Football (soccer) | History, Game, Rules, & Significant Players (2024)

soccer

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Also known as: association football, soccer

Written by

Eric Weil Columnist and Contributor, Buenos Aires Herald; Reporter, Associated Press; South America Correspondent, World Soccer; Contributor, FIFA Magazine.

Eric Weil,

Bernard Joy Former football correspondent, Evening Standard, London. Author of Soccer Tactics.

Bernard JoyAll

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Last Updated: Article History

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Also called:
association football or soccer
Key People:
René Higuita
Alex Morgan
Enzo Francescoli
Sofia Huerta
Trinity Rodman
Related Topics:
Africa Cup of Nations
World Cup
Asian Cup
European Championship
Women’s World Cup

See all related content →

Top Questions

What is football?

Football, also called association football or soccer, is a game involving two teams of 11 players who try to maneuver the ball into the other team’s goal without using their hands or arms. The team that scores more goals wins. Football is the world’s most popular ball game in numbers of participants and spectators.

What is the origin of football?

Modern football originated in Britain in the 19th century. Though “folk football” had been played since medieval times with varying rules, the game began to be standardized when it was taken up as a winter game at public schools. The Football Association, formed in 1863, codified the rules of the game and hosted the first cup competition between regional football clubs in Britain.

How many people play football?

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, estimated that at the turn of the 21st century there were approximately 250 million football players worldwide.

What is football’s premier tournament?

The World Cup is football’s premier tournament. It is a quadrennial tournament and is likely the most popular sporting event in the world, drawing billions of television viewers every tournament.

football, game in which two teams of 11 players, using any part of their bodies except their hands and arms, try to maneuver the ball into the opposing team’s goal. Only the goalkeeper is permitted to handle the ball and may do so only within the penalty area surrounding the goal. The team that scores more goals wins.

Football is the world’s most popular ball game in numbers of participants and spectators. Simple in its principal rules and essential equipment, the sport can be played almost anywhere, from official football playing fields (pitches) to gymnasiums, streets, school playgrounds, parks, or beaches. Football’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), estimated that at the turn of the 21st century there were approximately 250 million football players and over 1.3 billion people “interested” in football; in 2010 a combined television audience of more than 26 billion watched football’s premier tournament, the quadrennial monthlong World Cup finals.

For a history of the origins of football sport, see football.

History

The early years

Modern football originated in Britain in the 19th century. Since before medieval times, “folk football” games had been played in towns and villages according to local customs and with a minimum of rules. Industrialization and urbanization, which reduced the amount of leisure time and space available to the working class, combined with a history of legal prohibitions against particularly violent and destructive forms of folk football to undermine the game’s status from the early 19th century onward. However, football was taken up as a winter game between residence houses at public (independent) schools such as Winchester College, Charterhouse, and Eton College. Each school had its own rules; some allowed limited handling of the ball and others did not. The variance in rules made it difficult for public schoolboys entering university to continue playing except with former schoolmates. As early as 1843 an attempt to standardize and codify the rules of play was made at the University of Cambridge, whose students joined most public schools in 1848 in adopting these “Cambridge rules,” which were further spread by Cambridge graduates who formed football clubs. In 1863 a series of meetings involving clubs from metropolitan London and surrounding counties produced the printed rules of football, which prohibited the carrying of the ball. Thus, the “handling” game of rugby remained outside the newly formed Football Association (FA). Indeed, by 1870 all handling of the ball except by the goalkeeper was prohibited by the FA.

Britannica QuizGreat Moments in Sports Quiz

The new rules were not universally accepted in Britain, however; many clubs retained their own rules, especially in and around Sheffield. Although this northern English city was the home of the first provincial club to join the FA, in 1867 it also gave birth to the Sheffield Football Association, the forerunner of later county associations. Sheffield and London clubs played two matches against each other in 1866, and a year later a match pitting a club from Middlesex against one from Kent and Surrey was played under the revised rules. In 1871 15 FA clubs accepted an invitation to enter a cup competition and to contribute to the purchase of a trophy. By 1877 the associations of Great Britain had agreed upon a uniform code, 43 clubs were in competition, and the London clubs’ initial dominance had diminished.

