No they didn't. Kicking a ball about is not football, it's kicking a ball about. Just like how having a scrap outside of a cave 4000 years ago wasn't boxing.
When you wouldn't have modern day football without these "kickabouts" it clearly evolves from them. Calcio Fiorentino for instance had two goals, a pitch the size of around a normal football pitch, but 27 players on each team. These early variations mean as much for the modern game of football, perfected by the English in the 18th century, as our monkey ancestors matter in regards to what makes us human. It's not the same species/sport today, but we'd not be the same without them.
Yeah, that sounds absolutely nothing like football. A sport is defined by it's rules, not the apparatus used. It's what separates rugby from american football, pool from snooker, poker from blackjack.