Portal:Association football

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Association football, 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 get the ball into the other team's goal (between the posts, under the bar, and across the goal line), thereby scoring a goal. When the ball is in play, the players mainly use their feet, but may use any other part of their body, 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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Formative shot of York City in 1922.

York City Football Club is an English football club based in York. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions.

The club briefly rose as high as the second tier of English football, spending two seasons in the Second Division in the 1970s. At the end of the 2003–04 season the club lost their League status when they were relegated from the Third Division, and have since remained in the Conference.

York have enjoyed more success in cup competitions than in the league, with highlights including an FA Cup semi-final appearance in 1955. In the 1995–96 League Cup, York beat Manchester United 3–0 at Old Trafford.

Traditionally, York City's two main rivalries have been with Scarborough and Hull City with the rivalry between Hull and York being represented as a battle between a lion (York City's mascot) and a tiger (Hull City's mascot). (Full article...)

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David Beckham signing autographs in New Zealand

David Beckham, OBE (born 2 May 1975) is an English professional association football midfielder.

Beckham's career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first-team début in 1992 aged 17. During his time there, United won the Premiership title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons and was part of the La Liga winning squad in 2007. Beckham subsequently moved to the United States to play for the LA Galaxy in a move that gave him the highest salary of any Major League Soccer player in history.

He has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year, and in 2004 was the world's highest-paid footballer. Beckham was also the captain of England from 15 November 2000 to 2 July 2006. He made 58 appearances as captain, and ended his tenure in that role after the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals.

Outside of football, he is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, a spokesman for Malaria No More and was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2003. (Full article...)

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All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the governing body of football, futsal and beach soccer in India. It is a member of FIFA, and is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation and South Asian Football Federation.

It is affiliated with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. India men's and women's football teams are governed by the AIFF, and represent India in various international football tournaments. (Full article...)

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... 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?
... 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 Ryan Roberts, a defensive end for Notre Dame, was a soccer player in high school?

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football in Japan

Credit: Flickr user Jack French

A futsal pitch in use on the top of a tower block in Tokyo. The sport of football in Japan is organized professionally by the J.League and the Japan Football Association. Association football and its variants are some of the most popular sports in the country.

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The ball is round

— Ng Fong-wing, TVB commentator

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

Image 1Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)
Image 2When 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 3Sheffield F.C. (here pictured in 1876) is the oldest association club still active, having been founded in 1857 (from History of association football)
Image 4Chelsea, a women's football club of London, England in 2020. (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 6"North" team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)
Image 7Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894 (from History of association football)
Image 8Mia Hamm (left) battles with German defender Kerstin Stegemann (from Women's association football)
Image 9Iran vs Turkey in 2010 Youth Olympics (from Women's association football)
Image 10The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872 (from History of association football)
Image 11A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 12From 1866 to 1883, the laws provided for a tape between the goalposts (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 13Harrow School team of 1867. (from History of association football)
Image 14Japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team wearing sashes (c. 1920) (from Women's association football)
Image 15Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)
Image 16FC de Rakt DA1 (2008/2009) (from Women's association football)

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The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 in the final held in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the capital, Madrid. It was Italy's third World Cup title, but their first since 1938. The defending champions, Argentina, were eliminated in the second round (finishing third and last in their group). Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait and New Zealand made their first appearances in the finals.

The tournament featured the first penalty shoot-out in World Cup competition. This was the third and last World Cup to feature two rounds of group stages. It was also the third time (after 1934 and 1966) that all four semi-finalists were European. (Full article...)

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... that Swansea City made two appearances at the Millennium Stadium in 2006, winning the Football League Trophy but losing the Football League One play-off Final? (14 March 2021)
... that professional goalkeeper Scott Brown lost his father to Parkinson's, witnessed the birth of his son, and then signed with Aberdeen in the space of ten days? (29 March 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)
... that both Robbie Williams and Michael Jackson played for Blackpool in the 2007 Football League One play-off Final? (24 March 2021)
... that South African association footballer Amanda Sister has played for clubs in Hungary and Italy? (9 March 2021)
... that footballer Billy Hardy is Cardiff City F.C.'s record appearance holder, having played in 590 matches between 1911 and 1932? (16 March 2021)