Football (soccer) | History, Game, Rules, & Significant Players (2024)

FAQs

What is rule number 1 of soccer? ›

The field of play must be a wholly natural or, if competition rules permit, a wholly artificial playing surface except where competition rules permit an integrated combination of artificial and natural materials (hybrid system). The colour of artificial surfaces must be green.

What does soccer stand for? ›

Linguistically creative students at the University of Oxford in the 1880s distinguished between the sports of “rugger” (rugby football) and “assoccer” (association football). The latter term was further shortened to “soccer” (sometimes spelled “socker”), and the name quickly spread beyond the campus.

How to play soccer summary? ›

Soccer teams are made up of 11 players each. Each team tries to control the ball and move it toward the opponent's goal. Only one player on each team, the goalkeeper, can touch the ball with the hands and arms. The rest of the players can touch the ball with any part of the body except the hands and arms.

How did soccer start history? ›

While the exact history of soccer is ambiguous, many believe: The game traces its origins back to rudimentary ball games played in China and Rome. Soccer as it's known today developed over centuries in England. Freemason's Pub in where many of the modern rules were laid down.

What is the hardest rule in soccer? ›

The offside rule is one of the most complex rules in soccer. This rule can be challenging to understand, especially if you're new to the game. The short definition: the rule prohibits you from being behind the last defender, not including the goalkeeper.

What is rule 7 in soccer? ›

Law 7 - The Duration of the Match. 1. Periods of play. A match lasts for two equal halves of 45 minutes which may only be reduced if agreed between the referee and the two teams before the start of the match and is in accordance with competition rules.

Why does America call it soccer? ›

The association in association football was also shortened to soccer. This clips off the first and last three syllables of association, leaving –soc-, onto which that chummy –er was added, yielding soccer. The term is first recorded as socker in 1891. Footer is slightly older, found in that fateful year of 1863.

What do Japanese call soccer? ›

Although the official English name of the Japan Football Association uses the term "football", the term sakkā (サッカー), derived from "soccer", is much more commonly used than futtobōru (フットボール).

What does FIFA stand for in soccer? ›

FIFA — SOCCER'S WORLD GOVERNING BODY

Founded in 1904 to provide unity among national soccer associations, the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) boasts 209 members, rivaling that of the United Nations, and is arguably the most prestigious sports organization in the world.

What is rule 5 in soccer? ›

Rule 5 – Corner Kicks & Goal Kicks

If the offensive team is the last to touch the ball before it leaves the field, then the defensive team takes a goal kick. A goal kick is set up from inside the goal box. The goalkeeper or any field player may kick the goal kick.

What is rule 2 in soccer? ›

If the ball becomes defective at a kick-off, goal kick, corner kick, free kick, penalty kick or throw-in, the restart is re-taken. If the ball becomes defective during a penalty kick or penalties (penalty shoot-out) as it moves forward and before it touches a player, crossbar or goalposts the penalty kick is retaken.

What is rule 10 in soccer? ›

Law 10: Determining the Outcome of a Match

A goal is scored when the whole of the ball passes over the goal line, between the goalposts and under the crossbar, provided that no offence has been committed by the team scoring the goal.

What is the oldest sport? ›

Wrestling, mankind's oldest and most basic form of recreational combat, traces its origins back to the dawn of civilization. Carvings and drawings estimated to be between 15,000 and 20,000 years old, found in caves in southern Europe, illustrate wrestlers in hold and leverage positions.

What is skill in soccer? ›

Playing soccer involves several basic skills: passing/shooting, dribbling and controlling (or trapping) the ball. These skills can be learned at any age, and a good soccer player works continually to improve them.

What are the words for soccer? ›

soccer
  • American football.
  • Association football.
  • Canadian football.
  • grid game.
  • gridiron pastime.
  • the pigskin sport.

What does number 1 do in soccer? ›

1 – Goalkeeper

Probably the most pristinely ubiquitous number in soccer is the #1 for the keeper. You just don't see a field player wear this number. Ever. The 1 is the keeper, period.

What is rule 4 in soccer? ›

Law 4 states, “Non-dangerous protective equipment, for example gloves, headgear, facemasks and knee and arm protectors made of soft, lightweight padded material is permitted, as are goalkeepers' caps and sports spectacles [sports glasses] (See: Eyesight.) Goalkeepers may wear tracksuit bottoms.

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