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 almost exclusively 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 that only 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 with 1 point awarded to each team, 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 in England) 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. (Full article...)

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Leek Town F.C. in action in 2006

Leek Town Football Club is an English football club based in Leek, Staffordshire. Founded in 1946, the club played in a variety of local leagues before becoming founder members of the North West Counties League in 1982. They progressed to the Northern Premier League in 1987.

Leek Town reached the final of the FA Trophy in 1990, having progressed all the way from the First Qualifying Round, but lost in the final at Wembley Stadium to Barrow. In 1997 they were Northern Premier League champions and gained promotion to the Football Conference, the highest level of English non-league football, although they only spent two seasons at that level before being relegated.

Harrison Park has been the club's home ground since 1948 after paying £1,250 for the land, no other facilities were added until the 1950's and players had to change in the toilets of a nearby pub. Expanded and upgraded in the 1990s, the ground is named after former chairman Geoff Harrison. (Full article...)

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Edin Osmanović while coaching in HIT Gorica

Edin Osmanović (born May 20, 1964) is a football manager from Slovenia. He began his career in NK Rudar Trbovlje, and later coached many clubs in the Liga Simobil Vodafone (or First Slovenian Football League), the highest level in Slovenian football. With HIT Gorica he became the Vice-Champion of Liga Simobil Vodafone, entered the semi-finals of the Slovenian Football Cup, and went to The UEFA Cup Championship, making it his most successful club, and one of HIT Gorica's most successful seasons. With NK Korotan, he became the Champion of the Slovenian All Stars Competition, and entered the semi-finals of the Slovenian Football Cup. With NK Dravograd, he became the Vice-Champion of the Slovenian Football Cup. He coached several other clubs, including Publikum Celje, NK Rudar Velenje, NK Aluminij and ND Mura 05. He also worked with other coaches, including Stanko Poklepović. (Full article...)

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All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the governing body of football, futsal and beach soccer in India. It is a member of FIFA, and is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation and South Asian Football Federation.

It is affiliated with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. India men's and women's football teams are governed by the AIFF, and represent India in various international football tournaments. (Full article...)

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... 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 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 Ecuadorian footballer Hernán Galíndez won a bicycle for beating a team featuring Lionel Messi when they were children?
... 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 football manager Darren Moore led Sheffield Wednesday to promotion even after they lost the first leg of their play-off semi-final 4–0?

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Santiago Bernabéu Stadium

Credit: en.wikipedia user Ed g2s

The Santiago Bernabéu is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain that seats over 80,000. It has been the home of Real Madrid since its opening in December 1947.

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Someone said "football is more important than life and death to you" and I said "Listen, it's more important than that."

— Bill Shankly, 1981

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

Image 1Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894 (from History of association football)
Image 2From 1866 to 1883, the laws provided for a tape between the goalposts (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 3Sheffield F.C. (here pictured in 1876) is the oldest association club still active, having been founded in 1857 (from History of association football)
Image 4Sam Kerr with Australia during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal against Japan in Edmonton, 2015 (from Women's association football)
Image 5Olympique Lyonnais vs Paris Saint-Germain. (from Women's association football)
Image 6Florida state vs North Carolina soccer 2005. (from Women's association football)
Image 7Arsenal in 2007 of the Women's FA Cup. (from Women's association football)
Image 8Portland Thorns traveling supporters at Seattle's Memorial Stadium. (from Women's association football)
Image 9Mia Hamm (left) battles with German defender Kerstin Stegemann (from Women's association football)
Image 10Iran women's national football team maintained a higher rank internationally. (from Women's association football)
Image 11Japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team wearing sashes (c. 1920) (from Women's association football)
Image 12Megan Rapinoe speaks on equal pay in March 2021. (from Women's 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 14The Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (from Women's association football)
Image 15When 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 16Striker 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 17The 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 18FC de Rakt DA1 (2008/2009) (from Women's association football)
Image 19Harrow School team of 1867. (from History of association football)
Image 20Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)
Image 21Players 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 22Marta of Brazil is the all-time leading scorer of the senior FIFA World Cups. (from Women's association football)
Image 23"North" team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)
Image 24United States Abby Wambach plays off a corner kick against Canada.
Image 25The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872 (from History of association football)
Image 26A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 27Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)
Image 28Iran vs Turkey in 2010 Youth Olympics (from Women's association football)
Image 29Cricket and Foot-Ball, one of the earliest books about association football, published by Beadle & Co. in New York in 1866. It contained the rules and laws of the game (from History of association football)

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The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June.

The Cup was won by the host nation, Argentina, who defeated the Netherlands 3–1 in the final, after extra time. The final was held at River Plate's home stadium, Estadio Monumental, in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina, who became the fifth team (after Uruguay, Italy, England, and West Germany) to be both hosts and world champions and the third South American team to win a World Cup. Argentina, the Netherlands, and Brazil were the gold, silver, and bronze medalists, respectively. Iran and Tunisia made their first appearances in the tournament. The defending champions, West Germany were eliminated in the second round (finishing third in their group). This was also the last World Cup tournament to use the original inclusion of 16 teams. Since the first World Cup in 1930, only 15 teams (plus the host, who automatically qualified) had been allowed to qualify (the reigning title holders also received automatic qualification from 1934 through 2002); but for the next World Cup, in Spain, FIFA expanded that tournament to 24 teams. (Full article...)