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Association football

Adapted from Wikipedia · Explorer experience

A team photo of a youth girls' soccer team from Finland, celebrating their sport and teamwork.

What is Association Football?

Association football, also called football or soccer, is a fun game played by two teams. Each team has 11 players. They kick a ball on a pitch and try to score goals by getting the ball into a rectangular goal. The team with the most goals wins!

Where is it Played?

People love to play football in more than 200 countries around the world. It is the most popular sport on Earth! Matches usually last 90 minutes, split into two halves of 45 minutes each. Players use their feet, but they can also use other parts of their body except their hands and arms. Only the goalkeepers may use their hands, and only in their own penalty area.

Why Do We Know About It?

Football has a long history. The modern rules began in the mid-19th century in England. In 1863, people in England created the first official rules for football. This group formed the Football Association. Their rules are the basis for the game today.

Today, big tournaments like the FIFA World Cup bring teams from around the world to compete. The FIFA World Cup is watched by more people than any other sports event, even more than the Olympic Games. The UEFA Champions League is the biggest club competition in Europe, attracting fans from around the world.

Fun Facts

  • The word “soccer” started at the University of Oxford in England around 1875. It came from a special way of talking used there, adding “-er” to the end of words.
  • Women have played football for a long time. In recent decades, women's football has grown and is now enjoyed by many. Big tournaments like the FIFA Women's World Cup show the best female players.

Images

A charming artwork titled 'One Hundred Children in the Long Spring,' depicting a group of children in a springtime scene.
A 16th-century painting showing people playing a traditional form of football in an open square.
Historical document showing the original handwritten rules of football from 1863, now displayed at the National Football Museum.
Aston Villa Football Club team photo from 1897 after winning both the Football League and the FA Cup.
A football (soccer) match ball used in the 2021-22 3. Liga season between 1. FC Magdeburg and FSV Zwickau.
A football goal at Sandskogens Idrottsplats in Ystad.
A robot that helps draw lines on football fields at Sandskogens Sports Ground in Ystad.
The first women's football team in England, the British Ladies' Football Club, posing for a group photo in 1895.

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Association football, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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