Association football
Association football
An attacking player (No 10) attempts to kick
the ball past the goalkeeper to score a goal.
Highest
governing body
FIFA
Nickname(s)
Football, Soccer, Futbol,
Footy/Footie
Characteristics
Contact
Contact
Team members
11 a side
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 popu-
lar sport in the world.[1][2][3] It is a football
variant played on a rectangular grass or arti-
ficial turf field, with a goal in the centre of
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 goal-
keepers 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 de-
clared 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 Asso-
ciation, whose 1863 Laws of the Game cre-
ated the foundations for the way the sport is
played today. Football is governed interna-
tionally by the Fédération Internationale de
Football Association (International Federa-
tion of Association Football),
commonly
known by the acronym FIFA. The most presti-
gious 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.[4]
Overview
A goalkeeper saving a close range shot from
inside the penalty area
Football is played in accordance with a set of
rules known as the Laws of the Game. The
game is played using a single spherical ball,
kno