Association football

{{Main|Names for association football}}

Association football is part of a family of football codes that emerged from various ball games played worldwide since antiquity. The word "association" in this term refers to the Football Association (the FA), founded in London in 1863, which published the first set of rules for the sport that same year.{{cite news |title=Football Association 1863 Minute Book |url=https://blogs.bl.uk/socialscience/2013/08/football-association-1863-minute-book.html |access-date=13 April 2025 |publisher=British Library |archive-date=13 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913154542/https://blogs.bl.uk/socialscience/2013/08/football-association-1863-minute-book.html |url-status=live}} The term was coined to distinguish the type of football played in accordance with the FA rules from other types that were gaining popularity at the time, particularly rugby football.{{cite web |title=Etymology of "soccer" by etymonline |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/soccer |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=13 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250406093624/https://www.etymonline.com/word/soccer |archive-date=6 April 2025 |language=en |url-status=live}}

File:The Sportsman 1910-11-25 Football.png

The term soccer comes from Oxford "-er" slang, which was prevalent at the University of Oxford in England from about 1875, and is thought to have been borrowed from the slang of Rugby School. Initially spelt assoccer (a shortening of "association"), it was later reduced to the modern spelling.{{cite magazine |last1=Perrigo |first1=Billy |title=Why Do Americans Call It Soccer Instead of Football? Blame England |url=https://time.com/5335799/soccer-word-origin-england/ |magazine=Time |date=11 July 2018 |publisher=Time Magazine |access-date=11 January 2024 |archive-date=11 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111114755/https://time.com/5335799/soccer-word-origin-england/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last=Clarke |first=Donald |date=3 July 2021 |title=There is no easier way to annoy a British soccer fan than referring to soccer as 'soccer' |language=en |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/there-is-no-easier-way-to-annoy-a-british-soccer-fan-than-referring-to-soccer-as-soccer-1.4608849 |url-status=live |access-date=30 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130021358/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/there-is-no-easier-way-to-annoy-a-british-soccer-fan-than-referring-to-soccer-as-soccer-1.4608849 |archive-date=30 November 2022}} Early alternative spellings included socca and socker. This form of slang also gave rise to rugger for rugby football, fiver and tenner for five pound and ten pound notes, and the now-archaic footer that was also a name for association football.{{Cite web |title=What's The Origin of the Word "Soccer"? |url=https://www.lexico.com/explore/whats-the-origin-of-the-word-soccer |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502083021/https://www.lexico.com/explore/whats-the-origin-of-the-word-soccer |archive-date=2 May 2021 |access-date=22 March 2021 |website=Lexico Dictionaries | English}}

Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called simply "football" in Great Britain and most of Ulster in the north of Ireland,{{Cite web |title=The History of Football in England |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/the-history-of-football-in-england/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=English Heritage |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250411230501/https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/the-history-of-football-in-england/ |archive-date=11 April 2025 |url-status=live}} whereas people usually call it "soccer" in regions and countries where other codes of football are prevalent, such as Australia,{{cite web |last1=Manfred |first1=Tony |date=14 June 2014 |title=The real reason Americans call it 'soccer' is all England's fault |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/why-americans-call-it-soccer-2014-6 |url-access=registration |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427180816/https://www.businessinsider.com.au/why-americans-call-it-soccer-2014-6 |archive-date=27 April 2021 |access-date=27 April 2021 |website=Business Insider Australia}} Canada, South Africa, most of Ireland (excluding Ulster),{{Cite web |last=Cunningham |first=John M. |title=Why Do Some People Call Football "Soccer"? |url=https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-some-people-call-football-soccer |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131223612/https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-some-people-call-football-soccer |archive-date=31 January 2022 |access-date=23 December 2021 |website=Britannica |language=en}} and the United States. A notable exception is New Zealand, where in the first two decades of the 21st century, under the influence of international television, "football" has been gaining prevalence, despite the dominance of other codes of football, namely rugby union and rugby league.{{cite web |title=Editorial: Soccer – or should we say football – must change |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/editorial-soccer-or-should-we-say-football-must-change/3KFDIVF4JRQPOAUG23DW2ARKBU/ |website=New Zealand Herald |access-date=27 April 2021 |date=11 June 2014 |archive-date=27 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427180813/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/editorial-soccer-or-should-we-say-football-must-change/3KFDIVF4JRQPOAUG23DW2ARKBU/ |url-status=live}}

{{Main|History of association football}}

{{For timeline|Timeline of association football}}

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| footer = On the left, an {{Transliteration|el|episkyros}} player on an ancient stone carving, {{Circa|375–400 BCE}}, exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens;Item [http://www.namuseum.gr/collections/sculpture/classical/classic12-en.html (NAMA) 873] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722061112/http://www.namuseum.gr/collections/sculpture/classical/classic12-en.html |date=22 July 2016 }} displayed at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens on the right, children playing {{Transliteration|zh|cuju}} in Song dynasty China, 12th century

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Kicking ball games arose independently multiple times across multiple cultures.{{efn|See Football#Early history for more information.}} The Chinese competitive game {{Transliteration|zh|cuju}} ({{lang|zh|蹴鞠}}, literally "kickball"; also known as tsu chu) resembles modern association football as well as a mix of basketball and volleyball.{{Cite web |title=Origins of Cuju in China |url=https://www.fifamuseum.com/en/blog-stories/editorial/origins-cuju-in-china/ |website=www.fifamuseum.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113165551/https://www.fifamuseum.com/en/blog-stories/editorial/origins-cuju-in-china/ |archive-date=13 January 2023 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |title=Sports |url=https://www.britannica.com/sports/sports|access-date=20 April 2021 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417001059/https://www.britannica.com/sports/sports|url-status=live}} This is the earliest form of a kicking game for which there is historical evidence. The game was first recorded as in exercise in the Zhan Guo Ce, a military history from the Han dynasty. {{Transliteration|zh|Cuju}} players would pass the ball around, having to avoid it touching the ground at any point. It was then passed to a designated player, who attempted to kick it through the fengliu yan, a circular goal atop 10–11 meter poles. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), {{Transliteration|zh|cuju}} games were standardised and rules were established.{{cite book |last=Murray |first=Scott |title=Football For Dummies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7DPCNO4qIz4C&pg=PT33 |year=2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-66440-7 |pages=33–|access-date=20 April 2021|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420121408/https://books.google.com/books?id=7DPCNO4qIz4C&pg=PT33|url-status=live}} The Silk Road facilitated the transmission of cuju outside of China, especially the form of the game popular in the Tang dynasty, the period when the inflatable ball was invented and replaced the stuffed ball.{{cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=Lin |title=Chinese Ju and World Football |journal=Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research |date=2018 |volume=120 |pages=276–281}} Other East Asian games include {{Transliteration|ja|hepburn|kemari}} in Japan and {{Transliteration|ko|chuk-guk}} in Korea, both influenced by cuju.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/the-game/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150803040639/http://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/the-game/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 August 2015 |title=History of Football – The Origins |publisher=FIFA |access-date=15 December 2017}}{{cite book |editor1-last=Chadwick |editor1-first=Simon |editor2-last=Hamil |editor2-first=Sean |title=Managing Football: An International Perspective |publisher=Routledge |year=2010 |location=London |page=458 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aTYtBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA458 |isbn=978-1-136-43763-2 |access-date=30 May 2018 |archive-date=20 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120044852/https://books.google.com/books?id=aTYtBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA458 |url-status=live}} {{Transliteration|ja|hepburn|Kemari}} originated after the year 600 during the Asuka period. It was a ceremonial rather than a competitive game, and involved the kicking of a mari, a ball made of animal skin.{{cite web |title=History of Football, Part 2: The Aztec and The Oriental Version of the Game |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/117189-history-of-football-part-2-the-aztec-and-the-oriental-version-of-the-game |date=29 January 2009 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230219230403/https://bleacherreport.com/articles/117189-history-of-football-part-2-the-aztec-and-the-oriental-version-of-the-game |archive-date=19 February 2023 |work=Bleacher Report |last= |first=}} In North America, {{lang|alg|pasuckuakohowog}} was a ball game played by the Algonquians; it was described as "almost identical to the kind of folk football being played in Europe at the same time, in which the ball was kicked through goals".{{Cite book |first=Mike |last=Roberts |title=The same old game: the true story of the ancient origins of football |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1022073321 |isbn=978-1-4610-9319-0 |location=Barcelona |publisher=RobertsBCN Publications |chapter=Little Brothers of War Ball games in Pre-Colombian North America |date=13 April 2011 |oclc=1022073321 |access-date=6 January 2021 |archive-date=12 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212044127/https://www.worldcat.org/title/same-old-game-the-true-story-of-the-ancient-origins-of-football/oclc/1022073321 |url-status=live}}

{{Transliteration|el|Phaininda}} and {{Transliteration|el|episkyros}} were Greek ball games.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/the-game/origins.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121225025856/http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/the-game/origins.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 December 2012 |title=Classic Football History of the Game |publisher=FIFA |access-date=17 September 2013}}{{Cite web |title=A gripping Greek derby |url=https://www.fifa.com/news/gripping-greek-derby-2026693-x1038 |date=8 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102061040/https://www.fifa.com/news/gripping-greek-derby-2026693-x1038|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 November 2020|access-date=30 October 2020 |website=FIFA}} An image of an {{Transliteration|el|episkyros}} player depicted in low relief on a stele of {{Circa|375–400 BCE}} in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship trophy.{{cite news |url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/print/413747/ |title=Fury as FIFA finds a field of dreams in China |date=5 June 2014 |newspaper=Bangkok Post|access-date=19 June 2014|archive-date=18 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318182156/https://www.bangkokpost.com/ajax/_getLikeUnlike.php|url-status=live}} Athenaeus, writing in 228 CE, mentions the Roman ball game {{lang|la|harpastum}}. {{Transliteration|el|Phaininda, episkyros}} and {{lang|la|harpastum}} were played involving hands and violence. They all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling, and volleyball more than what is recognisable as modern football.Nigel Wilson, Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece, Routledge, 2005, p. 310Nigel M. Kennell, The Gymnasium of Virtue: Education and Culture in Ancient Sparta (Studies in the History of Greece and Rome), The University of North Carolina Press, 1995, on [https://books.google.com/books?id=u_eAP7wN5XUC&q=episkuros+rugby&pg=PA61 Google Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205233056/https://books.google.com/books?id=u_eAP7wN5XUC&pg=PA61&cd=16#v=onepage&q=episkuros%20rugby |date=5 December 2016 }}Steve Craig, Sports and Games of the Ancients: (Sports and Games Through History), Greenwood, 2002, on [https://books.google.com/books?id=KKlSSRq-P2QC&q=phaininda+rugby&pg=PA104 Google Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161206085821/https://books.google.com/books?id=KKlSSRq-P2QC&pg=PA104&cd=2#v=onepage&q=phaininda%20rugby |date=6 December 2016 }}Don Nardo, Greek and Roman Sport, Greenhaven Press, 1999, p. 83Sally E. D. Wilkins, Sports and games of medieval cultures, Greenwood, 2002, on [https://books.google.com/books?id=IyFHvy-SCIYC&q=episkuros+rugby&pg=PA214 Google books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161206054412/https://books.google.com/books?id=IyFHvy-SCIYC&pg=PA214&cd=2#v=onepage&q=episkuros%20rugby |date=6 December 2016 }}

File:Giovanni-Stradano-Gioco-del-calcio-in-piazza-Santa-Maria-Novella-1561-62-1024x721.jpg, in Florence, Italy. Painting by Jan Van der Straet.]]

