History of FootballFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaFor other uses, see Football (disambiguation).

Several codes of football. Images, from top down, left to right: Association football,Australian rules

football, International rules football, a rugby union scrum, rugby league, and American football.

Football refers to a number of sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. Unqualified, the word football is understood to refer to whichever form of football is the most popular in the regional context in which the word appears: association football (also known as soccer) in the vast majority of the world; gridiron football (specifically American footballor Canadian football) in the United States and Canada; Australian rules football or rugby league in different areas of Australia;Gaelic football in Ireland; and rugby football (specifically rugby union) in New Zealand.[1][2] These different variations of football are known as football codes.

Various forms of football can be identified in history, often as popular peasant games. Contemporary codes of football can be traced back to the codification of these games at English public schools in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.[3][4] The influence and power of the British Empire allowed these rules of football to spread to areas of British influence outside of the directly controlled Empire,[5] though by the end of the nineteenth century, distinct regional codes were already developing: Gaelic Football, for example, deliberately incorporated the rules of local traditional football games in order to maintain their heritage.[6] In 1888, The Football League was founded in England, becoming the first of many professional football competitions. During the twentieth century, several of the various kinds of football grew to become among the most popular team sports in the world.

Common elementsThe various codes of football share certain common elements. Players in American football, Canadian football, rugby union and rugby league take-up positions in a limited area of the field at the start of the game.[8] They tend to use throwing and running as the main ways of moving the ball, and only kick on certain limited occasions. Body tackling is a major skill, and games typically involve short passages of play of 5–90 seconds.[8] Association football, Australian rules football and Gaelic football tend to use kicking to move the ball around the pitch, with handling more

limited. Body tackles are less central to the game, and players are freer to move around the field (offside laws are typically less strict).[8]

Common rules among the sports include:[citation needed]

Two teams of usually between 11 and 18 players; some variations that have fewer players (five or more per team) are also popular.

A clearly defined area in which to play the game. Scoring  goals or points, by moving the ball to an opposing team's end of the field and either

into a goal area, or over a line. Goals or points resulting from players putting the ball between two goalposts. The goal or line being defended by the opposing team. Players being required to move the ball—depending on the code—by kicking, carrying, or

hand-passing the ball. Players using only their body to move the ball.

In all codes, common skills include passing, tackling, evasion of tackles, catching and kicking.[8] In most codes, there are rules restricting the movement of playersoffside,[citation needed] and players scoring a goal must put the ball either under or over a crossbar between the goalposts.[citation needed]

EtymologyThis section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2014)

Main article: Football (word)

There are conflicting explanations of the origin of the word "football". It is widely assumed that the word "football" (or "foot ball") references the action of the foot kicking a ball. There is an alternative explanation, which is that football originally referred to a variety of games in medieval Europe, which were played on foot. There is no conclusive evidence for either explanation.

Early historyAncient gamesThe Ancient Greeks and Romans are known to have played many ball games, some of which involved the use of the feet. The Roman game harpastum is believed to have been adapted from a Greek team game known as "ἐπίσκυρος" (Episkyros)[9][10] or "φαινίνδα" (phaininda),[11] which is mentioned by a Greek playwright, Antiphanes (388–311 BC) and later referred to by the Christian theologian Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215 AD). These games appear to have resembled rugby football.[12][13][14][15][16] The Roman politicianCicero (106–43 BC) describes the case of a man who was killed whilst having a shave when a ball was kicked into a barber's shop. Roman ball games already knew the air-filled ball, the follis.[17][18] The Ancient Greek game of Episkyros recognised as an early form of football by FIFA.[19]

According to FIFA the competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence.[20] It occurs namely as an exercise in a military manual from the third and second centuries BC.[20] Documented evidence of an activity resembling football can be found in the Chinese military manual Zhan Guo Ce compiled between the 3rd century and 1st century BC.[21] It describes a practice known as cuju (蹴鞠, literally "kick ball"), which originally involved kicking a leather ball through a small hole in a piece of silkcloth which was fixed on bamboo canes and hung about 9 m above ground. During the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), cuju games were standardized and rules were established.[citation needed] Variations of this game later spread to Japan and Korea, known as kemari and chuk-guk respectively. Later, another type of goal posts emerged, consisting of just one goal post in the middle of the field. [citation needed]

The Japanese version of cuju is kemari (蹴鞠), and was developed during the Asuka period.[citation

needed]This is known to have been played within the Japanese imperial court inKyoto from about

600 AD. In kemari several people stand in a circle and kick a ball to each other, trying not to let the ball drop to the ground (much like keepie uppie). The game appears to have died out sometime before the mid-19th century. It was revived in 1903 and is now played at a number of festivals.[citation needed]

There are a number of references to traditional, ancient, or prehistoric ball games, played by indigenous peoples in many different parts of the world. For example, in 1586, men from a ship commanded by an English explorer named John Davis, went ashore to play a form of football with Inuit (Eskimo) people in Greenland.[22] There are later accounts of an Inuit game played on ice, called Aqsaqtuk. Each match began with two teams facing each other in parallel lines, before attempting to kick the ball through each other team's line and then at a goal. In 1610, William Strachey, a colonist at Jamestown, Virginia recorded a game played by Native Americans, called Pahsaheman.[citation needed] On theAustralian continent several tribes of indigenous people played kicking and catching games with stuffed balls which have been generalised by historians as Marn Grook (Djab Wurrung for "game ball"). The earliest historical account is an anecdote from the 1878 book by Robert Brough-Smyth, The Aborigines of Victoria, in which a man called Richard Thomas is quoted as saying, in about 1841 in Victoria, Australia, that he had witnessed Aboriginal people playing the game: "Mr Thomas describes how the foremost player will drop kick a ball made from the skin of a possum and how other players leap into the air in order to catch it." Some historians have theorised that Marn Grook was one of theorigins of Australian rules football.

The Māori in New Zealand played a game called Ki-o-rahi consisting of teams of seven players play on a circular field divided into zones, and score points by touching the 'pou' (boundary markers) and hitting a central 'tupu' or target.[citation needed]

Games played in Mesoamerica with rubber balls by indigenous peoples are also well-documented as existing since before this time, but these had more similarities to basketballor volleyball, and since their influence on modern football games is minimal, most do not class them as football.[citation needed]Northeastern American Indians, especially theIroquois Confederation, played a game which made use of net racquets to throw and catch a small ball; however, although a ball-goal foot game, lacrosse (as its modern descendant is called) is likewise not usually classed as a form of "football."[citation needed]

These games and others may well go far back into antiquity. However, the main sources of modern football codes appear to lie in western Europe, especially England.

Ancient Greek football player balancing the ball. Depiction on an Attic Lekythos.

 

A Song Dynasty painting by Su Hanchen, depicting Chinese children playing cuju.

 

Paint of a Mesoamerican ballgame player of the Tepantitla murals in Teotihuacan.

 

A revived version of kemari being played at the Tanzan Shrine, Japan.

