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 fully 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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Blackburn Olympic F.C. in 1882

Blackburn Olympic Football Club was an English football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire in the late 19th century. Although the club was only in existence for just over a decade, it is significant in the history of football in England as the first club from the north of the country and the first from a working-class background to win the country's leading competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup). The cup had previously been won only by teams of wealthy amateurs from the Home counties, and Olympic's victory marked a turning point in the sport's transition from a pastime for upper-class gentlemen to a professional sport.

The club was formed in 1878 and initially took part only in minor local competitions. In 1880, the club entered the FA Cup for the first time, and three years later defeated Old Etonians at Kennington Oval to win the trophy. Olympic, however, proved unable to compete with wealthier and better-supported clubs in the new professional era, and folded in 1889.

Most of Olympic's home matches took place at the Hole-i'-th-Wall stadium, named after an adjacent public house. From 1880 onwards, the club's first-choice colours consisted of light blue shirts and white shorts. One Olympic player, James Ward, was selected for the England team and six other former or future England internationals played for the club, including Jack Hunter, who was the club's coach at the time of Olympic's FA Cup win. (Full article...)

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Joey Barton in action for Manchester City

Joey Barton (born 2 September 1982 in Liverpool, Merseyside) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder.

Barton was raised in a rough area and as a child saw football as a form of escapism, he began his professional career in 2002 with Manchester City after working his way through their youth system. His appearances in the senior side gradually increased in regularity over a period of five years - he made more than 150 appearances for the club in total - which earned him his first cap for the England national team in February 2007, despite his criticism of some of the team's players.

His career has been marred by numerous controversial incidents and disciplinary problems, one of which being a fight with City team-mate Ousmane Dabo which led to him leaving the club. Barton has been described as a "tough tackler", a style reflected in the high number of fouls he has committed during his career: he received 39 bookings and three red cards during his time at Manchester City. He joined Newcastle United for a fee of £5.8 million in July 2007.

Outside of football, Barton is a patron of the Tamsin Gulvin Fund and also works with the 'Get Hooked on Fishing' campaign, designed to keep children out of trouble by getting them interested in fishing. (Full article...)

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The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer at the international, professional, and amateur levels, including: the men's and women's national teams, Major League Soccer, National Women's Soccer League, youth organizations, beach soccer, futsal, Paralympic, and deaf national teams. U.S. Soccer sanctions referees and soccer tournaments for most soccer leagues in the United States. The U.S. Soccer Federation also administers and operates the U.S. Open Cup and the SheBelieves Cup. (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 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?
... 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?

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Chelsea F.C.

Credit: Flickr user Ray Boosen

Arjen Robben and Petr Čech of Chelsea F.C. parade with the Premier League trophy at the end of the 2005-06 season. This was the second season in a row that Chelsea had won the title.

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Before the match my daughter said: 'Beenie the horse wants to sit next to you by the drinks holder on the touchline'. It is difficult to tell a seven-year-old: 'This is the Premiership, I’m known as Psycho and I'm a hard man'.

— Stuart Pearce, on having a cuddly toy with him on the bench

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

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

Selected World Cup

The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so, and resigned in November 1982. Mexico was selected as the new host in May 1983, and became the first country to host the World Cup more than once, after previously hosting the 1970 edition.

The World Cup was won by Argentina (their second title, after winning in 1978). Argentina was captained by the 25-year-old Diego Maradona, who played a large part in his team's success by scoring his "Hand of God" goal, as well as another voted the "Goal of the Century", in the same quarter-final against England. These were two of the five goals that Maradona scored during the tournament, and he also created another five for his teammates. Argentina beat West Germany 3–2 in the final at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca. Total attendance was 2,394,031, an average per match of 46,039. Canada, Denmark and Iraq made their first appearances at the final stage. (Full article...)

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8 articles

List of statistics and records

List of players

List of Players of the Year

List of managers

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... that while at Fiorentina, Mohamed Salah chose the shirt number 74 in honour of the victims of the Port Said Stadium riot (15 March 2021)
... that AFC Wimbledon were promoted for a sixth time since their formation in 2002 when they won the 2016 Football League Two play-off Final? (6 February 2021)
... that both Robbie Williams and Michael Jackson played for Blackpool in the 2007 Football League One play-off Final? (24 March 2021)
... that the French football club GPSO 92 Issy was founded by three Peruvian sisters in 1997? (8 April 2021)
... that Mark Cullen was named as League Two Player of the Month for October 2014 after scoring a perfect hat-trick? (3 April 2021)
... that the 2010 Football League Two play-off Final at Wembley Stadium was won by "a pub team from Essex"? (25 February 2021)