ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

INTRODUCTION
Association football, commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two
teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. At the turn of the 21st century, the game was
played by over 250 million players in over 200 countries, making it the world's most popular
sport.
HISTORY
he history began in the mid!nineteenth century, when the game of soccer was developed in
"ngland. #owever, the origin of soccer goes as far back as 2500 $.%.&t is believed football
derived from a combination of ancient games.
The Chinese are credited with the earliest form of football, commonly recogni'ed as
appro(imately 2500 $.%. hey played a game called )su %hu), which may be translated to
)kicking the leather and stuffed ball with feet). he game was part of the physical education
program used to train soldiers. he goal was a net with a hole strung between two bamboo poles
that were *0 feet high. o )score), the ball had to go through the hole in the net and players were
not allowed to use their hands.
&n appro(imately 50 $%, the Japanese played a game in which players kicked a ball made of
deerskin on a small field. hey called it )+emari). he game was not competitive and was
played by different classes of people to e(ercise and rela(. he ball was simply passed from
player to player in the air and was only touched with the feet.
A revived version of kemari being played at the an'an ,hrine, -apan
A game called )"piskyros), between two teams of 12 players with one ball, was played in
Ancient Greece. #owever, the rules of the game allowed using hands.
Ancient Greek football player balancing the ball
The Romans adopted the game of )"piskyros) from the .reeks and by allowing kicking during
the games/ they created a rugby!style game, which they called )#arpastum). he ball was made
from a stitched leather skin and stuffed animal fur. )#arpastum) was a very fast, physical and
violent game. he number of players varied from game to game, some reports suggest games
with hundreds of players on each side.
The n!lish had been playing games similar to soccer 0football1 from around the 2th century.
3any early games were disorgani'ed and violent affairs with any number of players.
ORGANI"ATIONS
4rgani'ed soccer began in 125*, when the "nglish 6ootball Association was founded in 7ondon.
$y the end of the year, the game split into two games, rugby and association football. hat's
when contemporary soccer history began. 8ugby, which allowed players to touch and carry the
ball with their hands, gave rise to American football. Association football 0soccer1 became
popular in the rest of the world.
4nly eight years after its foundation, he 6ootball Association already had 50 member clubs.
he 6A %up 0first soccer tournament in soccer history1 was started in the same year. After the
"nglish 6ootball Association, the ne(t oldest are the ,cottish 6A 0129*1, the 6A of :ales 012951
and the &rish 6A 012201.
,occer spread outside of .reat $ritain rapidly to all parts of the world. he ne(t countries to
form football associations were; <etherlands and =enmark 0122>1, <ew ?ealand 012>11,
Argentina 012>*1, %hile 012>51, ,wit'erland, $elgium 012>51, &taly 012>21, .ermany, @ruguay
0both in 1>001, #ungary 01>011 and 6inland 01>091.
As soccer developed throughout the world, teams were playing against each other, and the need
for proper organi'ation grew. &n 1>0A delegates from 6rance, $elgium, =enmark, the
<etherlands, ,pain, ,weden and ,wit'erland established 6&6A ! the international governing body
of soccer ! to )promote the game of association football).
&n 1>12, 21 national associations were already affiliated to the 6ederation &nternational 6ootball
Association 06&6A1. $y 1>25, the number had increased to *5, in 1>*0 ! the year of the first
:orld %up ! it was A1, in 1>*2, 51 and in 1>50, after the interval caused by the ,econd :orld
:ar, the number had reached 9*. At present, 6&6A has over 200 members in every part of the
world.
#O$N%S ASSOCIATION &OOT'A((
:omen have been playing association football since the first recorded women's game in 12>5 in
<orth 7ondon. &t has traditionally been associated with charity games and physical e(ercise,
particularly in the @nited +ingdom. his perception began to change in the 1>90s with the
breakthrough of organi'ed women's association football.
he growth in women's football has seen maBor competitions being launched at
both national and international level mirroring the male competitions. :omen's football faced
many struggles throughout its fight for right. &t had a )golden age) in the @nited +ingdom in the
early 1>20s when crowds reached 50,000 at some matches this was stopped on 5 =ecember 1>21
when "ngland's 6ootball Association voted to ban the game from grounds used by its member
clubs. he 6A's ban was rescinded in =ecember 1>5> with @"6A voting to officially recogni'e
women's football in 1>91. he 6&6A :omen's :orld %up was inaugurated in 1>>1 and has been
held every four years since.