 

An illustration from the 1850s of Australian Aboriginal hunter gatherers. Children in the background are playing a football game, possibly Woggabaliri.[23]

Medieval and early modern EuropeFurther information: Medieval football

The Middle Ages saw a huge rise in popularity of annual Shrovetide football matches throughout Europe, particularly in England. An early reference to a ball game played in Britain comes from the 9th century Historia Brittonum, which describes "a party of boys ... playing at ball".[24] References to a ball game played in northern France known as La Soule or Choule, in which the ball was propelled by hands, feet, and sticks,[25] date from the 12th century.[26]

An illustration of so-called "mob football"

The early forms of football played in England, sometimes referred to as "mob football", would be played between neighbouring towns and villages, involving an unlimited number of players on opposing teams who would clash en masse,[27] struggling to move an item, such as inflated animal's bladder[28] to particular geographical points, such as their opponents' church, with play taking place in the open space between neighbouring parishes.[29] The game was played primarily during significant religious festivals, such as Shrovetide, Christmas, orEaster,[28] and Shrovetide games have survived into the modern era in a number of English towns (see below).

The first detailed description of what was almost certainly football in England was given by William FitzStephen in about 1174–1183. He described the activities of London youths during the annual festival of Shrove Tuesday:

After lunch all the youth of the city go out into the fields to take part in a ball game. The students of each school have their own ball; the workers from each city craft are also carrying their balls. Older citizens, fathers, and wealthy citizens come on horseback to watch their juniors competing, and to relive their own youth vicariously: you can see their inner passions aroused as they watch the action and get caught up in the fun being had by the carefree adolescents.[30]

Most of the very early references to the game speak simply of "ball play" or "playing at ball". This reinforces the idea that the games played at the time did not necessarily involve a ball being kicked.

An early reference to a ball game that was probably football comes from 1280 at Ulgham, Northumberland, England: "Henry... while playing at ball.. ran against David".[31]Football was played in Ireland in 1308, with a documented reference to John McCrocan, a spectator at a "football game" at Newcastle, County Down being charged with accidentally stabbing a player named William Bernard.[32] Another reference to a football game comes in 1321 at Shouldham, Norfolk, England: "[d]uring the game at ball as he kicked the ball, a lay friend of his... ran against him and wounded himself".[31]

In 1314, Nicholas de Farndone, Lord Mayor of the City of London issued a decree banning football in the French used by the English upper classes at the time. A translation reads: "[f]orasmuch as there is great noise in the city caused by hustling over large foot balls [rageries de grosses pelotes de pee][33] in the fields of the public from which many evils might arise which God forbid: we command and forbid on behalf of the king, on pain of

imprisonment, such game to be used in the city in the future." This is the earliest reference to football.

In 1363, King Edward III of England issued a proclamation banning "...handball, football, or hockey; coursing and cock-fighting, or other such idle games",[34] showing that "football" — whatever its exact form in this case — was being differentiated from games involving other parts of the body, such as handball.

A game known as "football" was played in Scotland as early as the 15th century: it was prohibited by the Football Act 1424 and although the law fell into disuse it was not repealed until 1906. There is evidence for schoolboys playing a "football" ball game in Aberdeen in 1633 (some references cite 1636) which is notable as an early allusion to what some have considered to be passing the ball. The word "pass" in the most recent translation is derived from "huc percute" (strike it here) and later "repercute pilam" (strike the ball again) in the original Latin. It is not certain that the ball was being struck between members of the same team. The original word translated as "goal" is "metum", literally meaning the "pillar at each end of the circus course" in a Roman chariot race. There is a reference to "get hold of the ball before [another player] does" (Praeripe illi pilam si possis agere) suggesting that handling of the ball was allowed. One sentence states in the original 1930 translation "Throw yourself against him" (Age, objice te illi).

France circa 1750

King Henry IV of England also presented one of the earliest documented uses of the English word "football", in 1409, when he issued a proclamation forbidding the levying of money for "foteball".[31][35]

There is also an account in Latin from the end of the 15th century of football being played at Cawston, Nottinghamshire. This is the first description of a "kicking game" and the first description of dribbling: "[t]he game at which they had met for common recreation is called by some the foot-ball game. It is one in which young men, in country sport, propel a huge ball not by throwing it into the air but by striking it and rolling it along the ground, and that not with their hands but with their feet... kicking in opposite directions" The chronicler gives the earliest reference to a football pitch, stating that: "[t]he boundaries have been marked and the game had started.[31]

Other firsts in the mediæval and early modern eras:

"a football", in the sense of a ball rather than a game, was first mentioned in 1486.[35] This reference is in Dame Juliana Berners' Book of St Albans. It states: "a certain rounde instrument to play with ...it is an instrument for the foote and then it is calde in Latyn 'pila pedalis', a fotebal."[31]

a pair of football boots was ordered by King Henry VIII of England in 1526.[36]

women playing a form of football was first described in 1580 by Sir Philip Sidney in one of his poems: "[a] tyme there is for all, my mother often sayes, When she, with skirts tuckt very hy, with girles at football playes."[37]

the first references to goals are in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In 1584 and 1602 respectively, John Norden and Richard Carew referred to "goals" in Cornish

hurling. Carew described how goals were made: "they pitch two bushes in the ground, some eight or ten foote asunder; and directly against them, ten or twelue [twelve] score off, other twayne in like distance, which they terme their Goales".[38] He is also the first to describe goalkeepers and passing of the ball between players.

the first direct reference to scoring a goal is in John Day's play The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green (performed circa 1600; published 1659): "I'll play a gole at camp-ball" (an extremely violent variety of football, which was popular in East Anglia). Similarly in a poem in 1613, Michael Drayton refers to "when the Ball to throw, And drive it to the Gole, in squadrons forth they goe".

Calcio Fiorentino

An illustration of the Calcio Fiorentino field and starting positions, from a 1688 book by Pietro di Lorenzo

Bini.

Main article: Calcio Fiorentino

In the 16th century, the city of Florence celebrated the period between Epiphany and Lent by playing a game which today is known as "calcio storico" ("historic kickball") in the Piazza Santa Croce. The young aristocrats of the city would dress up in fine silk costumes and embroil themselves in a violent form of football. For example, calcio players could punch, shoulder charge, and kick opponents. Blows below the belt were allowed. The game is said to have originated as a military training exercise. In 1580, Count Giovanni de' Bardi di Vernio wrote Discorso sopra 'l giuoco del Calcio Fiorentino. This is sometimes said to be the earliest code of rules for any football game. The game was not played after January 1739 (until it was revived in May 1930).

Official disapproval and attempts to ban footballMain article: Attempts to ban football games

There have been many attempts to ban football, from the middle ages through to the modern day. The first such law was passed inEngland in 1314; it was followed by more than 30 in England alone between 1314 and 1667.[39]:6 Football faced armed opposition in the 18th Century when used as a cover for violent protest against the enclosure act. Women were banned from playing at English and Scottish Football League grounds in 1921, a ban that was only lifted in the 1970s. Female footballers still face similar problems in some parts of the world.

Establishment of modern codesEnglish public schoolsMain article: English public school football games

While football continued to be played in various forms throughout Britain, its "public" schools (known as private schools in other countries) are widely credited with four key achievements in the creation of modern football codes. First of all, the evidence suggests that they were important in taking football away from its "mob" form and turning it into an organised team sport. Second, many early descriptions of football and references to it were recorded by people who had studied at these schools. Third, it was teachers, students and former students from these schools who first codified football games, to enable matches to

be played between schools. Finally, it was at English public schools that the division between "kicking" and "running" (or "carrying") games first became clear.