In the Middle Ages, one notable game with similarities to modern football was calcio storico fiorentino, which originated in Florence, Italy.{{cite web|title=Calcio e historia del Fútbol|url=http://expertfootball.com/es/historia_calcio.php|publisher=ExpertFootball.com|language=es|access-date=7 March 2025|archive-date=29 June 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629074228/http://expertfootball.com/es/historia_calcio.php|url-status=dead}} Another medieval sport that can be considered a form of early football is la soule (or choule), played in France from the 12th century,Jusserand, Jean-Jules. (1901). Le sport et les jeux d'exercice dans l'ancienne France. Retrieved 11 January 2008, from http://agora.qc.ca/reftext.nsf/Documents/Football--Le_sport_et_les_jeux_dexercice_dans_lancienne_France__La_soule_par_Jean-Jules_Jusserand {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080207055012/http://agora.qc.ca/reftext.nsf/Documents/Football--Le_sport_et_les_jeux_dexercice_dans_lancienne_France__La_soule_par_Jean-Jules_Jusserand |date=7 February 2008}} {{in lang|fr}} in which the ball was propelled by hands, feet, and sticks.{{cite book | last = Ruff | first = Julius | title = Violence in Early Modern Europe 1500–1800 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2001 | page = [https://archive.org/details/violenceinearlym0000ruff/page/170 170] | isbn = 978-0-521-59894-1 | url = https://archive.org/details/violenceinearlym0000ruff/page/170 }} As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all modern football codes, these medieval games involved more handling of the ball than kicking it.{{cite web |url=http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/originsofrugby.htm |title=Rugby Football History |publisher=Rugby Football History |access-date=19 June 2014 |archive-date=25 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525155221/http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/originsofrugby.htm |url-status=live}}

Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other ball games played around the world, FIFA has described that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The history of football in England dates back to at least the eighth century.{{cite web |title=History of Football – Britain, the home of Football |publisher=FIFA |url=https://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/game/historygame2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701210540/http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/game/historygame2.html |archive-date=1 July 2007 |url-status=dead |access-date=20 November 2006}} The modern rules of association football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England.{{cite journal |last=Bailey |first=Steven |title=Living Sports History: Football at Winchester, Eton and Harrow |journal=The Sports Historian |year=1995 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=34–53 |doi=10.1080/17460269508551675}}

File:Cambridge rules 1856.png

The Cambridge rules, first drawn up at the University of Cambridge in 1848, were particularly influential in the development of subsequent codes, including association football. The Cambridge rules were written at Trinity College, Cambridge, at a meeting attended by representatives from Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester and Shrewsbury schools. They were not universally adopted. During the 1850s, many clubs unconnected to schools or universities were formed throughout the English-speaking world to play various forms of football. Some came up with their own distinct codes of rules, most notably the Sheffield Football Club, formed by former public school pupils in 1857,{{cite book |last=Harvey |first=Adrian |title=Football, the first hundred years |publisher=Routledge |page=126 |year=2005 |location=London |isbn=978-0-415-35018-1}} which led to the formation of a Sheffield FA in 1867. In 1862, John Charles Thring of Uppingham School also devised an influential set of rules.{{cite news |first=David |last=Winner |date=28 March 2005 |title=The hands-off approach to a man's game |newspaper=The Times |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,27-1544006,00.html |access-date=7 October 2007 |location=London |archive-date=23 January 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140123053942/http://web.archive.org/web/20100605085610/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article438583.ece |url-status=dead}}

File:Original laws of the game 1863.jpg in 1863, on display at the National Football Museum in Manchester.]]

These ongoing efforts contributed to the formation of the Football Association (the FA) in 1863, which first met on the morning of 26 October 1863 at the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street, London.{{cite web |title=History of the FA |publisher=The Football Association |url=http://www.thefa.com/about-football-association/history |access-date=9 October 2007 |archive-date=25 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125012322/http://www.thefa.com/about-football-association/history |url-status=live}} The only school to be represented on this occasion was Charterhouse. The Freemasons' Tavern was the setting for five more meetings of the FA between October and December 1863; the English FA eventually issued the first comprehensive set of rules named {{pslink|Laws of the Game}}, forming modern football. The laws included bans on running with the ball in hand and hacking (kicking an opponent in the shins), tripping and holding.{{cite news |title=The Football Association |work=Bell's Life in London |date=28 November 1863 |page=6 |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Football_Association_(Bells_Life_in_London)_1863-11-28.png |access-date=18 September 2023 |archive-date=20 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920175802/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Football_Association_(Bells_Life_in_London)_1863-11-28.png |url-status=live}} Eleven clubs, under the charge of FA secretary Ebenezer Cobb Morley, ratified the original thirteen laws of the game. The sticking point was hacking, which a twelfth club at the meeting, Blackheath FC, had wanted to keep, resulting in their withdrawal from the FA. Other English rugby clubs followed this lead and did not join the FA, and instead in 1871, along with Blackheath, formed the Rugby Football Union. The 1863 FA rules included handling of the ball by "marks" and the lack of a crossbar, making the game remarkably similar to Victorian rules football, which was being developed around the same time in Australia. The Sheffield FA played by its own rules until the 1870s, with the FA absorbing some of its rules until there was little difference between the games.{{cite book |last=Young |first=Percy M. |year=1964 |title=Football in Sheffield |pages=28–29 |publisher=S. Paul}}

File:AstonVilla1896-97.jpg team in 1897, after winning both the FA Cup and the English Football League]]

The world's oldest football competition is the FA Cup, which was founded by the footballer and cricketer Charles W. Alcock, and has been contested by English teams since 1872. The first official international football match also took place in 1872, between Scotland and England in Glasgow, again at the instigation of Alcock. England is also home to the world's first football league, which was founded in Birmingham in 1888 by Aston Villa director William McGregor.{{cite web |title=The History of the Football League |publisher=The Football League |url=http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/History/HistoryDetail/0,,10794~1357277,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501121005/http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/History/HistoryDetail/0%2C%2C10794~1357277%2C00.html |archive-date=1 May 2011 |date=22 September 2010 |access-date=4 March 2011 |url-status=dead}} The original format contained 12 clubs from the Midlands and Northern England.{{cite book |last1=Parrish |first1=Charles |last2=Nauright |first2=John |title=Soccer around the World: A Cultural Guide to the World's Favorite Sport |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2014 |location=Santa Barbara, CA |page=78 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N6qSAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA78 |isbn=978-1-61069-302-8 |access-date=8 December 2018 |archive-date=26 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026170504/https://books.google.com/books?id=N6qSAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA78 |url-status=live}}

The Laws of the Game are determined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).{{cite web |title=IFAB |url=https://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/ifab/aboutifab.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008092538/http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/ifab/aboutifab.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 October 2011 |publisher=FIFA |access-date=10 December 2011}} The board was formed in 1886{{cite web |title=The International FA Board |publisher=FIFA |url=http://access.fifa.com/en/history/history/0,3504,3,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070422035010/http://access.fifa.com/en/history/history/0%2C3504%2C3%2C00.html |archive-date=22 April 2007 |access-date=2 September 2007 |url-status=dead}} after a meeting in Manchester of the Football Association, the Scottish Football Association, the Football Association of Wales, and the Irish Football Association. FIFA, the international football body, was formed in Paris in 1904 and declared that they would adhere to the Laws of the Game of the Football Association. The growing popularity of the international game led to the admittance of FIFA representatives to the IFAB in 1913. The board consists of four representatives from FIFA and one representative from each of the four British associations.{{Cite web |title=The IFAB: How it works |url=https://www.fifa.com/who-we-are/news/the-ifab-how-works-1177401 |date=4 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129205955/https://www.fifa.com/who-we-are/news/the-ifab-how-works-1177401|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 January 2021|access-date=30 October 2020 |website=FIFA}}

For most of the 20th century, Europe and South America were the dominant regions in association football. The FIFA World Cup, inaugurated in 1930, became the main stage for players of both continents to show their worth and the strength of their national teams.{{Cite web |last=Townsend |first=Jon |date=30 May 2015 |title=The continental kings of Europe and South America |url=https://thesefootballtimes.co/2015/05/30/the-continental-kings-europe-and-south-america/ |access-date=24 February 2023 |website=These Football Times |language=en |archive-date=6 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006231607/https://thesefootballtimes.co/2015/05/30/the-continental-kings-europe-and-south-america/ |url-status=live}} In the second half of the century, the European Cup and the Copa Libertadores were created, and the champions of these two club competitions would contest the Intercontinental Cup to prove which team was the best in the world.{{Cite web |title=FIFA Council approves key organisational elements of the FIFA World Cup |url=https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/organisation/fifa-council/media-releases/fifa-council-approves-key-organisational-elements-of-the-fifa-world-cu-2917722 |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=FIFA |date=27 October 2017 |language=en |archive-date=24 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224023446/https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/organisation/fifa-council/media-releases/fifa-council-approves-key-organisational-elements-of-the-fifa-world-cu-2917722 |url-status=live}}

In the 21st century, South America has continued to produce some of the best footballers in the world,{{Cite web |date=8 December 2022 |title=Why Europe and South America dominate World Cup |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/sports/football/why-europe-and-south-america-dominate-world-cup-101670523150549.html |first1=Dhiman |last1=Sarkar |access-date=24 February 2023 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en |archive-date=28 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228152150/https://www.hindustantimes.com/sports/football/why-europe-and-south-america-dominate-world-cup-101670523150549.html |url-status=live}} but its clubs have fallen behind the still dominant European clubs, which often sign the best players from Latin America and elsewhere. Meanwhile, football has improved in Africa, Asia and North America, and nowadays, these regions are at least on equal grounds with South America in club football.{{Cite web |date=10 February 2023 |title=The reasons why South American teams are now struggling at the Club World Cup |url=https://www.marca.com/en/football/2023/02/10/63e637ceca4741f4498b4573.html |first1=Alberto |last1=Rubio |last2=Sam |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=MARCA |language=en |archive-date=12 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212064824/https://www.marca.com/en/football/2023/02/10/63e637ceca4741f4498b4573.html |url-status=live}} When it comes to national teams, countries in the Caribbean and Oceania regions (excluding Australia) have yet to make a mark in international football,{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Mark |date=31 August 2018 |title=Can Caribbean football make an impact at international level? |url=https://www.caribbean-beat.com/can-caribbean-football-make-an-impact-at-international-level |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=Caribbean Beat Magazine |language=en |archive-date=1 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201034806/https://www.caribbean-beat.com/can-caribbean-football-make-an-impact-at-international-level |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |date=16 August 2003 |title=How Oceania fell off the FIFA map |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/how-oceania-fell-off-the-fifa-map-20030816-gdh9bx.html |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |archive-date=25 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225032213/https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/how-oceania-fell-off-the-fifa-map-20030816-gdh9bx.html |url-status=live}} while Europeans and South Americans continue to dominate the men's FIFA World Cup, as no team from any other region has managed to even reach the final.

