Portal:Association football

The Association football portal

P:ASF

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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

edit

Selected article

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...)

More selected articles

edit

Selected biography

Torres with Atlético Madrid in 2017

Fernando José Torres Sanz (born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish footballer who plays for La Liga club Atletico Madrid and the Spanish national team as a striker.

Torres started his career with Atlético Madrid, progressing through their youth ranks. He made his professional debut in 2001 and finished his career with the club having scored 75 goals in 174 La Liga appearances, earning the nickname El Niño ("The Kid"). Prior to the La Liga debut, Torres played two seasons in the Segunda División, making 40 appearances and scoring seven goals. He joined Liverpool in 2007, after Liverpool signed him with the club's record transfer fee. He marked his first season at Anfield by being Liverpool's first player, since Robbie Fowler in 1995–96, to score more than 20 league goals in a season.

He is also a Spanish international and made his debut for the country against Portugal in 2003. He has since participated in three major tournaments, UEFA Euro 2004, 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2008. He did not score a goal at Euro 2004, but he scored three at World Cup 2006. Torres scored the winning goal for Spain in their 1–0 win over Germany in the UEFA Euro 2008 Final. (Full article...)

More selected biographies

Selected association

The Argentine Football Association (Spanish: Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, locally [asosjaˈsjon del ˈfuðβol aɾxenˈtino]; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine league system (from Primera División to Torneo Regional Federal and Torneo Promocional Amateur), including domestic cups: Copa Argentina, Supercopa Argentina, Trofeo de Campeones de la Liga Profesional and the Supercopa Internacional. The body also manages all the Argentina national teams, including the Senior, U-20, U-17, U-15, Olympic and women's squads. Secondly, it also organizes the women's, children, youth, futsal, and other local leagues.

The AFA also organised all the Primera División championships from 1893 to 2016–17. From the 2017–18 season the "Superliga Argentina", an entity which was administered independently and had its own statute, took over the Primera División championships. Nevertheless, the Superliga was contractually linked with the main football body. The last championship organised by the Superliga was 2019–20, shortly after the season ended the body was dissolved. (Full article...)

More selected associations

Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that Ryan Roberts, a defensive end for Notre Dame, was a soccer player in high school?
... 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 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 Welsh footballer Jon Morgan went on to become a college principal after retiring?
... 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?

edit

Selected image

football (ball)

Credit: Jonathan McIntosh

A young boy in Jakarta, Indonesia holds a tattered football. Law 2 of the Laws of the Game define the specifications for all balls used in official competitions. Many people substitute other items where a football is not available, such as a tennis ball or tin can.

More selected pictures

edit

Selected quote

At a football club, there's a holy trinity - the players, the manager and the supporters. Directors don't come into it. They are only there to sign the cheques.

— Bill Shankly

More selections

More at Wikiquote

General images - load new batch

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

Image 1Sheffield F.C. (here pictured in 1876) is the oldest association club still active, having been founded in 1857 (from History of association football)
Image 2Olympique Lyonnais vs Paris Saint-Germain. (from Women's association football)
Image 3Marta of Brazil is the all-time leading scorer of the senior FIFA World Cups. (from Women's association football)
Image 4Iran vs Turkey in 2010 Youth Olympics (from Women's association football)
Image 5Striker 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 6Florida state vs North Carolina soccer 2005. (from Women's association football)
Image 7When 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 8The 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 9An 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 10A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 11From 1866 to 1883, the laws provided for a tape between the goalposts (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 12The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872 (from History of association football)
Image 13Cricket and Foot-Ball, one of the earliest books about association football, published by Beadle & Co. in New York in 1000 It contained the rules and laws of the game (from History of association football)
Image 14The Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (from Women's association football)
Image 15United States Abby Wambach plays off a corner kick against Canada.
Image 16Harrow School team of 1867. (from History of association football)
Image 17Megan Rapinoe speaks on equal pay in March 2021. (from Women's association football)
Image 18FC de Rakt DA1 (2008/2009) (from Women's association football)
Image 19Portland Thorns traveling supporters at Seattle's Memorial Stadium. (from Women's association football)
Image 20Mia Hamm (left) battles with German defender Kerstin Stegemann (from Women's association football)
Image 21Japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team wearing sashes (c. 1920) (from Women's association football)
Image 22Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)
Image 23Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)
Image 24"North" team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)
Image 25Iran women's national football team maintained a higher rank internationally. (from Women's association football)
Image 26Arsenal in 2007 of the Women's FA Cup. (from Women's association football)
Image 27Sam Kerr with Australia during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal against Japan in Edmonton, 2015 (from Women's association football)
Image 28Players 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 29Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894. The goal has no net. (from History of association football)

Selected World Cup

The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so, and resigned in November 1982. Mexico was selected as the new host in May 1983, and became the first country to host the World Cup more than once, after previously hosting the 1970 edition.

The World Cup was won by Argentina (their second title, after winning in 1978). Argentina was captained by the 25-year-old Diego Maradona, who played a large part in his team's success by scoring his "Hand of God" goal, as well as another voted the "Goal of the Century", in the same quarter-final against England. These were two of the five goals that Maradona scored during the tournament, and he also created another five for his teammates. Argentina beat West Germany 3–2 in the final at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca. Total attendance was 2,394,031, an average per match of 46,039. Canada, Denmark and Iraq made their first appearances at the final stage. (Full article...)

List of selected World Cups

edit

Selected topic

Topic discussion

More did you know - load new batch

... that the East Bengal Ultras, founded in 2013, became India's first ultras group? (29 March 2021)
... that the French football club GPSO 92 Issy was founded by three Peruvian sisters in 1997? (8 April 2021)
... that Dwayne De Rosario is Canada's all-time leading male soccer goalscorer, with 22 international goals? (22 March 2021)
... that despite losing the 1990 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Tranmere Rovers were temporarily promoted to the Second Division? (29 April 2021)
... that Camillo Vaz managed Paris Saint-Germain Féminine when they qualified for the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time? (1 May 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)