Portal:Association football

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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular-framed goal defended by the opposing team. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries and territories, it is the world's most popular sport.

Association football is played in accordance with the Laws of the Game, a set of rules that has been in effect since 1863 and maintained by the IFAB since 1886. The game is played with a football that is 68–70 cm (27–28 in) in circumference. The two teams compete to score goals by getting the ball into the other team's goal (between the posts, under the bar, and fully across the goal line). When the ball is in play, the players mainly use their feet, but may also use any other part of their body, except for their hands or arms, to control, strike, or pass the ball; the head, chest, and thighs are commonly used. Only the goalkeepers may use their hands and arms, and that only within the penalty area. The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner. Depending on the format of the competition, an equal number of goals scored may result in a draw being declared with 1 point awarded to each team, or the game may go into extra time or a penalty shoot-out.

Internationally, association football is governed by FIFA. Under FIFA, there are six continental confederations: AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, and UEFA. National associations (e.g. the FA in England, U.S. Soccer in the United States, etc.) are responsible for managing the game in their own countries both professionally and at an amateur level, and coordinating competitions in accordance with the Laws of the Game. The most prestigious senior international competition is the FIFA World Cup. The men's World Cup is the most-viewed sporting event in the world, surpassing the Olympic Games. The most prestigious competition in European club football is the UEFA Champions League, which attracts an extensive television audience worldwide. The final of the men's Champions League is the most-watched annual sporting event in the world. (Full article...)

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Leek Town F.C. in action in 2006

Leek Town Football Club is an English football club based in Leek, Staffordshire. Founded in 1946, the club played in a variety of local leagues before becoming founder members of the North West Counties League in 1982. They progressed to the Northern Premier League in 1987.

Leek Town reached the final of the FA Trophy in 1990, having progressed all the way from the First Qualifying Round, but lost in the final at Wembley Stadium to Barrow. In 1997 they were Northern Premier League champions and gained promotion to the Football Conference, the highest level of English non-league football, although they only spent two seasons at that level before being relegated.

Harrison Park has been the club's home ground since 1948 after paying £1,250 for the land, no other facilities were added until the 1950's and players had to change in the toilets of a nearby pub. Expanded and upgraded in the 1990s, the ground is named after former chairman Geoff Harrison. (Full article...)

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Pelé

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, KBE (born October 23, 1940 in Três Corações, Brazil), best known by his nickname Pelé, is a former Brazilian football player, rated by many as the greatest footballer of all time. He was given the title of Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and jointly received FIFA Player of the Century chosen by officials at the organisation, shared with Diego Maradona who won the people's vote.

In his native Brazil, Pelé is hailed as a national hero. He is known for his accomplishments and contribution to the game, in addition to being officially declared the football ambassador of the world by FIFA and a national treasure by the Brazilian government. He is also acknowledged for his vocal support of policies to improve the social conditions of the poor. He is also a member of the American National Soccer Hall of Fame.

He is the all-time top scorer in the history of the Brazil national team and is the only footballer to be a part of three World Cup-winning teams. Since his full retirement in 1977 Pelé has been an ambassador for football and has also undertaken various acting roles and commercial ventures. (Full article...)

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The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It promotes the game in Oceania and allows the member nations to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.

OFC is predominantly made up of island nations where association football is not the most popular sport, with low GDP and low population meaning very little money is generated by the OFC nations. The OFC has little influence in the wider football world, either in terms of international competition or as a source of players for high-profile club competitions. OFC is the only confederation to have not had at least one international title, the best result being Australia making the final of the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup. (Full article...)

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... that Welsh footballer Jon Morgan went on to become a college principal after retiring?
... that Ecuadorian footballer Hernán Galíndez won a bicycle for beating a team featuring Lionel Messi when they were children?
... that Ryan Roberts, a defensive end for Notre Dame, was a soccer player in high school?
... that football manager Darren Moore led Sheffield Wednesday to promotion even after they lost the first leg of their play-off semi-final 4–0?
... that after his soccer career, Steve Palacios enlisted in the United States Army and played for the United States Armed Forces soccer team?
... that goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse, who has lived in England, Africa and the US, has been chosen to play soccer for the Republic of Ireland?

