
Football (soccer)

Football (soccer)

Learn more about Football (soccer)

Jump to: navigation, search
Image:Football iu 1996.jpg
A player (wearing the red kit) has penetrated the defence (in the white kits) and is taking a shot at the goal. The goalkeeper will attempt to stop the ball from entering the goal.

Football (also known as association football or soccer) is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players each. It is the most popular code of football and is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world. A ball game, it is played on a rectangular grass field, or occasionally on artificial turf, with a goal at each end of the field. The object of the game is to score by manoeuvring the ball into the opposing goal; only the goalkeepers may use their hands or arms to propel the ball in general play. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extended time, depending on the format of the competition.

The modern game was codified in England following the formation of the Football Association, whose 1863 Laws of the Game created the foundations for the way the sport is played today. Football is governed internationally by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The most prestigious international football competition is the World Cup, held every four years. This event, the most widely viewed and famous in the world, boasts twice the audience of the Summer Olympics.<ref>2002 FIFA World Cup TV Coverage, FIFA official website. Retrieved on May 13, 2006.</ref>


[edit] Nature of the game

See also: Association football positions and Formation (football)
Image:Soccer goalkeeper.jpg
A goalkeeper dives to stop the ball from entering his goal.

Football is played in accordance with a set of rules, known as the Laws of the Game. The game is played using a single round ball (the football) and two teams of eleven players each compete to get the ball into the other team's goal, thereby scoring a goal. The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner; if both teams have scored an equal number of goals, then the game is a draw. There are exceptions to this rule, however; see Duration and tie-breaking methods below.



At a professional level, most matches produce only a few goals. For example, during the English 2005-06 season of the FA Premier League, an average of 2.48 goals per match were scored.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>


[edit] History and development

See also: Football and History of football (soccer)

Games revolving around the kicking of a ball have been played in many countries throughout history. According to FIFA, the "very earliest form of the game for which there is scientific evidence was an exercise of precisely this skilful technique dating back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries B.C. in China."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition, the Roman games Harpastum may be a distant ancestor of football. Various forms of football were played in medieval Europe, though rules varied greatly by both period and location.

Whilst football has continued to be played in various forms throughout Britain, the English public schools (fee-paying schools) are widely credited with certain key achievements in the creation of modern football (association football and the rugby football games - rugby league and rugby union football). The evidence suggests that during the sixteenth century English public schools generally, and headmaster Richard Mulcaster in particular, were instrumental in taking football away from its violent "mob" form and turning it into an organised team sport that was beneficial to schoolboys. Therefore, the game became institutionalised, regulated, and part of a larger, more central tradition. Many early descriptions of football and references to it (e.g. poetry) were recorded by people who had studied at these schools, showing they were familiar with the game. Finally, in the 19th century, teachers and former students were the first to write down formal rules of early modern football to enable matches to be played between schools.

The rules of football as they are codified today are effectively based on the mid-19th-century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played at the public schools of England. The first ever set of football rules were written at Eton College in 1815. The Cambridge Rules were a code of football rules, first drawn up at Cambridge University in 1848, which have influenced the development of Association football (also known simply as "football", or soccer) and subsequent codes.

The Cambridge Rules were written at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1848, at a meeting attended by representatives from Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester and Shrewsbury schools, but they were not universally adopted. During the 1850s, many clubs unconnected to schools or universities were formed throughout the English-speaking world to play various forms of football. Some came up with their own distinct codes of rules, most notably the Sheffield Football Club (formed by former pupils from Harrow) in 1857, which led to formation of a Sheffield FA in 1867. In 1862, John Charles Thring of Uppingham School also devised an influential set of rules.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

These ongoing efforts contributed to the formation of The Football Association (The FA) in 1863 which first met on the morning of 26 October 1863 at the Freemason's Tavern in Great Queen Street, London.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The only school to be represented on this occasion was Charterhouse. The Freemason's Tavern was the setting for five more meetings between October and December, which eventually produced the first comprehensive set of rules. At the final meeting, the first FA treasurer, the representative from Blackheath, withdrew his club from the FA over the removal of two draft rules at the previous meeting, the first which allowed for the running with the ball in hand and the second, obstructing such a run by hacking (kicking an opponent in the shins), tripping and holding. Other English rugby clubs followed this lead and did not join the FA but instead in 1871 formed the Rugby Football Union. The eleven remaining clubs, under the charge of Ebenezer Cobb Morley, went on to ratify the original thirteen laws of the game. The Sheffield FA played by its own rules until the 1870s.