Football is played at a professional level all over the world. Millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their favourite teams,{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2003/oct/09/theknowledge.sport |title=Baseball or Football: which sport gets the higher attendance? |last1=Ingle |first1=Sean |last2=Glendenning |first2=Barry |date=9 October 2003 |location=UK |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=5 June 2006 |archive-date=11 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411002757/http://football.guardian.co.uk/news/theknowledge/0,9204,1059366,00.html |url-status=live}} while billions more watch the game on television or on the internet.{{cite web |title=TV Data |publisher=FIFA |url=https://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/marketingtv/factsfigures/tvdata.html |access-date=2 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070922225713/http://fifa.com/aboutfifa/marketingtv/factsfigures/tvdata.html |archive-date=22 September 2007}}{{cite web |title=2014 FIFA World Cup reached 3.2 billion viewers, one billion watched final |publisher=FIFA |url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2015/m=12/news=2014-fifa-world-cuptm-reached-3-2-billion-viewers-one-billion-watched--2745519.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151219010501/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2015/m=12/news=2014-fifa-world-cuptm-reached-3-2-billion-viewers-one-billion-watched--2745519.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 December 2015 |access-date=17 March 2017 |date=16 December 2015}} A very large number of people also play football at an amateur level. According to a survey conducted by FIFA published in 2001, over 240 million people from more than 200 countries regularly play football.{{cite web |title=FIFA Survey: approximately 250 million footballers worldwide |publisher=FIFA |url=http://access.fifa.com/infoplus/IP-199_01E_big-count.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060915133001/http://access.fifa.com/infoplus/IP-199_01E_big-count.pdf |archive-date=15 September 2006 |url-status=dead |access-date=15 September 2006}} Football has the highest global television audience in sport.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/marketing/news/newsid=111247/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111225008/http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/marketing/news/newsid=111247/|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 January 2012 |title=2006 FIFA World Cup broadcast wider, longer and farther than ever before |publisher=FIFA |date=6 February 2007|access-date=11 October 2009}}

In many parts of the world, football evokes great passions and plays an important role in the life of individual fans, local communities, and even nations. Ryszard Kapuściński says that Europeans who are polite, modest, or humble fall easily into rage when playing or watching football games.{{cite book |title=The Soccer War |last=Kapuscinski |first=Ryszard |year=2007}} The Ivory Coast national football team helped secure a truce to the nation's civil war in 2006{{cite web |title=More than a game |work=Common Ground News Service |url=http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?sid=1&id=2079 |last=Stormer |first=Neil |date=20 June 2006 |access-date=2 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626030739/http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?sid=1&id=2079 |archive-date=26 June 2010}} and it helped further reduce tensions between government and rebel forces in 2007 by playing a match in the rebel capital of Bouaké, an occasion that brought both armies together peacefully for the first time.{{cite magazine |title=Best Feet Forward |magazine=Vanity Fair |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/07/ivorycoast200707 |first=Merrill |last=Austin |date=10 July 2007 |access-date=2 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100228162619/http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/07/ivorycoast200707 |archive-date=28 February 2010 |url-status=live}} By contrast, football is widely considered to have been the final proximate cause for the Football War in June 1969 between El Salvador and Honduras.{{cite news |title=Has football ever started a war? |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/feb/21/theknowledge.sport |last1=Dart |first1=James |last2=Bandini |first2=Paolo |date=21 February 2007 |access-date=24 September 2007 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029181328/http://football.guardian.co.uk/theknowledge/story/0%2C%2C2017161%2C00.html |archive-date=29 October 2007 |url-status=live}} The sport also exacerbated tensions at the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence of the 1990s, when a match between Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade degenerated into rioting in May 1990.{{cite news |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=The Soccer Wars |last=Drezner |first=Daniel |author-link=Daniel W. Drezner |date=4 June 2006 |page=B01 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/02/AR2006060201401.html |access-date=21 May 2008 |archive-date=3 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003150914/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/02/AR2006060201401.html |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Women's association football}}

Women's association football has historically seen opposition, with national associations severely curbing its development and several outlawing it completely. Nevertheless, women have been playing football and similar games for as long as such games have existed. Frescoes from the Han dynasty (25–220 CE) depict female figures playing the ancient Chinese game cuju.{{cite web |title=Genesis of 'The Global Game' |url=http://www.theglobalgame.com/aboutus.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060521234151/http://www.theglobalgame.com/aboutus.html |archive-date=21 May 2006 |access-date=22 May 2006 |work=The Global Game}}{{cite web |title=The Chinese and Tsu Chu |work=The Football Network |url=http://www.footballnetwork.org/dev/historyoffootball/history1.asp |access-date=1 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106061612/http://www.footballnetwork.org/dev/historyoffootball/history1.asp |archive-date=6 November 2012 |url-status=dead}} There are also reports of annual football matches played by women in Midlothian, Scotland, during the 1790s.{{cite web |title=A Brief History of Women's Football |url=http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_football.cfm?curpageid=409 |publisher=Scottish Football Association|access-date=18 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050308172042/http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_football.cfm?curpageid=409|archive-date=8 March 2005}}{{cite web |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12080678.display/ |title=A game of two sexes |work=The Herald |location=Glasgow |date=8 February 1997|access-date=18 June 2017|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107012935/http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12080678.display/|url-status=live}}

File:British Ladies Football Club.jpg, the first organised women's football team, here pictured in March 1895]]

There is documented evidence of women's early involvement in the modern game of association football. The first match recorded by the Scottish Football Association took place in 1892 in Glasgow. In England, the first recorded game of football between women took place in 1895.{{cite web |url=http://www.thefa.com/Womens/EnglandSenior/History/ |title=Women's Football History |publisher=The Football Association|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325030003/http://www.thefa.com/Womens/EnglandSenior/History/|archive-date=25 March 2009}} Women's football has traditionally been associated with charity games and physical exercise, particularly in the United Kingdom.{{cite news |last=Gregory |first=Patricia |date=3 June 2005 |title=How women's football battled for survival |work=BBC Sport |publisher= |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/women/4607171.stm |url-status=live |access-date=19 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202110455/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/women/4607171.stm |archive-date=2 December 2017}}

Association football continued to be played by women since the time of the first recorded women's games in the late 19th century.{{cite news |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/no-longer-the-game-of-two-halves.19185657 |title=No longer the game of two-halves |work=The Herald |publisher=Herald & Times Group |date=19 October 2012 |access-date=9 March 2014 |first=Alan |last=Campbell |archive-date=29 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329014321/http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/no-longer-the-game-of-two-halves.19185657 |url-status=live}} The best-documented early European team was founded by activist Nettie Honeyball in England in 1894. It was named the British Ladies' Football Club. Honeyball is quoted as, "I founded the association late last year [1894], with the fixed resolve of proving to the world that women are not the 'ornamental and useless' creatures men have pictured. I must confess, my convictions on all matters where the sexes are so widely divided are all on the side of emancipation, and I look forward to the time when ladies may sit in Parliament and have a voice in the direction of affairs, especially those which concern them most".{{cite web |last=Ladda |first=Shawn |title=Women's involvement with soccer was part of the emancipation process. |url=http://www.soccertimes.com/oped/1999/jul20.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061116204454/http://www.soccertimes.com/oped/1999/jul20.htm |archive-date=16 November 2006 |access-date=4 May 2006 |work=SoccerTimes}} Honeyball and those like her paved the way for women's football. However, the women's game was frowned upon by the British football associations and continued without their support. It has been suggested that this was motivated by a perceived threat to the "masculinity" of the game.{{cite journal |last=Mårtensson |first=Stefan |title=Branding women's football in a field of hegemonic masculinity |journal=Entertainment and Sports Law Journal |date=June 2010 |volume=8 |issue=1 |page=5 |doi=10.16997/eslj.44|doi-access=free| issn=1748-944X}}

Women's football became popular on a large scale at the time of the First World War, when female employment in heavy industry spurred the growth of the game, much as it had done for men 50 years earlier. The most successful team of the era was Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. of Preston, England. The team played in one of the first women's international matches against a French XI team in 1920,{{Cite web |title=The Dick, Kerr Ladies' FC |url=http://www.donmouth.co.uk/womens_football/dick_kerr.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521192224/http://www.donmouth.co.uk/womens_football/dick_kerr.html |archive-date=21 May 2022 |access-date=16 February 2023 |website=Donmouth}}{{Cite web |title=BBC Radio 4 – Home Front – The Forgotten First International Women's Football Match |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5nsXCQcNm7wggTxvS0y1BnF/the-forgotten-first-international-women-s-football-match |access-date=16 February 2023 |website=BBC |language=en |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812061017/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5nsXCQcNm7wggTxvS0y1BnF/the-forgotten-first-international-women-s-football-match |url-status=live}} and also made up most of the England team against a Scottish Ladies XI in the same year, winning 22–0.

Despite being more popular than some men's football events, with one match seeing a 53,000 strong crowd in 1920,{{cite news |last1=Leighton |first1=Tony |title=FA apologies for 1921 ban |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/feb/11/newsstory.womensfootball |newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=6 August 2014 |date=10 February 2008|archive-date=10 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810174231/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/feb/11/newsstory.womensfootball|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last=Alexander |first=Shelley |date=3 June 2005 |title=Trail-blazers who pioneered women's football |work=BBC Sport |publisher= |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/women/4603149.stm |url-status=live |access-date=19 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202114818/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/women/4603149.stm |archive-date=2 December 2017}} women's football in England suffered a blow in 1921 when the Football Association outlawed the playing of the game on association members' pitches,{{cite book |last1=Witzig |first1=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H2T0ZD5S86QC&pg=PA65 |title=The Global Art of Soccer |publisher=CusiBoy Publishing |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-9776688-0-9 |page=65 |access-date=6 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601233310/https://books.google.com/books?id=H2T0ZD5S86QC&q=1921+fa+ban&pg=PA65 |archive-date=1 June 2021 |url-status=live}} stating that "the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and should not be encouraged".{{Cite news |last=Wrack |first=Suzanne |date=13 June 2022 |title=How the FA banned women's football in 1921 and tried to justify it |language=en |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jun/13/how-the-fa-banned-womens-football-in-1921-and-tried-to-justify-it |access-date=16 February 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=14 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214145355/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jun/13/how-the-fa-banned-womens-football-in-1921-and-tried-to-justify-it |url-status=live}} Players and football writers have argued that this ban was, in fact, due to envy of the large crowds that women's matches attracted, and because the FA had no control over the money made from the women's game. The FA ban led to the formation of the short-lived English Ladies Football Association and play moved to rugby grounds.{{cite book |last1=Newsham |first1=Gail |title=In a League of Their Own. The Dick, Kerr Ladies 1917–1965 |year=2014 |publisher=Paragon Publishing}} Women's football also faced bans in several other countries, notably in Brazil from 1941 to 1979,{{Cite news |date=28 February 2018 |title=Women footballers: Born with talent, held back by prejudice |language=en |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-43198651 |access-date=16 February 2023 |archive-date=7 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221107174048/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-43198651 |url-status=live}} in France from 1941 to 1970,{{Cite web |last=Lasserre |first=Victoria |date=7 July 2022 |title=5 dates clefs sur l'histoire du football féminin |url=https://www.cosmopolitan.fr/histoire-du-football-feminin,2057854.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926162514/https://www.cosmopolitan.fr/histoire-du-football-feminin,2057854.asp |archive-date=26 September 2022 |access-date=16 February 2023 |website=Cosmopolitan.fr |language=fr}} and in West Germany from 1955 to 1970.{{Cite web |last=Wünsch |first=Silke |date=20 June 2011 |title=Female footballers |url=https://www.dw.com/en/the-elusive-popularity-of-womens-football/a-15172167 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724105057/https://www.dw.com/en/the-elusive-popularity-of-womens-football/a-15172167 |archive-date=24 July 2022 |access-date=16 February 2023 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |language=en}}

File:Tytöt-04 Piteåssa.JPG

Restrictions began to be reduced in the 1960s and 1970s. The Italian women's football league was established in 1968.{{cite web |url=https://www.nssmag.com/en/sports/16658/calcio-femminile-italia |title=The reinassance of women's football in Italy |first=Giulio |last=Pecci |work=NSS Magazine |date=5 November 2018 | access-date=22 October 2023 | archive-date=12 December 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212062410/https://www.nssmag.com/en/sports/16658/calcio-femminile-italia | url-status=live}} In December 1969, the Women's Football Association was formed in England,{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=History of women's football |url=http://www.thefa.com/womens-girls-football/history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224043854/http://www.thefa.com/womens-girls-football/history |archive-date=24 February 2020 |access-date=16 February 2023 |website=The Football Association |language=en}} with the sport eventually becoming the most prominent team sport for women in the United Kingdom. Two unofficial women's World Cups were organised by the FIEFF in 1970 and in 1971. Also in 1971, UEFA members voted to officially recognise women's football, while the Football Association rescinded the ban that prohibited women from playing on association members' pitches in England.

