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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Gilberto Silva

Gilberto Aparecido da Silva, commonly known as Gilberto Silva, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder.

He began his football career in 1997 with América Mineiro, where good form earned him a move to Atlético Mineiro in 2000. He became a star player for Atlético, playing for three years in the Brazilian Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. He came to particular prominence when he helped the Brazilian national team win the 2002 FIFA World Cup, playing in all seven of Brazil's matches.

In August 2002, for a fee of £4.5 million, he joined Arsenal with whom he won the 2004 FA Premier League, and two FA Cup trophies. In his first five seasons with the club he played 208 games and scored 23 goals, including scoring Arsenal's first competitive goal at the newly built Emirates Stadium on 19 August 2006. He was made vice-captain of Arsenal in 2006 and is contracted to the club until June 2009. In 2007 he was selected as Brazil captain for the Copa América tournament, which Brazil went on to win. (Full article...)

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The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA /juːˈeɪfə/ yoo-AY-fə; French: Union des associations européennes de football; German: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan, as well as the West Asian countries of Cyprus, Armenia and Israel. UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Since 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.

UEFA consists of the national football associations of Europe, and runs national and club competitions including the UEFA European Championship, UEFA Nations League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League, and UEFA Super Cup, and also controls the prize money, regulations, as well as media rights to those competitions. (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 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 Welsh footballer Jon Morgan went on to become a college principal after retiring?
... 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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Sheffield F.C.

Credit: Public domain

The Sheffield F.C. team in 1890. Sheffield F.C. are regarded as the oldest football club in the world and were awarded the FIFA Order of Merit in 2004 to reflect this. The amateur team played Inter Milan in 2007 to celebrate their 150th anniversary at Bramall Lane with Pele as the guest of honour.

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I eat football, I sleep football, I breathe football. I'm not mad, I'm just passionate.

— Thierry Henry

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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 2Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)
Image 3The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872 (from History of association football)
Image 4Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)
Image 5When 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 6Sheffield F.C. (here pictured in 1876) is the oldest association club still active, having been founded in 1857 (from History of association football)
Image 7An 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 8Chelsea, a women's football club of London, England in 2020. (from Women's association football)
Image 9From 1866 to 1883, the laws provided for a tape between the goalposts (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 10Japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team wearing sashes (c. 1920) (from Women's association football)
Image 11"North" team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)
Image 12Harrow School team of 1867. (from History of association football)
Image 13A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 14Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894 (from History of association football)
Image 15Mia Hamm (left) battles with German defender Kerstin Stegemann (from Women's association football)
Image 16Iran vs Turkey in 2010 Youth Olympics (from Women's association football)

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Official poster

The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second 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.

List of players

List of Clubmen of the Year

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... that Manjappada, a supporters' group of Kerala Blasters FC, coordinated and brought forty-one busloads of their fans across Kerala to the venue for the opening match of the 2019–20 season? (26 January 2021)
... that after winning the 2013 Football League One play-off Final, Yeovil Town were promoted to the second tier of English football just ten years after being a non-League club? (12 February 2021)
... that the 2010 Football League Two play-off Final at Wembley Stadium was won by "a pub team from Essex"? (25 February 2021)
... that Dwayne De Rosario is Canada's all-time leading male soccer goalscorer, with 22 international goals? (22 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 both of Scunthorpe United's substitutes failed to score their penalties in the shootout, which saw them lose the 1992 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final? (21 April 2021)