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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Maidana taking a corner kick for Philadelphia

The 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final was played on September 16, 2014, at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania. The match determined the winner of the 2014 U.S. Open Cup, a tournament open to amateur and professional teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation. This was the 101st edition of the oldest competition in United States soccer. Seattle Sounders FC won the match, defeating the Philadelphia Union. The crowd of 15,256 saw the teams go into extra time level at 1–1 before the Sounders scored twice more to end the match 3–1.

The Sounders were in the midst of a Supporters' Shield-winning regular season, while the Union's start was so poor that their coach was replaced a week prior to their first game in the competition. Philadelphia secured its berth in the final by defeating the Harrisburg City Islanders, the New York Cosmos, the New England Revolution, and FC Dallas. Seattle's road to the final included victories over PSA Elite, the San Jose Earthquakes, the Portland Timbers, and the Chicago Fire.

The coaches both chose strong squads in their attempts to win the trophy, though Sounders forward Kenny Cooper, later selected as Player of the Tournament, did not appear in the final. The Union's Maurice Edu gave his team the lead with a goal in the first half, but the Sounders equalized with a second half strike by Chad Barrett, and the match went into extra time. Although Philadelphia controlled periods of the match with chances throughout, Clint Dempsey took the lead for Seattle in the first extra time period, and Obafemi Martins sealed a Seattle victory with a late goal. Seattle earned a $250,000 cash prize, as well as a berth into the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League. Philadelphia received a $60,000 cash prize as the competition's runner-up. (Full article...)

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Bobby Robson

Sir Robert William Robson CBE commonly known as Bobby Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009), was a former English football manager and former international football player. As an inside forward, his professional playing career spanned nearly 20 years during which he played for just three clubs, Fulham, West Bromwich Albion and the Vancouver Royals. He also made 20 appearances for England, scoring four goals.

He achieved success as both a club and international manager, having won league championships in the Netherlands and Portugal, earning trophies in England and Spain, and taking England to the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup. He was voted European Manager of the Year for the 1996–97 season whilst manager of Barcelona, with Ronaldo saying "without doubt he is one of the greatest in the world".

Robson was knighted in 2002, was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003 and was the honorary president of Ipswich Town. In December 2007, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year show in recognition of "his contribution as both player and manager in a career spanning more than half a century".

He was first diagnosed with cancer in 1991 and spent much of his time in the latter years of his life campaigning and fund-raising for research into the disease, one of his most notable achievements in this field being the launch of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation in 2008.

His cancer was diagnosed as terminal in 2008 and he died of the disease on 31 July 2009. (Full article...)

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CONMEBOL headquarters in Luque,
Paraguay, as seen in 2014

The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL, /ˈkɒnmɪbɒl/, or CSF; Spanish: Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol; Portuguese: Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana) and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Paraguay. CONMEBOL is responsible for the organization and governance of South American football's major international tournaments. With 10 member football associations, it has the fewest members of all the confederations in FIFA.

CONMEBOL national teams have won ten FIFA World Cups (Brazil five, Argentina three and Uruguay two) and CONMEBOL clubs have won 22 Intercontinental Cups and four FIFA Club World Cups. Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay have won two Olympic gold medals each. (Full article...)

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... 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?
... that after his soccer career, Steve Palacios enlisted in the United States Army and played for the United States Armed Forces soccer team?
... 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?

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FC Dallas

Credit: Flickr user Jason Gulledge

FC Dallas players congratulate Dominic Oduro after he scored the winning goal in a 3–1 win against the Colorado Rapids in a game from the 2007 Major League Soccer season. Founded as Dallas Burn in 1996, the team renamed itself following its move to the Pizza Hut Park stadium in 2005.

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First I went left, he did too. Then I went right, and he did too. Then I went left again, and he went to buy a hot dog.

— Zlatan Ibrahimović, on Stephane Henchoz's failed attempt to tackle him.

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

Image 1Olympique Lyonnais vs Paris Saint-Germain. (from Women's association football)
Image 2Marta of Brazil is the all-time leading scorer of the senior FIFA World Cups. (from Women's association football)
Image 3Players 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 4Portland Thorns traveling supporters at Seattle's Memorial Stadium. (from Women's association football)
Image 5Japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team wearing sashes (c. 1920) (from Women's association football)
Image 6Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)
Image 7FC de Rakt DA1 (2008/2009) (from Women's association football)
Image 8Florida state vs north carolina soccer 2005. (from Women's association football)
Image 9Arsenal in 2007 of the Women's FA Cup. (from Women's association football)
Image 10Striker 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 11Iran vs Turkey in 2010 Youth Olympics (from Women's association football)
Image 12A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 13Sam Kerr with Australia during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal against Japan in Edmonton, 2015 (from Women's association football)
Image 14The 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 15Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894 (from History of association football)
Image 16The Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (from Women's association football)
Image 17Harrow School team of 1867. (from History of association football)
Image 18An 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 19Association football history (from History of association football)
Image 20Megan Rapinoe speaks on equal pay in March 2021. (from Women's association football)
Image 21"North" team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)
Image 22Sheffield F.C. (here pictured in 1876) is the oldest association club still active, having been founded in 1857 (from History of association football)
Image 23United States Abby Wambach plays off a corner kick against Canada.
Image 24When 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 25From 1866 to 1883, the laws provided for a tape between the goalposts (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 26Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)
Image 27Mia Hamm (left) battles with German defender Kerstin Stegemann (from Women's association football)
Image 28Iran women's national football team maintained a higher rank internationally. (from Women's association football)
Image 29The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872 (from History of association football)

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The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the 6th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first and only FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country.

Brazil beat Sweden 5–2 in the final in Solna, Stockholm, to claim their first title, having beaten France in the semi-final and Wales in the quarter-final. The tournament also marked the arrival of a then 17-year-old Pelé on the world stage, who scored in all three of Brazil's knockout games. (Full article...)

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... that some of the Sheffield Wednesday team participated in a conga on the M4 motorway after winning the 2005 Football League One play-off Final? (19 February 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 AFC Wimbledon were promoted for a sixth time since their formation in 2002 when they won the 2016 Football League Two play-off Final? (6 February 2021)
... 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 Duncan Jupp scored his first league goal for more than a decade in the 2005 Football League Two play-off Final? (2 April 2021)