Women's football still faces many struggles, but its worldwide growth{{Cite web |last=Kleen |first=Brendon |date=21 December 2022 |title=Women's Football Is Growing in the Middle East and North Africa |url=https://globalsportmatters.com/culture/2022/12/21/beyond-qatar-world-cup-womens-football-growing-middle-east-north-africa/ |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=Global Sport Matters |language=en |archive-date=29 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129023329/https://globalsportmatters.com/culture/2022/12/21/beyond-qatar-world-cup-womens-football-growing-middle-east-north-africa/ |url-status=live}} has seen major competitions being launched at both the national and international levels, mirroring the men's competitions. The FIFA Women's World Cup was inaugurated in 1991: the first tournament was held in China, featuring 12 teams from the respective six confederations. The World Cup has been held every four years since;{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/tournament=103/awards/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430044344/http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/tournament%3D103/awards/index.html |archive-date=30 April 2011 |title=Tournaments: Women's World Cup |publisher=FIFA |access-date=11 March 2011 |url-status=dead}} by 2019, it had expanded to 24 national teams, and 1.12 billion viewers watched the competition.{{cite news |last1=Glass |first1=Alana |date=21 October 2019 |title=FIFA Women's World Cup Breaks Viewership Records |work=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanaglass/2019/10/21/fifa-womens-world-cup-breaks-viewership-records/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424203645/https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanaglass/2019/10/21/fifa-womens-world-cup-breaks-viewership-records/ |archive-date=24 April 2021}} Four years later, FIFA targeted the 32-team 2023 Women's World Cup at an audience of 2 billion,{{Cite web |date=2023-04-11 |title=With 100 days to Women's World Cup, calls for gender equity grow |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2023/4/11/womens-world-cup-australia-new-zealand-gender-equity |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=27 October 2024 |archive-date=18 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518130954/https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2023/4/11/womens-world-cup-australia-new-zealand-gender-equity |url-status=live }} while about 1.4 million tickets were sold, setting a Women's World Cup record.{{cite news|date=19 July 2023 |title=Women's World Cup ticket sales break record with close to 1.4m sold on eve of 2023 tournament |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jul/19/womens-world-cup-2023-record-breaking-ticket-sales-australia-new-zealand |work=The Guardian |access-date=27 October 2024 |archive-date=19 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719222710/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jul/19/womens-world-cup-2023-record-breaking-ticket-sales-australia-new-zealand |url-status=live }} Women's football has been an Olympic event since 1996.{{cite book |last=Moore |first=Kevin |editor-last1=Hassan |editor-first1=David |editor-last2=Mitra |editor-first2=Shakya |chapter=Football and the Olympics and Paralympics |title=The Olympic Games: Meeting New Global Challenges |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |location=London |page=68 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e6nDCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 |isbn=978-0-415-74176-7 |access-date=8 January 2019 |archive-date=26 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026173434/https://books.google.com/books?id=e6nDCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 |url-status=live}}

North America is the dominant region in women's football, with the United States winning the most FIFA Women's World Cups{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/soccer/news/uswnt-womens-world-cup-results |title=Women's World Cup: USWNT results at each tournament |date=6 August 2023 | access-date=22 April 2024 | archive-date=22 April 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422014149/https://www.nbcsports.com/soccer/news/uswnt-womens-world-cup-results | url-status=live}} and Olympic tournaments. Europe and Asia come second and third in terms of international success,{{Cite web |title=FIFA Women's World Cup History – Past World Cup Winners, Hosts, Most Goals and more |url=https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/2023-fifa-womens-world-cup/history |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=FOX Sports |language=en |archive-date=6 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206123613/https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/2023-fifa-womens-world-cup/history |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Ryan |date=8 August 2021 |title=Which country has won the most Olympic gold medals in football? |url=https://www.goal.com/en/news/which-country-has-won-most-olympic-gold-medals-football/1o1jkyn3l7wlm1vxfqzy09h6e0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110224304/https://www.goal.com/en/news/which-country-has-won-most-olympic-gold-medals-football/1o1jkyn3l7wlm1vxfqzy09h6e0 |archive-date=10 November 2022 |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=Goal.com}} and the women's game has been improving in South America.{{Cite web |last=Rey |first=Debora |date=7 July 2022 |title=South American women's soccer improving but some way to go |url=https://apnews.com/article/womens-soccer-sports-south-america-chile-bb6e9ae71b8ec5d05dfb5b246855d88d |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128065120/https://apnews.com/article/womens-soccer-sports-south-america-chile-bb6e9ae71b8ec5d05dfb5b246855d88d |archive-date=28 November 2022 |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}

{{See also|Parker's Piece}}

File:2. SNL - 27. krog - Nafta 1903 0-0 (0-0) Roltek Dob - 1. polčas.webm and NK Dob. The score after the half is 0–0.]]

Association football is played in accordance with a set of rules known as the {{pslink|Laws of the Game}}. The game is played using a spherical ball of {{convert|68|–|70|cm|in|abbr=on}} circumference,{{Cite web |title=Circumference |url=http://quality.fifa.com/en/Footballs/Become-a-licensee/Tests/Circumference/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119053959/http://quality.fifa.com/en/Footballs/Become-a-licensee/Tests/Circumference/ |archive-date=19 November 2016 |website=FIFA Quality Programme}} known as the football (or soccer ball). Two teams of eleven players each compete to get the ball into the other team's goal (between the posts and under the bar), thereby scoring a goal. There are situations where a goal can be disallowed, such as an offside call or a foul in the build-up to the goal. The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner; if both teams have scored an equal number of goals then the game is a draw. Each team is led by a captain who has only one official responsibility as mandated by the Laws of the Game: to represent their team in the coin toss before kick-off or penalty kicks.

The primary law is that players other than goalkeepers may not deliberately handle the ball with their hands or arms during play, though they must use both their hands during a throw-in restart. Although players usually use their feet to move the ball around, they may use any part of their body (notably, "heading" with the forehead){{cite web |title=How to head a football |url=http://expertfootball.com/wp/heading/ |url-status= |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20110403141804/http://expertfootball.com/training/heading.php |archive-date=3 April 2011 |access-date=3 January 2011}} other than their hands or arms.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws12_02.htm |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 12) |access-date=24 September 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011115718/http://fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws12_02.htm|archive-date=11 October 2007}} Within normal play, all players are free to play the ball in any direction and move throughout the pitch, though players may not pass to teammates who are in an offside position.{{cite book |title=Laws of the Game 2010/2011 |chapter=Law 11 – Offside |chapter-url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/81/42/36/lawsofthegame_2010_11_e.pdf |publisher=FIFA |access-date=4 March 2011 |page=31 |archive-date=4 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704211500/https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/81/42/36/lawsofthegame_2010_11_e.pdf |url-status=dead}}

During gameplay, players attempt to create goal-scoring opportunities through individual control of the ball, such as by dribbling, passing the ball to a teammate, and by taking shots at the goal, which is guarded by the opposing goalkeeper. Opposing players may try to regain control of the ball by intercepting a pass or through tackling the opponent in possession of the ball; however, physical contact between opponents is restricted. Football is generally a free-flowing game, with play stopping only when the ball has left the field of play or when play is stopped by the referee for an infringement of the rules. After a stoppage, play recommences with a specified restart.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws8_01.htm |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 8) |access-date=24 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913142456/http://fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws8_01.htm |archive-date=13 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}

File:Slidetackle.JPG to dispossess an opponent]]

At a professional level, most matches produce only a few goals. For example, the 2022–23 season of the English Premier League produced an average of 2.85 goals per match.{{cite news |title=Seven graphs that explain the Premier League's goal glut |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/12/05/premier-league-more-goals-ever-five-reasons-data-tactics/ |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=5 December 2023 |access-date=21 January 2024 |last1=Ducker |first1=James |archive-date=16 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216022320/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/12/05/premier-league-more-goals-ever-five-reasons-data-tactics/ |url-status=live}} The Laws of the Game do not specify any player positions other than goalkeeper,{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws3_01.htm |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 3–Number of Players) |access-date=24 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913142527/http://fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws3_01.htm |archive-date=13 September 2007 |url-status=dead}} but a number of specialised roles have evolved.{{cite web |title=Soccer positions explained: names, numbers and what they do |publisher=Bundesliga |url=https://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/Bundesliga/soccer-positions-explained-names-numbers-what-they-do-2579-786 |access-date=3 February 2021 |archive-date=28 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228222507/https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/soccer-positions-explained-names-numbers-what-they-do-2579-786 |url-status=live}} Broadly, these include three main categories: strikers, or forwards, whose main task is to score goals; defenders, who specialise in preventing their opponents from scoring; and midfielders, who dispossess the opposition and keep possession of the ball to pass it to the forwards on their team. Players in these positions are referred to as outfield players, to distinguish them from the goalkeeper.{{cite web |last1=Winter |first1=Henry |title=Schmeichel: I watch Federer to improve my game |url=https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/federers-my-idol-i-watch-him-play-tennis-to-improve-as-a-goalkeeper-2ngtfltl9?region=global |website=The Times |access-date=7 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250411213300/https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/federers-my-idol-i-watch-him-play-tennis-to-improve-as-a-goalkeeper-2ngtfltl9 |archive-date=11 April 2025 |date=2 April 2016 |url-status=live}}

These positions are further subdivided according to the area of the field in which the player spends the most time. For example, there are central defenders and left and right midfielders. The ten outfield players may be arranged in any combination. The number of players in each position determines the style of the team's play; more forwards and fewer defenders creates a more aggressive and offensive-minded game, while the reverse creates a slower, more defensive style of play. While players typically spend most of the game in a specific position, there are few restrictions on player movement, and players can switch positions at any time.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4196830.stm |title=Positions guide, Who is in a team? |work=BBC Sport |access-date=24 September 2007 |date=1 September 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061105213730/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4196830.stm|archive-date=5 November 2006|url-status=live}} The layout of a team's players is known as a formation. Defining the team's formation and tactics is usually the prerogative of the team's manager.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4197420.stm |title=Formations |work=BBC Sport |access-date=24 September 2007 |date=1 September 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825133301/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4197420.stm|archive-date=25 August 2007|url-status=live}}