The earliest evidence that games resembling football were being played at English public schools — mainly attended by boys from the upper, upper-middle and professional classes — comes from the Vulgaria by William Herman in 1519. Herman had been headmaster at Eton and Winchester colleges and his Latin textbook includes a translation exercise with the phrase "We wyll playe with a ball full of wynde".[40]

Richard Mulcaster, a student at Eton College in the early 16th century and later headmaster at other English schools, has been described as "the greatest sixteenth Century advocate of football".[41] Among his contributions are the earliest evidence of organised team football. Mulcaster's writings refer to teams ("sides" and "parties"), positions ("standings"), a referee ("judge over the parties") and a coach "(trayning maister)". Mulcaster's "footeball" had evolved from the disordered and violent forms of traditional football:

[s]ome smaller number with such overlooking, sorted into sides and standings, not meeting with their bodies so boisterously to trie their strength: nor shouldring or shuffing one an other so barbarously ... may use footeball for as much good to the body, by the chiefe use of the legges.[42]

In 1633, David Wedderburn, a teacher from Aberdeen, mentioned elements of modern football games in a short Latin textbook called Vocabula. Wedderburn refers to what has been translated into modern English as "keeping goal" and makes an allusion to passing the ball ("strike it here"). There is a reference to "get hold of the ball", suggesting that some handling was allowed. It is clear that the tackles allowed included the charging and holding of opposing players ("drive that man back").[citation needed]

A more detailed description of football is given in Francis Willughby's Book of Games, written in about 1660.[43] Willughby, who had studied at Bishop Vesey's Grammar School,Sutton Coldfield, is the first to describe goals and a distinct playing field: "a close that has a gate at either end. The gates are called Goals." His book includes a diagram illustrating a football field. He also mentions tactics ("leaving some of their best players to guard the goal"); scoring ("they that can strike the ball through their opponents' goal first win") and the way teams were selected ("the players being equally divided according to their strength and nimbleness"). He is the first to describe a "law" of football: "they must not strike [an opponent's leg] higher than the ball".[citation needed]

English public schools were the first to codify football games. In particular, they devised the first offside rules, during the late 18th century.[44] In the earliest manifestations of these rules, players were "off their side" if they simply stood between the ball and the goal which was their objective. Players were not allowed to pass the ball forward, either by foot or by hand. They could only dribble with their feet, or advance the ball in a scrum or similar formation. However, offside laws began to diverge and develop differently at each school, as is shown by the rules of football from Winchester, Rugby, Harrow and Cheltenham, during between 1810 and 1850.[44] The first known codes — in the sense of a set of rules — were those of Eton in 1815 [45] and Aldenham in 1825.[45])

During the early 19th century, most working class people in Britain had to work six days a week, often for over twelve hours a day. They had neither the time nor the inclination to engage in sport for recreation and, at the time, many children were part of the labour force. Feast day football played on the streets was in decline. Public school boys, who enjoyed some freedom from work, became the inventors of organised football games with formal codes of rules.

Football was adopted by a number of public schools as a way of encouraging competitiveness and keeping youths fit. Each school drafted its own rules, which varied widely between different schools and were changed over time with each new intake of pupils. Two schools of thought developed regarding rules. Some schools favoured a game in which the ball could be carried (as at Rugby, Marlborough and Cheltenham), while others preferred a game where kicking and dribbling the ball was promoted (as at Eton,

Harrow, Westminster and Charterhouse). The division into these two camps was partly the result of circumstances in which the games were played. For example, Charterhouse and Westminster at the time had restricted playing areas; the boys were confined to playing their ball game within the school cloisters, making it difficult for them to adopt rough and tumble running games.[citation needed]

Rugby School

William Webb Ellis, a pupil at Rugby School, is said to have "with a fine disregard for the rules of football, as played in his time [emphasis added], first took the ball in his arms and ran with it, thus creating the distinctive feature of the rugby game." in 1823. This act is usually said to be the beginning of Rugby football, but there is little evidence that it occurred, and most sports historians believe the story to be apocryphal. The act of 'taking the ball in his arms' is often misinterpreted as 'picking the ball up' as it is widely believed that Webb Ellis' 'crime' was handling the ball, as in modern soccer, however handling the ball at the time was often permitted and in some cases compulsory,[46] the rule for which Webb Ellis showed disregard was running forward with it as the rules of his time only allowed a player to retreat backwards or kick forwards.

The boom in rail transport in Britain during the 1840s meant that people were able to travel further and with less inconvenience than they ever had before. Inter-school sporting competitions became possible. However, it was difficult for schools to play each other at football, as each school played by its own rules. The solution to this problem was usually that the match be divided into two halves, one half played by the rules of the host "home" school, and the other half by the visiting "away" school.

The modern rules of many football codes were formulated during the mid- or late- 19th century. This also applies to other sports such as lawn bowls, lawn tennis, etc. The major impetus for this was the patenting of the world's first lawnmower in 1830. This allowed for the preparation of modern ovals, playing fields, pitches, grass courts, etc. [47]

Apart from Rugby football, the public school codes have barely been played beyond the confines of each school's playing fields. However, many of them are still played at the schools which created them (see Surviving UK school games below).

Public schools' dominance of sports in the UK began to wane after the Factory Act of 1850, which significantly increased the recreation time available to working class children. Before 1850, many British children had to work six days a week, for more than twelve hours a day. From 1850, they could not work before 6 a.m. (7 a.m. in winter) or after 6 p.m. on weekdays (7 p.m. in winter); on Saturdays they had to cease work at 2 p.m. These changes mean that working class children had more time for games, including various forms of football.

FirstsClubsMain article: Oldest football clubs

Sports clubs dedicated to playing football began in the 18th century, for example London's Gymnastic Society which was founded in the mid-18th century and ceased playing matches in 1796.[48][49]

The first documented club to bear in the title a reference to being a 'football club' were called "The Foot-Ball Club" who were located in Edinburgh, Scotland, during the period 1824–41.[50]

[51] The club forbade tripping but allowed pushing and holding and the picking up of the ball.[51]

Two clubs which claim to be the world's oldest existing football club, in the sense of a club which is not part of a school or university, are strongholds of rugby football: the Barnes Club, said to have been founded in 1839, and Guy's Hospital Football Club, in 1843. Neither date nor the variety of football played is well documented, but such claims nevertheless allude to the popularity of rugby before other modern codes emerged.

In 1845, three boys at Rugby school were tasked with codifying the rules then being used at the school. These were the first set of written rules (or code) for any form of football. [52] This further assisted the spread of the Rugby game. For instance, Dublin University Football Club—founded at Trinity College, Dublin in 1854 and later famous as a bastion of the Rugby School game—is the world's oldest documented football club in any code.

CompetitionsMain article: Oldest football competitions

One of the longest running football fixture is the Cordner-Eggleston Cup, contested between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College, Melbourne every year since 1858. It is believed by many to also be the first match of Australian rules football, although it was played under experimental rules in its first year. The first football trophy tournament was the Caledonian Challenge Cup, donated by the Royal Caledonian Society of Melbourne, played in 1861 under the Melbourne Rules.[53] The oldest football league is a rugby football competition, the United Hospitals Challenge Cup (1874), while the oldest rugby trophy is the Yorkshire Cup, contested since 1878. The South Australian Football Association (30 April 1877) is the oldest surviving Australian rules football competition. The oldest surviving soccer trophy is the Youdan Cup (1867) and the oldest national soccer competition is the English FA Cup (1871). The Football League (1888) is recognised as the longest running Association Football league. The first ever international football match took place between sides representing England and Scotland on March 5, 1870 at the Oval under the authority of the FA. The first Rugby international took place in 1871.