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throw-in

Credit: Flickr user wonker

When a ball is kicked out of play on the side of the pitch, the game is resumed with a throw-in. Here, Arsenal player Abou Diaby returns the ball into play.

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The rules of soccer are very simple, basically it is this: if it moves, kick it. If it doesn't move, kick it until it does.

— Phil Woosnam

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More at Wikiquote

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The following are images from various association football-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1An early draft of the original hand-written 'Laws of the Game' drawn up on behalf of The Football Association by Ebenezer Cobb Morley in 1863 on display at the National Football Museum, Manchester. (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 2Japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team wearing sashes (c. 1920) (from Women's association football)
Image 3The official record attendance for a women's football match was set at Camp Nou on 22 April 2022, with 91,648 people watching Barcelona defeat Wolfsburg 5–1 (pictured). (from Women's association football)
Image 4Mia Hamm (left) battles with German defender Kerstin Stegemann (from Women's association football)
Image 5Striker Cristiana Girelli and coach Rita Guarino of Juventus in 2019. Juventus is one of the most storied and successful football clubs in Italy. (from Women's association football)
Image 6United States Abby Wambach plays off a corner kick against Canada.
Image 7Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)
Image 8Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)
Image 9Iran women's national football team maintained a higher rank internationally. (from Women's association football)
Image 10"North" team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)
Image 11A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 12Marta of Brazil is the all-time leading scorer of the senior FIFA World Cups. (from Women's association football)
Image 13Arsenal in 2007 of the Women's FA Cup. (from Women's association football)
Image 14Olympique Lyonnais vs Paris Saint-Germain. (from Women's association football)
Image 15The Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (from Women's association football)
Image 16The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872 (from History of association football)
Image 17Megan Rapinoe speaks on equal pay in March 2021. (from Women's association football)
Image 18Portland Thorns traveling supporters at Seattle's Memorial Stadium. (from Women's association football)
Image 19Cricket and Foot-Ball, one of the earliest books about association football, published by Beadle & Co. in New York in 1000 It contained the rules and laws of the game (from History of association football)
Image 20Florida state vs North Carolina soccer 2005. (from Women's association football)
Image 21Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894. The goal has no net. (from History of association football)
Image 22Players fighting for the ball during the match between Germany and Norway in UEFA Women's Euro 2009 in Tampere, Finland. (from Women's association football)
Image 23From 1866 to 1883, the laws provided for a tape between the goalposts (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 24Harrow School team of 1867. (from History of association football)
Image 25When first introduced in 1891, the penalty was awarded for offences within 12 yards of the goal-line. (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 26Iran vs Turkey in 2010 Youth Olympics (from Women's association football)
Image 27Sheffield F.C. (here pictured in 1876) is the oldest association club still active, having been founded in 1857 (from History of association football)
Image 28FC de Rakt DA1 (2008/2009) (from Women's association football)
Image 29Sam Kerr with Australia during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal against Japan in Edmonton, 2015 (from Women's association football)

Selected World Cup

The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for women's national football teams. It was held from 26 June to 17 July 2011 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in October 2007. Japan won the final against the United States on a penalty shoot-out following a 2–2 draw after extra time and became the first Asian team to win a senior FIFA World Cup.

The matches were played in nine stadiums in nine host cities around the country, with the final played at the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt. Sixteen teams were selected for participation via a worldwide qualification tournament that began in 2009. In the first round of the tournament finals, the teams competed in round-robin groups of four teams for points, with the top two teams in each group proceeding. These eight teams advanced to the knockout stage, where two rounds of play decided which teams would participate in the final. (Full article...)

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... that Port Vale F.C. captain Tom Conlon's grandfather's father-in-law played for the club more than a century ago? (9 April 2021)
... that the French football club GPSO 92 Issy was founded by three Peruvian sisters in 1997? (8 April 2021)
... that the 2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final was one of the last matches shown on the ITV Sport Channel? (24 March 2021)
... that the owner of Walsall F.C. described victory at the 2001 Football League Second Division play-off Final as the greatest day in the club's history? (20 February 2021)
... that when Fred Stewart was appointed the manager of Cardiff City F.C., he paid the transfer fee of his first signing himself? (30 March 2021)
... that professional goalkeeper Scott Brown lost his father to Parkinson's, witnessed the birth of his son, and then signed with Aberdeen in the space of ten days? (29 March 2021)