The laws of the game are currently determined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The Board was formed in 1886<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> after a meeting in Manchester of The Football Association, the Scottish Football Association, the Football Association of Wales, and the Irish Football Association. The world's oldest football competition is the FA Cup, which was founded by C. W. Alcock and has been contested by English teams since 1872. The first official international football match took place in 1872 between Scotland and England in Glasgow, again at the instigation of C. W. Alcock. England is home to the world's first football league, which was founded in 1888 by Aston Villa director William McGregor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The original format contained 12 clubs from the Midlands and the North of England. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the international football body, was formed in Paris in 1904 and declared that they would adhere to Laws of the Game of the Football Association.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The growing popularity of the international game led to the admittance of FIFA representatives to the International Football Association Board in 1913. The board currently consists of four representatives from FIFA and one representative from each of the four British associations.

Image:Football world popularity.png
Map showing the popularity of football around the world. Countries where football is the most popular sport are coloured green, while countries where it is not are coloured red. The various shades of green and red indicate the number of players per 1,000 inhabitants.

Today, football is played at a professional level all over the world, and millions of people regularly go to football stadia to follow their favourite team,<ref>Baseball or Football: which sport gets the higher attendance?, Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on 5 June 2006.</ref> whilst billions more watch the game on television.<ref>2002 FIFA World Cup TV Coverage, FIFA official website. Retrieved on 13 May 2006.</ref> A very large number of people also play football at an amateur level. According to a survey conducted by FIFA and published in the spring of 2001, over 240 million people regularly play football in more than 200 countries in every part of the world.<ref>FIFA Survey: approximately 250 million footballers worldwide, FIFA official website. Retrieved on 5 June 2006.</ref> Its simple rules and minimal equipment requirements have no doubt aided its spread and growth in popularity.

In many parts of the world football evokes great passions and plays an important role in the life of individual fans, local communities, and even nations; it is therefore often claimed to be the most popular sport in the world. ESPN has spread the claim that the Côte d'Ivoire national football team helped secure a truce to the nation's civil war in 2005. By contrast, however, football is widely considered to be the final proximate cause in the Football War in June 1969 between El Salvador and Honduras. The sport also exacerbated tensions at the beginning of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, when a Red Star Belgrade-at-Dinamo Zagreb match devolved into rioting in March 1990.<ref>Daniel W. Drezner. "The Soccer Wars", The Washington Post, Sunday, June 4 2006, p. B01.</ref>

[edit] Laws of the Game

Image:Kid playing soccer.jpg
Football is popular among children as well as adults.

[edit] Overview of the laws

Main article: Laws of the Game

There are seventeen laws in the official Laws of the Game. The same Laws are designed to apply to all levels of football, although certain modifications for groups such as juniors, seniors or women are permitted. The laws are often framed in broad terms, which allow flexibility in their application depending on the nature of the game. In addition to the seventeen laws, numerous IFAB decisions and other directives contribute to the regulation of football. The laws can be found on the official FIFA website.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

[edit] Players, equipment and officials

See also: Goalkeeper (football), Substitute (football), and Kit (association football)


The basic equipment players are required to wear includes a shirt, shorts, socks, footwear and adequate shin guards. Players are forbidden to wear or use anything that is dangerous to themselves or another player (including jewellery or watches). The goalkeeper must wear clothing that is easily distinguishable from that worn by the other players and the match officials.

A number of players may be replaced by substitutes during the course of the game. The maximum number of substitutions permitted in most competitive international and domestic league games is three, though the number permitted may be varied in other leagues or in friendly matches. Common reasons for a substitution include injury, tiredness, ineffectiveness, a tactical switch, or as a defensive ploy to use up a little time at the end of a finely poised game. In standard adult matches, a player who has been substituted may not take further part in the match.


[edit] Playing field

Main article: Football pitch


The length of the rectangular field (pitch) specified for international adult matches is in the range 100-110 metres (110-120 yd) and the width is in the range 65-75 metres (70-80 yd). Fields for non-international matches may be 100-130 yards length and 50-100 yards in width, provided that the pitch does not become square. The longer boundary lines are touchlines or sidelines, while the shorter boundaries (on which the goals are placed) are goal lines. On the goal line at each end of the field a rectangular goal is centred. The inner edges of the vertical goal posts must be 8 yards (7.32 m) apart, and the lower edge of the horizontal crossbar supported by the goal posts must be 8 feet (2.44 m) above the ground. Nets are usually placed behind the goal, but are not required by the Laws.

