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 score goals by getting the ball into the other team's goal (between the posts, under the bar, and fully across the goal line). When the ball is in play, the players mainly use their feet, but may also use any other part of their body, such as their head, chest and thighs, 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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Manchester United player Ruud van Nistelrooy in action in a Premier League match

The Premier League is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the English football league system, making it England's primary football competition. The Premier League is currently contested by twenty clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the Football League.

The competition formed as the "FA Premier League" in 1992, following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from the Football League to take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal. Since then it has progressed to become the world's most watched sporting league, and the most lucrative football league, with member club revenues totalling a figure in excess of £1.4 billion.

During the course of a season (which lasts from August to May) each of the 20 clubs play the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents for a total of 38 games for each club per season. (Full article...)

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Steve Bruce in 1992

Steve Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered an apprenticeship with Gillingham, and went on to play more than 200 games for the club before joining Norwich City in 1984.

In 1987, he moved to Manchester United, with whom he achieved great success, winning the Premier League, The Football Association (FA) Cup and the Football League Cup. He also became the first English player of the twentieth century to captain a team to The Double. Despite his success on the field, he was never selected to play for the England national team.

Bruce began his managerial career with Sheffield United, and spent short periods of time managing Huddersfield Town, Wigan Athletic and Crystal Palace before joining Birmingham City in 2001. He twice led Birmingham to promotion to the Premier League during his tenure of nearly six years, but resigned in 2007 to begin a second spell as manager of Wigan. (Full article...)

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All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the governing body of football, futsal and beach soccer in India. It is a member of FIFA, and is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation and South Asian Football Federation.

It is affiliated with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. India men's and women's football teams are governed by the AIFF, and represent India in various international football tournaments. (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 Welsh footballer Jon Morgan went on to become a college principal after retiring?
... 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 Ecuadorian footballer Hernán Galíndez won a bicycle for beating a team featuring Lionel Messi when they were children?

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Santiago Bernabéu Stadium

Credit: en.wikipedia user Ed g2s

The Santiago Bernabéu is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain that seats over 80,000. It has been the home of Real Madrid since its opening in December 1947.

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To put it in gentleman's terms if you've been out for a night and you're looking for a young lady and you pull one, some weeks they're good looking and some weeks they're not the best. Our performance today would have been not the best looking bird but at least we got her in the taxi. She weren't the best looking lady we ended up taking home but she was very pleasant and very nice, so thanks very much, let's have a coffee

— Ian Holloway, on an 'ugly' win against Chesterfield

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

Image 1Players 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 2The Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (from Women's association football)
Image 3Portland Thorns traveling supporters at Seattle's Memorial Stadium. (from Women's association football)
Image 4United States Abby Wambach plays off a corner kick against Canada.
Image 5From 1866 to 1883, the laws provided for a tape between the goalposts (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 6Harrow School team of 1867. (from History of association football)
Image 7Olympique Lyonnais vs Paris Saint-Germain. (from Women's association football)
Image 8Iran women's national football team maintained a higher rank internationally. (from Women's association football)
Image 9Marta of Brazil is the all-time leading scorer of the senior FIFA World Cups. (from Women's association football)
Image 10The 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 11Megan Rapinoe speaks on equal pay in March 2021. (from Women's association football)
Image 12Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894 (from History of association football)
Image 13The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872 (from History of association football)
Image 14Arsenal in 2007 of the Women's FA Cup. (from Women's association football)
Image 15Sheffield F.C. (here pictured in 1876) is the oldest association club still active, having been founded in 1857 (from History of association football)
Image 16"North" team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)
Image 17When 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 18Japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team wearing sashes (c. 1920) (from Women's association football)
Image 19FC de Rakt DA1 (2008/2009) (from Women's association football)
Image 20An 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 21Florida state vs north carolina soccer 2005. (from Women's association football)
Image 22Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)
Image 23Mia Hamm (left) battles with German defender Kerstin Stegemann (from Women's association football)
Image 24Iran vs Turkey in 2010 Youth Olympics (from Women's association football)
Image 25A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 26Sam Kerr with Australia during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal against Japan in Edmonton, 2015 (from Women's association football)
Image 27Striker 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 28Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)

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The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for women's national football teams. It was held from 26 June to 17 July 2011 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in October 2007. Japan won the final against the United States on a penalty shoot-out following a 2–2 draw after extra time and became the first Asian team to win a senior FIFA World Cup.

The matches were played in nine stadiums in nine host cities around the country, with the final played at the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt. Sixteen teams were selected for participation via a worldwide qualification tournament that began in 2009. In the first round of the tournament finals, the teams competed in round-robin groups of four teams for points, with the top two teams in each group proceeding. These eight teams advanced to the knockout stage, where two rounds of play decided which teams would participate in the final. (Full article...)

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York City F.C.

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... that MLS Cup 2000 was the first championship game in league history not to feature D.C. United? (13 April 2021)
... that Dwayne De Rosario is Canada's all-time leading male soccer goalscorer, with 22 international goals? (22 March 2021)
... that after winning the 2004 Football League Second Division play-off Final, some of the Brighton & Hove Albion players dropped the trophy while celebrating and damaged it? (2 March 2021)
... that the owner of Walsall F.C. described victory at the 2001 Football League Second Division play-off Final as the greatest day in the club's history? (20 February 2021)
... that Emma Mullin, who won four Gaelic football championships, was also the first player from her association football club to play for the Republic of Ireland? (6 May 2021)
... that Cheltenham Town lost the 2012 Football League Two play-off Final, their first defeat in nine play-off matches? (6 March 2021)