Association football

Association football is a sport played between two teams. It is usually called football, but in some countries, such as the United States, it is called soccer. In Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Canada and Republic of Ireland, both words are commonly used.

Each team has 11 players on the field. One of these players is the goalkeeper, and the other ten are known as "outfield players." The game is played by kicking a ball into the opponent's goal. A match has 90 minutes play, with a break of 15 minutes in the middle.

Competitions 

There are many competitions for football, for both football clubs and countries. Football clubs usually play other teams in their own country, with a few exceptions. Cardiff City F.C. from Wales for example, play in the English leagues and in the English FA Cup.

Groups such as UEFA and FIFA organise international competitions between clubs and countries. Clubs play in competitions such as UEFA Champions League or UEFA Cup, and countries play for the World Cup or a continental trophy such as the European Championship.

The FIFA World Cup takes place every four years between national teams, and is the world's most popular sporting event, even more popular than the Olympic Games.[1] In football, there are two main types of competitions. In a "league", all of the teams play the same number of games, but in a "cup", teams leave the competition when they lose, until the last two teams play each other to decide the winner.

Who plays football 

Football is the world's most popular sport.[needs proving] It is played in more countries than any other game.[needs proving] In fact, FIFA (the Federation Internationale de Football Association) has more members than the United Nations.[needs proving] It is played by both males and females.

In Europe, the main competitions to compete to be the best in Europe are the Champions League for the top teams from the top leagues in each country in Europe. Then there is the UEFA cup which is for the next best teams from each member of the UEFA.

The most successful club in the world is Rangers F.C. from Scotland, who have won more major titles than any other team in the world. They have won the country's league 51 times[2] which is a world record.[3] Other successful clubs are Real Madrid and FC Barcelona from Spain or Manchester United from England. The most successful country team is Brazil.

Rules 

* Players may not use their hands or arms (a handball), except the goalkeepers, who may use them within their own penalty area (penalty areas are in front of both goals).
* Players may not trip or push each other (a foul).
* Players may not hold each other or stop other players from getting to the ball (obstruction).
* Players who commit bad fouls get shown a yellow card. Players who commit really bad fouls, or get shown two yellow cards in the same game, get shown a red card. Players who get shown a red card get sent off the field and cannot finish playing the game. In some competitions (like the Premier League in England) you miss the next game (suspended) if you get a red card, or pick up 5 yellow cards during the season.
* The ball is out of play if it crosses the boundaries.
* If a player kicks the ball out of play at the side of the field, the other team gets to throw the ball back into play (a throw in).
* If a player kicks the ball out of play at their end of the field, the other team kicks the ball back into play from the corner (a corner kick);
* If a player kicks the ball out of play at the other end of the field, the other team kicks the ball back into play from directly in front of the goal (a goal kick);
* The offside rule means that there has to be at least one defender between the attacker and the defender's goal when the attacker's teammate passes the ball to him/her.
* When a player scores he is not allowed to jump into the crowd. If he does he will get a yellow card. The same applies to lifting their shirt in celebration.
* Players must not abuse referees in any way (verbally or physically).