Soccer

Soccer
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Introduction; Field; Team; Officials; Equipment; Play; Skills; Amateur Competition; Professional Soccer; International Competition; History
I Introduction

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Soccer, game played by two teams on a rectangular field, in which players attempt to knock a round ball through the opponents’ goal, using any part of the body except the hands. Generally, players use their feet and heads as they kick, dribble, and pass the ball toward the goal. One player on each team guards the goal. This player, the goalkeeper, is the only player allowed to touch the ball with the hands while it is in play.

Soccer is a free-flowing game that has relatively few rules and requires little equipment. All that is needed to play is an area of open space and a ball. Much of the world's soccer is played informally, without field markings or real goals. In many places, the game is played barefoot using rolled-up rags or newspapers as a ball. Soccer is the world's most popular sport, played by people of all ages in about 200 countries. The sport has millions of fans throughout the world.

Only in the United States and Canada is the game referred to as soccer. Outside these countries the sport is commonly called football, or fútbol in Spanish-speaking countries, where the game is particularly popular. The official name of the sport is association football. The word soccer is a slang corruption of the abbreviation assoc.

The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the worldwide governing body of soccer. FIFA governs all levels of soccer, including professional play, Olympic competitions, and youth leagues. The organization also governs the sport’s premier event, the World Cup, an international competition held every four years pitting national teams from 32 countries against one another.


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II Field

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FIFA’s rules state that a soccer field must be rectangular. It must be between 90 and 120 m (100 and 130 yd) long and between 45 and 90 m (50 and 100 yd) wide. The rectangular goals at each end of the field are 7.32 m (24 ft) wide and 2.44 m (8 ft) high. The goals are generally made of metal or plastic. A nylon mesh net attached to the goal traps the ball when a team scores.

Several field markings define the area of play. These include the penalty areas, sidelines, end lines, and corner kick quarter-circles. The two penalty areas are the most important field markings. They lie at each end of the field directly in front of the goals. The areas are 40.32 m (44 yd) wide and extend 16.5 m (18 yd) in front of the goal. Goalkeepers can use their hands within this area, but if they venture beyond the boundaries of the penalty area, they must follow the general rules applying to all players. If a player commits a major foul inside the penalty area, the other team is awarded a penalty kick. (Fouls and penalty kicks are discussed in greater detail in the Play section of this article.)

Sidelines and end lines define the area of play, meaning that any space outside these lines is considered out of play. If a team kicks the ball out of bounds over a sideline, the opposing team puts it back in play by a throw-in. To make a throw-in, a player outside the sideline throws the ball to a teammate who is in play. The player must always use two hands and bring the ball from behind the head while standing in the spot where the ball left the field of play. Failure to do so results in a change of possession, and the other team is awarded the throw-in.

When a ball passes beyond an end line, one of two things happens, depending on which team last touched the ball. When the defending team touches the ball last, a corner kick is awarded to the attacking team. A corner kick is a free kick taken from one of the quarter-circle areas at each corner of the field. If the attacking team kicks the ball past the end line, the defense takes possession of the ball. The defense is allowed to kick the ball up the field from one of the corners of the goal area, a smaller rectangular area within the penalty area. These kicks are called goal kicks.

III Team

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In a regulation soccer game, each team fields 11 players. There are four main positions—goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, and attacker. One player from each team plays the position of goalkeeper, but the distribution of other players among the other positions can vary.

Generally, teams play with three or four defenders, who are also known as fullbacks. Fullbacks are the last line of defense between the goalkeeper and the opposing team. Their primary job is to thwart an opposing attack by winning control of the ball. Fullbacks then initiate their own team's attack, moving the ball in the other direction, upfield, and passing it ahead.

Three or four players called midfielders, or halfbacks, act as a link between defense and offense. Midfield is the most demanding position, as halfbacks must master skills necessary both to defend and attack. Halfbacks are also constantly moving, running from one end of the field to the other.

Attackers, or forwards, are primarily responsible for scoring goals. Teams generally play with two, three, or four forwards. Forwards must handle the ball well and be excellent passers, and they also must be exceptionally quick.

Teams align their players in strategic formations that are described numerically. In the early days of soccer, the most common formation featured two fullbacks, three midfielders, and five forwards (2-3-5). As the game has developed, teams have put more emphasis on defense. In the modern game, most teams use the 4-4-2 (four defenders, four midfielders, two forwards). Other variations include the 3-5-2, 4-3-3, or 5-3-2. Regardless of the official formation a team uses, any player may be called upon to attack or defend at any time during a game.

In youth, high school, and college games, substitutes may enter the game as often as desired. In the professional game, however, a limited number of substitutes are permitted per contest, usually two or three. A replaced player may not reenter the game. Because of these restrictions, stamina is even more important in professional games than it is at other levels. During a professional game players may run 11 to 13 km (7 to 8 mi) in a grueling series of stops, starts, sprints, and quick changes of direction.

IV Officials

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Soccer differs from other team sports in that there is only one referee, who makes all decisions related to rules. In most countries, the referee is also the sole timekeeper and has discretion to add time to the end of the game if he or she believes one team has intentionally wasted time. Or the referee may add time at the end of the game because of player injuries or other delays.

The referee can eject players from a match for violent or unbecoming conduct. The referee may show a player who commits an especially dangerous foul a yellow card, which is an official caution. A player who is shown the yellow card twice in one game is ejected, and his team must compete a player short for the remainder of the match. If a single foul is violent enough, the referee may immediately show the player a red card, which means automatic ejection. Soccer uses the yellow and red card system throughout the world. This means that even if the players and referee do not speak the same language, everyone can understand the referee’s actions.

Two assistants, known as linesmen or referees’ assistants, aid the referee. Their primary job is to alert the referee when balls go out of the playing area and to assist in making offsides calls (see Rules section below). The assistants carry flags, which they wave when the ball leaves the playing area or use to point to the spot where a foul was committed.