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 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.
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, 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, and that only within the penalty area. The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner. 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.
Internationally, association football is governed by FIFA. Under FIFA, there are six continental confederations: AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, and UEFA. National associations (e.g. the FA in England, U.S. Soccer in the United States, etc.) 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 competition is the FIFA World Cup. The men's World Cup is the most-viewed sporting event in the world, surpassing the Olympic Games. The most prestigious competition in European club football is the UEFA Champions League, which attracts an extensive television audience worldwide. The final of the men's Champions League is the most-watched annual sporting event in the world. (Full article...)
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The ground, given the nickname the Theatre of Dreams by Bobby Charlton, has been United's permanent residence since 1910, with the exception of an eight-year absence from 1941 to 1949, following the bombing of the stadium in the Second World War. During this period, the club shared Maine Road with local rivals, Manchester City. The ground underwent several expansions in the 1990s and 2000s, most notably the addition of extra tiers to the North, West and East stands which served to return the ground almost to its original capacity of 80,000. Future expansion is likely to involve the addition of a second tier to the South Stand, which would raise the capacity to over 90,000. The stadium's current record attendance was recorded in 1939, when 76,962 spectators watched the FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town. (Full article...)
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Adam Boyd (born 25 May 1982 in Hartlepool) is an English footballer. Boyd, who plays as a striker, started playing whilst attending Grange Primary School. He was included in the under-11 team when 7 years of age and went on to play for Sunday League team Hartlepool St. Francis before being offered a trial by Middlesbrough F.C.. Middlesbrough declined to sign him to a youth contract and recommended him to local team Hartlepool United with whom he agreed an apprenticeship in 1998.
He began his professional career with Hartlepool in 1999 but did not make a lasting impact on the team until 2004 when he scored 12 goals in 10 appearances. He was one of League One's top goalscorers the following season and scored one of his most spectacular goals during a game against Sheffield Wednesday. Boyd received the ball outside the box and faked his way past two players before curving it over Wednesday goalkeeper Paul Gallacher. This goal earned him two awards, Hartlepool United's Goal of the Season 2005 and the North East Goal of the Season 2005, and he was also named Hartlepool United's Players' Player of the Year.
Boyd was injured in a game against Yeovil Town in 2006 which resulted in him having to receive treatment for a bruised leg bone, the treatment of this injury did not go as planned and he contracted a blood infection which saw him in rehabilitation for five months. During this period he transferred to Luton Town but his lack of form, the result of such a long period out of regular training, saw him lag behind the rest of the team in terms of fitness and match sharpness. He was released from his contract and moved to Leyton Orient in July 2007. (Full article...)
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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the Grand Hotel in Khartoum, Sudan. At the FIFA Congress in 1954 held in Berne, Switzerland, it was voted to recognize Africa as a Confederation.
Representing the African confederation of FIFA, CAF organizes runs and regulates national team and club continental competitions annually or biennially such as the Africa Cup of Nations and Women's Africa Cup of Nations, which they control the prize money and broadcast rights to. CAF will be allocated 9 spots at the FIFA World Cup starting from 2026 and could have an opportunity of 10 spots with the addition of an intercontinental play-off tournament involving 6 teams to decide the last 2 FIFA World Cup places (46+2). (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) -

- ... 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 Ecuadorian footballer Hernán Galíndez won a bicycle for beating a team featuring Lionel Messi when they were children?
- ... 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 Welsh footballer Jon Morgan went on to become a college principal after retiring?
- ... that Ryan Roberts, a defensive end for Notre Dame, was a soccer player in high school?
- ... 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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The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea and Japan, with its final match hosted by Japan at International Stadium in Yokohama. During the opening ceremony, the championship was declared opened by President of South Korea Kim Dae-jung.
A field of 32 teams qualified for this World Cup, which was the first to be held in Asia, the first to be held outside of the Americas or Europe, as well as the first to be jointly hosted by more than one nation. China, Ecuador, Senegal and Slovenia made their World Cup debuts, with Senegal being the only debutant to qualify from the group stages and make it to the quarterfinals. (Full article...)
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More did you know -
- ... that Tranmere Rovers players were each promised a £10,000 bonus for winning the 1991 Football League Third Division play-off Final? (12 April 2021)
- ... that some of the Sheffield Wednesday team participated in a conga on the M4 motorway after winning the 2005 Football League One play-off Final? (19 February 2021)
- ... that Coventry City's winning goal in the 1987 FA Cup Final was an own goal scored in extra time off Gary Mabbutt's knee? (30 January 2021)
- ... that despite smoking in football formerly being popular, it has since been banned from the touchline by UEFA? (17 June 2021)
- ... that Port Vale F.C. captain Tom Conlon's grandfather's father-in-law played for the club more than a century ago? (9 April 2021)
- ... that, during his time in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, footballer Ernie Curtis would obtain extra food by teaching his captors how to play with a ball made of paper? (27 March 2021)
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