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 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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Sheffield Wednesday lift the 2005 League One Playoff Trophy

Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional football team based in Sheffield, England who currently compete in the Football League of England in The Championship division. Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world.

Nicknamed the "Owls", the club has won four league titles, three FA Cups and one League Cup, but their League Cup triumph in 1991 is their only major trophy since World War II. They did reach both domestic cup finals in 1993, but lost 2-1 to Arsenal each time.

Their main rivals are neighbours Sheffield United. Matches between Wednesday and United are nicknamed Steel City derbies and are usually the highlight of the season for both sets of fans. Famous matches include The Boxing Day Massacre, a Football League Third Division match which took place at Hillsborough on 26 December 1979. A record Third Division crowd of 49,309 fans watched Wednesday beat United 4-0 and the game has become part of Sheffield Wednesday folklore, even inspiring a song. (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 Football Association of Indonesia (Indonesian: Persatuan Sepakbola Seluruh Indonesia; lit. 'All-Indonesian Football Association'; abbreviated as PSSI) is the governing body of football in Indonesia. It was founded on 19 April 1930. The PSSI joined FIFA in 1952 and the Asian Football Confederation in 1954. (Full article...)

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... 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 after his soccer career, Steve Palacios enlisted in the United States Army and played for the United States Armed Forces soccer team?
... that Ryan Roberts, a defensive end for Notre Dame, was a soccer player in high school?
... 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 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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Battle of Santiago

Credit: Public Domain

On June 2, 1962, Chile played Italy in the 1962 FIFA World Cup. Known as The Battle of Santiago, it is derided as one of the most violent games of football ever. The first foul occurred after 12 seconds and Italy's Giorgio Ferrini was sent off in the twelfth minute after a foul on Honorino Landa. In the violence that followed, Leonel Sánchez broke Italian captain Humberto Maschio's nose with a left hook by accident. Chile won the match 2-0.

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Football's a difficult business and aren't they prima donnas. But it's a wonderful game.

— Elizabeth II, speaking to Premier League chairman Dave Richards

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

Image 1A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 2Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)
Image 3Iran vs Turkey in 2010 Youth Olympics (from Women's association football)
Image 4Sheffield F.C. (here pictured in 1876) is the oldest association club still active, having been founded in 1857 (from History of association football)
Image 5Marta of Brazil is the all-time leading scorer of the senior FIFA World Cups. (from Women's association football)
Image 6Striker 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 7Players 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 8Mia Hamm (left) battles with German defender Kerstin Stegemann (from Women's association football)
Image 9Olympique Lyonnais vs Paris Saint-Germain. (from Women's association football)
Image 10Harrow School team of 1867. (from History of association football)
Image 11The Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (from Women's association football)
Image 12When 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 13Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894 (from History of association football)
Image 14Iran women's national football team maintained a higher rank internationally. (from Women's association football)
Image 15Florida state vs north carolina soccer 2005. (from Women's association football)
Image 16The 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 17From 1866 to 1883, the laws provided for a tape between the goalposts (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 18The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872 (from History of association football)
Image 19Arsenal in 2007 of the Women's FA Cup. (from Women's association football)
Image 20"North" team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)
Image 21Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)
Image 22FC de Rakt DA1 (2008/2009) (from Women's association football)
Image 23Megan Rapinoe speaks on equal pay in March 2021. (from Women's association football)
Image 24Portland Thorns traveling supporters at Seattle's Memorial Stadium. (from Women's association football)
Image 25Sam Kerr with Australia during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal against Japan in Edmonton, 2015 (from Women's association football)
Image 26An 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 27United States Abby Wambach plays off a corner kick against Canada.
Image 28Japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team wearing sashes (c. 1920) (from Women's association football)

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The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded. The previous trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, had been won for the third time by Brazil in 1970 and awarded permanently to the Brazilians.

West Germany won the title, beating the Netherlands 2–1 in the final at the Olympiastadion in Munich. This was the second victory for West Germany, who had also won in 1954. Australia, East Germany, Haiti and Zaire made their first appearances at the final stage, with the latter two also making their only appearance, and East Germany making their only appearance before Germany was reunified in 1990. Brazil, the defending champions, were eliminated in the second round, though they would play in the third-place match but lose to Poland. (Full article...)

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... that Chichester & Selsey Ladies F.C. broke away from Chichester City for an undisclosed reason but retained their colours and football league position? (8 March 2021)
... that despite smoking in football formerly being popular, it has since been banned from the touchline by UEFA? (17 June 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 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 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 Andy Crosby captained Scunthorpe United to victory in the 2009 League One play-off Final, the last match of his 715-game career? (31 March 2021)