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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Priestfield Stadium during a match.

Priestfield Stadium is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has been the home of Gillingham Football Club since the club's formation in 1893 and the first recorded game played there was on 2 September 1893 when the club played Woolwich Arsenal's reserve team.

In 1955 the pitch, which was on a slope and had also been used as grazing for local Sheep at the turn of the century, was relaid along with further refurbishments to the terraces. Priestfield underwent extensive redevelopment during the late 1990s, which has brought its capacity down to a current figure of 11,582. It has four all-seater stands, all constructed since 1997 and has also been the temporary home of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club as well as hosting England Women's and Youth international matches.

In 2004 the ground was voted as "the worst football ground in England" in a poll by The Guardian and 36% of respondents labelled it "the ugliest building in the town" in a separate poll in 2006. (Full article...)

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Adam Boyd (born 25 May 1982 in Hartlepool) is an English footballer. Boyd, who plays as a striker, started playing whilst attending Grange Primary School. He was included in the under-11 team when 7 years of age and went on to play for Sunday League team Hartlepool St. Francis before being offered a trial by Middlesbrough F.C.. Middlesbrough declined to sign him to a youth contract and recommended him to local team Hartlepool United with whom he agreed an apprenticeship in 1998.

He began his professional career with Hartlepool in 1999 but did not make a lasting impact on the team until 2004 when he scored 12 goals in 10 appearances. He was one of League One's top goalscorers the following season and scored one of his most spectacular goals during a game against Sheffield Wednesday. Boyd received the ball outside the box and faked his way past two players before curving it over Wednesday goalkeeper Paul Gallacher. This goal earned him two awards, Hartlepool United's Goal of the Season 2005 and the North East Goal of the Season 2005, and he was also named Hartlepool United's Players' Player of the Year.

Boyd was injured in a game against Yeovil Town in 2006 which resulted in him having to receive treatment for a bruised leg bone, the treatment of this injury did not go as planned and he contracted a blood infection which saw him in rehabilitation for five months. During this period he transferred to Luton Town but his lack of form, the result of such a long period out of regular training, saw him lag behind the rest of the team in terms of fitness and match sharpness. He was released from his contract and moved to Leyton Orient in July 2007. (Full article...)

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The Confederation of Brazilian Football (Portuguese: Confederação Brasileira de Futebol; CBF) is the governing body of football in Brazil. It was founded on Monday, 8 June 1914, as Federação Brasileira de Sports [pt], and renamed Confederação Brasileira de Desportos in 1916. The football confederation, as known today, separated from other sports associations on 24 September 1979.

The CBF has its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. The confederation owns a training center, named Granja Comary, located in Teresópolis. (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 Welsh footballer Jon Morgan went on to become a college principal after retiring?
... that Ryan Roberts, a defensive end for Notre Dame, was a soccer player in high school?
... that Ecuadorian footballer Hernán Galíndez won a bicycle for beating a team featuring Lionel Messi when they were children?
... that after his soccer career, Steve Palacios enlisted in the United States Army and played for the United States Armed Forces soccer team?
... 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?

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Misconduct (football)

Credit: Markus Dallarosa

A player for FK Austria Wien is shown a Yellow Card for fouling an opponent of FC Red Bull Salzburg. The Referee may caution the player by showing them a yellow card if they feel a player is guilty of misconduct or is acting in contravention of the Laws of the Game. Severe fouls may result in a player being shown a Red Card and being sent off of the field of play.

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It was the hand of God!

— Diego Maradona, referring to his goal against England in the 1986 World Cup

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

Image 1Portland Thorns traveling supporters at Seattle's Memorial Stadium. (from Women's association football)
Image 2Striker 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 3Mia Hamm (left) battles with German defender Kerstin Stegemann (from Women's association football)
Image 4Cricket 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 5Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)
Image 6Arsenal in 2007 of the Women's FA Cup. (from Women's association football)
Image 7Iran women's national football team maintained a higher rank internationally. (from Women's association football)
Image 8Olympique Lyonnais vs Paris Saint-Germain. (from Women's association football)
Image 9Florida state vs North Carolina soccer 2005. (from Women's association football)
Image 10FC de Rakt DA1 (2008/2009) (from Women's association football)
Image 11The Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (from Women's association football)
Image 12Japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team wearing sashes (c. 1920) (from Women's association football)
Image 13Sam Kerr with Australia during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal against Japan in Edmonton, 2015 (from Women's association football)
Image 14Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894 (from History of association football)
Image 15From 1866 to 1883, the laws provided for a tape between the goalposts (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 16An 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 17The 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 18"North" team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)
Image 19Sheffield F.C. (here pictured in 1876) is the oldest association club still active, having been founded in 1857 (from History of association football)
Image 20Harrow School team of 1867. (from History of association football)
Image 21Players 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 22Iran vs Turkey in 2010 Youth Olympics (from Women's association football)
Image 23United States Abby Wambach plays off a corner kick against Canada.
Image 24When 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 25Marta of Brazil is the all-time leading scorer of the senior FIFA World Cups. (from Women's association football)
Image 26The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872 (from History of association football)
Image 27Megan Rapinoe speaks on equal pay in March 2021. (from Women's association football)
Image 28A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 29Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)

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The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the 7th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held from 30 May to 17 June 1962 in Chile. The qualification rounds took place between August 1960 and December 1961, with 56 teams entering from six confederations, and fourteen qualifying for the finals tournament alongside Chile, the hosts, and Brazil, the defending champions.

Brazil successfully defended their World Cup title, defeating Czechoslovakia 3–1 in the final in the Chilean capital Santiago. They became the second team, after Italy in 1934 and 1938, to win the World Cup twice consecutively; no team has since achieved the feat. Host nation Chile finished third, defeating Yugoslavia 1–0 in the third-place play-off. (Full article...)

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... that Bradford City scored three goals in 13 minutes to secure promotion in the 2013 Football League Two play-off Final? (21 February 2021)
... that Neil Warnock left Huddersfield Town shortly after they gained promotion by winning the 1995 Football League Second Division play-off Final because he said the club chairman had told him a "porky pie"? (21 March 2021)
... that after winning the 2013 Football League One play-off Final, Yeovil Town were promoted to the second tier of English football just ten years after being a non-League club? (12 February 2021)
... that despite smoking in football formerly being popular, it has since been banned from the touchline by UEFA? (17 June 2021)
... that Phil Chisnall moved from Manchester United to Liverpool in April 1964, becoming the last player to be transferred directly between the two clubs? (26 March 2021)
... that AFC Wimbledon were promoted for a sixth time since their formation in 2002 when they won the 2016 Football League Two play-off Final? (6 February 2021)