Portal:Association football

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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players each, who primarily use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular-framed goal defended by the opposing team. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries and territories, it is the world's most popular sport.

The game of association football is played in accordance with the Laws of the Game, a set of rules that has been in effect since 1863 and maintained by the IFAB since 1886. The game is played with a football that is 68–70 cm (27–28 in) in circumference. The two teams compete to get the ball into the other team's goal (between the posts, under the bar, and across the goal line), thereby scoring a goal. When the ball is in play, the players mainly use their feet, but may use any other part of their body, except for their hands or arms, to control, strike, or pass the ball. Only the goalkeepers may use their hands and arms, and only then within the penalty area. The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner. There are situations where a goal can be disallowed, such as an offside call or a foul in the build-up to the goal. Depending on the format of the competition, an equal number of goals scored may result in a draw being declared, or the game goes into extra time or a penalty shoot-out.

Internationally, association football is governed by FIFA. Under FIFA, there are six continental confederations: AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, and UEFA. Of these confederations, CONMEBOL is the oldest one, being founded in 1916. National associations (e.g. The FA or JFA) are responsible for managing the game in their own countries both professionally and at an amateur level, and coordinating competitions in accordance with the Laws of the Game. The most senior and prestigious international competitions are the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Women's World Cup. The men's World Cup is the most-viewed sporting event in the world, surpassing the Olympic Games. The two most prestigious competitions in European club football are the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Women's Champions League, which attract an extensive television audience throughout the world. Since 2009, the final of the men's tournament has been the most-watched annual sporting event in the world. (Full article...)

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German women's national football team in Frankfurt, after winning the 2007 World Cup

The German women's national football team represents Germany in international women's football and is directed by the German Football Association (DFB). The team played its first international match in 1982. The German national team is one of the most successful in women's football. They are the two-time reigning world champions, having won the 2003 and 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup. Germany is the only nation which has won both the men's and the women's World Cup. The team has won six of the nine UEFA European Championships, claiming the last four titles in a row. Germany has won three bronze medals at the Women's Olympic Football Tournament, finishing third in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

Women's football was long met with scepticism in Germany and official matches were banned by the DFB until 1970. However, the popularity of the women's national football team has grown since the team won their first World Cup title. (Full article...)

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Shinobu Ohno (大野忍, Ōno Shinobu, born 23 January 1984 in Zama, Kanagawa) is a Japanese football player who plays as a forward. Her club team, as of 2013, is Lyon.

After playing in the U-19 and U-20 teams for a short period, Ohno joined the senior Japanese national team in 2003. Her first major tournament was the 2006 AFC Women's Asian Cup, where Japan placed fourth. The following year she played in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, but Japan fell in the group stage. She also competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, where she scored a goal in the group stage match against Mexico.

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The German Football Association (German: Deutscher Fußball-Bund [ˈdɔʏtʃɐ ˈfuːsbalˌbʊnt]; DFB [ˌdeːʔɛfˈbeː] ^ⓘ) is the governing body of football, futsal, and beach soccer in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of the men's and women's national teams. The DFB headquarters are in Frankfurt am Main. Sole members of the DFB are the German Football League (German: Deutsche Fußball Liga; DFL), organising the professional Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga, along with five regional and 21 state associations, organising the semi-professional and amateur levels. The 21 state associations of the DFB have a combined number of more than 25,000 clubs with more than 6.8 million members, making the DFB the single largest sports federation in the world. (Full article...)

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... that goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse, who has lived in England, Africa and the US, has been chosen to play soccer for the Republic of Ireland?
... that Ecuadorian footballer Hernán Galíndez won a bicycle for beating a team featuring Lionel Messi when they were children?
... that Ryan Roberts, a defensive end for Notre Dame, was a soccer player in high school?
... that Carlton Town F.C., now competing at the eighth tier of the English football pyramid, was once denied promotion by a hat-trick scored by future England international Jamie Vardy?
... that after his soccer career, Steve Palacios enlisted in the United States Army and played for the United States Armed Forces soccer team?
... that Welsh footballer Jon Morgan went on to become a college principal after retiring?