Modern ballsMain article: Football (ball)

Richard Lindon (seen in 1880) is believed to have invented the first footballs with rubber bladders.

In Europe, early footballs were made out of animal bladders, more specifically pig's bladders, which were inflated. Later leather coverings were introduced to allow the balls to keep their shape.[54] However, in 1851, Richard Lindon and William Gilbert, both shoemakers from the town ofRugby (near the school), exhibited both round and oval-shaped balls at the Great Exhibition in London. Richard Lindon's wife is said to have died of lung disease caused by

blowing up pig's bladders.[55] Lindon also won medals for the invention of the "Rubber inflatable Bladder" and the "Brass Hand Pump".

In 1855, the U.S. inventor Charles Goodyear — who had patented vulcanized rubber — exhibited a spherical football, with an exterior of vulcanized rubber panels, at the Paris Exhibition Universelle. The ball was to prove popular in early forms of football in the U.S.A.[56]

The iconic ball with a regular pattern of hexagons and pentagons (see truncated icosahedron) did not become popular until the 1960s, and was first used in the World Cup in 1970.

Modern ball passing tacticsMain article: Passing (association football)

The earliest reference to a game of football involving players passing the ball and attempting to score past a goalkeeper was written in 1633 by David Wedderburn, a poet and teacher in Aberdeen, Scotland.[57] Nevertheless, the original text does not state whether the allusion to passing as 'kick the ball back' ('Repercute pilam') was in a forward or backward direction or between members of the same opposing teams (as was usual at this time) [58]

"Scientific" football is first recorded in 1839 from Lancashire [59]  and in the modern game in Rugby football from 1862[60] and from Sheffield FC as early as 1865.[61][62] The first side to play a passing combination game was the Royal Engineers AFC in 1869/70[63][64] By 1869 they were "work[ing] well together", "backing up" and benefiting from "cooperation".[65] By 1870 the Engineers were passing the ball: "Lieut. Creswell, who having brought the ball up the side then kicked it into the middle to another of his side, who kicked it through the posts the minute before time was called"[66] Passing was a regular feature of their style[67] By early 1872 the Engineers were the first football team renowned for "play[ing] beautifully together" [68] A double pass is first reported from Derby school against Nottingham Forest in March 1872, the first of which is irrefutably a short pass: "Mr Absey dribbling the ball half the length of the field delivered it to Wallis, who kicking it cleverly in front of the goal, sent it to the captain who drove it at once between the Nottingham posts"[69] The first side to have perfected the modern formation was Cambridge University AFC [70] [71] [72]  and introduced the 2–3–5 "pyramid" formation.[73][74]

Cambridge rulesMain article: Cambridge rules

In 1848, at Cambridge University, Mr. H. de Winton and Mr. J.C. Thring, who were both formerly at Shrewsbury School, called a meeting at Trinity College, Cambridge with 12 other representatives from Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester and Shrewsbury. An eight-hour meeting produced what amounted to the first set of modern rules, known as theCambridge rules. No copy of these rules now exists, but a revised version from circa 1856 is held in the library of Shrewsbury School.[75] The rules clearly favour the kicking game. Handling was only allowed when a player catches the ball directly from the foot entitling them to a free kick and there was a primitive offside rule, disallowing players from "loitering" around the opponents' goal. The Cambridge rules were not widely adopted outside English public schools and universities (but it was arguably the most significant influence on the Football Association committee members responsible for formulating the rules of Association football).

Sheffield rulesMain article: Sheffield rules

By the late 1850s, many football clubs had been formed throughout the English-speaking world, to play various codes of football. Sheffield Football Club, founded in 1857 in the English city of Sheffield by Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest, was later recognised as the world's oldest club playing association football.[76] However, the club initially played its own code of football: the Sheffield rules. The code was largely independent of the public school rules, the most significant difference being the lack of an offside rule.

The code was responsible for many innovations that later spread to association football. These included free kicks, corner kicks, handball, throw-ins and the crossbar.[77] By the 1870s they became the dominant code in the north and midlands of England. At this time a series of rule changes by both the London and Sheffield FAs gradually eroded the differences between the two games until the adoption of a common code in 1877.

Australian rulesMain article: Australian rules football

See also: Origins of Australian rules football

Tom Wills, widely regarded as the father of Australian football

There is archival evidence of "foot-ball" games being played in various parts of Australia throughout the first half of the 19th century. The origins of an organised game of football known today as Australian rules football can be traced back to 1858 in Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria.

In July 1858, Tom Wills, an Australian-born cricketer educated at Rugby School in England, wrote a letter to Bell's Life in Victoria & Sporting Chronicle, calling for a "foot-ball club" with a "code of laws" to keep cricketers fit during winter.[78] This is considered by historians to be a defining moment in the creation of Australian rules football. Through publicity and personal contacts Wills was able to co-ordinate football matches in Melbourne that experimented with various rules,[79] the first of which was played on July 31, 1858. One week later, Wills umpired a schoolboys match between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College. Following these matches, organised football in Melbourne rapidly increased in popularity.

Wood engraving of an Australian rules football match at the Richmond Paddock, Melbourne, 1866

Wills and others involved in these early matches formed the Melbourne Football Club (the oldest surviving Australian football club) on May 14, 1859. Club members Wills, William Hammersley, J. B. Thompson andThomas H. Smith met with the intention of forming a set of rules that would be widely adopted by other clubs. The committee debated rules used in English public school games; Wills pushed for various rugby football rules he learnt during his schooling. The first rules share similarities with these games, and were shaped to suit to

Australian conditions. H. C. A. Harrison, a seminal figure in Australian football, recalled that his cousin Wills wanted "a game of our own".[80] The code was distinctive in the prevalence of the mark, free kick, tackling, lack of an offside rule and that players were specifically penalised for throwing the ball.

The Melbourne football rules were widely distributed and gradually adopted by the other Victorian clubs. The rules were updated several times during the 1860s to accommodate the rules of other influential Victorian football clubs. A significant redraft in 1866 by H. C. A. Harrison's committee accommodated the Geelong Football Club's rules, making the game then known as "Victorian Rules" increasingly distinct from other codes. It soon adopted cricket fields and an oval ball, used specialised goal and behind posts, and featured bouncing the ball while running and spectacular high marking. The game spread quickly to other Australian colonies. Outside of its heartland in southern Australia the code experienced a significant period of decline followingWorld War I but has since grown throughout Australia and in other parts of the world, and the Australian Football League emerged as the dominant professional competition.

Football Association

The first football international,Scotland versus England. Once kept by the Rugby Football Union as an

early example of rugby football.

Main article: The Football Association

During the early 1860s, there were increasing attempts in England to unify and reconcile the various public school games. In 1862, J. C. Thring, who had been one of the driving forces behind the original Cambridge Rules, was a master at Uppingham School and he issued his own rules of what he called "The Simplest Game" (these are also known as the Uppingham Rules). In early October 1863 another new revised version of the Cambridge Rules was drawn up by a seven member committee representing former pupils from Harrow, Shrewsbury, Eton, Rugby, Marlborough and Westminster.

