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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Norwich City players celebrate promotion to the FA Premiership at the end of the 2003/04

Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. Norwich last appeared in the FA Premier League in 2004–05, having first been promoted to the top flight in 1972. The club has also won the League Cup twice, in 1962 and 1985.

Founded in 1902, Norwich have played their home games at Carrow Road since 1935, a ground that was constructed in just 82 days. Its record attendance of 43,984 was achieved in 1963 for an FA Cup game against Leicester City. Following new legislation and redevelopment into an all-seated stadium, its current capacity is 26,034.

The club have a long-standing rivalry with East Anglian neighbours Ipswich Town, with whom they contest the East Anglian Derby. Other teams in the area also compete with Norwich for the informal Pride of Anglia award. (Full article...)

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Katie Sarah Chapman (born 15 June 1982) is an English footballer who plays for English club Arsenal Ladies in the FA WSL and is a former member of the England women's national team. She primarily plays as a central midfielder, although she has also been deployed in central defence while playing for England. Chapman is known for her strength, fierce tackling and heading ability. A mother of three, Chapman is described as "a physical player who handles a brunt of the dirty work in the middle of the pitch. She also can produce on the offensive end in a big game." Her playing ability, profile and influence have drawn comparisons to former England captain and fellow Londoner David Beckham.

Chapman is a former England U–18 captain. She made her senior international debut aged 17 in May 2000 in a 2001 UEFA Women's Championship qualification match against Switzerland. The following month, she made her first start against Norway. In March 2002 she netted her first senior international goal in a 4–1 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification win in the Netherlands. Chapman has represented England at four major international tournaments; UEFA Euro 2001, UEFA Euro 2005, 2007 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2009. A two–time winner of the FA International Player of the Year in 2002 and 2010, Chapman took a break from the national team in March 2011 with a total of 82 caps and eight goals. She remains available for England selection.

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Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only established in 1961 as the Australian Soccer Federation. It was later reconstituted in 2003 as the Australian Soccer Association before adopting the name of Football Federation Australia in 2005. In contemporary identification, a corporate decision was undertaken to institute that name to deliver a "more united football" in a deliberation from the current CEO, James Johnson. The name was changed to Football Australia in December 2020.

Football Australia oversees the men's, women's, youth, Paralympic, beach and futsal national teams in Australia, the national coaching programs and the state governing bodies for the sport. It sanctions professional, semi-professional and amateur soccer in Australia. Football Australia made the decision to leave the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), for which it was a founding member, and become a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on 1 January 2006 and ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) on 27 August 2013. (Full article...)

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... that Ryan Roberts, a defensive end for Notre Dame, was a soccer player in high school?
... 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 Ecuadorian footballer Hernán Galíndez won a bicycle for beating a team featuring Lionel Messi when they were children?
... that Welsh footballer Jon Morgan went on to become a college principal after retiring?

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Street football

Credit: Flickr user Dipanker Dutta

A game of Street football in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The term street football encompasses a wide variety of informal games that are loosely based on association football but do not necessarily enforce all, or indeed any, of the Laws of the Game. Often the most basic of set-ups will involve just a ball with a wall or fence used as a goal, or items such as clothing being used for goalposts. The ease of playing these informal games means that they are popular all over the world.

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If God had wanted us to play football in the clouds, he'd have put grass up there.

— Brian Clough, on his dislike for long balls

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

Selected World Cup

Pos	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	B	Argentina	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	3	Advance to knockout stage
2	D	Colombia	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	3
3	F	Netherlands	3	0	3	0	2	2	0	3
4	E	Uruguay	3	1	1	1	2	3	−1	3
5	A	Austria	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	2
6	C	Scotland	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	2

Source: FIFA

(Full article...)

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More did you know - load new batch

... that Irish sportswoman Carol Breen has played internationally in both association and Australian rules football? (17 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 Blackpool became the most successful club in the history of English Football League play-offs when they won the 2017 EFL League Two play-off Final against Exeter City? (8 February 2021)
... 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 the owner of Walsall F.C. described victory at the 2001 Football League Second Division play-off Final as the greatest day in the club's history? (20 February 2021)
... 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)