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'''Association football''', more commonly known as '''football''' or '''soccer''', is a last=Guttman |first=Allen |editor=Eric Dunning, Joseph A. Maguire, Robert E. Pearton |title=The Sports Process: A Comparative and Developmental Approach |origyear=1993 |accessdate=2008-01-26 |publisher=Human Kinetics |location=[[Champaign, Illinois|Champaign |isbn=0880116242 |pages=p129 |chapter=The Diffusion of Sports and the Problem of Cultural Imperialism |chapterurl=http://books.google.com/books?id=tQY5wxQDn5gC&pg=PA129&lpg=PA129&dq=world's+most+popular+team+sport&source=web&ots=6ns3wVUEGV&sig=SZPKYSDMJBrO1uV4mPxNbKyAuJY#PPA129,M1 |quote=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 }} It is a field, with a goal at 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 goalkeepers 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 draw is declared or the game goes into penalty shootout, depending on the format of the competition.The modern game was codified in Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football), commonly known by the acronym FIFA. The most prestigious 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. (webarchive) OverviewFootball is played in accordance with a set of rules known as the football''. Two teams of eleven players each compete to get the ball into the other team's goal (between the posts and under the bar), thereby scoring a goal. The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner; if both teams have scored an equal number of goals then the game is a draw.The primary rule is that players (other than goalkeepers) may not deliberately handle the ball with their hands or arms during play (though they do use their hands during a throw-in restart). Although players usually use their feet to move the ball around, they may use any part of their bodies other than their hands or arms.In typical game play, players attempt to create goal scoring opportunities through individual control of the ball, such as by referee. After a stoppage, play recommences with a specified restart.At a professional level, most matches produce only a few goals. For example, the 2005–06 season of the English title=England Premiership (2005/2006) |work=Sportpress.com |url=http://www.sportpress.com/stats/en/738_england_premiership_2005_2006/11_league_summary.html |accessdate=2007-06-05}} The Laws of the Game do not specify any player positions other than goalkeeper, but a number of association football positions|specialised roles have evolved. Broadly, these include three main categories: defenders, who specialise in preventing their opponents from scoring; and url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4196830.stm |title=Positions guide, Who is in a team? |publisher=BBC |accessdate=2007-09-24}} The layout of a team's players is known as a [[Formation (football)|''formation''. Defining the team's formation and tactics is usually the prerogative of the team's manager.Historythumb|250px|Map showing the popularity of football around the world. Countries where football is the most popular sport are coloured green, while countries where it is not are coloured red. The various shades of green and red indicate the number of players per 1,000 inhabitants.Games revolving around the kicking of a ball have been played in many countries throughout history. According to title = History of Football | work = FIFA| url = http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/game/historygame1.html | accessdate =2006-11-20}} In addition, the [[Ancient Rome|Roman game football were played in medieval Europe, though rules varied greatly by both period and location. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played at the public schools of England.The Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester and Shrewsbury schools. They were not universally adopted. During the 1850s, many clubs unconnected to schools or universities were formed throughout the English-speaking world, to play various forms of football. Some came up with their own distinct codes of rules, most notably the Sheffield Football Club, formed by former public school pupils in 1857, which led to formation of a Sheffield FA in 1867. In 1862, John Charles Thring of Uppingham School also devised an influential set of rules.These ongoing efforts contributed to the formation of title=History of the FA |work=Football Association website |url=http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/TheOrganisation/Postings/2004/03/HISTORY_OF_THE_FA.htm |accessdate=2007-10-09}} The only school to be represented on this occasion was [[Charterhouse School|Charterhouse. The Freemason's Tavern was the setting for five more meetings between October and December, which eventually produced the first comprehensive set of rules. At the final meeting, the first FA treasurer, the representative from Blackheath, withdrew his club from the FA over the removal of two draft rules at the previous meeting, the first which allowed for the running with the ball in hand and the second, obstructing such a run by hacking (kicking an opponent in the shins), tripping and holding. Other English rugby football clubs followed this lead and did not join the FA, or subsequently left the FA and instead in 1871 formed the Victorian rules football being developed at that time in Australia. The Sheffield FA played by its own rules until the 1870s with the FA absorbing some of its rules until there was little difference between the games.The laws of the game are currently determined by the title=The International FA Board |publisher=FIFA |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070422035010/http://access.fifa.com/en/history/history/0,3504,3,00.html |accessdate=2007-09-02 }} (webarchive) after a meeting in Manchester of The Football Association, the first official international football match took place in 1872 between Scotland and England in football league, which was founded in Aston Villa director title = The History Of The Football League | work = Football League website | url = http://www.football-league.premiumtv.co.uk/page/History/0,,10794,00.html | accessdate=2007-10-07}} The original format contained 12 clubs from the Midlands and the North of England. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the international football body, was formed in [[Paris in 1904 and declared that they would adhere to Laws of the Game of the Football Association. The growing popularity of the international game led to the admittance of FIFA representatives to the [[International Football Association Board in 1913. The board currently consists of four representatives from FIFA and one representative from each of the four British associations.Today, football is played at a professional level all over the world. Millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their favourite teams, while billions more watch the game on television. A very large number of people also play football at an amateur level. According to a survey conducted by FIFA published in 2001, over 240 million people from more than 200 countries regularly play football. (webarchive) Its simple rules and minimal equipment requirements have no doubt aided its spread and growth in popularity.In many parts of the world football evokes great passions and plays an important role in the life of individual fans, local communities, and even nations; it is therefore often claimed to be the most popular sport in the world. ESPN has spread the claim that the Côte d'Ivoire national football team helped secure a truce to the nation's civil war in 2005. By contrast, football is widely considered to be the final proximate cause in the Football War in June 1969 between El Salvador and Honduras. The sport also exacerbated tensions at the beginning of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, when a match between Dinamo Zagreb and work=[[The Washington Post | title= The Soccer Wars | author = Daniel W. Drezner | date = [[2006-06-04 | page = B01 | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/02/AR2006060201401.html | accessdate = 2008-05-21 }}LawsThere are seventeen laws in the official Laws of the Game. The same Laws are designed to apply to all levels of football, although certain modifications for groups such as juniors, seniors or women are permitted. The laws are often framed in broad terms, which allow flexibility in their application depending on the nature of the game. In addition to the seventeen laws, numerous IFAB decisions and other directives contribute to the regulation of football. The Laws of the Game are published by FIFA, but are maintained by the International Football Association Board, not FIFA itself.Players, equipment and officialsEach team consists of a maximum of eleven players (excluding substitutes), one of whom must be the goalkeeper. Competition rules may state a minimum number of players required to constitute a team; this is usually seven. Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to play the ball with their hands or arms, provided they do so within the penalty area in front of their own goal. Though there are a variety of positions in which the outfield (non-goalkeeper) players are strategically placed by a coach, these positions are not defined or required by the Laws.The basic equipment or ''kit'' players are required to wear includes a shirt, shorts, socks, footwear and adequate Headgear is not a required piece of basic equipment, but players today may choose to wear it to protect themselves from head injury. Players are forbidden to wear or use anything that is dangerous to themselves or another player, such as jewellery or watches. The goalkeeper must wear clothing that is easily distinguishable from that worn by the other players and the match officials.A number of players may be replaced by substitutes during the course of the game. The maximum number of substitutions permitted in most competitive international and domestic league games is three, though the permitted number may vary in other competitions or in friendly matches. Common reasons for a substitution include injury, tiredness, ineffectiveness, a tactical switch, or timewasting at the end of a finely poised game. In standard adult matches, a player who has been substituted may not take further part in a match.A game is officiated by a referee, who has "full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed" (Law 5), and whose decisions are final. The referee is assisted by two assistant referees. In many high-level games there is also a fourth official who assists the referee and may replace another official should the need arise.PitchThe 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.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.Governing bodiesThe recognised international governing body of football (and associated games, such as Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The FIFA headquarters are located in Zürich.Six regional confederations are associated with FIFA; these are:* Asia: Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
Domestic competitionsthumb|Two players trying to win the ball. The governing bodies in each country operate 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 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—url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/7321408.stm |publisher=BBC News |title= Premier League conquering Europe |date=2008-03-31 |accessdate=2008-05-27}} the Bundesliga (Germany) and [[Ligue 1 (France)—attract most of the world's best players.EtymologyThe 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.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 as association football in its statutes, but the term most commonly used by FIFA and the International Olympic Committee is football.See also*Association football culture
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