Association football
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Association football, also called football or soccer, is a team sport where two sides of 11 players each use their feet to move an inflated ball across a pitch. The aim is to get the ball into the opponent’s rectangular goal more times than they do, thereby scoring more goals. A standard match lasts 90 minutes, split into two 45-minute halves. With roughly 250 million players across over 200 countries and territories, it is the most popular sport worldwide.
The sport follows the Laws of the Game, a rulebook first issued in 1863 and overseen by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) since 1886. The ball is 68–70 cm (27–28 in) in circumference. While the ball is in play, players mainly use their feet but can also use any body part except hands or arms—common touches include the head, chest, and thighs. Only goalkeepers may use hands and arms, and only inside their own penalty area.
International competitions
If both teams score the same number of goals, the result may be a draw (each team gets one point) or the match may go to extra time or a penalty shoot-out, depending on the competition’s rules. Globally, association football is governed by FIFA, which oversees six continental confederations: AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, and UEFA. National associations—such as the FA in England or U.S. Soccer in the United States—manage the sport at professional and amateur levels in their own countries, organizing competitions under the Laws of the Game. The top international tournament is the FIFA World Cup; the men’s World Cup is the most-watched sporting event worldwide, ahead of the Olympic Games.
Name
In European club football, the UEFA Champions League is the most prestigious competition, drawing huge television audiences globally, and its men’s final is the most-watched annual sporting event. Association football belongs to a family of football games that grew out of various ancient ball games. The word “association” comes from the Football Association (the FA), founded in London in 1863, which published the sport’s first rules that year. The term was created to distinguish this type of football from others popular at the time, especially rugby football.
The word “soccer” comes from Oxford “-er” slang, common at the University of Oxford from about 1875, and likely borrowed from Rugby School slang. It was first spelled “assoccer” (short for “association”), later shortened to “soccer.” Early alternate spellings included “socca” and “socker.” This slang also gave “rugger” for rugby football, “fiver” and “tenner” for banknotes, and the now-rare “footer” for association football. In English-speaking regions, the sport is usually called “football” in Great Britain and most of Ulster in Northern Ireland, while it is often called “soccer” in places where other football codes dominate, such as Australia, Canada, South Africa, most of Ireland (excluding Ulster), and the United States.
History
New Zealand is a notable exception: in the early 21st century, under the influence of international television, “football” has become more common there, despite the popularity of rugby union and rugby league. FIFA states that soccer originated in Britain around the eighth century, with no historical link to any ancient game outside Europe. The modern rules are based on mid-19th-century efforts to standardize the varied forms of football played in English public schools. Kicking ball games developed independently in many cultures.
Ancient precursors
The Chinese game cuju (蹴鞠, “kickball”; also known as tsu chu) resembles modern association football as well as a mix of basketball and volleyball. It is the earliest kicking game with historical evidence, first recorded as an exercise in the Zhan Guo Ce, a military history from the Han dynasty. Cuju players passed the ball, avoiding letting it touch the ground, then passed it to a designated player who tried to kick it through the fengliu yan, a circular goal atop poles 10–11 metres high. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), cuju was standardized with established rules.
The Silk Road spread cuju beyond China, especially the Tang dynasty version, when the inflatable ball was invented, replacing stuffed balls. Other East Asian games include kemari in Japan and chuk-guk in Korea, both influenced by cuju. Kemari began after 600 during the Asuka period; it was ceremonial, not competitive, involving kicking a mari (a ball of animal skin). In North America, pasuckuakohowog was a ball game played by the Algonquians, described as “almost identical to the kind of folk football being played in Europe at the same time, in which the ball was kicked through goals.” In the Middle Ages, a notable game similar to modern football was calcio storico fiorentino, which began in Florence, Italy.
Last updated 2026-10-01 from the source article.
Lore & Background
Association football is played between two teams of eleven players each, who primarily use their feet to control and propel an inflated ball across a rectangular pitch. The core objective is to score more goals than the opposition by sending the ball into a rectangular-framed goal defended by the other team. A standard match consists of two 45-minute halves, totaling 90 minutes of play.
