FOOTBALL/ SOCCER

The history of football (soccer)

Football (or soccer as the game is called in some parts of the world) has a long history.
Football in its current form arose in England in the middle of the 19th century. But
alternative versions of the game existed much earlier and are a part of the football
history.

Early history and the precursors of football

The first known examples of a team game involving a ball, which was made out of a
rock, occurred in old Mesoamerican cultures for over 3,000 years ago. According to the
sources, the ball would symbolize the sun and the captain of the losing team would be
sacrificed to the gods.

The first known ball game which also involved kicking took place in China in the 3rd and
2nd century BC under the name Cuju. Cuju was played with a round ball on an area of a
square. It later spread to Japan and was practiced under ceremonial forms.

Other earlier variety of ball games had been known from Ancient Greece. The ball was
made by shreds of leather filled with hair (the first documents of balls filled with air are
from the 7th century). In the Ancient Rome, games with balls were not included in the
entertainment on the big arenas, but could occur in exercises in the military. It was the
Roman culture that would bring football to the British island (Britannica). It is, however,
uncertain in which degree the British people were influenced by this variety and in which
degree they had developed their own variants.
The game of football takes its form
The most admitted story tells that the game was developed in England in the 12th
century. In this century, games that resembled football were played on meadows and
roads in England. Besides from kicks, the game involved also punches of the ball with
the fist. This early form of football was also much more rough and violent than the
modern way of playing. An important feature of the forerunners to football was that the
games involved plenty of people and took place over large areas in towns (an
equivalent was played in Florence from the 16th century where it was called Calcio).
The rampage of these games would cause damage on the town and sometimes death.
These would be among the reasons for the proclamations against the game that finally
was forbidden for several centuries. But the football-like games would return to the
streets of London in the 17th century. It would be forbidden again in 1835, but at this
stage the game had been established in the public schools.

The first football clubs

Football clubs have existed since the 15th century, but unorganized and without official
status. It is therefore hard to decide which the first football club was. Some historians
suggest that it was the Foot-Ball Club formed 1824 in Edinburgh. Early clubs were often
formed by former school students and the first of this kind was formed in Sheffield in
1855. The oldest among professional football clubs is the English club Notts County that
was formed in 1862 and still exists today.

An important step for the emergence of teams was the industrialization that led to larger
groups of people meeting at places such as factories, pubs and churches. Football
teams were established in the larger cities and the new railroads could bring them to
other cities.

In the beginning, football was dominated by public school teams, but later, teams
consisting by workers would make up the majority. Another change was successively
taking place when some clubs became willing to pay the best players to join their team.
This would be the start of a long period of transition, not without friction, in which the
game would develop to a professional level.

The motivation behind paying players was not only to win more matches. In the 1880s
the interest in the game has moved ahead to a level that tickets were sold to the
matches. And finally, in 1885 professional football was legalized and three years later
the Football League was established. During the first season, 12 clubs joined the
league, but soon more clubs became interested and the competition would
consequently expand into more divisions.

For a long time, the British teams would be dominant. After some decades, clubs from
Prague, Budapest and Sienna would be the primarily contenders to the British
dominance.

As with many things in history, women were for a long time excluded from participating
in games. It was not before the late 19th century that women started to play football.
The first competitions
Other milestones were now to follow. Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup)
became the first important competition when it was run in 1871. The following year a
match between two national teams was played for the first time. The match that
involved England and Scotland ended 0-0 and was followed by 4,000 people at
Hamilton Crescent (the picture shows illustrations from this occasion).
Twelve years later, in 1883, the first international tournament took place and included
four national teams: England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Football was for a long time a British phenomenon, but it gradually spread to other
European countries. The first game that took place outside Europe occurred in
Argentina in 1867, but it was foreign British workers who were involved and not
Argentinean citizens.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in 1904
and a foundation act was signed by representatives from France, Belgium, Denmark,
the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. England and the other British
countries did not join FIFA from the start, they had invented the game and saw no
reason to subordinate to an association. Still, they joined in the following year, but would
not partake in the World Cup until 1950.