{{redirect|Rules of football|the rules of other football games|Football}}

{{Further|Laws of the Game (association football)}}

There are 17 laws in the official Laws of the Game, each containing a collection of stipulations and guidelines. The same laws are designed to apply to all levels of football for both sexes, although certain modifications for groups such as juniors, seniors and people with physical disabilities are permitted.{{efn|name=Variants|See List of types of football#Games descended from the FA rules for a list of association football variations.}} The laws are often framed in broad terms, which allow flexibility in their application depending on the nature of the game. The Laws of the Game are published by FIFA, but are maintained by the IFAB.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/lawsofthegame.html |title=Laws of the Game |publisher=FIFA |access-date=2 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901044035/http://fifa.com/worldfootball/lawsofthegame.html|archive-date=1 September 2007 |url-status=dead}} In addition to the seventeen laws, numerous IFAB decisions and other directives contribute to the regulation of association football.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/51689916 |title=Offside and handball laws under Ifab review along with concussion substitutions |work=BBC Sport |date=29 February 2020|access-date=3 December 2020|archive-date=31 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131194121/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/51689916|url-status=live}}{{cite book|editor1-last=Reilly|editor1-first=Thomas|editor2-last=Williams|editor2-first=A. Mark |title=Science and Soccer |edition=Second |publisher=Routledge |location=London |year=2005 |page=235 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ax4GBYlonK0C&pg=PA235 |isbn=978-0-415-26231-6|access-date=3 December 2020|archive-date=12 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212044126/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Science_and_Soccer/ax4GBYlonK0C?gbpv=1&pg=PA235|url-status=live}} Within the United States, Major League Soccer used a distinct ruleset during the 1990s,{{Cite news |last=Maurer |first=Pablo |title=How U.S. soccer experimented with 10 changes to the game before launching MLS |work=The New York Times |url=https://theathletic.com/1780920/2020/04/28/how-u-s-soccer-experimented-with-10-changes-to-the-game-before-launching-mls/ |access-date=8 November 2021 |language=en |archive-date=11 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011183356/https://theathletic.com/1780920/2020/04/28/how-u-s-soccer-experimented-with-10-changes-to-the-game-before-launching-mls/ |url-status=live}} and the NFHS and NCAA still use rulesets that are comparable to, but different from, the IFAB Laws.{{cite web |title=Comparative Study of Rules of Laws (2024) |url=https://www.nfhs.org/media/7213076/2024-25-soccer-guide-final.pdf |website=NFHS |access-date=8 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240919113142/https://www.nfhs.org/media/7213076/2024-25-soccer-guide-final.pdf |archive-date=19 September 2024 |url-status=live}}

{{See also|Association football positions|Formation (association football)|Substitute (association football)|Kit (association football)}}

File:Howard Webb3.jpg officiates in a football match|alt=]]

Each team consists of a maximum of eleven players (excluding substitutes), one of whom must be the goalkeeper. Competition rules may state a minimum number of players required to constitute a team, which is usually seven. Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to play the ball with their hands or arms, provided they do so within the penalty area in front of their own goal. Though there are a variety of positions in which the outfield (non-goalkeeper) players are strategically placed by a coach, these positions are not defined or required by the Laws.

The basic equipment or kit players are required to wear includes a shirt, shorts, socks, footwear and adequate shin guards. An athletic supporter and protective cup is highly recommended for male players by medical experts and professionals.{{cite web |url=http://strikingeagles.tripod.com/health_advice_for_boys.htm |title=Health Advice for Boys |publisher=Strikingeagles.tripod.com |access-date=24 September 2013 |archive-date=27 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927075108/http://strikingeagles.tripod.com/health_advice_for_boys.htm |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://files.leagueathletics.com/Images/Club/6097/The%20Prevention%20of%20injuries.pdf |title=Soccer Position Paper |access-date=24 September 2013 |archive-date=28 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928003421/http://files.leagueathletics.com/Images/Club/6097/The%20Prevention%20of%20injuries.pdf |url-status=live}} Headgear is not a required piece of basic equipment, but players today may choose to wear it to protect themselves from head injury.{{cite news |title=Football's biggest headache |url=http://www.marca.com/en/football/international-football/2017/03/12/58c54bab268e3e64368b45a8.html|access-date=17 May 2018 |work=Marca |location=Spain |date=12 March 2017|archive-date=17 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517223832/http://www.marca.com/en/football/international-football/2017/03/12/58c54bab268e3e64368b45a8.html|url-status=live}} Players are forbidden to wear or use anything that is dangerous to themselves or another player, such as jewellery or watches. The goalkeeper must wear clothing that is easily distinguishable from that worn by the other players and the match officials.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws4_01.htm |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 4–Players' Equipment) |access-date=24 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913141601/http://fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws4_01.htm |archive-date=13 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}

A number of players may be replaced by substitutes during the course of the game. The maximum number of substitutions permitted in most competitive international and domestic league games is five in 90 minutes,{{Cite web |date=13 June 2022 |title=Five substitutions permitted in all top-level competitions from 2022/23 |url=https://www.90min.com/posts/five-substitutions-permitted-in-all-top-level-competitions-from-2022-23 |access-date=13 January 2023 |website=90min.com |language=en |archive-date=13 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113223015/https://www.90min.com/posts/five-substitutions-permitted-in-all-top-level-competitions-from-2022-23 |url-status=live}} with each team being allowed one more if the game should go into extra-time; the permitted number may vary in other competitions or in friendly matches. Common reasons for a substitution include injury, tiredness, ineffectiveness, a tactical switch, or timewasting at the end of a finely poised game. In standard adult matches, a player who has been substituted may not take further part in a match.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws3_02.htm |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 3–Substitution procedure) |access-date=24 September 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011144947/http://fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws3_02.htm|archive-date=11 October 2007}} IFAB recommends "that a match should not continue if there are fewer than seven players in either team". Any decision regarding points awarded for abandoned games is left to the individual football associations.{{cite book |title=Laws of the Game 2010/2011 |chapter=Law 3 – The Number of Players |chapter-url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/81/42/36/lawsofthegame_2010_11_e.pdf |publisher=FIFA |access-date=4 March 2011 |page=62 |archive-date=4 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704211500/https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/81/42/36/lawsofthegame_2010_11_e.pdf |url-status=dead}}

{{anchor|Match officials}}

A game is officiated by a referee, who has "full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed" (Law 5), and whose decisions are final. The referee is assisted by two assistant referees. In many high-level games there is also a fourth official who assists the referee and may replace another official should the need arise.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws5_01.htm |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 5 – The referee) |access-date=24 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913141909/http://fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws5_01.htm |archive-date=13 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}

Goal line technology is used to measure if the whole ball has crossed the goal-line thereby determining whether a goal has been scored or not; this was brought in to prevent controversy. Video assistant referees (VAR) have also been increasingly introduced in high-level matches to assist officials through video replays to correct clear and obvious mistakes. There are four types of calls that can be reviewed: mistaken identity in awarding a red or yellow card, goals and whether there was a violation during the build-up, direct red card decisions, and penalty decisions.{{cite web |url=http://www.knvb.nl/downloads/bestand/9844/var-handbook-summary |title=Video Assistant Referees (VARs) Experiment – Protocol (Summary) |publisher=International Football Association Board |date=26 April 2017 |access-date=26 April 2017 |format=PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427192145/http://www.knvb.nl/downloads/bestand/9844/var-handbook-summary |archive-date=27 April 2017 |url-status=dead}}

{{Main|Ball (association football)}}

File:2022-04-24 Fußball, Männer, 3. Liga, 1. FC Magdeburg - FSV Zwickau IMG 4343 by Stepro.jpg

The ball is spherical with a circumference of between {{cvt|68|and|70|cm|in}}, a weight in the range of {{cvt|410|to|450|g|oz}}, and a pressure between {{convert|8.5|and|15.6|psi|atm|1|order=flip|lk=on|abbr=off}} at sea level. In the past the ball was made up of leather panels sewn together, with a latex bladder for pressurisation, but modern balls at all levels of the game are now synthetic.{{cite web |title=Laws of the Game 2013/2014 |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/footballdevelopment/refereeing/81/42/36/log2013en%5fneutral.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130717074432/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/footballdevelopment/refereeing/81/42/36/log2013en_neutral.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 July 2013 |publisher=FIFA}}{{cite web |url=http://quality.fifa.com/en/Footballs/Football-facts/Football-manufacturing/ |title=Football manufacturing |work=FIFA quality program |publisher=FIFA|access-date=3 July 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160904193101/http://quality.fifa.com/en/Footballs/Football-facts/Football-manufacturing|archive-date=4 September 2016}}

{{Main|Football pitch}}

File:Association Football field diagram -en.svg

As the Laws were formulated in England, and were initially administered solely by the four British football associations within IFAB, the standard dimensions of a football pitch were originally expressed in imperial units. The Laws now express dimensions with approximate metric equivalents (followed by traditional units in brackets), though use of imperial units remains popular in English-speaking countries with a relatively recent history of metrication (or only partial metrication), such as Britain.{{cite news |title=Will we ever go completely metric? |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3934353.stm |date=2 September 2004 |last=Summers |first=Chris |access-date=7 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010064850/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3934353.stm|archive-date=10 October 2007 |url-status=live}}

The length of the pitch, or field, for international adult matches is in the range of {{cvt|100|-|110|m|yd}} and the width is in the range of {{cvt|64|-|75|m|yd|-1}}. Fields for non-international matches may be {{cvt|90|-|120|m|yd|round=5}} in length and {{cvt|45|-|90|m|yd|round=5}} in width, provided the pitch does not become square. In 2008, the IFAB initially approved a fixed size of {{cvt|105|m|yd}} long and {{cvt|68|m|yd}} wide as a standard pitch dimension for international matches;{{cite web |date=8 March 2008 |title=Goal-line technology put on ice |url=https://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/ifab/media/news/newsid=707751/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322135616/https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/news/goal-line-technology-put-ice-707751|archive-date=22 March 2019|access-date=19 June 2010|url-status=dead |publisher=FIFA}} however, this decision was later put on hold and was never actually implemented.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/administration/77/82/55/circularno.1145-amendmentstothelawsofthegame-2008.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430044356/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/administration/77/82/55/circularno.1145-amendmentstothelawsofthegame-2008.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 April 2011 |title=FIFA Amendments to the Laws of the Game, 2008 |publisher=FIFA |access-date=4 March 2011}}

The longer boundary lines are touchlines, while the shorter boundaries (on which the goals are placed) are goal lines. A rectangular goal is positioned on each goal line, midway between the two touchlines.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws1_01.htm |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 1.1 – The field of play) |access-date=24 September 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913142202/http://fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws1_01.htm|archive-date=13 September 2007}} The inner edges of the vertical goal posts must be {{cvt|24|ft|m|2|abbr=in|order=flip}} apart, and the lower edge of the horizontal crossbar supported by the goal posts must be {{cvt|8|ft|m|2|abbr=in|order=flip}} above the ground. Nets are usually placed behind the goal, but are not required by the Laws.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws1_04.htm |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 1.4 – The Field of play) |access-date=24 September 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011144942/http://fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws1_04.htm|archive-date=11 October 2007}}

In front of the goal is the penalty area. This area is marked by the goal line, two lines starting on the goal line {{cvt|16.5|m|yd|0}} from the goalposts and extending {{cvt|16.5|m|yd|0}} into the pitch perpendicular to the goal line, and a line joining them. This area has a number of functions, the most prominent being to mark where the goalkeeper may handle the ball and where a penalty foul by a member of the defending team becomes punishable by a penalty kick. Other markings define the position of the ball or players at kick-offs, goal kicks, penalty kicks and corner kicks.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws1_03.htm |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 1.3 – The field of play) |access-date=24 September 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011084145/http://fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws1_03.htm|archive-date=11 October 2007}}

