The game of soccer is well known by all and sundry. The game of soccer also known as association football usually involves 11 and 18 players with a coach overseeing them, a referee assigned to oversee the match, and lines men all assigned by the governing body organizing the game. It is a game involving varying degree kicking with foot an any other part of the body excluding the arm and the hand an object made with leather or plastic filled with compressed air. The goalkeeper is the only person allowed to touch the ball.
It is the world most popular game in terms of number and participants with over 1.3billion people watching and nearly 250 million players. The equipment and rules involved are quite simple making it easy to be played anywhere ranging from pitches to playgrounds and even on streets. The body seeing to or governing playing football worldwide is known as the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The world cup remains the most popular football tournament worldwide.
Football involves some elements which include:
Two teams of 11 and 18 players
A very defined area to play 1.e A field to be precise
Scoring points by maneuvering the ball to the opposite team at the far end of the field with the aim of kicking the ball into their net and win over them.
The common skills involved include:
Passing, dribbling, tackling, evasion of tackles, kicking and catching.
There are also some rules guiding football and they include:
Off side
In playing football, this means the player scoring a goal must put the ball either under or over a cross bar between the goal posts.
Penalty
This usually occur whenever either of the teams break the laid down rules governing the game especially tackling a player inside the box 18 or any other violation of rules.
The early form of football played in England is referred to as mob football usually played between neighboring towns on opposing teams who would clash en masse struggling to move an item. The history surrounding this game is way far into the 18th century. The oldest football league is a rugby competition, the United Hospitals challenge cup (1874). The south Australian football association (30th April, 1897) is the oldest surviving soccer competition while the oldest national football competition is the English FA cup(1871). The football league 1888 is recognized as the largest running association football league.
The first ever international football match took place between sides represented by English and Scotland on March 5, 1870. The excitement ascribed to this game is so overwhelming and sometimes can not be qualified as fans derive pleasure from watching their favorite player exhibiting his skills and spurring him and his team on to victory. This game not only excites but it has greatly increased the financial status of the community as a whole. Creating jobs for the players, and the viewing center controllers, promoting inter state and inter country relationship and also strengthening the bond between countries of the world
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