At the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen Street, London on the evening of October 26, 1863, representatives of several football clubs in the London Metropolitan area met for the inaugural meeting of The Football Association (FA). The aim of the Association was to establish a single unifying code and regulate the playing of the game among its members. Following the first meeting, the public schools were invited to join the association. All of them declined, except Charterhouse and Uppingham. In total, six meetings of the FA were held between October and December 1863. After the third meeting, a draft set of rules were published. However, at the beginning of the fourth meeting, attention was drawn to the recently published Cambridge Rules of 1863. The Cambridge rules differed from the draft FA

rules in two significant areas; namely running with (carrying) the ball and hacking (kicking opposing players in the shins). The two contentious FA rules were as follows:

IX. A player shall be entitled to run with the ball towards his adversaries' goal if he makes a fair catch, or catches the ball on the first bound; but in case of a fair catch, if he makes his mark he shall not run. X. If any player shall run with the ball towards his adversaries' goal, any player on the opposite side shall be at liberty to charge, hold, trip or hack him, or to wrest the ball from him, but no player shall be held and hacked at the same time.

—[81]

At the fifth meeting it was proposed that these two rules be removed. Most of the delegates supported this, but F. M. Campbell, the representative from Blackheath and the first FA treasurer, objected. He said: "hacking is the true football". However, the motion to ban running with the ball in hand and hacking was carried and Blackheath withdrew from the FA. After the final meeting on 8 December, the FA published the "Laws of Football", the first comprehensive set of rules for the game later known as Association Football. The term "soccer", in use since the late 19th century, derives from an abbreviation of "Association". [82]

The first FA rules still contained elements that are no longer part of association football, but which are still recognisable in other games (such as Australian football and rugby football): for instance, a player could make a fair catch and claim a mark, which entitled him to a free kick; and if a player touched the ball behind the opponents' goal line, his side was entitled to a free kick at goal, from 15 yards (13.5 metres) in front of the goal line.

Rugby footballMain article: History of rugby union

A rugby scrum in 1871

In Britain, by 1870, there were about 75 clubs playing variations of the Rugby school game. There were also "rugby" clubs in Ireland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. However, there was no generally accepted set of rules for rugby until 1871, when 21 clubs from London came together to form the Rugby Football Union (RFU). The first official RFU rules were adopted in June 1871. These rules allowed passing the ball. They also included the try, where touching the ball over the line allowed an attempt at goal, though drop-goals from marks and general play, and penalty conversions were still the main form of contest.

North American football codesThis article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

Main articles: History of American football and Canadian football § History

As was the case in Britain, by the early 19th century, North American schools and universities played their own local games, between sides made up of students. Students atDartmouth College in New Hampshire played a game called Old division football, a variant of the association football codes, as early as the 1820s.

The "Tigers" of Hamilton, Ontario, circa 1906. Founded 1869 as the Hamilton Foot Ball Club, they

eventually merged with the Hamilton Flying Wildcats to form the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, a team still active

in theCanadian Football League.[83]

The first game of rugby in Canada is generally said to have taken place in Montreal, in 1865, when British Army officers played local civilians. The game gradually gained a following, and the Montreal Football Club was formed in 1868, the first recorded football club in Canada.

In 1869, the first game played in the United States under rules based on the FA code occurred between Princeton and Rutgers. This is also often considered to be the first U.S. game of college football, in the sense of a game between colleges (although the eventual form of American football would come from rugby, not association football).

Modern American football grew out of a match between McGill University of Montreal, and Harvard University in 1874.[84] At the time, Harvard students are reported to have played the Boston Game — a running code — rather than the FA-based kicking games favoured by U.S. universities. This made it easy for Harvard to adapt to the rugby-based game played by McGill and the two teams alternated between their respective sets of rules. Within a few years, however, Harvard had both adopted McGill's rugby rules and had persuaded other U.S. university teams to do the same. In 1876, at the Massasoit Convention, it was agreed by these universities to adopt most of theRugby Football Union rules, with some variations. Princeton, Rutgers and others continued to compete using soccer-based rules for a few years before switching to the rugby-based rules of Harvard and its competitors. U.S. colleges did not generally return to soccer until the early 20th century.

Rutgers College Football Team, 1882

In 1880, Yale coach Walter Camp, devised a number of major changes to the American game. Camp's two most important rule innovations in establishing American football as distinct from the rugby football games on which it is based are scrimmage and down-and-distance rules.

Scrimmage refers to the practice of starting action by delivering the ball from the ground to another player's hand. Camp's original rule allowed this delivery to be done only with the feet; the rule was soon changed to allow the ball to be passed by hand. The rule also established a distinct line of scrimmage which separates the two teams from each other. When a player is tackled, he is ruled down and play stops, while the teams reset on either side of the line of scrimmage. Play then resumes with the delivery of the ball. Teams are given a limited number of downs to achieve a certain distance (always measured in yards). In American football, teams are given four downs to advance the ball ten yards, after which

possession of the ball changes. In Canadian football, teams are allowed three downs to advance ten yards. These rules created a fundamental distinction between the North American codes and rugby codes. Rugby is still fundamentally a continuous-action game, while North American codes are organized around running discrete "plays", as defined as starting with the delivery from "scrimmage" and ending with the "down".

Criticisms and partial adjustments"No sport is wholesome in which ungenerous or mean acts which easily escape detection contribute to victory." - Charles William Eliot, President of Harvard University (1869-1909) opposing football in 1905.[85]

American football, in its early years, was an excessively violent game, plagued with several deaths and life-changing injuries every year. The violence became so drastic thatPresident Theodore Roosevelt threatened to shut down the game in 1905, should rules not be changed to minimize this violence.[86] Several rule changes were put into place that year, but the most enduring has been the introduction of the legal forward pass which opened up the play and, like Camp's rule changes of the 1880s, fundamentally changed the nature of the sport. When it became legal to throw the ball forward, an entire new method of advancing the ball emerged. As a result, players became more specialized in their roles, as the different positions on the team required different skill sets. Thus, some players are primarily involved in running with the ball (the running back) while others specialize in throwing (the quarterback), catching (the wide receiver), or blocking (the offensive line). With the advent of free substitution rules in the 1940s and 1950s, teams could deploy separate offensive and defensive "platoons" which led to even greater specialization.

Over the years, Canadian football absorbed some developments in American football, but also retained many unique characteristics. One of these was that Canadian football, for many years, did not officially distinguish itself from rugby. For example, the Canadian Rugby Football Union, founded in 1884 was the forerunner of the Canadian Football League, rather than a rugby union body. (The Canadian Rugby Union, today known as Rugby Canada, was not formed until 1965.) American football was also frequently described as "rugby" in the 1880s.

Gaelic football

The All-Ireland Football Final in Croke Park, 2004.

Main article: History of Gaelic football

In the mid-19th century, various traditional football games, referred to collectively as caid, remained popular in Ireland, especially in County Kerry. One observer, Father W. Ferris, described two main forms of caid during this period: the "field game" in which the object was to put the ball through arch-like goals, formed from the boughs of two trees; and the epic "cross-country game" which took up most of the daylight hours of a Sunday on which it was played, and was won by one team taking the ball across a parish boundary. "Wrestling", "holding" opposing players, and carrying the ball were all allowed.

