Portal:Association football

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Association football, commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players each who mostly use their feet to kick an inflated ball around a pitch (playing field).

The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by moving the ball into the rectangular-framed goal which that team defends. 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.

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 International Football Association Board (IFAB) since 1886. The game is played with a football that is 68–70 cm (27–28 in) in circumference. When the ball is in play, the players mainly use their feet, but may also use any other part of their body, except for their hands or arms, to control, strike, or pass the ball; the head, chest, and thighs are commonly used. Only the goalkeepers may use their hands and arms, but only within their own penalty area. 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 may go into extra time or a penalty shoot-out. (Full article...)

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German women's national football team in Frankfurt, after winning the 2007 World Cup

The German women's national football team represents Germany in international women's football and is directed by the German Football Association (DFB). The team played its first international match in 1982. The German national team is one of the most successful in women's football. They are the two-time reigning world champions, having won the 2003 and 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup. Germany is the only nation which has won both the men's and the women's World Cup. The team has won six of the nine UEFA European Championships, claiming the last four titles in a row. Germany has won three bronze medals at the Women's Olympic Football Tournament, finishing third in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

Women's football was long met with scepticism in Germany and official matches were banned by the DFB until 1970. However, the popularity of the women's national football team has grown since the team won their first World Cup title. (Full article...)

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David Beckham signing autographs in New Zealand

David Beckham, OBE (born 2 May 1975) is an English professional association football midfielder.

Beckham's career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first-team début in 1992 aged 17. During his time there, United won the Premiership title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons and was part of the La Liga winning squad in 2007. Beckham subsequently moved to the United States to play for the LA Galaxy in a move that gave him the highest salary of any Major League Soccer player in history.

He has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year, and in 2004 was the world's highest-paid footballer. Beckham was also the captain of England from 15 November 2000 to 2 July 2006. He made 58 appearances as captain, and ended his tenure in that role after the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals.

Outside of football, he is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, a spokesman for Malaria No More and was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2003. (Full article...)

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CONMEBOL headquarters in Luque,
Paraguay, as seen in 2014

CONMEBOL or CSF (lit. 'South American Football Confederation') is the governing body of football in South America, and is responsible for organizing the continent's major international tournaments. It is the oldest of the six continental confederations of FIFA, and with 10 member associations, it has the fewest members of all the confederations. It is the only fully continental, land-based confederation, with no island members or members from other continents. CONMEBOL's headquarters are in Luque, Paraguay.

CONMEBOL national teams have won ten FIFA World Cups (Brazil five, Argentina three, and Uruguay two) and CONMEBOL clubs have won 22 Intercontinental Cups and four FIFA Club World Cups. Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay have won two Olympic gold medals each. (Full article...)

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... 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?

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throw-in

Credit: Flickr user wonker

When a ball is kicked out of play on the side of the pitch, the game is resumed with a throw-in. Here, Arsenal player Abou Diaby returns the ball into play.

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If you're in the penalty area and don't know what to do with the ball, put it in the net and we'll discuss the options later.

— Bob Paisley

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More at Wikiquote

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

Image 1Mia Hamm (left) battles with German defender Kerstin Stegemann (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 3The 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 4Iran vs Turkey in 2010 Youth Olympics (from Women's association football)
Image 5Florida State vs North Carolina, 2005 (from Women's association football)
Image 6The Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (from Women's association football)
Image 7FC de Rakt DA1 (2008/2009) (from Women's association football)
Image 8Megan Rapinoe speaks on equal pay in March 2021. (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 10Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894. The goal has no net (from History of association football)
Image 11Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)
Image 12From 1866 to 1883, the laws provided for a tape between the goalposts (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 13Players 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 14United States' Abby Wambach plays off a corner kick against Canada.
Image 15Sam Kerr with Australia during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal against Japan in Edmonton, 2015 (from Women's association football)
Image 16A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 17Olympique Lyonnais vs Paris Saint-Germain (from Women's 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 19Harrow School team of 1867 (from History of association football)
Image 20North team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)
Image 21An 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 22Striker 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 23When 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 24Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)
Image 25Sheffield F.C. (here pictured in 1876) is the oldest association club still active, having been founded in 1857 (from History of association football)
Image 26Portland Thorns traveling supporters at Seattle's Memorial Stadium (from Women's association football)
Image 27Arsenal after winning the Women's FA Cup in 2007 (from Women's association football)
Image 28Goalkeeper Zahra Khajavi of the Iran women's national football team (from Women's association football)

Selected World Cup

Pos	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	B	Argentina	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	3	Advance to knockout stage
1	D	Colombia	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	3
3	F	Netherlands	3	0	3	0	2	2	0	3
4	E	Uruguay	3	1	1	1	2	3	−1	3
5	A	Austria	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	2
5	C	Scotland	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	2

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Drawing of lots (if deciding qualification).

(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 the 2020 EFL League Two play-off Final is believed to be the first competitive match played behind closed doors at Wembley Stadium? (13 January 2021)
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