nottingham Forest FC). |
| 1877 (FA) | Choice between throw-in or kick-in (Wanderers FC). A throw-in must not be performed in right angles (Clydesdale FC). |
| 1886 (IFAB) | Only throw-in. It must be performed as follows: 1) facing the field, 2) holding ball over head, 3) throws it with both hands and 4) in a free direction, but on the field. In the case of an incorrect throw-in, the opposing team gets a throw-in. If the opponent of an infringement of the law, the throw-in will be repeated. (That was already part of the Scottish football rules before 1886.) |
| 1889 (IFAB) | Removal that the throwing player must hold the ball before the throw. |
| 1895 (IFAB) | Supplement that the throwing player must be on the line (FA). |
| 1897 (IFAB) | Supplement to the emphasis on repeated contact. |
| 1898 (IFAB) | No goal can be scored directly from a throw-in. |
| 1903 (IFAB) | No free kick is awarded to the opposing team for an incorrect throw-in. |
| 1907 (IFAB) |
For an incorrect throw-in, the opposing team is awarded another free kick.
|
| 1924 (IFAB) |
The penalty clause for infringements of the throw-in law is deleted.
|
| 1925 (IFAB) | Addition that the throwing player must stand with both feet outside the touch line. |
| 1937 (IFAB) | Addition, that the throwing player can also stand on the touch line during the performance (FA). |
| 1938 (IFAB) | Supplement that if the throwing player repeatedly touches the ball, the game is restarted with a free kick from the place where the infringement occurred, unless the offence is committed by a player in his opponents‘ goal-area, in which case the free-kick shall be taken from a point anywhere within that half of the goal-area in which the offence occurred. If the throw-in is incorrectly performed, the game continues with a throw-in by the opponent. If the throw-in player repeatedly touches the ball, the game is restarted with an IDFK for the opponent. The ball shall be in play immediately it is thrown. A goal cannot be scored directly from a throw-in. |
| 1965 (IFAB) | Supplement that the throw-in player must begin the throw-in action behind the head. The ball is in play when it enters the field of play. |
| 1978 (IFAB) | It is added that – when a player commits an infringement in his opponent’s goal area – the free-kick shall be taken from a point anywhere within that half of the goal area nearest to where the offence occurred. |
| 1987 (IFAB) | Addition that if a throw-in is executed from a point other than where the ball went out, the throw-in was improperly performed. Supplement that when taking a free kick after an infringement, the general conditions for free kicks from Law 13 apply. |
| 1997 (IFAB) | Supplement to the infringements and their restart if the goalkeeper takes the throw-in. |
| 2005 (IFAB) | Addition: The distance is measured from the point where the ball went out. |
| 2008 (IFAB) | Change: The fact that a yellow card is also shown for a caution is deleted. The metric measure of the distance is rounded up to 2 m. |
| 2016 (IFAB) | The restart of the play is added to the text when the ball goes directly into the own or opponent’s goal. |