By the 1870s, Rugby and Association football had started to become popular in Ireland. Trinity College, Dublin was an early stronghold of Rugby (see the Developments in the 1850s section, above). The rules of the English FA were being distributed widely. Traditional forms of caid had begun to give way to a "rough-and-tumble game" which allowed tripping.

There was no serious attempt to unify and codify Irish varieties of football, until the establishment of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in 1884. The GAA sought to promote traditional Irish sports, such as hurling and to reject imported games like Rugby and Association football. The first Gaelic football rules were drawn up by Maurice Davin and published in the United Ireland magazine on February 7, 1887. Davin's rules showed the influence of games such as hurling and a desire to formalise a distinctly Irish code of football. The prime example of this differentiation was the lack of an offside rule (an attribute which, for many years, was shared only by other Irish games like hurling, and by Australian rules football).

Schism in Rugby football

An English cartoon from the 1890s lampooning the divide in rugby football which led to the

formation of rugby league. The caricatures are of Rev. Frank Marshall, an arch-opponent of player

payments, and James Miller, a long-time opponent of Marshall. The caption reads: Marshall: "Oh,

fie, go away naughty boy, I don't play with boys who can’t afford to take a holiday for football any

day they like!" Miller: "Yes, that's just you to a T; you’d make it so that no lad whose father wasn’t a

millionaire could play at all in a really good team. For my part I see no reason why the men who

make the money shouldn’t have a share in the spending of it."

Further information: History of rugby league

The International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) was founded in 1886, but rifts were beginning to emerge in the code. Professionalism was beginning to creep into the various codes of football.

In England, by the 1890s, a long-standing Rugby Football Union ban on professional players was causing regional tensions within rugby football, as many players in northern England were working class and could not afford to take time off to train, travel, play and recover from injuries. This was not very different from what had occurred ten years earlier in soccer in Northern England but the authorities reacted very differently in the RFU, attempting to alienate the working class support in Northern England. In 1895, following a dispute about a player being paid broken time payments, which replaced wages lost as a result of playing rugby, representatives of the northern clubs met in Huddersfield to form the Northern Rugby Football Union (NRFU). The new body initially permitted only various types of player wage replacements. However, within two years, NRFU players could be paid, but they were required to have a job outside sport.

The demands of a professional league dictated that rugby had to become a better "spectator" sport. Within a few years the NRFU rules had started to diverge from the

RFU, most notably with the abolition of the line-out. This was followed by the replacement of the ruck with the "play-the-ball ruck", which allowed a two-player ruck contest between the tackler at marker and the player tackled. Mauls were stopped once the ball carrier was held, being replaced by a play-the ball-ruck. The separate Lancashire and Yorkshire competitions of the NRFU merged in 1901, forming the Northern Rugby League, the first time the name rugby league was used officially in England.

Over time, the RFU form of rugby, played by clubs which remained members of national federations affiliated to the IRFB, became known as rugby union.

Globalisation of association footballMain article: History of FIFA

The need for a single body to oversee association football had become apparent by the beginning of the 20th century, with the increasing popularity of international fixtures. The English Football Association had chaired many discussions on setting up an international body, but was perceived as making no progress. It fell to associations from seven other European countries: France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, to form an international association. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association(FIFA) was founded in Paris on May 21, 1904. Its first president was Robert Guérin. The French name and acronym has remained, even outside French-speaking countries.

Further divergence of the two rugby codesRugby league rules diverged significantly from rugby union in 1906, with the reduction of the team from 15 to 13 players. In 1907, a New Zealand professional rugby team toured Australia and Britain, receiving an enthusiastic response, and professional rugby leagues were launched in Australia the following year. However, the rules of professional games varied from one country to another, and negotiations between various national bodies were required to fix the exact rules for each international match. This situation endured until 1948, when at the instigation of the French league, the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) was formed at a meeting in Bordeaux.

During the second half of 20th century, the rules changed further. In 1966, rugby league officials borrowed the American football concept of downs: a team was allowed to retain possession of the ball for four tackles (rugby union retains the original rule that a player who is tackled and brought to the ground must release the ball immediately). The maximum number of tackles was later increased to six (in 1971), and in rugby league this became known as the six tackle rule.

With the advent of full-time professionals in the early 1990s, and the consequent speeding up of the game, the five metre off-side distance between the two teams became 10 metres, and the replacement rule was superseded by various interchange rules, among other changes.

The laws of rugby union also changed during the 20th century, although less significantly than those of rugby league. In particular, goals from marks were abolished, kicks directlyinto touch from outside the 22 metre line were penalised, new laws were put in place to determine who had possession following an inconclusive ruck or maul, and the lifting of players in line-outs was legalised.

In 1995, rugby union became an "open" game, that is one which allowed professional players. Although the original dispute between the two codes has now disappeared — and despite the fact that officials from both forms of rugby football have sometimes mentioned the possibility of re-unification — the rules of both codes and their culture have diverged to such an extent that such an event is unlikely in the foreseeable future.

A player takes a free kick, while the opposition form a "wall", in Association football

Use of the word "football"For more details on this topic, see Football (word).

The word "football", when used in reference to a specific game can mean any one of those described above. Because of this, much friendly controversy has occurred over the term football, primarily because it is used in different ways in different parts of the English-speaking world. Most often, the word "football" is used to refer to the code of football that is considered dominant within a particular region. So, effectively, what the word "football" means usually depends on where one says it.

Players assemble at the line of scrimmage in an American footballgame.

Association football is known generally as soccer where other codes of football are dominant, including: the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. American football is always football in the United States. In francophone Quebec, where Canadian football is more popular, the Canadian code is known as football and association football is known as le soccer.[87] Of the 45 national FIFA affiliates in which English is an official or primary language, most currently use Football in their organizations' official names; the FIFA affiliates inCanada and the United States use Soccer in their names. A few FIFA affiliates have recently "normalized" to using "Football", including:

Australia's association football governing body  changed its name in 2005 from using "soccer" to "football"[88]

New Zealand's governing body  also changed in 2007, saying "the international game is called football."[89]

Samoa changed from "Samoa Football (Soccer) Federation" to "Football Federation Samoa" in 2009.[90][91]

Football in IndiaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Football in India

Country India

Governing body All India Football Federation (AIFF)

(formed in 1937, joined FIFA in 1948)[1]

National team India

Nickname(s) Blue Tigers

First played 1800s

National competitions

I-League

I-League 2nd Division

International competitions

List[show]

Football is India's second most popular sport, next to the game of cricket.[3] Traditionally it has enjoyed popularity in the regions such as West Bengal, Goa, Kerala, and the entire north-eastern India, especially Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland andSikkim.[2] Dr.T.Ao, the Captain of the Indian Football Team to the London Olympics, 1948, and Captain of the Mohun Bagan Athletic Club in 1948 and 1949 hailed from Nagaland.

India's current top domestic league, I-League, was formed in 2007 in an attempt to professionalize domestic football.[4] Also contested is Santosh Trophy, a knock-out competition between states (provinces) and government institutions. The current captain of the Indian national team is Sunil Chhetri and the team is coached by Wim Koevermans. India is currently ranked 171th in the FIFA World Rankings.[1][5][6]

The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup is scheduled to take place in India. By virtue of being the host country, the Indian team will play in the tournament.[7]

Contents  [hide] 

1 History 2 League system

o 2.1 I-League 2.1.1 I-League 2nd Division

HistoryFor more details on this topic, see History of Indian Football.

