Assist (association football)

Most commonly, an assist is credited to a player for passing or crossing the ball to the scorer. It may also be awarded to a player whose shot rebounds (off a defender, goalkeeper or goalpost) to a teammate who scores. Some systems may credit an assist to a player who wins a penalty kick or a free kick for another player to convert, or to an attacking player for contributing to an own goal.{{Cite web |url=http://www.haverford.edu/athletics/soccerm/07Stats/070918hm.htm |title=Haverford College vs Alvernia College |date=18 September 2007 |publisher=Haverford College |access-date=21 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713150309/http://www.haverford.edu/athletics/soccerm/07Stats/070918hm.htm |archive-date=13 July 2007}} A goal may be unassisted, or have one assist; some systems allow for two assists.

Opta, a British sports analytics company and the official provider of Premier League statistics,{{cite web |title=Who are Opta Index? |url=http://www.optasoccer.com/optamizer/ABOUT/index.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001213173200/http://www.optasoccer.com/optamizer/ABOUT/index.asp |archive-date=13 December 2000 |publisher=Opta Index Limited |access-date=8 December 2017 }}{{cite web |date=21 December 1999 |title=Sports Internet Group plc Results for the period to 31 August 1999 |url=https://www.investegate.co.uk/ArticlePrint.aspx?id=199912210701338525C |publisher=Sports Internet Group plc |via=Investegate |access-date=8 December 2017}} defines an assist as "The final touch from a teammate, which leads to the recipient of the ball scoring a goal". Opta requires that if the assist is deflected by an opposition player, it must be deemed as travelling to the goalscorer irrespective of the deflection. Also according to Opta, "in the event of an own goal, direct free kick goal and direct corner goal, an assist will not be awarded. This same rule applies to penalties unless the penalty taker chooses to pass the ball for another player to score."{{cite web |url=https://www.statsperform.com/opta-event-definitions/ |title=Opta event definitions |publisher=Opta |access-date=23 June 2024 }}

According to Opta, an assist is not awarded in the following cases:

• Goals scored directly from penalty kicks, direct free kicks, or corner-kicks
• Own goals
• Deflected or rebounded balls from opponents that affected the ball's delivery to the goal scorer.
• Balls rebounded off the post.

Opta attest that this strict definition makes assist statistics more accurate and fair in analyzing players' sports performance.

FIFA's Technical Study Group is responsible for awarding assist points at the FIFA World Cup.{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/ip-301_03a_fwc-awards_new_2466.pdf |title=adidas Golden Shoe Award |publisher=FIFA |access-date=29 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626175841/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/ip-301_03a_fwc-awards_new_2466.pdf |archive-date=26 June 2008 |url-status=dead }} In the Technical Study Group's report on the 1986 World Cup, the authors calculated for the first time unofficial statistics for assists, developing the following criteria:

{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/techdevp/fwc%5fmexico%5f1986%5fen%5fpart4%5f279.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013164049/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/techdevp/fwc%5fmexico%5f1986%5fen%5fpart4%5f279.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 October 2012 |title=1986 World Cup Technical Report, part 4 |author=FIFA Technical Study Group |year=1986 |publisher=FIFA |page=The Table of Goalscorers: Goals and Assists, page 198 |no-pp=y |access-date=29 July 2008}}

1. An assist was awarded to the player who had given the last pass to the goalscorer.
2. In addition, the last but two holder of the ball could get an assist provided that his action had decisive importance for the goal.
3. After goals from rebounds those players were awarded an assist who had shot on target.
4. After goals scored on penalty or by a directly converted free-kick the fouled player received a point.
5. In case that the goalscorer had laid on the goal for himself (dribble, solo run), no assists were awarded.
6. No assists were awarded, either, if the goalscorer took advantage of a missed pass by an opponent.

The 1990 World Cup technical report adopted similar criteria, but changed the free-kick/penalty criterion:

{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/techdevp/fwc%5fitaly%5f1990%5fa%5fpart6%5f273.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111050409/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/techdevp/fwc_italy_1990_a_part6_273.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 November 2012 |title=1990 World Cup Technical Report, part 6 |author=FIFA Technical Study Group |year=1990 |publisher=FIFA|page=281 |access-date=29 July 2008}}

• Where goals resulting from penalties are concerned, the player who is fouled in the area receives an assist point (unless, that is, the player who is fouled subsequently executes the penalty himself).

Planet World Cup has calculated some retrospective data on assists back to the 1966 World Cup,{{cite web|url=http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/1966/wc66statistics.html |title=World Cup 1966 statistics |publisher=Planet World Cup |access-date=29 July 2008}} though the 1986 data differs from that of FIFA.{{cite web|url=http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/1986/wc86statistics.html |title=World Cup 1986 statistics |publisher=Planet World Cup |access-date=29 July 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080720164229/http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/1986/wc86statistics.html| archive-date= 20 July 2008 | url-status= live}}

FIFA started officially keeping track of assists in World Cup tournaments at the 1994 edition.

