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 almost exclusively 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 that only 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 with 1 point awarded to each team, 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 in England) 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 prestigious senior 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 club football are the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Women's Champions League, which attract an extensive television audience worldwide. The final of the men's tournament is the most-watched annual sporting event in the world. (Full article...)

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82 winning squad at Villa part during the 25 year celebrations

Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and they have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founding members of the Football League in 1888 and the Premier League in 1992.

They are one of the oldest and most successful football clubs in England, having won the First Division Championship seven times and the FA Cup seven times. Villa are also one of only four English clubs to win the European Cup, which they did in 1982. Aston Villa is the fourth most successful club in English football history, having won over 20 major honours, although most of these were won before the Second World War.

They have a long-standing and fierce rivalry with local rivals Birmingham City and the Birmingham Derby between the two teams has been contested since 1879. Less heated rivalries exist with the other West Midlands clubs. (Full article...)

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Steve Bruce in 1992

Steve Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered an apprenticeship with Gillingham, and went on to play more than 200 games for the club before joining Norwich City in 1984.

In 1987, he moved to Manchester United, with whom he achieved great success, winning the Premier League, The Football Association (FA) Cup and the Football League Cup. He also became the first English player of the twentieth century to captain a team to The Double. Despite his success on the field, he was never selected to play for the England national team.

Bruce began his managerial career with Sheffield United, and spent short periods of time managing Huddersfield Town, Wigan Athletic and Crystal Palace before joining Birmingham City in 2001. He twice led Birmingham to promotion to the Premier League during his tenure of nearly six years, but resigned in 2007 to begin a second spell as manager of Wigan. (Full article...)

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The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (lit. 'International Federation of Association Football'), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA (/ˈfiːfə/ FEE-fə), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain (represented by the Madrid Football Club), Sweden, and Switzerland. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, its membership now comprises 211 national associations. These national associations must also be members of one of the six regional confederations: CAF (Africa), AFC (Asia and Australia), UEFA (Europe), CONCACAF (North & Central America and the Caribbean), OFC (Oceania), and CONMEBOL (South America).

FIFA outlines several objectives in its organizational statutes, including growing football internationally, ensuring it is accessible to everyone, and advocating for integrity and fair play. It is responsible for organizing and promoting football's major international tournaments, notably the World Cup which began in 1930, and the Women's World Cup which commenced in 1991. Although FIFA does not solely set the laws of the game, that being the responsibility of the International Football Association Board of which FIFA is a member, it applies and enforces the rules across all FIFA competitions. All FIFA tournaments generate revenue from sponsorships; in 2022, FIFA had revenues of over US$5.8 billion, ending the 2019–2022 cycle with a net positive of $1.2 billion, and cash reserves of over $3.9 billion. (Full article...)

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... 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 goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse, who has lived in England, Africa and the US, has been chosen to play soccer for the Republic of Ireland?
... 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 after his soccer career, Steve Palacios enlisted in the United States Army and played for the United States Armed Forces soccer team?

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Argentina national football team

Credit: Flickr user Moazzam Brohi

Supporters of the Argentina national football team react as they are knocked out of the 2006 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals by hosts Germany. La Selección, as the team is known locally, have won the World Cup on three occasions and the Copa América fourteen times. Players who have worn the national colours include Diego Maradona, Gabriel Batistuta, Mario Kempes, Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa.

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I told myself before the game, 'he's made of skin and bones just like everyone else' - but I was wrong.

— Tarcisio Burgnich, regarding Pelé, in the 1970 World Cup Finals.

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

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

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Tournament logo

The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national soccer teams. It was hosted as well as won by the United States and took place from June 19 to July 10, 1999, at eight venues across the country. The tournament was the most successful FIFA Women's World Cup in terms of attendance, television ratings, and public interest.

The 1999 edition was the first to field sixteen teams, an increase from the twelve in 1995, and featured an all-female roster of referees and match officials. It was played primarily in large American football venues due to expected demand following the successful 1996 Olympics women's tournament. The average attendance was 37,319 spectators per match and the total attendance was 1.194 million, a record that stood until 2015. The tournament earned a profit of $4 million on its $30 million operating budget. (Full article...)

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8 articles

Aston Villa F.C.

History (1874–1961)

History (1961–present)

Seasons

Statistics and records

Villa Park

List of players

List of managers

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... that when Irene del Río was called up to the Spain women's national football team squad, she was the only player who did not compete in the country's top division? (28 April 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)
... that the French football club GPSO 92 Issy was founded by three Peruvian sisters in 1997? (8 April 2021)
... that, during his time in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, footballer Ernie Curtis would obtain extra food by teaching his captors how to play with a ball made of paper? (27 March 2021)
... that thousands of football players are trafficked every year? (7 February 2021)
... that a team including bricklayers, assistant bank managers and insurance clerks defeated Coventry City in the third round of the FA Cup in 1989? (5 April 2021)