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 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, such as their head, chest and thighs, 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 interior of Old Trafford

Old Trafford is an all-seater football stadium in the Trafford borough of Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Premier League club Manchester United. With space for 76,212 spectators, Old Trafford has the second-largest capacity of any English football stadium after Wembley Stadium, the third-largest of any stadium in the United Kingdom, and the eleventh-largest in Europe. It is one of two stadia in the country to have been given a five-star rating by UEFA. The stadium is approximately 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from Old Trafford Cricket Ground and the adjacent Manchester Metrolink tram station.

The ground, given the nickname the Theatre of Dreams by Bobby Charlton, has been United's permanent residence since 1910, with the exception of an eight-year absence from 1941 to 1949, following the bombing of the stadium in the Second World War. During this period, the club shared Maine Road with local rivals, Manchester City. The ground underwent several expansions in the 1990s and 2000s, most notably the addition of extra tiers to the North, West and East stands which served to return the ground almost to its original capacity of 80,000. Future expansion is likely to involve the addition of a second tier to the South Stand, which would raise the capacity to over 90,000. The stadium's current record attendance was recorded in 1939, when 76,962 spectators watched the FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town. (Full article...)

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Joey Barton in action for Manchester City

Joey Barton (born 2 September 1982 in Liverpool, Merseyside) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder.

Barton was raised in a rough area and as a child saw football as a form of escapism, he began his professional career in 2002 with Manchester City after working his way through their youth system. His appearances in the senior side gradually increased in regularity over a period of five years - he made more than 150 appearances for the club in total - which earned him his first cap for the England national team in February 2007, despite his criticism of some of the team's players.

His career has been marred by numerous controversial incidents and disciplinary problems, one of which being a fight with City team-mate Ousmane Dabo which led to him leaving the club. Barton has been described as a "tough tackler", a style reflected in the high number of fouls he has committed during his career: he received 39 bookings and three red cards during his time at Manchester City. He joined Newcastle United for a fee of £5.8 million in July 2007.

Outside of football, Barton is a patron of the Tamsin Gulvin Fund and also works with the 'Get Hooked on Fishing' campaign, designed to keep children out of trouble by getting them interested in fishing. (Full article...)

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The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It promotes the game in Oceania and allows the member nations to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.

OFC is predominantly made up of island nations where association football is not the most popular sport, with low GDP and low population meaning very little money is generated by the OFC nations. The OFC has little influence in the wider football world, either in terms of international competition or as a source of players for high-profile club competitions. OFC is the only confederation to have not had at least one international title, the best result being Australia making the final of the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup. (Full article...)

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... that Welsh footballer Jon Morgan went on to become a college principal after retiring?
... 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 after his soccer career, Steve Palacios enlisted in the United States Army and played for the United States Armed Forces soccer team?
... 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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2014 FIFA World Cup

Credit: Agência Brasil

Brazil was chosen as the host of the 2014 FIFA World Cup on October 30, 2007. FIFA president Joseph Blatter's selection gave Brazil the honour of hosting the competition for a second time and it will be the first World Cup tournament to be held in South America since Argentina hosted in 1978.

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

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

Selected World Cup

Official poster

The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the 2nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934.

The 1934 World Cup was the first in which teams had to qualify to take part. Thirty-two nations entered the competition; 16 teams would qualify for the final tournament. Reigning champions Uruguay boycotted the tournament as only four European teams had accepted their invitation to the 1930 tournament. Italy beat Czechoslovakia 2–1 to become the second World Cup champions and the first European winners. (Full article...)

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York City F.C.

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... that the opening goal of the 1992 Football League Third Division play-off Final was described as a "Russian linesman job"? (28 February 2021)
... that thousands of football players are trafficked every year? (7 February 2021)
... that Dwayne De Rosario is Canada's all-time leading male soccer goalscorer, with 22 international goals? (22 March 2021)
... that Neil Warnock left Huddersfield Town shortly after they gained promotion by winning the 1995 Football League Second Division play-off Final because he said the club chairman had told him a "porky pie"? (21 March 2021)
... that Phil Chisnall moved from Manchester United to Liverpool in April 1964, becoming the last player to be transferred directly between the two clubs? (26 March 2021)
... that Mark Cullen was named as League Two Player of the Month for October 2014 after scoring a perfect hat-trick? (3 April 2021)