{{cite news|publisher=Agence France Presse|date=11 July 1994 |title=Football by the numbers |first=Rebecca |last=Bryan |location=Los Angeles |quote=the assist has gained enough ground to earn a place in the calculations for the Golden Boot award, which in every previous World Cup has been awarded solely on the basis of goals scored. Under the formula, players get three points for a goal, and one point for an assist. "We made a two-point difference because we do not want someone who did not score winning the award," a FIFA official said.}}

This was popularly ascribed to the popularity of detailed sports statistics among fans. 1994 was also the first World Cup in which assists were used as a tie-breaker in determining the Golden Shoe award for top scorer.

{{Cite news|title=Romario is voted the top player of World Cup '94 and winner of the FIFA/adidas Golden Ball award; Salenko and Stoichkov tie as leading scorers for World Cup USA '94 |date=17 July 1994 |publisher=Business Wire |quote=[FIFA] has announced Oleg Salenko (Russia) and Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria) as [...] winners of the prestigious adidas Golden Shoe award [...] who made six goals and one assist each. Kennet Andersson (Sweden) with 5 goals and 3 assists, will receive a Bronze replica of the Predator [...] Throughout World Cup '94, three points were awarded for each goal scored and one point for each assist leading to a goal, with a maximum of two assists per goal. Assists are only taken into account if two or more players scored the same number of goals.}}

In the event, both Hristo Stoichkov and Oleg Salenko tied with 19 points, from 6 goals and 1 assist.

The French league, Ligue 1, awards the Trophée de Meilleur Passeur ("best passer trophy") to the player with most "decisive passes" in a season, starting in the 2007–08 season.{{cite web |title=Thauvin n'oublie pas de passer |url=https://static.lfp.fr/ligue1/article/thauvin-n-oublie-pas-de-passer.htm |publisher=LFP.fr |access-date=5 June 2020 |language=fr |date=5 February 2020 |quote=la création du classement officiel des passeurs en 2007/08 |archive-date=5 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605194306/https://static.lfp.fr/ligue1/article/thauvin-n-oublie-pas-de-passer.htm |url-status=dead }} Sports newspaper L'Équipe had unofficially tracked assists for some years prior to then.{{cite web |last1=Delbrayelle |first1=Dominique |last2=Garin |first2=Erik |last3=Di Maggio |first3=Roberto |title=France – Topscorers |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesf/frantops.html |publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation |access-date=5 June 2020 |date=20 June 2019}} The league's Commission des Compétitions includes blocked shots as a subset of "decisive passes".{{cite web|url=http://www.lfp.fr/ligue1/article/james-rodriguez-en-prince-de-la-passe.htm|title=James Rodriguez en prince de la passe|date=17 May 2014|publisher=Ligue de Football Professionnel|language=fr|access-date=21 July 2014}} In 2012–13, Mathieu Valbuena and Dimitri Payet finished with 12 assists, Valbuena winning the trophy by having fewer blocked shots (3 against 5) among his total.{{cite web|url=http://www.lfp.fr/ligue1/article/c-est-la-bonne-pour-mathieu-valbuena.htm|title=C'est la bonne pour Mathieu Valbuena|date=26 May 2013|publisher=Ligue de Football Professionnel|access-date=21 July 2014}}

For the 1998–99 La Liga season, SDI sold its Gecasport database to Spanish media, in which {{lang|es|asistencias de gol}} were described as "passes which lead immediately to a shot and goal".{{cite web |title=Criterios de Elaboración de Estadísticas |url=http://www.sdifutbol.com/liga9899/criterios.htm |url-status=usurped |website=sdifutbol.com |access-date=5 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991118060515/http://www.sdifutbol.com/liga9899/criterios.htm |archive-date=18 November 1999 |language=es |quote={{lang|es|pases que implican, de manera inmediata, un tiro y gol}} }}; {{cite journal |last1=Lago-Peñas |first1=Carlos |last2=Lago-Ballesteros |first2=Joaquín |last3=Dellal |first3=Alexandre |last4=Gómez |first4=Maite |title=Game-Related Statistics that Discriminated Winning, Drawing and Losing Teams from the Spanish Soccer League |journal=Journal of Sports Science & Medicine |date=1 June 2010 |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=288–293 |pmid=24149698 |pmc=3761743 |issn=1303-2968 |quote=Gecasport, a private company dedicated to the performance assessment of teams in the Spanish Soccer League (www.sdifutbol.com). }}; {{cite journal |url=http://www.revistaindice.com/numero5/p18.pdf |journal=Indice |issn=1697-2325 |number=5 |pages=18–19 |first=Donald |last=Peña |title=Goleada estadística |date=July 2004 |access-date=5 June 2020 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040927204009/http://www.revistaindice.com/numero5/p18.pdf |archive-date=27 September 2004 |url-status=live }}

