This is one of the most famous sports disciplines around the world. Football is also known as association football in some parts of the world or as soccer in the United States. This exciting game is played under some simple rules which make it interesting. A football match must have two teams with each team having a maximum of eleven players on the pitch.
Setup
A football match is played on a large grass field, though some pitches may lack grass. The pitch should have a length of one hundred meters and a width of fifty meters. It should also have two goalposts. The field should be fully marked before the game to identify the various areas of a football pitch. The full football pitch is a rectangle and each half is a square. Football has been rising over the years thus leading the emergence of high-quality football stadiums. They now have changing rooms in the stadiums. The football stadiums also have the ability to host a large number of spectators.
A football match always has one main objective which is to win the match. This is only possible if a team scores more goals than its opponents. A goal is only counted if the ball has gotten into the goal post. Technology has improved and has brought about the goal-line technology which is now used t
o check for a goal.
Fans
Football has one of the largest audiences around the world. It is also a sport with a very large number of people participating in it. This has led to the opening of football associations around the world which help in arranging football tournaments. The most famous football tournament is the World Cup in which national teams are called into participation to determine the best national team across the world. There are also football leagues in most countries. These leagues are arranged in levels, from low-level teams to high-level teams. The European leagues are considered as the most competitive leagues around the world.
Rules
Football has a number of rules which are set to enable a fluid flow of the game. For instance, only the goalkeeper is allowed to handle the ball with his or her hands and that is only as long as it is around the penalty. Players are allowed to handle the ball with any part of their body apart from their hands. They are also not allowed to physically assault anybody on the field. It is a requirement for all football matches to have a referee to oversee the game. The game should also have two assistant referees with each having a position on the edge of either half. These are the people who ensure that the rules of the game are followed.