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Football (soccer)
Association football, commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport
played between two teams of 11 players each. It is widely considered to be
the most popular sport in the world.[1] Football is a ball game 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 goalkeeper is the only player 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, while they may also occasionally
use their torso or head to intercept a ball in mid air. 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), which is commonly known by the acronym
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 an audience twice that of the Summer Olympics.[2]
Nature of the game
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.
The primary rule is that the players (other than the 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.
In typical game play, players attempt to propel the ball toward their
opponents' goal 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 who controls the ball; however, physical contact between opponents
is limited. 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.
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.[3]
The Laws of the Game do not specify any player positions other than
goalkeeper, but a number of player specialisations 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; players in these
positions are referred to as outfield players, in order to discern them from
the single goalkeeper. These positions are further differentiated by which
side of the field the player spends most time in. For example, there are
central defenders, and left and right midfielders. The ten outfield players
may be arranged in these positions in any combination (for example, there
may be four defenders, four midfielders, and two forwards, or three
defenders, three midfielders, and four forwards), and the number of players
in each position determines the style of the team's play; more forwards and
fewer defenders would create a more aggressive and offensive-minded game,
while the reverse would create a slower, more defensive style of play. While
players may spend most of the game in a specific position, there are few
restrictions on player movement, and players can switch positions at any
time. The layout of the players on the pitch is called the team's formation,
and defining the team's formation and tactics is usually the prerogative of
the team's manager.
History and development
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."[4] 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.
Whilst football has continued to be played in various forms throughout the
United Kingdom, 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). 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. Thereafter, the game
became institutionalised, regulated, and part of a larger, more central
tradition. Many early descriptions of football and references to it (e.g.,
in 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 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 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.[5]
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.[6] 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. 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[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] 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, and
millions of people regularly go to football stadia to follow their favourite
teams,[10] whilst billions more watch the game on television.[11] 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.[12] 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 match between Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade devolved
into rioting in March 1990.[13]
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.[14]
Players, equipment and officials
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, but they are only allowed to 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.
The basic equipment (kit) 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.
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 are final. The referee is assisted
by two assistant referees. In many high-level games there is also a fourth
official (and in the world cup a fifth official), who assist(s) the referee
and may replace another official should the need arise.
Pitch
Due to the original formulation of the Laws in England and the early
supremacy of the four British football associations within IFAB, the
standard dimensions of a football pitch, or field, were originally expressed
in imperial units. The Laws now express dimensions with approximate metric
equivalents (followed by traditional units in brackets), though popular use
tends to continue to use traditional units in English-speaking countries
with a relatively recent history of metrification.
The length of the pitch specified for international adult matches is in the
range 100-110 metres (110-120 yd) and the width is in the range 64-75 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 "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 various other markings and defined areas.
Duration and tie-breaking methods
A standard adult football match consists of two periods of 45 minutes each,
known as halves. Each half runs continuously, meaning that the clock is not
stopped when the ball is out of play; the referee does, however, make
allowance for time lost through significant stoppages as described below.
There is usually a 15-minute "half-time" break between halves. The end of
the match is known as full-time.
The referee is the official timekeeper for the match, and may make an
allowance for time lost through substitutions, injured players requiring
attention, or other stoppages. This added time is commonly referred to as
stoppage time or injury time, and is at the sole discretion of the referee.
The referee alone signals the end of the match. In matches where a fourth
official is appointed, toward the end of the half the referee signals how
many minutes of stoppage time he intends to add, and the fourth official
then informs the players and spectators by holding up a board showing this
number. The signalled stoppage time may be further extended by the referee.
In league competitions games may end in a draw, but in some knockout
competitions if a game is tied at the end of regulation time it may go into
extra time, which consists of two further 15-minute periods. If the score is
still tied after extra time, some competitions allow the use of penalty
shootouts (known officially in the Laws of the Game as "kicks from the
penalty mark") to determine which team will progress to the next stage of
the tournament. Goals scored during extra time periods count toward the
final score of the game, but kicks from the penalty mark are only used to
decide the team that progresses to the next part of the tournament (with
goals scored in a penalty shootout not making up part of the final score).
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.
Ball in and out of play
Under the Laws, the two basic states of play during a game are ball in play
and ball out of play. From the beginning of each playing period with a
kick-off (a set kick from the centre-spot by one team) until the end of the
playing period, the ball is in play at all times, except when either the
ball leaves the field of play, or play is stopped by the referee. When the
ball becomes out of play, play is restarted by one of eight restart methods
depending on how it went out of play:
* Kick-off: following a goal by the opposing team, or to begin each period
of play.
* Throw-in: when the ball has wholly crossed the touchline; awarded to
opposing team to that which last touched the ball.