Domestic leagues occurred in many countries. The first was, as already mentioned, the
English Football League which was established in 1888. The leagues would by time
expand by more divisions, which were based on team performance.
 In 1908 would football for the first time be included as an official sport in the Olympic
Games. Until the first FIFA World Cup was played in 1930, the Olympic Games football
tournament would rank as the most prestigious on a national level. Women's football
was not added until 1996.
The great modern competitions
No other sport event besides the Summer Olympic Games can today measure itself
with the FIFA World Cup. The first edition of the FIFA World Cup was played in 1930 in
Uruguay and has since then returned every fourth year (with two exceptions due to the
Second World War). In 1991 the first World Cup for women was held in China and has
since then also returned every fourth year.

Today the biggest global tournament for clubs is the Champions League (played since
1992), the former European Cup (1955–1991).
Globalization of the biggest sport in the world
In the late 19th century, only a few national football teams existed; England and
Scotland had the first active teams that played games against each other in the 1870s.
Today there are 211 national associations included in the Fédération Internationale de
Football Association (FIFA), the world governing body of the sport. Another proof of the
globalization could be seen in the increase of nations participating in the World Cup
qualifiers: from 32 in 1934 to over 200 in 2014.

Laws of the Game

Law 1: The Field of Play
Soccer can be played on either grass or artificial turf, but the surface must be green in
color. The field must be rectangular in shape, and distinctly marked by two short goal
lines and two long-touch lines. The field is divided into halves, separated by the halfway
line, which runs from the midpoints of each touchline. At the midpoint of the halfway line
is a marked center point surrounded by a lined center circle with a radius of 10 yards.
Opposing players are not allowed to enter this circle during the possessing team’s kick-
off. The length of the touch line must be greater than the length of the goal line.
Regulation lengths are:
 Touch line: Minimum 90 meters (100 yards), maximum 120 meters (130 yards)
 Width (goal line): Minimum 45 m (50 yds), maximum 90 m (100 yds).
 At each end of the field is an eight-yard-wide goal centered along the goal line.
  Six yards from each goal post along the goal line and six yards out into the field
(perpendicular to the goal line) is the goal box.
 Extending 18 yards from each goal post along the goal line and 18 yards out into
the field (perpendicular to the goal line) is the penalty box.
 In each of the four corners of the field is a five-foot-high corner flag.

