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Soccer
A True World Sport With Team Effort
Football, also known as association football or
soccer, is a team sport played between two teams, of
11 players each, and is widely considered to be the
most popular sport in the world. It is a ball game
played on a rectangular grass field or occasionally
on an artificial pitch, with a goal at each end. The
object of the game is to score by maneuvering the
ball into the opposing goal. The predominant feature
of the sport is that no players other than the
goalkeepers may use their hands or arms to propel
the ball in general play. The winner is the team
that has scored more goals at the end of the match.
The modern game was officiated in England following
the formation of the Football Association, whose
1863 set of rules created the foundations for the
way the sport is played today. Football is governed
internationally by Federation Internationale de
Football Association (FIFA). The most prestigious
international football competition is the World Cup,
played every four years, which is also the most
widely viewed and famous sporting event in the
world.
Football is played in accordance with a set of
rules, known as the Laws of the Game. The game is
played using a single round ball, the football, and
two teams of eleven players each compete to get the
ball into the other team's goal, thereby scoring a
goal. The team that has scored more goals at the
conclusion 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 the players, other than the
goalkeepers, may not intentionally touch the ball
with their hands or arms during play though they do
use their hands during a throw in restart. Although
players mainly 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 propel the
ball toward their opponents' goal through individual
control of the ball, such as by dribbling, running
with the ball close to their feet, passing the ball
to a team mate, and by taking shots at the goal,
which is guarded by the opposing goalkeeper.
Opposing players may try to regain control of the
ball by intercepting a pass or through tackling the
opponent who controls the ball; however, physical
contact between opponents is restricted. Football is
generally a free-flowing game, with play stopping
only when the ball has left the field of play, or
when play is stopped by the referee. After a
stoppage, play recommences with a specified restart. |
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