Football (soccer)

From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change

For the American sport, see American football. For other sports known as football, see Football

Switzerland and Albania playing football

Association football is a sport played between two teams. Globally it is usually called football, but in some countries, such as the United States and Canada, it is called soccer, while in Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Republic of Ireland the word soccer is commonly use, but the word football is also used.

In each team there are 11 players. 10 of them play on the field and one is the goalkeeper. The game is played by kicking a ball into the opponent's goal. A match has 90 minutes play, with a break of about 15 minutes in the middle.

[change] Competitions

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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 Europe, the international football tournament is the European Championship. In football, a championship is usually called a "Cup". For example, the FIFA World Cup or the FA Cup.

[change] Who plays football

Football is the world's most popular sport, after fishing. 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 is played by both males and females, but more commonly by males.

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 the UEFA cup which is the next best teams from each of the top leagues competing.

[change] Rules

Players may not use their hands or arms (a handball), except the goalkeepers, who may use them within their own penalty area (penalty areas are in front of both goals).
Players may not trip or push each other (a foul).
Players may not hold each other or stop other players from getting to the ball (obstruction).
Players who commit bad fouls get shown a yellow card. Players who commit really bad fouls, or get shown two yellow cards in the same game, get shown a red card. Players who get shown a red card get sent off the field and cannot finish playing the game.
The ball is out of play if it crosses the boundaries.
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).
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);
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);
The offside rule does not allow a player from the opposition to be behind the last man of defence when the ball is being passed or a through ball being made. To be a bit more pedantic, the player must not be beyond the last man of defence at the time of contact with the ball when a pass is being made.
When a player scores he is not allowed to jump into the crowd. If he does he will get a yellow card. The same applies to lifting their shirt in celebration.
Players must not abuse referees in any way (verbally or physically)