The origin of football in India can be traced back to mid-nineteenth century when the game was introduced by British soldiers. Initially, games were played between army teams. However, clubs were soon set up around the country. Several football clubs like Calcutta FC, Sovabazar, Mohun Bagan and Aryan Club were established in Calcutta around the 1890s. Calcutta, then capital of British India, soon became the hub of Indian football. Tournaments like Gladstone Cup, Trades Cup and Cooch Behar Cup was also started around this time. The Durand Cup and IFA Shield were both started in late nineteenth century.

The first Indian team to achieve success was Sovabazar Club, which won the Trades Cup in 1892. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club was set up in what is now West Bengal in 1889. The club became famous in 1911 when it became the first Indian team to lift the IFA Shield, a tournament previously won only by British teams based in India. It defeated the East Yorkshire Regiment 2–1 in the final of the tournament in a victory that is still regarded by many as the greatest win by an Indian team before Independence.

The Indian Football Association (IFA) was established in Calcutta in 1893, but did not have a single Indian on its board until the 1930s. The All India Football Federation, which runs the game in India, was formed in 1937, but took more than a decade to get affiliated with FIFA. India also insisted on playing barefoot when other nations were putting their boots on and the game was changing fast.[8]

India qualified by default for the 1950 FIFA World Cup as a result of the withdrawal of all of their scheduled opponents. But lack of foreign exchange, the prospects of a long sea journey and an insistence on playing barefoot meant that the team never made it to Brazil.[8][9] Although FIFA imposed a rule banning barefoot play following 1948 Olympicswhere India had played barefoot. The myth that Indians refused to play because they were not allowed to play barefoot is not entirely true, according to the then Indian captainShailen Manna, it was just a story to cover up the disastrous decision of the AIFF. The team has never since come close to qualifying for the World Cup.[9][10][11][12]

India even picked up the gold in football in the first Asian Games in 1951, beating a "booted" Iran by a solitary goal. In 1956, after having put on its boots, India reached the semi-final in Melbourne Olympics football, the first Asian country to do so. It stood fourth in the tournament. In 1962, India again picked up the football gold in the Asian Games.[8]1951–1962 is usually considered as "golden phase" of Indian football. The National team won numerous titles in this era under the coaching of Syed Abdul Rahim. Other than success in Asian Games football, India also won Merdeka Cup and Quadrangular Tournament while East Bengal garnered rave reviews after its tour of Romania. Rahim's death in the early 1960s pegged Indian football back after a successful period.

India never qualified for the Olympics after 1960.[8] India did qualify for its first Asian Cup in 1964 but failed to capture the title. India's last important performance in an international tournament was in 1970 Asian Games, when it won the bronze medal by defeating Japan 1–0. In mid-70s, Indian youth team jointly won the Youth Asian Cup with Iran. Indian football would go through a barren phase in 70s, 80s and 90s, gradually losing its foothold as a top Asian team.

In August 2007, the Indian national team won the Nehru Cup for the first time in its history beating Syria 1–0.[13] In August the following year, India defeated Tajikistan 4–1 to lift the AFC Challenge Cup and in turn qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. In August 2009, India again won the Nehru Cup beating Syria in penalty (6–5).

In January 2011 India played in the 2011 Asian Cup which was the first time India has played in the Asian Cup for 24 years. India were knocked out in the group stage which contained South Korea, Australia, and Bahrain.

Ever since the 2011 Asian Cup the All India Football Federation has been working very hard on Indian Football. For instance they allowed former coach Bob Houghton coach the Indian side in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers. After going first in there AFC Challenge Cup group Bob Houghton was sacked and replaced by the current Indian coachWim Koevermans. Meanwhile the India national under-23 football team won the first round of the 2012 Olympics qualifiers against Myanmar but were knocked out by Qatar. India played their next official matches

against United Arab Emirates in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers which India lost on aggregate 5–2.

League system[edit]

I-League[edit]National Football League, established in 1996 by governing body All India Football Federation (AIFF) was the first "semi-professional" football league in India. The League was renamed and restructured and the I-League was founded in 2006 after India's former top league the National Football League disbanded in a successful effort aimed at increasing the game in India. Links with clubs that were not in the I-League were maintained, and each season the bottom two clubs are relegated from the I-League and replaced by two from the I-League 2nd Division. The I-League is contested between 14 clubs each season.

I-League 2nd Division[edit]The I-League 2nd Division ranks second in the hierarchy of Indian football since the disbanding of India's top league in 2005. The I-League 2nd Division has 21 member clubs evenly divided among three divisions. Promotion and relegation of clubs still takes place between the I-league and the I-League 2nd Division.

State League football[edit]State league football is considered the best amateur leagues in India. Each state has their own league in India. There is no promotion/relegation between the state leagues and the I-League 2nd Division[citation needed] but there could be promotion/relegation between leagues within the state. For example, the Calcutta Football League has three divisions with promotion/relegation but the winner of the Calcutta Football League will not get promoted to the I-League 2nd Division.[original

research?]

Calcutta Football League[edit]Calcutta Football League (CFL) is the football league system where several football clubs of the Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta) participate. It currently consists of six-tier pyramid system.Indian Football Association (IFA) conducts the CFL with 157 mostly Kolkata based clubs and units. Started in 1898, this league is the oldest league in Asia and one of the oldest in the world. There are about 8500 directly registered players of IFA whoparticipate in CFL. [citation needed]

Youth leagues[edit]Right now the official youth league in India is the I-League U19 which was won by Pune FC in 2012.

Indian Super league[edit]The Indian Super League was founded in 2013 in an effort to make football a top sport in India and to make Indian football a major player worldwide.[1] The league operates along the lines of the Twenty20 cricket Indian Premier League, and Major League Soccer of the United States.[4] Unlike the majority of football leagues around the world, the ISL does not use the promotion and relegation system. Instead, it uses a FRANCHISE system in which eight teams were created to participate in the league.

Cup competitions[edit]

Federation Cup : The Federation Cup (abbreviated as Fed cup) is an annual knockout style club football tournament in India. It has started in 1977. From its inception till I-League has been started in 1997 (then called NFL), it was the most prestigious national level club football tournament in India. Presently it is the most important club tournament after I-league. Winning club of Federation cup gets a chance to compete in the continental level in AFC Cup along with I-league champion team.

Durand Cup : The Durand Football Tournament was started by then, India's Foreign Secretary, Mortimer Durand at Simla, India, in 1888, initial matches were played in Dagshai. It was basically initiated, as a recreation for British troops stationed in India. The Durand Cup was twice suspended, during the two world wars. In 1940 the venue was shifted to New Delhi.

Indian Super Cup : The Indian Super Cup is a one-off annual Indian club association football match contested between the I-League champions and the Federation Cup winners. If the I-League champions also won the Federation Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition. The winners of the game receive the Shield as a trophy for the year, while players also receive individual winners medals.

Santosh Trophy : Santosh Trophy is an annual Indian football tournament which is contested by states and government institutions. The first winners were Bengal, who also lead the all-time winners list with 31 titles till date.

IFA Shield : The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. It is the fourth oldest club cup competition in the world (Started in 1893) after the English and Scottish FA cup's and the Durand Cup.

