Finance          Automotive          Computers          Health          Shopping          Sports         News          Reference           Print Facts in English - BCUZ.COMlos hechos en Español

Association football



Players are cautioned with a yellow card, and sent off with a red card. These colours were first introduced at the 1970 FIFA World Cup and used consistently since. Players are cautioned with a yellow card, and sent off with a red card. These colours were first introduced at the 1970 FIFA World Cup and used consistently since.
Players are cautioned with a yellow card, and sent off with a red card. These colours were first introduced at the 1970 FIFA World Cup and used consistently since.

A foul occurs when a player commits an offence listed in the Laws of the Game while 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.[7]

A player scores a penalty kick given after an offence is committed inside the penalty area
A player scores a penalty kick given after an offence is committed inside the penalty area

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. If a player has been sent-off, no substitute can be brought on in their place. 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. A referee can show a yellow or red card to a player, substitute or substituted player. Non-players such as managers and support staff cannot be shown the yellow or red card, but may be expelled from the technical area if they fail to conduct themselves in a responsible manner.[7]

Rather than stopping play, the referee may allow play to continue if doing so 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, typically taken to be four to five seconds. Even if an offence is not penalised due to advantage being played, the offender may still be sanctioned for misconduct at the next stoppage of play.

The most complex of the Laws is offside. The offside law 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.[40]

Governing bodies

See also: Association football around the world

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.

Six regional confederations are associated with FIFA; these are:

National associations oversee football within individual countries. These are affiliated both with FIFA and with their respective continental confederations.

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, involves 32 national teams competing over a four-week period.[41] The 2006 FIFA World Cup took place in Germany; in 2010 it will be held in South Africa.[42]

There has been a football tournament at every Summer Olympic Games since 1900, except at the 1932 games in Los Angeles. Before 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,[19] however, since the 1984 Summer Olympics professional players have been permitted, albeit with certain restrictions which 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;[43] 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, full international sides without age restrictions play the women’s Olympic tournament. 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). 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 winners of each continental competition contest the FIFA Club World Cup.[44]

Domestic competitions

Main article: Association football around the world
Spaniard Cesc Fàbregas (white shirt) and Brazilian Anderson (red shirt) play in the English Premier League.
Spaniard Cesc Fàbregas (white shirt) and Brazilian Anderson (red shirt) play in the English Premier League.

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 is declared the champion. 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.

The majority of countries supplement the league system with one or more cup competitions. 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—Serie A (Italy), La Liga (Spain), the Premier League (England),[45] the Bundesliga (Germany) and Ligue 1 (France)—attract most of the world's best players.[citation needed]

Names of the game

See also: Names for association football and Football (word)

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 originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as a slang abbreviation of the word "association", often credited to former England captain Charles Wreford-Brown.[46]

Today the sport is generally known simply as football in countries where it is the most popular football code. In countries where other codes are more popular, the sport is more commonly referred to as soccer, and indeed is referred to as such in the official names of the governing bodies in the United States and Canada. FIFA, the sport's world governing body, defines the sport they govern as association football in their statutes,[47] but the term most commonly used by FIFA and the International Olympic Committee is football.

See also

Association football Portal
v • d • e
Association football

1840s | 1850s | 1860s | 1870 | 1871 | 1872 | 1873 | 1874 | 1875 | 1876 | 1877 | 1878 | 1879 | 1880 | 1881 | 1882 | 1883 | 1884 | 1885 | 1886 | 1887 | 1888 | 1889 | 1890 | 1891 | 1892 | 1893 | 1894 | 1895 | 1896 | 1897 | 1898 | 1899 | 1900 | 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019