While players predominantly use their feet, they may also employ any other part of the body except the hands or arms—commonly the head, chest, and thighs—to strike, pass, or control the ball. Only the designated goalkeeper is permitted to use hands and arms, and this is restricted to their own penalty area. The sport is governed by the Laws of the Game, a set of rules established in 1863 and maintained since 1886 by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).
The ball itself is of a specified circumference. If both teams score an equal number of goals, the outcome may be a draw, with each team receiving one point, or the match may proceed to extra time or a penalty shoot-out, depending on the competition’s format. With an estimated 250 million active players across over 200 countries, it is the world’s most popular sport. Internationally, FIFA oversees the sport, with six continental confederations—AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, and UEFA—managing regional affairs.
National associations, such as the FA in England or U.S. Soccer in the United States, handle domestic professional and amateur competitions. The most prestigious senior international event is the FIFA World Cup, the most-viewed sporting event globally, surpassing the Olympic Games. In European club football, the UEFA Champions League is the premier competition, with its final being the most-watched annual sporting event worldwide.
Reader's Guide
Association football's significance lies in its global reach and cultural impact. The sport is governed internationally by FIFA, with six continental confederations overseeing regional competitions.
The FIFA World Cup is the most prestigious senior international competition and the most-viewed sporting event worldwide. In Europe, the UEFA Champions League is the top club competition, with its final being the most-watched annual sporting event. The game has ancient precursors such as the Chinese game cuju, Japanese kemari, and Korean chuk-guk, as well as medieval European games like calcio storico fiorentino and la soule.
Modern era
The Cambridge rules of 1848, drafted at Trinity College with representatives from several schools, influenced association football but were not universally adopted. In the 1850s, clubs like Sheffield FC formed their own codes. The Football Association was founded in 1863 at the Freemasons' Tavern in London, with only Charterhouse school represented. The FA issued the first comprehensive Laws of the Game, banning running with the ball, hacking, tripping, and holding.
Blackheath FC withdrew over the hacking ban, later helping form the Rugby Football Union in 1871. The FA Cup, the oldest football competition, began in 1872, and the first official international match between Scotland and England occurred that same year. The world's first football league was founded in Birmingham in 1888 by William McGregor, with 12 clubs. The International Football Association Board, formed in 1886, determines the Laws of the Game.
Contemporary era
Europe and South America dominated 20th-century football, with the FIFA World Cup starting in 1930. The European Cup and Copa Libertadores were later created, and their champions met in the Intercontinental Cup. In the 21st century, South American clubs have fallen behind European clubs, which often sign top Latin American players. Football has improved in Africa, Asia, and North America, with these regions now on equal ground with South America in club football.
However, only European and South American nations have reached the men's World Cup final. Football is played professionally worldwide, with millions attending stadiums and billions watching on television or the internet. Over 240 million people regularly play football, according to a 2001 FIFA survey. The sport evokes strong passions, as seen in the Ivory Coast national team's role in securing a 2006 truce, but also contributed to the 1969 Football War and tensions in the 1990s Croatian War of Independence.
Women's association football
Women have played football for centuries, with Han dynasty frescoes depicting the game cuju and reports of matches in 1790s Scotland. The first recorded women's match in Scotland took place in 1892, and in England in 1895. The British Ladies' Football Club, founded by Nettie Honeyball in 1894, was an early European team.
Women's football grew during World War I, with Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. being the most successful team. In 1920, they played an international match against a French XI. Despite a 53,000-strong crowd at one match, the English FA banned women's football on its pitches in 1921, claiming the game was unsuitable for females.
This ban was likely due to envy of the crowds and lack of FA control over revenue. Similar bans occurred in Brazil (1941–1979), France (1941–1970), and West Germany (1955–1970). Restrictions began to ease in the late 1960s and 1970s, with the Italian women's league established in 1968 and the Women's Football Association formed in December 1969.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Association football (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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