Law 2: The Ball

A soccer ball must be spherical in shape and made of leather or another comparable
medium. Its circumference must be in the range of 27 to 28 inches. This rule is only
applicable for official sanctioned matches, as youth leagues often employ the use of a
smaller ball that is better suited to children.
Law 3: The Number of Players
Matches are generally played by two teams of 11 to a side. The goalkeeper is included
in the 11-player total. If a team cannot field at least seven players at match time, the
game is a forfeit. Teams of fewer than 11 a side can often be seen in youth leagues
where smaller teams are used as a developmental tool. FIFA-sanctioned matches are
generally limited to three substitutions per match, with the exception of friendly matches.
Most youth leagues allow an unlimited number of substitutions, which must also be
listed on the game card prior to the beginning of the match, otherwise those players are
ineligible. Substitutions may only enter at the halfway line, upon the referee’s approval,
and after the player being subbed out has left the pitch. The goalkeeper may be
substituted with anyone on the pitch or any eligible substitute on the bench during a
game stoppage.
Law 4: The Players’ Equipment
All players are required to wear a jersey, shorts, shin guards, socks and cleats. The
socks must cover the shin guards entirely. If the referee deems a player’s equipment
unsatisfactory, the player can be sent off until the issue is remedied.
Law 5: The Referee
The referee is the authority on the field, and his word is law. If you question a referee’s
decision, you can be disciplined further simply for dissent.
Law 6: The Assistant Referees
The assistant referees are primarily responsible for assisting the referee in performing
his duties – this includes signaling with a flag when a ball goes of play, when a player is
fouled, or when a player is in an offside position.
Law 7: The Duration of the Match
A soccer match is comprised of two 45-minute halves, with extra time added for each at
the referee’s discretion. The halves are separated by a half-time period not to exceed
15 minutes. The extra time generally corresponds with the referee’s determination of
how much time was taken up due to substitutions and injuries. The amount of extra time
is announced and displayed at the half line at the end of each 45-minute period.
Although soccer does have an allotted time limit, it is ultimately up to the referee’s as to
when to end a match.
Law 8: The Start and Restart of Play
Kick-off is generally determined by a coin toss, whereby the winning team can either
choose to start with the ball or choose which goal they would like to attack. The losing
team is then afforded whatever choice the winner does not elect to take. Kick-off occurs
at the start of each half, and after each goal scored, and is taken at the center of the
halfway line. If a team scores a goal, the opposing team is given the kick-off to restart
the match.
Law 9: The Ball In and Out of Play
The ball is out of play when it fully crosses either the goal line or the touch line. It is also
out of play if the referee stops play for any reason. If, for any reason, the ball strikes the
frame of the goal or the referee and remains within the goal and touch lines, it is still in
play.
Law 10: The Method of Scoring
A goal is scored when the entire ball has crossed the goal line within the frame of the
goal. At the end of the match, the team with the most goals is the winner, barring the
circumstantial necessity for extra time.
Law 11: Offside
When an attacking player receives the ball while on his opponent’s half, he must be
level or behind the second to last defender (the last typically being the goalkeeper).
However, this rule only applies if he is involved with the play. To get a better
understanding of the offside rule, please see the guide section for a more detailed
explanation.
Law 12: Fouls and Misconduct
A direct free kick is awarded when a player:
 Kicks or attempts to kick an opponent
 Trips or attempts to trip an opponent
 Jumps at an opponent
 Charges an opponent
 Strikes or attempts to strike an opponent
 Pushes an opponent
 Tackles an opponent
 Holds an opponent
 Spits at an opponent
 Handles the ball deliberately
If any of these are fouls are committed by a player in their team’s penalty area, the
opposing team is awarded a penalty kick. Indirect free kicks are awarded if a player:
 Plays in a dangerous manner
 Impedes the progress of an opponent
 Prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from his/her hands
 Commits any other unmentioned offense
Yellow cards are awarded as a caution or warning to a player and can be issued for the
following offenses:
 Unsporting behavior
 Dissent by word or action
 Persistent infringement of the Laws of the Game
 Delaying the restart of play
 Failure to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner
kick,free kick, or throw-in
  Entering or re-entering the field of play without the referee’s permission
 deliberately leaving the field of play without the referee’s permission
Red cards are used to send a player off the field, and can be issued for the following
offenses:
 Serious foul play
 Violent conduct
 Spitting at an opponent or any other person
 Denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by
deliberately handling the ball (the goalkeeper being an exception)
 Denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the
player’s goal by an offense punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick
 Using offensive or abusive language and/or gestures
 Receiving a second caution (yellow card) in the same match
Law 13: Free Kicks
Free Kick is broken into two categories, direct and indirect. A direct kick can be shot
directly into the opponent’s goal without touching another player. An indirect free kick is
indicated by the referee raising his hand during the kick. An indirect kick can only go
into the goal if it has subsequently been touched by another player before it enters the
goal. The ball must be stationary for both types of kicks.
Law 14: The Penalty Kick
A penalty kick is awarded either when a defensive player fouls an attacking player or
commits a handball in his/her team’s penalty area. The penalty kick is placed at the
penalty spot, and all players on both teams must remain outside the penalty box during
the shot. They may enter the box immediately after the shot is taken. The goalkeeper
may move horizontally along the goal line before the shot is taken, but he may not come
off the line until the ball is struck.
Law 15: The Throw-In
A throw-in is awarded when the possessing team plays the ball out of bounds over the
touchline. While taking a throw-in, a player must release the ball with both hands
simultaneously and keep both feet firmly planted on the ground. If these conditions are
not met, play is stopped and the throw-in is given to the opposing
team. Players are not allowed to score directly off a throw-in.
Law 16: The Goal Kick
A goal kick is awarded when the offensive team plays the ball out of bounds over the
defensive team’s goal line. After the ball is out of play, the defender or goalkeeper may
place the ball anywhere within the six-yard goal box and kick the ball back into play.
Law 17: The Corner Kick

A corner kick is awarded to the offensive team when the defensive team plays the ball
out of bounds over its goal line. The ball is placed within the corner area and is kicked
back into play by the offensive team. Players can score directly off a corner kick.