References

  1. ^ "Soccer". Encarta. MSN. Retrieved on 2007-10-07. 
  2. ^ Guttman, Allen [1993]. "The Diffusion of Sports and the Problem of Cultural Imperialism", in Eric Dunning, Joseph A. Maguire, Robert E. Pearton: The Sports Process: A Comparative and Developmental Approach. Champaign: Human Kinetics, p129. ISBN 0880116242. Retrieved on 2008-01-26. “the game is complex enough not to be invented independently by many preliterate cultures and yet simple enough to become the world's most popular team sport” 
  3. ^ Dunning, Eric [1999]. "The development of soccer as a world game", Sport Matters: Sociological Studies of Sport, Violence and Civilisation. London: Routledge, p103. ISBN 0415064139. Retrieved on 2008-01-26. “During the twentieth century, soccer emerged as the world's most popular team sport” 
  4. ^ "Soccer Popularity In U.S.", Austin, Texas: KXAN, 2006-06-12. Retrieved on 2008-01-26. "Soccer is easily the most popular sport worldwide, so popular that much of Europe practically shuts down during the World Cup." 
  5. ^ Frederick O. Mueller, Robert C. Cantu, Steven P. Van Camp [1996]. "Team Sports", Catastrophic Injuries in High School and College Sports. Champaign: Human Kinetics, p57. ISBN 0873226747. Retrieved on 2008-01-26. “Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, and its popularity is growing in the United States. It has been estimated that there were 22 million soccer players in the world in the early 1980s, and that number is increasing. In the United States soccer is now a major sport at both the high school and college levels” 
  6. ^ 2002 FIFA World Cup TV Coverage. FIFA official website (2006-12-05). Retrieved on 2008-01-06. (webarchive)
  7. ^ a b c Laws of the game (Law 12). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
  8. ^ a b c Laws of the game (Law 8). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
  9. ^ England Premiership (2005/2006). Sportpress.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
  10. ^ a b Laws of the game (Law 3–Number of Players). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
  11. ^ Positions guide, Who is in a team?. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
  12. ^ Formations. BBC Sport. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
  13. ^ History of Football. FIFA. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.
  14. ^ Harvey, Adrian (2005). Football, the first hundred years. London: Routledge, pp.126. ISBN 0415350182. 
  15. ^ Winner, David. "The hands-off approach to a man's game", The Times, 2005-03-28. Retrieved on 2007-10-07. 
  16. ^ a b History of the FA. Football Association website. Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
  17. ^ The International FA Board. FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-09-02. (webarchive)
  18. ^ The History Of The Football League. Football League website. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
  19. ^ a b Where it all began. FIFA official website. Retrieved on 2007-06-08. (webarchive)
  20. ^ Ingle, Sean and Barry Glendenning. "Baseball or Football: which sport gets the higher attendance?", Guardian Unlimited, 2003-10-09. Retrieved on 2006-06-05. 
  21. ^ TV Data. FIFA website. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
  22. ^ FIFA Survey: approximately 250 million footballers worldwide (PDF). FIFA website. Retrieved on 2006-09-15. (webarchive)
  23. ^ Dart, James and Paolo Bandini (2007-02-21). Has football ever started a war?. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
  24. ^ Daniel W. Drezner. "The Soccer Wars", The Washington Post, 2006-06-04, p. B01. Retrieved on 2008-05-21. 
  25. ^ Laws Of The Game. FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
  26. ^ Laws of the game (Law 4–Players' Equipment). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
  27. ^ Laws of the game (Law 3–Substitution procedure). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
  28. ^ Laws of the game (Law 5–The referee). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
  29. ^ Summers, Chris (2004-09-02). Will we ever go completely metric?. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
  30. ^ Laws of the game (Law 1.1–The field of play). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
  31. ^ Laws of the game (Law 1.4–The Field of play). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
  32. ^ Laws of the game (Law 1.3–The field of play). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
  33. ^ Laws of the game (Law 7.2–The duration of the match). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
  34. ^ Collett, Mike (2004-07-02). Time running out for silver goal. Reuters. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
  35. ^ Laws of the game (Law 15–The Throw-in). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  36. ^ Laws of the game (Law 16–The Goal Kick). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  37. ^ Laws of the game (Law 17–The Corner Kick). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  38. ^ a b Laws of the game (Law 13–Free Kicks). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  39. ^ Laws of the game (Law 14–The Penalty Kick). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  40. ^ The History of Offside. Julian Carosi. Retrieved on 2006-06-03.
  41. ^ The number of competing teams has varied over the history of the competition. The most recent changed was in 1998, from 24 to 32.
  42. ^ 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. FIFA World Cup website. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
  43. ^ Football - An Olympic Sport since 1900. IOC website. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
  44. ^ Organising Committee strengthens FIFA Club World Cup format. FIFA (2007-08-24). Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
  45. ^ Premier League conquering Europe. BBC News (2008-03-31). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  46. ^ Blain, Rebecca. The World's Most Beloved Sport - The History of Soccer. fussballportal.de. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
  47. ^ FIFA Statutes (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.

External links

Listen to this article (2 parts) · (info)
Spoken Wikipedia
This audio file was created from a revision dated 2007-09-05, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. (Audio help)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Wikinews
Wikinews has a related section:
v • d • e
Team sports
Sport · Governing bodies · Sportspeople · National sport
Football codes
Hockey codes
Bat-and-ball games





BCUZ.com FACTS Encyclopedia content is licensed under the GFDL as approved by Wikipedia.
For more information review our copyright contact and privacy policy.
© 1996 - BCUZ.COM - We have all the FACTS you need about Small Business Financing, Behavior Disorder, Having Too Many Bills, Needing Cash Fast, Structured Settlements, Frequent Flier Programs, Top Steak Houses, The Mayan Indians, Norfolk and Suffolk England, Growing Longer Hair and a full reference English Encyclopedia and Spanish Encyclopedia.Privacy Policy