In front of each goal is an area of the field known as the penalty area (colloquially "penalty box", "18-yard box" or simply "the box"). This area is marked by the goal-line, two lines starting on the goal-line 18 yards (16.5 m) from the goalposts and extending 18 yards into the pitch perpendicular to the goal-line, and a line joining them. This area has a number of functions, the most prominent being to mark where the goalkeeper may handle the ball and where a penal foul by a member of the defending team becomes punishable by a penalty kick.

The field has other field markings and defined areas (see football pitch).

Minutes before kick-off for a UEFA Champions League clash between A.C. Milan and F.C. Internazionale Milano at the San Siro stadium in Milan.

[edit] Duration and tie-breaking methods




Competitions held over two legs (in which each team plays at home once) may use the away goals rule to attempt to determine which team progresses in the event of equal aggregate scores. If the result is still equal following this calculation kicks from the penalty mark are usually required, though some competitions may require a tied game to be replayed.

In the late 1990s, the IFAB experimented with ways of making matches more likely to end without requiring a penalty shootout, which was often seen as an undesirable way to end a match. These involved rules ending a game in extra time early, either when the first goal in extra time was scored (golden goal), or if one team held a lead at the end of the first period of extra time (silver goal). Golden goal was used at the World Cup in 1998 (France) and 2002 (Japan-South Korea). The first World Cup game decided by a golden goal was France's victory over Paraguay in 1998. In Euro 1996, Germany was the first nation to score a golden goal in a major competition, beating Czech Republic in the final. Silver goal was used in Euro 2004 (Portugal). Both these experiments have been discontinued by IFAB.

[edit] Ball in and out of play

Image:Ronaldinho corner.jpg
Ronaldinho prepares to take a corner kick


  • Indirect free kick: awarded to the opposing team following "non-penal" fouls, certain technical infringements, or when play is stopped to caution/send-off an opponent without a specific foul having occurred. A goal may not be scored directly from an indirect free kick.

[edit] Fouls and misconduct

Image:Yellow card.svg Image:Red card.svg


See also: Foul (football) and Misconduct (football)

A foul occurs when a player commits a specific offence listed in the Laws of the Game when the ball is in play. The offences that constitute a foul are listed in Law 12. Handling the ball, tripping an opponent, or pushing an opponent, are examples of "penal fouls", punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on where the offence occurred. Other fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick.



[edit] Offside

See also: Offside (football)

The offside law effectively limits the ability of attacking players to remain forward (i.e. closer to the opponent's goal-line) of the ball, the second-to-last defending player (which can include the goalkeeper), and the half-way line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

[edit] Governing bodies


Six regional confederations are associated with FIFA; these are:

The recognised various national associations (see football around the world) oversee football within their jurisdictions. These are affiliated both with FIFA directly and also with their respective continental confederations.

The Laws of the Game are not maintained by FIFA itself; rather they are maintained by the International Football Association Board, as discussed in the history and development section above.

[edit] Major international competitions

Image:Fifa world cup org.jpg

The major international competition in football is the World Cup, organised by FIFA. This competition takes place over a four-year period. More than 190 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within the scope of continental confederations for a place in the finals. The finals tournament, which is held every four years, now involves 32 national teams (increased in 1998 from the 24 of 1994) competing over a four-week period. The 2006 FIFA World Cup took place in Germany;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in 2010 it will be held in South Africa.

There has been a football tournament at every Summer Olympic Games since 1900, except at the 1932 games in Los Angeles. Prior to the inception of the World Cup, the Olympics (especially during the 1920s) had the same status as the World Cup. Originally, the event was for amateurs only,<ref>Where it all began FIFA official website. Retrieved on April 10 2006.</ref> however, since the 1984 Summer Olympics professionals have been permitted as well, albeit with certain restrictions which effectively prevent countries from fielding their strongest sides. Currently, the Olympic men's tournament is played at Under-23 level. In the past the Olympics have allowed a restricted number of over-age players per team;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but that practice will cease in the 2008 Olympics. The Olympic competition is not generally considered to carry the same international significance and prestige as the World Cup. A women's tournament was added in 1996; in contrast to the men's event, the women's Olympic tournament is played by full international sides without age restrictions. It thus carries international prestige considered comparable to that of the FIFA Women's World Cup.

After the World Cup, the most important football competitions are the continental championships, which are organised by each continental confederation and contested between national teams. These are the European Championship (UEFA), the Copa América (CONMEBOL), African Cup of Nations (CAF), the Asian Cup (AFC), the CONCACAF Gold Cup (CONCACAF) and the OFC Nations Cup (OFC). Two of the most prestigious competitions in club football are the respective continental championships, which are generally contested between national champions, for example the UEFA Champions League in Europe and the Copa Libertadores de América in South America. The most prestigious competition until 2005 was the Intercontinental Cup which was contested by the winner club of the European Champions League cup and the winner of the Copa Libertadores. This was a single match played in Tokyo, Japan and went from 1980 until 2004. This was also known as the Toyota Cup. Due to the growing number of audience and interest of people from Africa, North America and Asia, this "cup" was replaced in 2005 by the FIFA Club World Championship in which there is no single match, but a whole tournament between the winners of the six club championships of each FIFA confederation.