A standard adult football match consists of two halves of 45 minutes each. Each half runs continuously, meaning that the clock is not stopped when the ball is out of play. There is usually a 15-minute half-time break between halves. The end of the match is known as full-time. The referee is the official timekeeper for the match, and may make an allowance for time lost through substitutions, injured players requiring attention, or other stoppages. This added time is called "additional time" in FIFA documents,{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/worldfootball/clubfootball/01/37/04/23/interpretation_law07_en.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721055324/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/worldfootball/clubfootball/01/37/04/23/interpretation_law07_en.pdf|archive-date=21 July 2012 |title=Interpretation of the Laws of the Game – Law 07|url-status=dead |publisher=FIFA}}{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/refereeing/law_7_the_duration_of_the_match_en_47401.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304214713/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/refereeing/law_7_the_duration_of_the_match_en_47401.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 March 2011 |title=Law 7 – The Duration of the Match |publisher=FIFA}} but is most commonly referred to as stoppage time or injury time, while lost time can also be used as a synonym. The duration of stoppage time is at the sole discretion of the referee. Stoppage time does not fully compensate for the time in which the ball is out of play, and a 90-minute game typically involves about an hour of "effective playing time".{{cite news |title=Football reforms: Scrapping 45-minute half to be debated at Ifab |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40311889|access-date=7 March 2018 |work=BBC Sport |date=18 June 2017|archive-date=22 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322022354/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40311889|url-status=live}}[https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/world-cup-stoppage-time-is-wildly-inaccurate/amp/ We Timed Every Game. World Cup Stoppage Time Is Wildly Inaccurate] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112201239/https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/world-cup-stoppage-time-is-wildly-inaccurate/amp/ |date=12 November 2020 }}, David Bunnell, FiveThirtyEight, 27 June 2018 The referee alone signals the end of the match. In matches where a fourth official is appointed, towards the end of the half, the referee signals how many minutes of stoppage time they intend to add. The fourth official then informs the players and spectators by holding up a board showing this number. The signalled stoppage time may be further extended by the referee.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws7_02.htm |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 7.2 – The duration of the match) |access-date=24 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011144952/http://fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws7_02.htm |archive-date=11 October 2007 |url-status=dead}} Added time was introduced because of an incident in 1891 during a match between Stoke and Aston Villa. Trailing 1–0 with two minutes remaining, Stoke were awarded a penalty kick. Villa's goalkeeper deliberately kicked the ball far out of play; by the time it was recovered, the clock had run out and the game was over, leaving Stoke unable to attempt the penalty.The Sunday Times Illustrated History of Football Reed International Books Limited 1996. p. 11 {{ISBN|1-85613-341-9}} The same law also states that the duration of either half is extended until a penalty kick to be taken or retaken is completed; thus, no game can end with an uncompleted penalty.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws7_03.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019042952/http://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws7_03.htm |archive-date=19 October 2007 |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 7.3 – The duration of the match) |access-date=3 March 2010 |url-status=dead}}

{{Main|Determining the Outcome of a Match (association football)}}

File:Didier Drogba Manuel Neuer last penalty kick Champions League Final 2012.jpg to decide the winner if a match ends as a draw]]

In league competitions, games may end in a draw. In knockout competitions where a winner is required, various methods may be employed to break such a deadlock; some competitions may invoke replays.For example, in the FA Cup prior to the semi-finals. A game tied at the end of regulation time may go into extra time, which consists of two further 15-minute periods. If the score is still tied after extra time, some competitions allow the use of penalty shoot-outs (previously known in the Laws of the Game as "kicks from the penalty mark"){{cite web |title=Laws of the Game 2023/24 |url=https://www.theifab.com/downloads/laws-of-the-game-2023-24?l=en |website=Documents {{!}} IFAB |publisher=IFAB |access-date=9 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418164636/https://downloads.theifab.com/downloads/laws-of-the-game-2023-24?l=en |archive-date=18 April 2024 |page=151 |language=en |url-status=live}} to determine which team will progress to the next stage of the tournament or be the champion. Goals scored during extra time periods count towards the final score of the game, but kicks from the penalty mark are only used to decide the team that progresses to the next part of the tournament, with goals scored in a penalty shoot-out not making up part of the final score.{{cite book |title=Laws of the Game 2010/2011 |publisher=FIFA |pages=51–52 |chapter=Procedures to determine the winner of a match or home-and-away |access-date=4 March 2011 |chapter-url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/81/42/36/lawsofthegame_2010_11_e.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313194624/https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/81/42/36/lawsofthegame_2010_11_e.pdf |archive-date=13 March 2011 |url-status=dead}}

In competitions using two-legged matches, each team competes at home once, with an aggregate score from the two matches deciding which team progresses. Where aggregates are equal, the away goals rule may be used to determine the winners, in which case the winner is the team that scored the most goals in the leg they played away from home. If the result is still equal, extra time and potentially a penalty shoot-out are required.

{{Main|Ball in and out of play}}

File:Shunsuke1 20080622.jpg

Under the Laws, the two basic states of play during a game are ball in play and ball out of play. From the beginning of each playing period with a kick-off until the end of the playing period, the ball is in play at all times, except when either the ball leaves the field of play, or play is stopped by the referee. When the ball becomes out of play, play is restarted by one of eight restart methods depending on how it went out of play:

• Kick-off: following a goal by the opposing team, or to begin each period of play.
• Throw-in: when the ball has crossed the touchline; awarded to the opposing team to that which last touched the ball.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws15_01.htm |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 15 – The Throw-in) |access-date=14 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913142556/http://fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws15_01.htm |archive-date=13 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}
• Goal kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by a player of the attacking team; awarded to defending team.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws16_01.htm |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 16 – The Goal Kick) |access-date=14 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913141725/http://fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws16_01.htm |archive-date=13 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}
• Corner kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by a player of the defending team; awarded to attacking team.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws17_01.htm |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 17 – The Corner Kick) |access-date=14 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913142324/http://fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws17_01.htm |archive-date=13 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}
• Indirect free kick: awarded to the opposing team following "non-penal" fouls, certain technical infringements, or when play is stopped to caution or dismiss an opponent without a specific foul having occurred. A goal may not be scored directly (without the ball first touching another player) from an indirect free kick.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws13_01.htm |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 13 – Free Kicks) |access-date=14 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913142645/http://fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws13_01.htm |archive-date=13 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}
• Direct free kick: awarded to fouled team following certain listed "penal" fouls. A goal may be scored directly from a direct free kick.
• Penalty kick: awarded to the fouled team following a foul usually punishable by a direct free kick but that has occurred within their opponent's penalty area.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws14_01.htm |publisher=FIFA |title=Laws of the game (Law 14 – The Penalty Kick) |access-date=14 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913142717/http://fifa.com/flash/lotg/football/en/Laws14_01.htm |archive-date=13 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}
• Dropped-ball: occurs when the referee has stopped play for any other reason, such as a serious injury to a player, interference by an external party, or a ball becoming defective.

{{Main|Foul (association football)}}

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A foul occurs when a player commits an offence listed in the Laws of the Game while the ball is in play. The offences that constitute a foul are listed in Law 12. Handling the ball deliberately, tripping an opponent, or pushing an opponent, are examples of "penal fouls", punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on where the offence occurred. Other fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick.

The referee may punish a player's or substitute's misconduct by a caution (yellow card) or dismissal (red card). A second yellow card in the same game leads to a red card, which results in a dismissal. A player given a yellow card is said to have been "booked", the referee writing the player's name in their official notebook. If a player has been dismissed, no substitute can be brought on in their place and the player may not participate in further play. Misconduct may occur at any time, and while the offences that constitute misconduct are listed, the definitions are broad. In particular, the offence of "unsporting behaviour" may be used to deal with most events that violate the spirit of the game, even if they are not listed as specific offences. A referee can show a yellow or red card to a player, substitute, substituted player, and to non-players such as managers and support staff.{{Cite web |date=13 May 2020 |title=How cards for managers has improved behaviour in the technical area |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/managers-yellow-red-cards-behaviour-technical-area-a9512561.html |access-date=13 January 2023 |website=The Independent |language=en |archive-date=13 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113223013/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/managers-yellow-red-cards-behaviour-technical-area-a9512561.html |url-status=live}}

Rather than stopping play, the referee may allow play to continue if doing so will benefit the team against which an offence has been committed. This is known as "playing an advantage".{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4188646.stm |title=Referee's signals: advantage |work=BBC Sport |access-date=4 March 2011 |date=14 September 2005 |archive-date=12 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112055936/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4188646.stm |url-status=live}} The referee may "call back" play and penalise the original offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue within "a few seconds". Even if an offence is not penalised due to advantage being played, the offender may still be sanctioned for misconduct at the next stoppage of play.{{cite book |title=Laws of the Game 2010/2011 |chapter=Law 5: The Referee: Advantage |chapter-url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/81/42/36/lawsofthegame_2010_11_e.pdf |publisher=FIFA |access-date=4 March 2011 |page=66 |archive-date=4 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704211500/https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/81/42/36/lawsofthegame_2010_11_e.pdf |url-status=dead}}

The referee's decision in all on-pitch matters is considered final. The score of a match cannot be altered after the game, even if later evidence shows that decisions (including whether a goal was awarded or not) were incorrect.{{cite book |title=The Laws of the Game |chapter=Law 5: The Referee |chapter-url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/81/42/36/lawsofthegame_2011_12_en.pdf |publisher=FIFA |access-date=5 May 2012 |page=24 |archive-date=6 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806182803/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/81/42/36/lawsofthegame_2011_12_en.pdf |url-status=dead}}

{{See also|Foul (association football)#Post-match}}

Along with the general administration of the sport, football associations and competition organisers also enforce good conduct in wider aspects of the game, dealing with issues such as comments to the press, clubs' financial management, doping, age fraud and match fixing. Most competitions enforce mandatory suspensions for players who are sent off in a game.For example, see the Football Association's rules regarding player suspensions in FA competitions: {{cite web |title=Disciplinary procedures |url=http://www.thefa.com/~/media/files/thefaportal/governance-docs/rules-of-the-association/2015-16/031g_memorandum-of-disciplinary-procedures-_section-d.ashx |publisher=The Football Association|access-date=1 February 2016|archive-date=6 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106181545/http://www.thefa.com/~/media/files/thefaportal/governance-docs/rules-of-the-association/2015-16/031g_memorandum-of-disciplinary-procedures-_section-d.ashx|url-status=live}} Some on-field incidents, if considered very serious (such as allegations of racial abuse), may result in competitions deciding to impose heavier sanctions than those normally associated with a red card.{{efn|For example, the English Premier League fined and levied an 8-match suspension on Luis Suárez for racially abusing Patrice Evra.}} Some associations allow for appeals against player suspensions incurred on-field if clubs feel a referee was incorrect or unduly harsh.

Sanctions for such infractions may be levied on individuals or on clubs as a whole. Penalties may include fines, point deductions (in league competitions) or even expulsion from competitions. For example, the English Football League deduct 12 points from any team that enters financial administration.{{cite news |title=Football League administration penalty raised to 12 points |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/33027933|access-date=17 May 2018 |work=BBC Sport |date=5 June 2015|archive-date=4 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804233939/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/33027933|url-status=live}} Among other administrative sanctions are penalties against game forfeiture. Teams that forfeit a game or are forfeited against are awarded a technical loss or win.{{cite web|url = https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/administration/50/02/75/discoinhalte.pdf|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111109174734/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/administration/50/02/75/discoinhalte.pdf|url-status = dead|archive-date = 9 November 2011|title = FIFA Disciplinary Code|date = 2011|website = FIFA|page = 21|access-date = 2016-08-09}}

{{See also|Association football around the world}}

File:FIFA-Headquarter.jpg of FIFA, the world governing body of football]]

The recognised international governing body of football (and associated games, such as futsal and beach soccer){{efn|name=Variants}} is FIFA. The FIFA headquarters are located in Zürich, Switzerland. Six regional confederations are associated with FIFA; these are:{{cite web |title=Member Associations |url=https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/associations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220105319/https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/associations |archive-date=20 February 2023 |access-date=20 February 2023 |publisher=FIFA}}

• Asia: Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
• Africa: Confederation of African Football (CAF)
• Europe: Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)
• North/Central America & Caribbean: Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF)
• Oceania: Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)
• South America: Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (South American Football Confederation; CONMEBOL)

National associations (or national federations) oversee football within individual countries. These are generally synonymous with sovereign states (for example, the Cameroonian Football Federation in Cameroon), but also include a smaller number of associations responsible for sub-national entities or autonomous regions (for example, the Scottish Football Association in Scotland). 211 national associations are affiliated both with FIFA and with their respective continental confederations. Other national associations may be members of continental confederations but otherwise not participate in FIFA competitions.{{cite web |last1=Vázquez |first1=Luis Guillermo |last2=Hall |first2=Andy |title=Which CONCACAF teams are not recognized by FIFA? |url=https://en.as.com/soccer/which-concacaf-teams-are-not-recognized-by-fifa-n/ |website=AS USA |access-date=11 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110143536/https://en.as.com/soccer/which-concacaf-teams-are-not-recognized-by-fifa-n/ |archive-date=10 November 2024 |language=en |date=9 October 2024 |url-status=live}}

While FIFA is responsible for organising international competitions and enforcing most international regulations, the Laws of the Game are set by the IFAB, where each of the four UK associations holds one vote and FIFA collectively holds four votes.

