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. The most prestigious senior 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 club football are the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Women's Champions League, which attract an extensive television audience worldwide. The final of the men's tournament is the most-watched annual sporting event in the world. (Full article...)

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Scottish national team supporters - The Tartan Army

The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872.

Some of Scotland's most famous results include defeating the World Cup holders England 3–2 at Wembley Stadium in 1967, and defeating tournament finalists the Netherlands 3–2 in the 1978 World Cup, with Archie Gemmill scoring a famous goal. In 2006 and 2007 Scotland enjoyed back to back victories against France, defeating the World Cup finalists 1–0 on both occasions.

Traditionally England have been Scotland's fiercest rivals, competing in the British Home Championship between 1883 and 1984, though in recent times senior level fixtures between the teams have become uncommon. (Full article...)

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Klaas-Jan Huntelaar

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (born August 12, 1983) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for [Milan] and the Netherlands. He previously represented PSV Eindhoven, De Graafschap, AGOVV Apeldoorn, and SC Heerenveen.

First scouted as a youth talent by the Go Ahead Eagles, Huntelaar eventually signed his first contract with De Graafschap in 1994 at the age of eleven. He was trialled in a number of positions until finding prowess as a striker in 1997 when, whilst playing for the De Graafschap C-team, he scored 33 goals in 20 games. He was the league's top scorer for the following season and was spotted by PSV Eindhoven, the team that went on to give him his first professional contract in June 2000.

Various media outlets noted him as a rising star in Dutch football, being named Dutch Football Talent of the Year and Ajax "Player of the year" in 2006. He was also named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. He was a part of the Dutch side that won the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, where he became the tournament's leading goal-scorer. He is the all-time highest goal-scorer for the Netherlands U21 squad with 18 goals in 22 matches. In domestic football he was Eredivisie's top scorer in the 2005–06 season with 33 goals in 31 games. (Full article...)

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All India Football Federation, aka 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 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?
... 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?

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Association football pitch

Credit: fotoguru.it

An Association football pitch is usually traditionally covered in grass. Much investment is made on the playing surfaces in larger clubs, with some importing specialist seeds and turf from European countries and each club employing a groundsman to keep it in good condition for playing. The game is also played on artificial turf at a professional level in some countries.

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That's great, tell him he's Pele and get him back on.

— John Lambie, when told a concussed striker did not know who he was.

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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 2Marta of Brazil is the all-time leading scorer of the senior FIFA World Cups. (from Women's association football)
Image 3United States Abby Wambach plays off a corner kick against Canada.
Image 4Japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team wearing sashes (c. 1920) (from Women's association football)
Image 5A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 6An 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 7Florida state vs North Carolina soccer 2005. (from Women's association football)
Image 8Portland Thorns traveling supporters at Seattle's Memorial Stadium. (from Women's association football)
Image 9FC de Rakt DA1 (2008/2009) (from Women's association football)
Image 10Cricket 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 11Iran women's national football team maintained a higher rank internationally. (from Women's association football)
Image 12When 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 13"North" team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)
Image 14Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)
Image 15Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894 (from History of association football)
Image 16The Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (from Women's association football)
Image 17Mia Hamm (left) battles with German defender Kerstin Stegemann (from Women's association football)
Image 18From 1866 to 1883, the laws provided for a tape between the goalposts (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 19Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)
Image 20Megan Rapinoe speaks on equal pay in March 2021. (from Women's association football)
Image 21Sam Kerr with Australia during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal against Japan in Edmonton, 2015 (from Women's association football)
Image 22Olympique Lyonnais vs Paris Saint-Germain. (from Women's association football)
Image 23Sheffield F.C. (here pictured in 1876) is the oldest association club still active, having been founded in 1857 (from History of association football)
Image 24The 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 25Harrow School team of 1867. (from History of association football)
Image 26Iran vs Turkey in 2010 Youth Olympics (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 28The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872 (from History of association football)
Image 29Arsenal in 2007 of the Women's FA Cup. (from Women's association football)

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The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the 6th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first and only FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country.

Brazil beat Sweden 5–2 in the final in Solna, Stockholm, to claim their first title, having beaten France in the semi-final and Wales in the quarter-final. The tournament also marked the arrival of a then 17-year-old Pelé on the world stage, who scored in all three of Brazil's knockout games. (Full article...)

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... that after winning the 2013 Football League One play-off Final, Yeovil Town were promoted to the second tier of English football just ten years after being a non-League club? (12 February 2021)
... that Neil Warnock left Huddersfield Town shortly after they gained promotion by winning the 1995 Football League Second Division play-off Final because he said the club chairman had told him a "porky pie"? (21 March 2021)
... that Blackpool became the most successful club in the history of English Football League play-offs when they won the 2017 EFL League Two play-off Final against Exeter City? (8 February 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 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 the 2008 FA Cup Final between Cardiff City and Portsmouth holds the record for the highest attendance for a football match at the new Wembley Stadium, with 89,874? (16 January 2021)