[edit] Domestic competitions

The governing bodies in each country operate leagues, normally comprising several divisions, in which the teams gain points throughout the season depending on results. Teams are placed into tables, placing them in order according to points accrued. Most commonly, each team plays every other team in its league at home and away in each season. At the end of a season, the top team are declared to be the champions, and the top few teams may be promoted to a higher division; and one or more of the teams finishing at the bottom are relegated to a lower division. The teams finishing at the top of a country's league may be eligible also to play in international club competitions in the following season. The main exceptions to this system occur in some Latin American leagues, which divide football championships into two sections named Apertura and Clausura, awarding a champion for each.

In addition to a league system, most countries operate one or more cup competitions during the season. These are organised on a knock-out basis, the winner of each match proceeding to the next round; the loser takes no further part in the competition.

Some countries' top divisions feature highly-paid star players; in smaller countries and lower divisions, players may be part-timers with a second job, or amateurs. The top European leagues, especially England's, Spain's, and Italy's, attract most of the world's best players. Historical restrictions on the number of foreign players in a club's team have been largely eliminated by the Bosman ruling.

[edit] Names of the game

The rules of football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863, and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The term soccer first appeared in the 1880s as a slang abbreviation of Association football, often credited to Charles Wreford-Brown.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Today the sport is known by a number of names throughout the English-speaking world, the most common being football and soccer. The term used depends largely on the need to differentiate the sport from other types of football played in a community. Football is the term used by FIFA, the sport's world governing body, and the International Olympic Committee. For more details of naming throughout the world, please refer to the main articles above.

[edit] See also

Wikinews has an entire section of news on:
Football (Soccer)
Image:Portal.svg Football (soccer) portal
Football (soccer) - edit
Overviews: Football around the world | Women's football around the world
Timelines: Football | English football
History: Prehistory of football | History of football
Decades: 1840s in football | 1850s in football | 1860s in football
1870s - 1870 | 1871 | 1872 | 1873 | 1874 | 1875 | 1876 | 1877 | 1878 | 1879
1880s - 1880 | 1881 | 1882 | 1883 | 1884 | 1885 | 1886 | 1887 | 1888 | 1889
1890s - 1890 | 1891 | 1892 | 1893 | 1894 | 1895 | 1896 | 1897 | 1898 | 1899
1910s - 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919
1920s - 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929
1930s - 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939
1940s - 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
1950s - 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959
1960s - 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969
1970s - 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979
1980s - 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989
1990s - 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999
2000s - 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009

[edit] References

<references />

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

<span class="FA" id="cs" style="display:none;" /> <span class="FA" id="hr" style="display:none;" /> <span class="FA" id="sv" style="display:none;" />

af:Sokker als:Fussball ar:كرة قدم bn:এসোসিয়েশন ফুটবল zh-min-nan:Kha-kiû be:Футбол bs:Nogomet bg:Футбол ca:Futbol cs:Fotbal cy:Pêl-droed da:Fodbold de:Fußball et:Jalgpall el:Ποδόσφαιρο es:Fútbol eo:Futbalo fa:فوتبال fr:Football fy:Fuotbal ga:Sacar gd:Ball-coise gl:Fútbol zh-classical:蹴鞠 zh-classical:足球 ko:축구 hr:Nogomet io:Futbalo id:Sepak bola ia:Football is:Knattspyrna it:Calcio (sport) he:כדורגל ka:ფეხბურთი la:Pediludium lv:Futbols lb:Foussball lt:Futbolas li:Vootbal hu:Labdarúgás ml:ഫുട്ബോള് mt:Futbol ms:Bola sepak nl:Voetbal ja:サッカー no:Fotball nn:Fotball oc:Fotbòl ug:صذتبول nds:Football pl:Piłka nożna pt:Futebol ro:Fotbal ru:Футбол sco:Fitbaa sq:Futbolli simple:Soccer football sk:Futbal sl:Nogomet sr:Фудбал fi:Jalkapallo sv:Fotboll th:ฟุตบอล vi:Bóng đá tr:Futbol uk:Футбол wa:Fotbale vls:Voetbol zh:足球

Football (soccer)

Personal tools
what is world wizzy?