Association football is a sport played between two teams.

It was invented
in England, and is played in most countries. In the United
States and Canada it is called soccer, whereas in many other countries it is
called either soccer or football.
There were various attempts to codify the rules of football in England in the
mid-19th century. The present laws date from 1863 when a set of rules was
adopted in Rugby, Warwickshire by the newly formed Football Association.
Each team has 11 players on the field. One of these players is the goalkeeper,
and the other ten are known as "outfield players". The game is played by
kicking a ball into the opponent's goal. A match has 90 minutes of play, with
a break of 15 minutes during the match. The break in the middle is
called half-time. Extra time may also be added at the end of the game.

Contents

 1Competitions
 2Who plays football
 3Rules
o 3.1Fundamental rules
o 3.2Behaviour rules
 4Related pages
 5References
Competitions[change | change source]
There are many competitions for football, for both football clubs
and countries. Football clubs usually play other teams in their own country,
with a few exceptions. Cardiff City F.C. and Swansea City
F.C from Wales for example, play in the English leagues and in the
English FA Cup.
Groups such as UEFA and FIFA organise international competitions between
clubs and countries. Clubs play in competitions such as UEFA Champions
League or UEFA Europa League, and countries play for the World Cup or a
continental trophy such as the UEFA European Football Championship.
The FIFA World Cup takes place every four years between national teams,
and is the world's most popular sporting event, even more popular than
the Olympic Games.[1] In football, there are two main types competitions. In a
"league", all of the teams play the same number of games, but in a "cup",
teams leave the competition when they lose, until the last two teams play
each other to decide the winner.
Who plays football[change | change source]
Football is the world's most popular sport. It is played in more countries than
any other game. In fact, FIFA (the Federation Internationale de Football
Association) has more members than the United Nations. It was originally an
all-male sport, but today it is played by both males and females (separately,
except sometimes at primary school level).
In Europe, the main competitions to compete to be the best in Europe are the
Champions League for the top teams from the top leagues in each country in
Europe. Then there is UEFA Europa League which is for the next best teams
from each member of the UEFA.
The most successful club in the world, in terms of domestic league results,
is Rangers F.C. from Scotland, who have won more domestic league titles
than any other team in the world. They have won the country's league 51
times[2] which is a world record.[3] Other successful clubs are FC
Barcelona and Real Madrid from Spain, Bayern
Munich from Germany and Liverpool and Manchester United from England.
Rules[change | change source]
Fundamental rules[change | change source]
Note: this is not a complete summary

 The side which scores the most goals wins. If scores are equal, the
result is a draw.
 The officials in a football game are a referee and two linesmen.
 Goals are scored by getting the ball into the opponents' goal, more than
halfway across the line.
o Referees have access to goal-line cameras to decide close cases.
o The offside rule means that there have to be at least two
defenders between the attacker and the defenders' goal when the
 attacker's teammate passes the ball to him/her. (This is not a
complete summary: the rule is complex). Usually, one of the two
defenders is the goalkeeper.
 Players may not use their hands or arms (handball), except the
goalkeeper, who may use them within his own penalty area (penalty
areas are in front of both goals).
 The ball is out of play if it crosses the field boundaries.
o If a player kicks the ball out of play at the side of the field, the
other team gets to throw the ball back into play (a throw in).
o If a player kicks the ball out of play at their end of the field, the
other team kicks the ball back into play from the corner (a corner
kick);
o If a player kicks the ball out of play at the other end of the field,
the other team kicks the ball back into play from directly in front of
the goal (a goal kick).
 Football is a game of two halves. Each half is 45 minutes. The referee
may add time to the end of each half when play is delayed due to
injuries or substitutions. There is an interval of ten minutes between
halves.
 Each team is allowed up to three substitutes from the bench during the
course of a game. No player substituted can return during the game.