{{anchor|Internationalcompetitions}}

{{Main|List of association football competitions}}

File:Ousmane Dembélé World Cup Trophy.jpg is the largest international competition in football and the world's most viewed sporting event]]

International competitions in association football principally consist of two varieties: competitions involving representative national teams or those involving clubs based in multiple nations and national leagues. International football, without qualification, most often refers to the former.{{cite web |last1=Whitmore |first1=Jonny |title=5 Key Differences Between International and Club Football |url=https://theanalyst.com/2021/07/five-differences-between-international-and-club-football |website=Opta Analyst |access-date=8 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250324100604/https://theanalyst.com/2021/07/five-differences-between-international-and-club-football |archive-date=24 Mar 2025 |language=en |date=22 July 2021 |url-status=live}} In the case of international club competition, it is the country of origin of the clubs involved, not the nationalities of their players, that renders the competition international in nature.{{cite web |title=2020 Concacaf Champions League Draw Preview |url=https://www.newyorkcityfc.com/news/2020-concacaf-champions-league-draw-preview |website=New York City FC |access-date=8 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250411215224/https://www.newyorkcityfc.com/news/2020-concacaf-champions-league-draw-preview |archive-date=11 April 2025 |language=en |date=6 December 2019 |url-status=live}}

The major international competition in football and the most prestigious is the World Cup, organised by FIFA. This competition has taken place every four years since 1930, with the exception of the 1942 and 1946 tournaments, which were cancelled because of World War II. As of 2022, over 200 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within the scope of continental confederations for a place in the finals.{{cite news |title=FIFA World Cup 2022: Brazil, Germany, England among confirmed teams for Qatar |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/fifa-world-cup-2022-qualified-football-teams-list |access-date=18 September 2023 |publisher=Olympics |date=14 June 2022 |first1=Aarish |last1=Ansari |archive-date=27 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927232418/https://olympics.com/en/news/fifa-world-cup-2022-qualified-football-teams-list |url-status=live}} The finals tournament involved 32 national teams (expanding to 48 teams for the 2026 tournament) competing over a four-week period.{{cite news |last=Mayorquin |first=Orlando |date=19 November 2022 |title=How does the World Cup work? The ultimate soccer showcase, explained |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2022/11/19/2022-qatar-world-cup-group-knockout-stage-explained/8083358001/ |work=USA Today |accessdate=1 September 2023 |archive-date=2 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902031535/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2022/11/19/2022-qatar-world-cup-group-knockout-stage-explained/8083358001/ |url-status=live}}{{efn|name=teams number|The number of competing teams has varied over the history of the competition.}} The World Cup is the world's most widely viewed and most followed sporting event, with the 2022 tournament estimated to be watched by 5 billion people, more than 60% of the global population.{{cite web |date=25 May 2022 |title=Qatar 2022 to be watched by 5bn people, says Gianni Infantino |url=https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/fifa-2022-world-cup-qatar-tv-audience-viewers-gianni-infantino/ |access-date=27 October 2024|website=SportsPro |archive-date=14 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114151049/https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/fifa-2022-world-cup-qatar-tv-audience-viewers-gianni-infantino/ |url-status=live}} The 1958 World Cup saw the emergence of Pelé as a global sporting star, a period that coincided with "the explosive spread of television, which massively amplified his presence everywhere".{{cite news |last=Goldblatt |first=David |title=Pelé set the standards by which footballing greatness is judged |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/29/pele-football-greatness-brazil-global-star |access-date=18 September 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=29 December 2022 |archive-date=5 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005082607/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/29/pele-football-greatness-brazil-global-star |url-status=live}} The current champions are Argentina, who won their third title at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.{{cite news |last1=Mcnulty |first1=Phil |date=18 December 2022 |title=Argentina win dramatic World Cup final on penalties |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/63932622 |access-date=19 December 2022 |work=BBC Sport |publisher=BBC |archive-date=18 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218210506/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/63932622 |url-status=live}} The FIFA Women's World Cup has been held every four years since 1991. Under the tournament's current format that was expanded in 2023, national teams vie for 31 slots in a three-year qualification phase, while the host nation's team enters automatically as the 32nd slot.{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=Russell |date=23 July 2023 |title=The Women's World Cup expanded to 32 teams this year. Has the quality suffered? |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/07/23/1189634000/fifa-womens-world-cup-expanded-to-32-teams-new-zealand-australia |publisher=NPR |accessdate=31 August 2023 |archive-date=31 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831005059/https://www.npr.org/2023/07/23/1189634000/fifa-womens-world-cup-expanded-to-32-teams-new-zealand-australia |url-status=live}} The current champions are Spain, after winning their first title in the 2023 tournament.{{cite news |last=Peterson |first=Anne M. |date=20 August 2023 |title=From turmoil to triumph, Spain earns its first Women's World Cup title with a 1-0 win over England |url=https://apnews.com/article/womens-world-cup-final-spain-england-match-summary-232025b71703e9acde0ae39addb16c10 |publisher=Associated Press |accessdate=31 August 2023 |archive-date=23 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823000117/https://apnews.com/article/womens-world-cup-final-spain-england-match-summary-232025b71703e9acde0ae39addb16c10 |url-status=live}}

There has been a football tournament at every Summer Olympic Games since 1900, except at the 1932 games in Los Angeles when FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had disagreed over the status of amateur players.{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1936/FTB/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417041849/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1936/FTB/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 April 2020 |title=Football at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games |work=Sports Reference |access-date=6 December 2023}}{{cite web |url=http://www.olympic.org/football-equipment-and-history?tab=1 |title=Football Equipment and History |publisher=International Olympic Committee (IOC) |access-date=4 March 2011 |archive-date=6 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706130625/http://www.olympic.org/football-equipment-and-history?tab=1 |url-status=live}} Before the inception of the World Cup, the Olympics (especially during the 1920s) were the most prestigious international event. Originally, the tournament was for amateurs only.{{cite web |url=http://access.fifa.com/en/history/history/0,3504,4,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070608215029/http://access.fifa.com/en/history/history/0%2C3504%2C4%2C00.html |archive-date=8 June 2007 |title=Where it all began |publisher=FIFA |access-date=8 June 2007 |url-status=dead}} As professionalism spread around the world, the gap in quality between the World Cup and the Olympics widened. The countries that benefited most were the Soviet Bloc countries of Eastern Europe, where top athletes were state-sponsored while retaining their status as amateurs. Between 1948 and 1980, 23 out of 27 Olympic medals were won by Eastern Europe, with only Sweden (gold in 1948 and bronze in 1952), Denmark (bronze in 1948 and silver in 1960) and Japan (bronze in 1968) breaking their dominance. For the 1984 Los Angeles Games, the IOC allowed professional players to compete. Since 1992, male competitors must be under 23 years old, although since 1996, three players over the age of 23 have been allowed per squad.{{cite news |title=Football: Five superstars who have won gold in the Olympics |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/football-five-superstars-who-have-won-gold-in-the-olympics |access-date=18 September 2023 |publisher=Olympics.com |archive-date=6 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606085636/https://olympics.com/en/news/football-five-superstars-who-have-won-gold-in-the-olympics |url-status=live}} A women's tournament was added in 1996; in contrast to the men's event, full international sides without age restrictions play the women's Olympic tournament.{{cite news |last=Borg |first=Simon |date=7 August 2021 |title=Olympic soccer rules, explained: How men's and women's football tournaments work in Tokyo |url=https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/news/olympic-soccer-rules-men-women-tournament-tokyo/154emrauwrgxc1na5nmszrrqdf |work=The Sporting News |accessdate=1 September 2023 |archive-date=2 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902031536/https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/news/olympic-soccer-rules-men-women-tournament-tokyo/154emrauwrgxc1na5nmszrrqdf |url-status=live}}

File:Torres, Mata and Ramos Euro 2012 trophy 01.jpg footballers Fernando Torres, Juan Mata, and Sergio Ramos celebrating winning the UEFA European Championship in 2012]]

After the World Cup, the most important international football competitions are the continental championships, which are organised by each continental confederation and contested between national teams. These are the European Championship (UEFA), the Copa América (CONMEBOL), the Africa Cup of Nations (CAF), the Asian Cup (AFC), the Gold Cup (CONCACAF) and the Nations Cup (OFC). These competitions are not strictly limited to members of the continental confederations, with guest teams from other continents sometimes invited to compete.{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Aidan |date=12 June 2019 |title=Japan, Qatar and the history of guest teams at the Copa América |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/these-football-times/2019/jun/12/copa-america-japan-qatar-strange-history-guest-teams |work=The Guardian |accessdate=1 September 2023 |archive-date=2 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902031535/https://www.theguardian.com/football/these-football-times/2019/jun/12/copa-america-japan-qatar-strange-history-guest-teams |url-status=live}} The FIFA Confederations Cup was contested by the winners of all six continental championships, the current FIFA World Cup champions, and the country which was hosting the next World Cup. This was generally regarded as a warm-up tournament for the upcoming FIFA World Cup and did not carry the same prestige as the World Cup itself.{{cite news |last=Molinaro |first=John F. |date=22 May 2009 |title=Continental champions collide at the Confederations Cup |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/continental-champions-collide-at-the-confederations-cup-1.812024 |publisher=CBC Sports |accessdate=1 September 2023 |archive-date=2 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902031535/https://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/continental-champions-collide-at-the-confederations-cup-1.812024 |url-status=live}} The tournament was discontinued following the 2017 edition, with its calendar slot replaced by an expanded FIFA Club World Cup.{{cite news |date=4 December 2020 |title=2021 FIFA Club World Cup to remain a seven-team tournament |url=https://theathletic.com/4229851/2020/12/04/2021-fifa-club-world-cup-to-remain-a-seven-team-tournament/ |work=The Athletic |url-access=subscription |accessdate=1 September 2023 |archive-date=2 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902031535/https://theathletic.com/4229851/2020/12/04/2021-fifa-club-world-cup-to-remain-a-seven-team-tournament/ |url-status=live}} The Finalissima was revived in 2022, and is contested between the Copa América and European Championship winners.{{cite web |title=European and South American champions meet in 'Finalissima' Wembley showdown |url=https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0273-14b9d1db749d-1b03dce602c9-1000/ |website=UEFA.com |access-date=9 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250328085534/https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0273-14b9d1db749d-1b03dce602c9-1000/ |archive-date=28 March 2025 |language=en |date=22 March 2022 |url-status=live}} The UEFA Nations League and the CONCACAF Nations League were introduced in the late 2010s to replace international friendlies during the two-year cycle between major tournaments.{{cite magazine |last=Straus |first=Brian |date=17 November 2017 |title=How CONCACAF League of Nations Alters Competitive Landscape for USA, Region |url=https://www.si.com/soccer/2017/11/17/concacaf-league-nations-friendlies-usa-mexico |magazine=Sports Illustrated |accessdate=31 August 2023 |archive-date=1 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901044244/https://www.si.com/soccer/2017/11/17/concacaf-league-nations-friendlies-usa-mexico |url-status=live}}