In Ukraine, a traceable documentation of assists calculation started out by Ukrainian newspaper "Komanda" during the 2004–05 season of the Ukrainian Higher League (Vyshcha Liha).{{cite web |title=Чи обжене Ярмоленко Тайсона? |url=https://upl.ua/ua/news/view/8242 |access-date=21 December 2023 |website=upl.ua (archived)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221160328/https://upl.ua/ua/news/view/8242 |archive-date=21 December 2023 }} The calculation of assist has certain problems to establish what is the "last pass" which led to a scored goal. Different institutions have own perception of it. Some specialists consider that an assist has to be a deliberate action meaning that it does not include the situation when a ball randomly rebounded to a scoring striker.

In the United Kingdom, official game statistics, including assists, for the Premier League, the Scottish Premiership, and the English Football League are provided by PA Sport under the Actim brand.{{cite web|url=http://www.pa-sport.com/en/actim/actim-stats-faqs.html|title=Actim Stats Frequently Asked Questions|publisher=PA Sport|access-date=29 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802142401/http://www.pa-sport.com/en/actim/actim-stats-faqs.html|archive-date=2 August 2008|url-status=dead}} Since the 2006–07 season, assists have been factored into the Actim Index of Premier League player performance.{{cite web|url=http://www.pa-sport.com/en/actim/actim-index-explained.html|title=Actim Index Explained|publisher=PA Sport|access-date=29 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802143312/http://www.pa-sport.com/en/actim/actim-index-explained.html|archive-date=2 August 2008|url-status=dead}} The assist statistics provided by fantasy football competitions may differ from the Actim data; some uniformly credit an assist to whichever teammate last touched the ball before the scorer, regardless of other circumstances of the play.{{cite web|url=http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2013/09/22/mesut-ozil-when-is-an-assist-not-an-assist/|title=Mesut Ozil... When is an assist not an assist?|last=Coombs|first=Dan|date=22 September 2013|work=HITC Sport|publisher=hereisthecity|access-date=21 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727161623/http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2013/09/22/mesut-ozil-when-is-an-assist-not-an-assist/|archive-date=27 July 2014|url-status=dead}} The Premier League Playmaker of the Season award was introduced in the 2017–18 Premier League for the player with most assists.{{cite press release |url=https://www.premierleague.com/news/667152|title=New Premier League player award announced|date=18 April 2018|publisher=Premier League|access-date=18 April 2018}}

The original North American Soccer League kept assist statistics from its foundation in 1968, as its forebears the United Soccer Association and National Professional Soccer League had done the previous year.{{cite web|url=http://www.midfielddynamo.com/players/awards/usa_nasl_ts.htm|title=NASL Top Scorer Award|publisher=midfielddynamo|access-date=29 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724222222/http://www.midfielddynamo.com/players/awards/usa_nasl_ts.htm|archive-date=24 July 2008|url-status=dead}} Analogous statistics were already being kept in basketball and in ice hockey, both established North American sports.

Major League Soccer formerly awarded the MLS Golden Boot based on 2 points per goal scored and one per assist.

The NCAA makes regulations for statistics, including assists, in college soccer in the U.S.{{cite book|chapter-url=http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/Stats_Manuals/Soccer/2009ez.pdf#page=2|chapter=Section 5: Assists|year=2009|url=http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/Stats_Manuals/Soccer/2009ez.pdf|title=Official Soccer Statistics Rules; Approved Rulings and Interpretations|publisher=NCAA|page=2|access-date=25 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331153332/http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/Stats_Manuals/Soccer/2009ez.pdf|archive-date=31 March 2010|url-status=live}} Two players may be credited with assists if the second did not have to beat a defender before passing to the scorer.NCAA Official Soccer Statistics Rules, §5.Art 1.(1) No assist is awarded for winning a penalty.NCAA Official Soccer Statistics Rules, §5.Art 1.(3) If a goal is scored after a save, block, or rebound from the goal frame, the first shooter gets an assist.NCAA Official Soccer Statistics Rules, §5.Art 1.(8),(9)

These totals are the official records recognised by the relevant governing body. Independent statistics providers may have different data, either through crediting different players for a given goal, or through having begun recording assists earlier or later than the official statistics provider.

Expected assists (xA) is a performance metric that measures the likelihood that a completed pass becomes an assist, factoring in distance and the type of pass.https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12829539/expected-goals-expected-assists-pressures-carries-high-turnovers-and-more-advanced-stats-explained

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Category:Assist (association football)

Category:Association football terminology

Association football