* Goal kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal
having been scored and having last been touched by an attacker; awarded to
defending team.
* Corner kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal
having been scored and having last been touched by a defender; awarded to
attacking team.
* 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.
* Direct free kick: awarded to fouled team following certain listed "penal"
fouls.
* Penalty kick: awarded to the fouled team following a foul usually
punishable by a direct free kick but that has occurred within their
opponent's penalty area.
* Dropped-ball: occurs when the referee has stopped play for any other
reason (e.g., a serious injury to a player, interference by an external
party, or a ball becoming defective). This restart is uncommon in adult
games.
Fouls and misconduct
Players are cautioned with a yellow card, and sent off with a red card.
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 deliberately, 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.
The referee may punish a player or substitute's misconduct by a caution
(yellow card) or sending-off (red card). A second yellow card at the same
game leads to a red card, and therefore to a sending-off. Misconduct may
occur at any time, and while the offences that constitute misconduct are
listed, the definitions are broad. In particular, the offence of "unsporting
behaviour" may be used to deal with most events that violate the spirit of
the game, even if they are not listed as specific offences. Non-players,
such as managers and support staff, may be dismissed from the field and its
surrounds by the referee if they fail to conduct themselves in a responsible
manner.
Rather than stopping play, the referee may allow play to continue when its
continuation will benefit the team against which an offence has been
committed. This is known as "playing an advantage". The referee may "call
back" play and penalise the original offence if the anticipated advantage
does not ensue within a short period of time, typically taken to be four to
five seconds. Even if an offence is not penalised because the referee plays
an advantage, the offender may still be sanctioned for any associated
misconduct at the next stoppage of play.
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.[15]
Governing bodies
The recognised international governing body of football (and associated
games, such as futsal and beach soccer) is the Fédération Internationale de
Football Association (FIFA). The FIFA headquarters are located in Zürich,
Switzerland.
Six regional confederations are associated with FIFA; these are:
* Asia: Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
* Africa: Confederation of African Football (CAF)
* Central/North America & Caribbean: Confederation of North, Central
American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF; also known as The
Football Confederation)
* Europe: Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)
* Oceania: Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)
* South America: Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (South American
Football Confederation; CONMEBOL)
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.
Major international competitions
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;[16] 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,[17] 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;[18] 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 Cup in
which there is no single match, but a whole tournament between the winners
of the six club championships of each FIFA confederation.
Domestic competitions
The governing bodies in each country operate league systems, 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, in a round-robin
tournament. 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 five top European leagues - the FA Premier League, the
Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A - 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.
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.[19]
Today the sport is known by a number of names throughout the
English-speaking world, the most common being football and soccer. Although
FIFA, the sport's world governing body, defines the sport they govern as
Association football in their statutes[20], the most commonly used term by
that organisation and the International Olympic Committee is football.
For more details of naming throughout the world, please refer to the main
articles above.
References
1. ^ Soccer Encarta. Retrieved on May 24, 2007.
2. ^ 2002 FIFA World Cup TV Coverage, FIFA official website. Retrieved on
May 13, 2006.
3. ^ England Premiership (2005/2006). Sportpress. Retrieved on 5 June 2006.
4. ^ History of Football. FIFA. Retrieved on 20 November 2006.
5. ^ The hands-off approach to a man's game. The Times. Retrieved on 3 June
2006.
6. ^ History of the FA. Football Association website. Retrieved on February
19, 2006.
7. ^ The International FA Board. FIFA website. Retrieved on February 19,
2006.
8. ^ The History Of The Football League. Football League website. Retrieved
on April 19, 2006.
9. ^ History of FIFA. FIFA website. Retrieved on 3 June 2006.
10. ^ Baseball or Football: which sport gets the higher attendance?,
Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on 5 June 2006.
11. ^ 2002 FIFA World Cup TV Coverage, FIFA official website. Retrieved on
13 May 2006.
12. ^ FIFA Survey: approximately 250 million footballers worldwide, FIFA
official website. Retrieved on 5 June 2006.
13. ^ Daniel W. Drezner. "The Soccer Wars", The Washington Post, Sunday,
June 4, 2006, p. B01.
14. ^ The Official web site of the Fédération Internationale de Football
Association. Retrieved on 2006-04-19.
15. ^ The History of Offside. Julian Carosi. Retrieved on June 3, 2006.
16. ^ FIFA World Cup 2006. FIFA World Cup 2006 website. Retrieved on
February 19, 2006.
17. ^ Where it all began FIFA official website. Retrieved on April 10, 2006.
18. ^ Football - An Olympic Sport since 1900. IOC website. Retrieved on June
5, 2006.
19. ^ The World's Most Beloved Sport - The History of Soccer.
fussballportal.de. Retrieved on 3 June 2006.
20. ^ FIFA Statutes
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