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 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 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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Formed in 2004, the Mariners participate in the A-League, being one of only three teams from New South Wales to play in the competition and the first professional club from the Central Coast to compete.
Despite being considered one of the smaller franchises at the inception of the A-League competition, Central Coast qualified for the first four domestic finals after their establishment. The Mariners had a successful first season, winning the 2005 Pre-Season Cup and losing in the A-League grand final to Sydney FC.
They made the final of the Pre-Season Cup again in 2006 but lost to Adelaide United and finished sixth in the 2006–07 A-League competition at the end of the season. (Full article...)
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He achieved success as both a club and international manager, having won league championships in the Netherlands and Portugal, earning trophies in England and Spain, and taking England to the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup. He was voted European Manager of the Year for the 1996–97 season whilst manager of Barcelona, with Ronaldo saying "without doubt he is one of the greatest in the world".
Robson was knighted in 2002, was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003 and was the honorary president of Ipswich Town. In December 2007, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year show in recognition of "his contribution as both player and manager in a career spanning more than half a century".
He was first diagnosed with cancer in 1991 and spent much of his time in the latter years of his life campaigning and fund-raising for research into the disease, one of his most notable achievements in this field being the launch of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation in 2008.
His cancer was diagnosed as terminal in 2008 and he died of the disease on 31 July 2009. (Full article...)
Selected association
The Scottish Football Association (also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA; Scots: Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations. It was formed in 1873, making it the second oldest national football association in the world. It is not to be confused with the Scottish Football Union, which is the name that the SRU was known by until the 1920s.
The Scottish Football Association is a member of both UEFA and FIFA and holds a permanent seat on the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which is responsible for the Laws of the Game. It is based at Hampden Park in Glasgow. In addition, the Scottish Football Museum is located there. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that Ecuadorian footballer Hernán Galíndez won a bicycle for beating a team featuring Lionel Messi when they were children?
- ... 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?
- ... 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 goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse, who has lived in England, Africa and the US, has been chosen to play soccer for the Republic of Ireland?
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Selected World Cup
Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
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1 | D | Argentina | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | F | Belgium | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 6 | |
3 | A | United States | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
4 | E | Italy | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
5 | B | Russia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 3 | |
6 | C | South Korea | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
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8 articles Aston Villa F.C.
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More did you know -
- ... that the 1998 Football League Third Division play-off Final was the first play-off final to feature two brothers when Neil and David Gregory played for Colchester United? (20 March 2021)
- ... that Emma Mullin, who won four Gaelic football championships, was also the first player from her association football club to play for the Republic of Ireland? (6 May 2021)
- ... that when Fred Stewart was appointed the manager of Cardiff City F.C., he paid the transfer fee of his first signing himself? (30 March 2021)
- ... that the 2010 Football League Two play-off Final at Wembley Stadium was won by "a pub team from Essex"? (25 February 2021)
- ... that Blackburn Rovers won the Premier League three seasons after winning the 1992 Football League Second Division play-off Final? (18 January 2021)
- ... that Duncan Jupp scored his first league goal for more than a decade in the 2005 Football League Two play-off Final? (2 April 2021)
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