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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The 2007 UEFA Champions League Final was a match played at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece, on 23 May 2007, to decide the winner of the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League. English club Liverpool faced Italy's A.C. Milan, the two clubs had contested the 2005 final which Liverpool won. On this occasion, A.C. Milan won the trophy after beating the opposition 2–1. Filippo Inzaghi was named man of the match for his two goals for the Italian team.

This was the seventh time that A.C. Milan had won the tournament and the trophy was presented to captain Paolo Maldini in the Guest of Honour's box by UEFA President Michel Platini.

Before the match there were ticketing problems, due to an estimated 5,000 people gaining entry to the stadium without tickets or by brandishing fakes. This left many with genuine tickets locked outside and resulted in confrontations with the police. After the match, a UEFA spokesman accused Liverpool of "having the worst fans in Europe", a claim which was later denied by Platini. (Full article...)

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Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry (born 17 August 1977), is a French football player who plays in the position of striker and is renowned for his pace and goal scoring record.

Henry was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and signed to a youth contract instantly, making his professional début in 1994. Good form led to an international call-up for France in 1998, after which he signed for the Italian defending champions Juventus. He had a disappointing season playing on the wing, before joining Arsenal for £10.5 million in 1999.

Despite initially struggling in the Premiership, under long-time mentor and coach Arsène Wenger he emerged as Arsenal's top goal-scorer for almost every season he played. Henry won two league titles and three FA Cups with The Gunners, was twice nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year and became Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with 226 goals in all competitions. In June 2007, after eight years with Arsenal, he transferred to FC Barcelona for a fee of £16.1 million.

Henry has also had success with the French national squad, having been part of the squad that won both the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. In October 2007, he surpassed Michel Platini's record becoming the country's top goal-scorer of all time. (Full article...)

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AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation (ALFC) was the section of AFC that managed women's association football in Asia. The group was independently founded in April 1968 in a meeting involving Taiwan, British Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. In 1986, ALFC merged with AFC. (Full article...)

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... 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 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 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?

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Flowers and tributes left at Maine Road in memory of Marc Vivien Foe

Marc-Vivien Foé

Credit: en.wikipedia user Slipperman

Flowers and tributes left at in memoriam of Cameroon international Marc-Vivien Foé at Maine Road, home of his former club Manchester City. Foé collapsed in the 71st minute of the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup semifinal between Cameroon and Columbia and later died. Many of his former clubs created memorials in his honour, with Manchester City retiring the number 23 shirt.

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If a player is not interfering with play or seeking to gain an advantage, then he should be.

— Bill Shankly, on the offside rule

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

Image 1Chelsea, a women's football club of London, England in 2020. (from Women's association football)
Image 2Yuki Ogimi (17) scores for Japan against the United States off a pass from Homare Sawa (10) as Kelley O'Hara (5) defends and Hope Solo (1) attempts to save. (from Women's association football)
Image 3Abby Wambach and England captain Steph Houghton shake hands before kick off on February 13, 2015 (from Women's association football)
Image 4The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872 (from History of association football)
Image 5"North" team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)
Image 6A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 7Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)
Image 8Japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team wearing sashes (c. 1920) (from Women's association football)
Image 9Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894 (from History of association football)
Image 10FC de Rakt DA1 (2008/2009) (from Women's association football)
Image 11Mia Hamm (left) battles with German defender Kerstin Stegemann (from Women's association football)
Image 12Harrow School team of 1867. (from History of association football)
Image 13An 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 14Sheffield F.C. (here pictured in 1876) is the oldest association club still active, having been founded in 1857 (from History of association football)
Image 15Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)
Image 16When 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 17From 1866 to 1883, the laws provided for a tape between the goalposts (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 18Marta wearing the Brazil number 10 during a match in the 2007 Pan American Games (from Women's association football)
Image 19Iran vs Turkey in 2010 Youth Olympics (from Women's association football)

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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 the group stages and make it to the quarterfinals. (Full article...)

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List of Players of the Year

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... 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 the 2020 EFL League Two play-off Final is believed to be the first competitive match played behind closed doors at Wembley Stadium? (13 January 2021)
... that thousands of football players are trafficked every year? (7 February 2021)
... that the 2008 FA Cup Final between Cardiff City and Portsmouth holds the record for the highest attendance for a football match at the new Wembley Stadium, with 89,874? (16 January 2021)
... that Irish sportswoman Carol Breen has played internationally in both association and Australian rules football? (17 March 2021)
... that despite smoking in football formerly being popular, it has since been banned from the touchline by UEFA? (17 June 2021)