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Soccer)
Association football
An attacking player (red kit) has passed the defending players (white kits) and is preparing a shot at goal. The goalkeeper (dark kit) will attempt to stop the ball from entering the goal. |
| Highest governing body |
FIFA |
| Nickname(s) |
Football, Soccer, Futbol, Footy/Footie |
| Characteristics |
| Contact |
Contact |
| Team members |
11 at a time |
| Category |
Indoor or Outdoor |
| Ball |
Football |
| Olympic |
1900 |
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players, and is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world.[1][2][3][4] It is a football variant played on a rectangular grass or artificial turf field, with a goal at each of the short ends. The object of the game is to score by manoeuvring the ball into the opposing goal. In general play, the goalkeepers are the only players allowed to use their hands or arms to propel the ball; the rest of the team usually use their feet to kick the ball into position, occasionally using their torso
or head to intercept a ball in midair. 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 extra time and/or a penalty shootout, 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 the Fédération Internationale de Football Association
(International Federation of Association Football), commonly known by
the acronym FIFA. The most prestigious international football
competition is the FIFA World Cup, held every four years. This event, the most widely viewed in the world, boasts an audience twice that of the Summer Olympic Games.[5]
Nature of the game
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, known as the football.
Two teams of eleven players each compete to get the ball into the other
team's goal (between the posts and under the bar), 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.
The primary rule is that players (other than goalkeepers) may not deliberately handle the ball with their hands or arms during play (though they do use their hands during a throw-in
restart). Although players usually use their feet to move the ball
around, they may use any part of their bodies other than their hands or
arms.[6]
In typical game play, players attempt to create goal scoring opportunities through individual control of the ball, such as by dribbling,
passing the ball to a team-mate, and by taking shots at the goal, which
is guarded by the opposing goalkeeper. Opposing players may try to
regain control of the ball by intercepting a pass or through tackling
the opponent in possession of the ball; however, physical contact
between opponents is restricted. Football is generally a free-flowing
game, with play stopping only when the ball has left the field of play
or when play is stopped by the referee. After a stoppage, play recommences with a specified restart.[7]
At a professional level, most matches produce only a few goals. For example, the 2005–06 season of the English Premier League produced an average of 2.48 goals per match.[8] The Laws of the Game do not specify any player positions other than goalkeeper,[9] but a number of specialised roles have evolved. Broadly, these include three main categories: strikers, or forwards, whose main task is to score goals; defenders, who specialise in preventing their opponents from scoring; and midfielders,
who dispossess the opposition and keep possession of the ball in order
to pass it to the forwards on their team. Players in these positions
are referred to as outfield players, in order to discern them from the
single goalkeeper. These positions are further subdivided according to
the area of the field in which the player spends most time. For
example, there are central defenders, and left and right midfielders.
The ten outfield players may be arranged in any combination. The number
of players in each position determines the style of the team's play;
more forwards and fewer defenders creates a more aggressive and
offensive-minded game, while the reverse creates a slower, more
defensive style of play. While players typically spend most of the game
in a specific position, there are few restrictions on player movement,
and players can switch positions at any time.[10] The layout of a team's players is known as a formation. Defining the team's formation and tactics is usually the prerogative of the team's manager.[11]
History and development
- See also: History of association football
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.
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 BC in China (the game of cuju)."[12] In addition, the Roman game 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.
The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century
efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played at
the public schools of England.
The Cambridge Rules, first drawn up at Cambridge University
in 1848, were particularly influential in the development of subsequent
codes, including association football. The Cambridge Rules were written
at Trinity College, Cambridge, at a meeting attended by representatives from Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester and Shrewsbury
schools. 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 public school pupils in 1857,[13] 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.[14]
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.[15] 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 football clubs followed this lead and did not join the FA, or subsequently left the FA and 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.[15] These rules included handling of the ball by "marks" and the lack of a crossbar, rules which made it remarkably similar to Victorian rules football
being developed at that time in Australia. The Sheffield FA played by
its own rules until the 1870s with the FA absorbing some of its rules
until there was little difference between the games.
The laws of the game are currently determined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The Board was formed in 1886[16] 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 Birmingham in 1888 by Aston Villa director William McGregor.[17]
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.[18] 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.
Today, football is played at a professional level all over the
world. Millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow
their favourite teams,[19] while billions more watch the game on television.[20]
A very large number of people also play football at an amateur level.
According to a survey conducted by FIFA published in 2001, over 240
million people from more than 200 countries regularly play football.[21] 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 CĂ´te d'Ivoire national football team
helped secure a truce to the nation's civil war in 2005. By contrast,
football is widely considered to be the final proximate cause in the Football War in June 1969 between El Salvador and Honduras.[22] The sport also exacerbated tensions at the beginning of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, when a match between Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade devolved into rioting in March 1990.[23]
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 of the
Game are published by FIFA, but are maintained by the International Football Association Board, not FIFA itself.[24]
Players, equipment and officials
- See also: Association football positions, Formation (association football), and Kit (Association football)
Each team consists of a maximum of eleven players (excluding substitutes), one of whom must be the goalkeeper.
Competition rules may state a minimum number of players required to
constitute a team; this is usually seven. Goalkeepers are the only
players allowed to play the ball with their hands or arms, provided
they do so within the penalty area in front of their own goal. Though there are a variety of positions
in which the outfield (non-goalkeeper) players are strategically placed
by a coach, these positions are not defined or required by the Laws.[9]
The basic equipment or kit players are required to wear includes a shirt, shorts, socks, footwear and adequate shin guards. Headgear
is not a required piece of basic equipment, but players today may
choose to wear it to protect themselves from head injury. Players are
forbidden to wear or use anything that is dangerous to themselves or
another player, such as jewellery or watches. The goalkeeper must wear
clothing that is easily distinguishable from that worn by the other
players and the match officials.[25]
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 permitted number may vary in other competitions or in friendly
matches. Common reasons for a substitution include injury, tiredness,
ineffectiveness, a tactical switch, or timewasting
at the end of a finely poised game. In standard adult matches, a player
who has been substituted may not take further part in a match.[26]
A game is officiated by a referee,
who has "full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection
with the match to which he has been appointed" (Law 5), and whose
decisions a
Classical
from 
