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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Scottish national team supporters - The Tartan Army

The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872.

Some of Scotland's most famous results include defeating the World Cup holders England 3–2 at Wembley Stadium in 1967, and defeating tournament finalists the Netherlands 3–2 in the 1978 World Cup, with Archie Gemmill scoring a famous goal. In 2006 and 2007 Scotland enjoyed back to back victories against France, defeating the World Cup finalists 1–0 on both occasions.

Traditionally England have been Scotland's fiercest rivals, competing in the British Home Championship between 1883 and 1984, though in recent times senior level fixtures between the teams have become uncommon. (Full article...)

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Mido in 2008

Ahmed Hossam Hussein Abdelhamid (born February 23, 1983 in Cairo, Egypt), commonly known as Mido, is an Egyptian footballer who plays in the position of striker.

Mido started his career with El-Zamalek in Egypt in 1999 and left the club for K.A.A. Gent of Belgium in 2000 where he won the Belgian Ebony Shoe, this led to a move to Dutch side Ajax Amsterdam in 2001. A player with a fiery temperament, Mido has clashed with players and coaching staff in a number of clubs that he has subsequently played for including - Celta Vigo, Olympique de Marseille, A.S. Roma and Tottenham Hotspur. At one point he was relegated to playing for the A.S. Roma reserve team due to breaking club disciplinary rules. He has attracted high prices for his services, moving to Marseille for €12 million in 2003 and £6 million for his transfer to Premier League club Middlesbrough in 2007. As such he is one of the most valuable Egyptian-born players in footballing history.

Mido is an international player for Egypt and has amassed over 40 caps and scored in excess of 15 goals. However, his career with Egypt has been struck by controversy, having twice been banned from selection by the national team. (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 Ecuadorian footballer Hernán Galíndez won a bicycle for beating a team featuring Lionel Messi when they were children?
... that Ryan Roberts, a defensive end for Notre Dame, was a soccer player in high school?
... 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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FC Barcelona

Credit: Public domain

An advertisement published on October 22, 1899 in the magazine Los Deportes on behalf of Joan Gamper requesting that anyone interested in playing football in the area contacts him. This note led to the eventual creation of FC Barcelona.

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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 2Japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team wearing sashes (c. 1920) (from Women's association football)
Image 3Chelsea, a women's football club of London, England in 2020. (from Women's association football)
Image 4Harrow School team of 1867. (from History of association football)
Image 5Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)
Image 6Abby Wambach and England captain Steph Houghton shake hands before kick off on February 13, 2015 (from Women's association football)
Image 7Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894 (from History of association football)
Image 8A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 9"North" team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)
Image 10Mia Hamm (left) battles with German defender Kerstin Stegemann (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 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 13Marta wearing the Brazil number 10 during a match in the 2007 Pan American Games (from Women's association football)
Image 14Yuki 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 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 17FC de Rakt DA1 (2008/2009) (from Women's association football)
Image 18The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872 (from History of association football)
Image 19Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)

Selected World Cup

Official poster, designed
by Guillermo Laborde

The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930. FIFA, football's international governing body, selected Uruguay as the host nation, as the country would be celebrating the centenary of its first constitution and the Uruguay national football team had successfully retained their football title at the 1928 Summer Olympics. All matches were played in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo, the majority at the Estadio Centenario, which was built for the tournament.

Thirteen teams (seven from South America, four from Europe, and two from North America) entered the tournament. Only a handful of European teams chose to participate because of the difficulty of traveling to South America due to the Great Depression. The teams were divided into four groups, with the winner of each group progressing to the semi-finals. The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously and were won by France and the United States, who defeated Mexico 4–1 and Belgium 3–0, respectively. Lucien Laurent of France scored the first goal in World Cup history, while United States goalkeeper Jimmy Douglas posted the first clean sheet in the tournament the same day. (Full article...)

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Aston Villa F.C.

History (1874–1961)

History (1961–present)

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Statistics and records

Villa Park

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... 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 the 1998 Football League Third Division play-off Final was the first play-off final to feature two brothers when Neil and David Gregory played for Colchester United? (20 March 2021)
... that when Irene del Río was called up to the Spain women's national football team squad, she was the only player who did not compete in the country's top division? (28 April 2021)
... that when Fred Stewart was appointed the manager of Cardiff City F.C., he paid the transfer fee of his first signing himself? (30 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)