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Beach soccer

Credit: Flickr user Riza Nugraha

Association football has many variants including Beach soccer. Historically popular in Brazil, the rules for the sport were codified by Beach Soccer Worldwide in 1992. Today, national teams from all confederations compete in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

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I told myself before the game, 'he's made of skin and bones just like everyone else' - but I was wrong.

— Tarcisio Burgnich, regarding Pelé, in the 1970 World Cup Finals.

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More at Wikiquote

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The following are images from various association football-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The official record attendance for a women's football match was set at Camp Nou on 22 April 2022, with 91,648 people watching Barcelona defeat Wolfsburg 5–1 (pictured). (from Women's association football)
Image 2When first introduced in 1891, the penalty was awarded for offences within 12 yards of the goal-line. (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 3Sheffield F.C. (here pictured in 1876) is the oldest association club still active, having been founded in 1857 (from History of association football)
Image 4Marta of Brazil is the all-time leading scorer of the senior FIFA World Cups. (from Women's association football)
Image 5Sam Kerr with Australia during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal against Japan in Edmonton, 2015 (from Women's association football)
Image 6Japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team wearing sashes (c. 1920) (from Women's association football)
Image 7Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)
Image 8Arsenal in 2007 of the Women's FA Cup. (from Women's association football)
Image 9Portland Thorns traveling supporters at Seattle's Memorial Stadium. (from Women's association football)
Image 10An early draft of the original hand-written 'Laws of the Game' drawn up on behalf of The Football Association by Ebenezer Cobb Morley in 1863 on display at the National Football Museum, Manchester. (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 11Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)
Image 12Harrow School team of 1867. (from History of association football)
Image 13FC de Rakt DA1 (2008/2009) (from Women's association football)
Image 14Striker Cristiana Girelli and coach Rita Guarino of Juventus in 2019. Juventus is one of the most storied and successful football clubs in Italy. (from Women's association football)
Image 15Florida state vs north carolina soccer 2005. (from Women's association football)
Image 16Olympique Lyonnais vs Paris Saint-Germain. (from Women's association football)
Image 17Players fighting for the ball during the match between Germany and Norway in UEFA Women's Euro 2009 in Tampere, Finland. (from Women's association football)
Image 18Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894 (from History of association football)
Image 19Iran women's national football team maintained a higher rank internationally. (from Women's association football)
Image 20Iran vs Turkey in 2010 Youth Olympics (from Women's association football)
Image 21United States Abby Wambach plays off a corner kick against Canada.
Image 22A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 23The Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (from Women's association football)
Image 24From 1866 to 1883, the laws provided for a tape between the goalposts (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 25Megan Rapinoe speaks on equal pay in March 2021. (from Women's association football)
Image 26The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872 (from History of association football)
Image 27Mia Hamm (left) battles with German defender Kerstin Stegemann (from Women's association football)
Image 28"North" team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)

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Official poster, designed
by Guillermo Laborde

The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930. FIFA, football's international governing body, selected Uruguay as the host nation, as the country would be celebrating the centenary of its first constitution and the Uruguay national football team had successfully retained their football title at the 1928 Summer Olympics. All matches were played in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo, the majority at the Estadio Centenario, which was built for the tournament.

Thirteen teams (seven from South America, four from Europe, and two from North America) entered the tournament. Only a handful of European teams chose to participate because of the difficulty of traveling to South America due to the Great Depression. The teams were divided into four groups, with the winner of each group progressing to the semi-finals. The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously and were won by France and the United States, who defeated Mexico 4–1 and Belgium 3–0, respectively. Lucien Laurent of France scored the first goal in World Cup history, while United States goalkeeper Jimmy Douglas posted the first clean sheet in the tournament the same day. (Full article...)

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... that the 2020 EFL League Two play-off Final is believed to be the first competitive match played behind closed doors at Wembley Stadium? (13 January 2021)
... that the Cambridge United team took a cold shower before winning the 1990 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final? (26 March 2021)
... that despite smoking in football formerly being popular, it has since been banned from the touchline by UEFA? (17 June 2021)
... that the French football club GPSO 92 Issy was founded by three Peruvian sisters in 1997? (8 April 2021)
... that Wycombe Wanderers secured back-to-back promotions when they won the 1994 Football League Third Division play-off Final? (11 March 2021)
... that MLS Cup 1999 was played with new rule changes that were approved days before the game? (28 March 2021)