Clayers trying to gain control of the ball
RU(S
&n the early 1200s, a number of versions of soccer were being played in private schools
throughout "ngland. $ut it was nearly impossible for different schools to play each other because
teams couldn't agree on the rules. ,ome allowed players use their hands/ others did not. &n 12A2,
students from %ambridge @niversity tried to create the first rules that everyone would accept
everywhere.
here are 19 laws in the official 7aws of the .ame, each containing a collection of stipulation
and guidelines. he same laws are designed to apply to all levels of football, although certain
modifications for groups such as Buniors, seniors, women and people with physical disabilities
are permitted. he laws are often framed in broad terms, which allow fle(ibility in their
application depending on the nature of the game. he 7aws of the .ame are published by 6&6A,
but are maintained by the &nternational 6ootball Association $oard 0&6A$1.
)ITCH
he width of the fields for the non!international matches is in the range of 50!100 yards and the
length is in the range of 100!1*0 yards. he international adult matches may be 5A!95 meters in
width and the 100!110 meters in length. &n the front of each goal, there is also a one area for the
penalty.
)(AYRS* +UI)$NT* AND O&&ICIA(S
he game is played by two teams of 11 players on the rectangular grass. &t is played with the
ball. &n this game, the goalkeeper is the only player who allowed to use their hands and arms to
propel the ball. he main purpose of the game is to score by maneuvering the ball into the
opposing goal. &n this game, the points are scored in a variety of ways, by throwing the ball to
another player, including carrying the ball over the goal line or kicking the ball through the goal
posts on the opposing side. he team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins.
here is also a one referee and the two assistant referees.
he basic eDuipment for the players are reDuired to wear a footwear, shorts, socks, shirt and
adeDuate shin guards. $ut the goalkeeper must wear the clothing for the easily distinguishable
from that worn by the other players and the match officials.
MISCONDUCT
On,fiel-
A foul occurs when a player commits an offence listed in the 7aws of the .ame while the ball is
in play. #andling the ball deliberately, tripping an opponent, or pushing an opponent, are
e(amples of )penal fouls), punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on where
the offence occurred. he referee may punish a player's or substitute's misconduct by a caution
0yellow card1 or sending!off 0red card1. A second yellow card at the same game leads to a red
card, and therefore to a sending!off. &f a player has been sent off, no substitute can be brought on
in their place. A referee can show a yellow or red card to a player, substitute or substituted player.
Off-field
=ealing with issues such as comments to the press, clubs' financial management, doping, age
fraud and match fi(ing.

Clayers are cautioned with a yellow card, and sent off with a red card. hese colours were first introduced at
the 1>90 6&6A :orld %up and used consistently since
A player scores a penalty kick given after an offence is committed inside the penalty area
INTRNATIONA( CO$)TITIONS
he maBor international competition in football is the :orld %up, organi'ed by 6&6A. his
competition takes place over every four years. Appro(imately 1>0!200 national teams compete
in Dualifying tournaments within the scope of continental confederations for a place in the finals.
he finals tournament, which is held every four years, involves *2 national teams competing
over a four!week period. he most recent tournament, the 2010 6&6A :orld %up, was held in
,outh Africa from 11 -une to 11 -uly, the first to be held on the African continent.
After the :orld %up, the most important international football competitions are the continental
championships, which are organi'ed by each continental confederation and contested between
national teams. hese are
"uropean %hampionship 0@"6A1,
%opa America 0%4<3"$471,
African %up of <ations 0%A61,
Asian %up 0A6%1,
%4<%A%A6 .old %up 0%4<%A%A61 and the
46% <ations %up 046%1.
he 6&6A %onfederations %up is contested by the winners of all 5 continental championships, the
current 6&6A :orld %up champions and the country which is hosting the %onfederations %up.
A minute's silence before an international match
CONC(USION
As you have learned, soccer deals with physics in many more ways than meet the eye at a first
glance. As a matter of fact, all sports deal heavily with physics. Chysics is only confusing,
overwhelming, and boring if you let it be. &f you enBoy it for what it is and recogni'e the
applications of it, studying it can be a very enlightening e(perience. $y understanding physics,
you gain a much better understanding of the world around you. %hances are you won't be taking
this knowledge onto the )pitch) with you, as it will serve you little purpose in a game. #owever,
it will help you enBoy the game more, as you will see it in a whole new light