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 almost exclusively 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 that only 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 with 1 point awarded to each team, 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 in England) 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. (Full article...)

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Priestfield Stadium during a match.

Priestfield Stadium is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has been the home of Gillingham Football Club since the club's formation in 1893 and the first recorded game played there was on 2 September 1893 when the club played Woolwich Arsenal's reserve team.

In 1955 the pitch, which was on a slope and had also been used as grazing for local Sheep at the turn of the century, was relaid along with further refurbishments to the terraces. Priestfield underwent extensive redevelopment during the late 1990s, which has brought its capacity down to a current figure of 11,582. It has four all-seater stands, all constructed since 1997 and has also been the temporary home of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club as well as hosting England Women's and Youth international matches.

In 2004 the ground was voted as "the worst football ground in England" in a poll by The Guardian and 36% of respondents labelled it "the ugliest building in the town" in a separate poll in 2006. (Full article...)

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Henrik Larsson playing for Barcelona in 2006

Henrik Larsson MBE (born September 20, 1971 in Helsingborg, Skåne) is a Swedish footballer. Larsson is best known for helping win four titles in seven years for Scottish club Celtic. He subsequently had a two-year spell at Barcelona of Spain, where he won two titles and the Champions League. He is the top scorer of all time in the UEFA Cup and one of the top ten scorers of all time in all UEFA club competitions.

Larsson amassed 93 caps over 13 years for Sweden, scoring 36 goals. In the summer of 2006 he retired from international football and returned to his home town club of Helsingborgs IF. He later joined Manchester United on a brief loan spell between January and March 2007.

Larsson amassed 93 caps over 13 years for Sweden, scoring 36 goals. In November 2003, the Swedish Football Association bestowed upon him the accolade "greatest Swedish football player of the last 50 years" as part of UEFA's Jubilee celebrations. (Full article...)

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The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (lit. 'International Federation of Association Football'), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA (/ˈfiːfə/ FEE-fə), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain (represented by Real Madrid CF), Sweden, and Switzerland. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, its membership now comprises 211 national associations. These national associations must also be members of one of the six regional confederations: CAF (Africa), AFC (Asia), UEFA (Europe), CONCACAF (North & Central America and the Caribbean), OFC (Oceania), and CONMEBOL (South America).

FIFA outlines several objectives in its organizational statutes, including growing football internationally, ensuring it is accessible to everyone, and advocating for integrity and fair play. It is responsible for organizing and promoting football's major international tournaments, notably the World Cup which began in 1930, and the Women's World Cup which commenced in 1991. Although FIFA does not solely set the laws of the game, that being the responsibility of the International Football Association Board of which FIFA is a member, it applies and enforces the rules across all FIFA competitions. All FIFA tournaments generate revenue from sponsorships; in 2022, FIFA had revenues of over US$5.8 billion, ending the 2019–2022 cycle with a net positive of $1.2 billion, and cash reserves of over $3.9 billion. (Full article...)

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... that Ecuadorian footballer Hernán Galíndez won a bicycle for beating a team featuring Lionel Messi when they were children?
... that Welsh footballer Jon Morgan went on to become a college principal after retiring?
... 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 football manager Darren Moore led Sheffield Wednesday to promotion even after they lost the first leg of their play-off semi-final 4–0?
... 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 Ryan Roberts, a defensive end for Notre Dame, was a soccer player in high school?

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Flowers and tributes left at Maine Road in memory of Marc Vivien Foe

Marc-Vivien Foé

Credit: en.wikipedia user Slipperman

Flowers and tributes left at in memoriam of Cameroon international Marc-Vivien Foé at Maine Road, home of his former club Manchester City. Foé collapsed in the 71st minute of the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup semifinal between Cameroon and Columbia and later died. Many of his former clubs created memorials in his honour, with Manchester City retiring the number 23 shirt.

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What else is there in life? Cricket is like watching paint dry. Tennis? Golf is a pain in the backside. The only game in town is soccer.

— Ken Bates

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

Image 1"North" team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)
Image 2The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872 (from History of association football)
Image 3Players 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 4Florida state vs North Carolina soccer 2005. (from Women's association football)
Image 5A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 6Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)
Image 7Megan Rapinoe speaks on equal pay in March 2021. (from Women's association football)
Image 8Iran women's national football team maintained a higher rank internationally. (from Women's association football)
Image 9Striker 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 10Japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team wearing sashes (c. 1920) (from Women's association football)
Image 11FC de Rakt DA1 (2008/2009) (from Women's association football)
Image 12United States Abby Wambach plays off a corner kick against Canada.
Image 13Cricket and Foot-Ball, one of the earliest books about association football, published by Beadle & Co. in New York in 1866. It contained the rules and laws of the game (from History of association football)
Image 14Olympique Lyonnais vs Paris Saint-Germain. (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 16Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)
Image 17Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894 (from History of association football)
Image 18When 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 19Marta of Brazil is the all-time leading scorer of the senior FIFA World Cups. (from Women's association football)
Image 20Harrow School team of 1867. (from History of association football)
Image 21The 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 22Sam Kerr with Australia during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal against Japan in Edmonton, 2015 (from Women's 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 25From 1866 to 1883, the laws provided for a tape between the goalposts (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 26An 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 27The Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (from Women's association football)
Image 28Arsenal in 2007 of the Women's FA Cup. (from Women's association football)
Image 29Portland Thorns traveling supporters at Seattle's Memorial Stadium. (from Women's association football)

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The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in late 2010. It was the eleventh time the championships had been held in Europe and the first time they were held in Eastern Europe, also featuring one or two venues, depending on definition, located across the boundary with Asia. At an estimated cost of over $14.2 billion, it was the most expensive World Cup ever held until it was surpassed by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The tournament phase involved 32 teams, of which 31 came through qualifying competitions, while the host nation Russia qualified automatically. Of the 32, 20 had also appeared in the 2014 event, while Iceland and Panama each made their debut at the World Cup. 64 matches were played in 12 venues across 11 cities. Germany, the defending champions, were eliminated in the group stage for the first time since 1938. Host nation Russia was eliminated in the quarter-finals. In the final, France played Croatia on 15 July at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. France won the match 4–2, claiming their second World Cup and becoming the fourth consecutive title won by a European team, after Italy in 2006, Spain in 2010, and Germany in 2014. (Full article...)

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... that, such was his popularity with the club's supporters, when footballer Hughie Ferguson was sold by Motherwell F.C., the local steel works closed to allow workers to wave him off? (31 March 2021)
... that when Fred Stewart was appointed the manager of Cardiff City F.C., he paid the transfer fee of his first signing himself? (30 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 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 Irish sportswoman Carol Breen has played internationally in both association and Australian rules football? (17 March 2021)
... that the 2010 Football League Two play-off Final at Wembley Stadium was won by "a pub team from Essex"? (25 February 2021)