The most prestigious competitions in club football are the respective continental championships, which are generally contested between national champions, for example, the UEFA Champions League in Europe and the Copa Libertadores in South America. The winners of each continental competition contest the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, held annually, and the FIFA Club World Cup, held once every four years.{{cite web |title=Organising Committee strengthens FIFA Club World Cup format |publisher=FIFA |url=https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/clubworldcup/japan2007/releases/newsid=570740.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531094715/http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/clubworldcup/japan2007/releases/newsid%3D570740.html |archive-date=31 May 2008 |date=14 August 2007 |access-date=7 October 2007 |url-status=dead}}

{{Main|Geography of association football|Geography of women's association football}}

File:Forcejeo Real Madrid - FC Barcelona.jpg match between Real Madrid and Barcelona. The fixture, known as El Clásico, is one of the most renowned in sport.{{cite news |last=Philip |first=Tom |date=19 November 2015 |title=What the Hell is El Clásico? |url=https://www.gq.com/story/el-clasico-real-madrid-barcelona-ronaldo-messi |work=GQ |accessdate=8 September 2023 |archive-date=10 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231010150231/https://www.gq.com/story/el-clasico-real-madrid-barcelona-ronaldo-messi |url-status=live}}]]

In each country, football clubs are usually federated in associations or leagues that organise official tournaments among themselves, from which the champion of each country and the teams that will participate in international club tournaments emerge. There is no single system of competitions, and each national league organises them according to its own traditions.{{cite web |title=How is European soccer structured with leagues and cup competitions? |url=https://www.bundesliga.com/en/faq/what-are-the-rules-and-regulations-of-soccer/how-is-european-soccer-structured-with-leagues-and-cup-competitions-10568 |website=www.bundesliga.com |access-date=8 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250223035347/https://www.bundesliga.com/en/faq/what-are-the-rules-and-regulations-of-soccer/how-is-european-soccer-structured-with-leagues-and-cup-competitions-10568 |archive-date=23 February 2025 |language=en |url-status=live}}

The governing bodies in each country operate league systems in a domestic season, normally comprising several divisions, in which the teams gain points throughout the season depending on results, usually three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a defeat. Teams are put into tables, placed in order according to points accrued. In the Old World (Africa, Asia and Europe), it is common for each team to play every other team in its league at home and away in each season, in a round-robin tournament. At the end of a season, which typically runs from August to May, the top team is declared the champion. The top few teams may be promoted to a higher division, and one or more of the teams finishing at the bottom are relegated to a lower division.{{cite journal |last=Fort |first=Rodney |title=European and North American Sports Differences(?) |journal=Scottish Journal of Political Economy |date=September 2000 |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=431–55 |doi=10.1111/1467-9485.00172}}

Some exceptions to this system occur in the New World (Americas) and Australia:

• The majority of the Latin American leagues (including Liga MX from Mexico and Liga Profesional de Fútbol from Argentina) divide football championships into two sections named Apertura and Clausura (Spanish for Opening and Closing), awarding a champion for each.{{cite news |url=http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/latinamerica/story/Estudiantes-win-Argentina-Apertura-title |title=Estudiantes win Argentina Apertura title |date=13 December 2010 |work=Fox Sports |agency=Associated Press |quote=Under the system used in Argentina and most of Latin America, two season titles are awarded each year – the Apertura and Clausura. |access-date=4 March 2011 |archive-date=23 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623075034/http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/latinamerica/story/Estudiantes-win-Argentina-Apertura-title |url-status=live}} After a first phase using points in a round-robin tournament, these leagues usually have a knockout phase, with a final deciding the champion of each Apertura and Clausura tournament. In some countries, such as Uruguay,{{cite web |title=En Uruguay, Liverpool hizo historia con un ex Boca |url=https://www.ole.com.ar/futbol-internacional/america/liverpool-campeon-uruguayo-2023-uruguay-final-penarol_0_FMaGvJeFmQ.html |website=Olé |access-date=8 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240921033848/https://www.ole.com.ar/futbol-internacional/america/liverpool-campeon-uruguayo-2023-uruguay-final-penarol_0_FMaGvJeFmQ.html |archive-date=21 September 2024 |language=es |date=17 December 2023 |url-status=live}} the winners of the Apertura and Clausura play each other in a play-off for the season title.
• The Brazilian Série A ("Brasileirão") uses a single-season double round-robin format to determine the champion, similar to most European leagues, although it is played from April or May to December.{{cite web |last1=Oliveira |first1=Letícia |title=Como funciona o Campeonato Brasileiro? Veja tudo sobre a competição |url=https://ge.globo.com/futebol/reportagem/2024/04/10/c-como-funciona-o-campeonato-brasileiro-veja-tudo-sobre-a-competicao.ghtml |website=ge |access-date=8 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250120163547/https://ge.globo.com/futebol/reportagem/2024/04/10/c-como-funciona-o-campeonato-brasileiro-veja-tudo-sobre-a-competicao.ghtml |archive-date=20 January 2025 |location=Rio de Janeiro |language=pt |date=10 April 2024 |url-status=live}} Brazilian clubs also participate in state leagues from January to April, and at least one state league, the Campeonato Carioca in Rio de Janeiro, had a split season format until 2020.{{cite web |last1=Priori |first1=Jorge |title=Uma solução para os campeonatos estaduais |url=https://monitormercantil.com.br/uma-solucao-para-os-campeonatos-estaduais/ |website=Monitor Mercantil |access-date=8 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250118002005/https://monitormercantil.com.br/uma-solucao-para-os-campeonatos-estaduais/ |archive-date=18 January 2025 |language=pt |date=14 January 2025 |url-status=live}} However, Brazil has never used an Apertura and Clausura system in its national tournament, instead employing various formats with play-offs until 2002.{{cite web |last1=Parrela |first1=Leonardo |title=A história do Campeonato Brasileiro: formatos e campeões |url=https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/esportes/futebol/a-historia-do-campeonato-brasileiro-formatos-e-campeoes/ |website=CNN Brasil |access-date=8 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241207212750/https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/esportes/futebol/a-historia-do-campeonato-brasileiro-formatos-e-campeoes/ |archive-date=7 December 2024 |language=pt |date=12 April 2024 |url-status=live}}
• Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada uses a closed league system (without promotion and relegation) and a conference system, similar to that used in other sports leagues in both countries. In each conference, clubs play a round-robin schedule during the regular season, and those with the most points qualify for the play-offs, which conclude with a final to determine the champion.{{cite web |title=Competition Guidelines |url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/about/competition-guidelines |website=MLS soccer |access-date=8 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250401063727/https://www.mlssoccer.com/about/competition-guidelines |archive-date=1 April 2025 |language=en |url-status=live}}
• The A-League in Australia also uses a closed league system. At the end of a regular season played in a round-robin format, the clubs with the most points compete in play-offs to determine the league champion.{{cite web |title=Official Documents and Rules |url=https://aleagues.com.au/more/official-documents/ |website=A-Leagues |access-date=8 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314113938/https://aleagues.com.au/more/official-documents/ |archive-date=14 March 2025 |language=en |url-status=live}}

The teams finishing at the top of a country's league may also be eligible to play in international club competitions in the following season. Most countries supplement the league system with one or more "cup" competitions organised on a knock-out basis. These include the domestic cup, which may be open to all eligible teams in a country's league system—both professional and amateur—and is organised by the national federation.{{cite news |last=Rueter |first=Jeff |date=22 August 2023 |title=What is the U.S. Open Cup? Soccer tournament history, how to watch and Messi's path to another trophy |url=https://theathletic.com/4795121/2023/08/22/us-open-cup-history-broadcast-messi/ |work=The Athletic |url-access=subscription |accessdate=8 September 2023 |archive-date=24 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824030057/https://theathletic.com/4795121/2023/08/22/us-open-cup-history-broadcast-messi/ |url-status=live}}

Some countries' top divisions feature highly-paid star players; in smaller countries, lower divisions, and many women's clubs, players may be part-timers with a second job, or amateurs. The top five European leagues – Premier League (England),{{cite news |last=Hughes |first=Ian |date=31 March 2008 |title=Premier League conquering Europe |work=BBC Sport |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/7321408.stm |url-status=live |access-date=27 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118013022/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/7321408.stm |archive-date=18 November 2018}} Bundesliga (Germany), La Liga (Spain), Serie A (Italy), and Ligue 1 (France) – attract most of the world's best players and, during the 2006–07 season, each of these leagues had a total wage cost in excess of €600 million.{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Louise |date=29 May 2008 |title=Leading clubs losing out as players and agents cash in |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/may/29/premierleague |url-status=live |access-date=28 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407130029/http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/may/29/premierleague |archive-date=7 April 2013}} These leagues also generated a combined €17.2 billion in revenue in the 2021–22 season from television contracts, matchday tickets, sponsorships, and other sources.{{cite news |last=Buckingham |first=Philip |date=14 June 2023 |title=Premier League generated £5.5bn in 2021–22 – more than La Liga and Bundesliga combined |url=https://theathletic.com/4610513/2023/06/14/premier-league-revenue-football-finance/ |work=The Athletic |url-access=subscription |accessdate=1 September 2023 |archive-date=2 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902032903/https://theathletic.com/4610513/2023/06/14/premier-league-revenue-football-finance/ |url-status=live}} In the 2022–23 season, clubs in Europe's "big five" leagues had an aggregate wage cost of €13 billion, with each league spending more than €1.8 billion in wages. In contrast, the combined revenue of these leagues was €19.6 billion.{{cite web |title=Annual Review of Football Finance: Europe's Premier Leagues {{!}} Deloitte UK |url=https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/services/financial-advisory/research/annual-review-of-football-finance-europe-premier-league.html |website=www.deloitte.com |access-date=8 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250108132111/https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/services/financial-advisory/research/annual-review-of-football-finance-europe-premier-league.html |archive-date=8 January 2025 |language=en |date=25 June 2024 |url-status=live}}

{{See also|List of types of football|Comparison of association football and futsal}}

Variants of association football have been codified for teams of reduced size, such as five-a-side football; for non-traditional playing environments, including beach soccer, futsal and indoor soccer; and for athletes with disabilities (Paralympic football).

Street football can be played with only minimal equipment – a basic game can be played on almost any open area of reasonable size with just a ball made from almost any material and items to mark the positions of the goalposts.{{Cite web|last1=Berlin|first1=Jeremy|last2=Hilltout|first2=Jessica|date=2013-02-01|title=Joy Is Round|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2013/02/soccer-joy/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026112120/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2013/02/soccer-joy/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 26, 2020|access-date=2020-10-23|website=National Geographic Magazine|language=en}}{{cite web |title=Forget jumpers... these are the best makeshift goalposts |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/29862121 |website=BBC Sport |access-date=8 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701171546/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/29862121 |archive-date=1 July 2022 |language=en |date=1 November 2014 |url-status=live}} Such informal games can have team sizes that vary from eleven-a-side, can use a limited or modified subset of the official rules, and can be self-officiated by the players.{{cite web |title=How street football shapes elite talent |url=https://timesofmalta.com/article/how-street-football-shapes-elite-talent-a2.1107250 |website=Times of Malta |access-date=8 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250331050941/https://timesofmalta.com/article/how-street-football-shapes-elite-talent-a2.1107250 |archive-date=31 March 2025 |language=en |date=27 March 2025 |url-status=live}}

{{Portal|Women's association football}}

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