Qualification for Asian competitions[edit]See also: Indian clubs in the Asian Football

Competition Who Qualifies Notes

AFC Cup Champions of the I-League and Federation Cup Group stage

National team[edit]Main article: India national football team

The India national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, AIFF became one of the founder members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). At the peak of its success during the 1950s and 60s, the team was automatically advanced to play in the 1950 FIFA World Cup (all the other Asian teams withdrew), but they did not go to the tournament in Brazil due to the cost of travel,[9] lack of practice time, team selection issues, their refusal to not play barefoot and valuing Olympics over FIFA World cup.[14] They won gold medals at two Asian Games, and held the record for the best performance by an Asian football team at the Olympics.

There are also a number of other national teams from the Under-23 team to the Under-15 team, the under-23's is considered to be a feeder team for the national team.

Structure[edit]For more details on this topic, see All India Football Federation.

The game in India is administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), which is affiliated with the regional Asian Football Confederation, as well as with the worldwide bodyFIFA. The Indian national team has entered into the regional Asian Cup but has never competed in any World Cup. The Indian women's national team has also played in various competitions; moreover, women's football has its own separate inter-state and state competitions. Youth football is administered by the governmental Sports Authority of India.

The standard of Indian football (compared globally) is poor. According to FIFA rankings, the national team is ranked 165th place in the world as of April 2011, and is said to struggle to qualify for both the World Cup and the Asian Cup. Part of this has been put down to the lack of opportunities for proper training and development of players in the country.

Women's football[edit]Main article: Women's football in India

Women's football has not had the relative head start over the rest of the world that the men's game has had, and also has not had the chance to spread through the country like its male counterpart. The game was administerd by the Women's Football Federation of India (WFFI) from 1975 until the early 1990s when they were absorbed into the AIFF. However, there are complaints that women's football is treated as a poor relation to the men's game leading to (unfulfilled) plans to de-merge the WFFI.[15]

The women's game, like the men's game, also has its early pioneers in the state of West Bengal. The large Kolkata teams, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, started women's club sides in the 2000–01 season, and they participate with other teams in the Calcutta Women's Football League. However, it has been seen recently that players from Odisha andManipur have made advances in the game. Players from these two states make up a large part of the India women's national football team.

The main women's national competition is played on a state vs. state basis in the India women's football championship.[16] There are also similar national championships for junior teams like the Junior Girls National Championship (for under 19s) and the Under-17 Girls National Championship.

Some female players have become internationally recognised. Among them are Chitra Gangadharan who was selected to play for the All Asian Star team. Jaanki Kotecha was selected as captain to the All Asian Star Team in 2008–2009, where she led her team to victory. In February 2000, Sujata Kar and Alpana Sil became the first Indian footballers to sign a contract outside India. They signed with the German team TSV Crailsheim, but had to return after a month due to problems with the clearance of their international transfer.

Until 1983, women's football took part in international tournaments like the AFC Women's Asian Cup. For example the team won silver in 1980 at Calicut. In later years it had become poor in status just like its male counterpart. During the 2003 AFC Women's Championship, the Indian team were embarrassed by a 12–0 defeat to China.[17]

The poor support of the national team by the AIFF became evident, when the team's trip to Germany was only made possible by Non Resident Indians in the country, and by the support of the German Football Association. Furthermore, championships are held in remote locations, and national media coverage is said to be restricted to state and local newspapers.[15]

The women's game reached a new low in June 2009 when FIFA delisted the side from its world rankings for being out of action for more than 18 months. This comes at a time when the game was gaining in popularity amongst the younger generation as evident by the local leagues conducted around the country. The recently concluded Mumbai Women's Football League 2009–10 organised by the MDFA (Mumbai District Football Association) was a major success and featured many talented players who had played for the national team. Furthermore the popularity of the event gave hope that the women's game could rise in India.[18]

Stadiums in India[edit]

There are many football stadiums in India, however only a few of these stadiums are of World Standards. These are namely the largest stadium in India, the Salt Lake Stadium inKolkata with a capacity of 120,000, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi with a capacity of over 60,000 and the Ambedkar Stadium with a capacity of 20,000 (but is known to have had crowds of 35,000 in the 2009 Nehru Cup). Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, with seating capacity of over 45,000 and Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, with seating capacity approximately 55,000 are two major

arenas for football events in Odisha. In Sikkim, the Paljor Stadium in Gangtok which seats over 25,000 is famous as one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world as it is situated in the backdrop of Himalayas. In Shillong the main stadium is the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium with a capacity of 25,000 standing. Both the Paljor and the JLN in Shillong have been renovated and now have artificial playing surfaces. Some other stadiums important stadiums are the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, the Barasat Stadium in Barasat, the Fatorda Stadium in Goa, the Kaloor International Stadium in Kochi, Municipal Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode, theJawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Guwahati. Apart from the above-mentioned stadiums, there are hundreds of more stadiums in the country. However, with India likely to host the2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup there is definitely going to be massive renovation of said stadiums around the country.

For more detail - The History of Indian football is a long and detailed one, as it was the

national sport at one time. The impetus for this was to unify the Indian Army. There is evidence for refereed team football games being played in the Indian Army since at least 1949. India is home to some of the oldest football clubs in the world and the third world's oldest competition, the Durand Cup.

Contentshide1800s[edit]

Football was introduced to India by British soldiers in the mid-nineteenth century. It spread because of the efforts of Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikari. In 1888 the Durand Cup was founded by then India's Foreign Secretary, Mortimer Durand at Simla, India. The Durand Cup is the third oldest football competition behind the FA Cup and the Scottish Cup. It was initiated, as a recreation for British troops stationed in India. Royal Scots Fusiliers won the first edition of the cup by beating Highland Light Infantry 2-1 in the Final. In 1893 the IFA Shield was founded as the fourth oldest trophy in the world. Calcutta, then capital of British India, soon became the hub of Indian football. Sarada FC was the oldest Indian football club.

In 1889 India's oldest current team Mohun Bagan A.C. was founded as Mohun Bagan Sporting Club. This was the first club to be under the rule of the army. Several football clubs like Calcutta FC, Sovabazar and Aryan Club were established in Calcutta during the 1890s. Tournaments like the Gladstone Cup, Trades Cup and Coocbehar Cup also started around this time.

The first Indian Federation, the Indian Football Association, was founded in 1893 but did not have a single Indian in the board.

1900-1950[edit]

During this time period actual Indian football started to take place. Several clubs were founded, more Cup competitions were introduced and Indian players became more common. The major event that showed a rise in Indian Football was in 1911 when Mohun Bagan beat East Yorkshire Regiment 2-1 in the final of the IFA Shield. This was the first time and Indian team won a major national cup.

Indian teams started touring Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand in the late 1930s. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) was formed in 1937. The 1948 London Olympics was India's first major international tournament, where a predominately barefooted Indian team lost 2–1 to France in the opening match, failing to convert two penalties.Sarangapani Raman scored the only goal for India in that match and thus the first Indian international goal ever in the Olympics.

The 1950 World Cup[edit]

India qualified by default for the 1950 FIFA World Cup finals as a result of the withdrawal of all of their scheduled opponents. But the governing body AIFF decided against going to the World Cup, being unable to understand the importance of the event at that time. Reason shown by AIFF was that there was the cost of travel, although FIFA agreed to bear a major part of the travel expenses, lack of practice time, team selection issues and valuing Olympics over FIFA World cup.

Although FIFA imposed a rule banning barefoot play following 1948 Olympics where India had played barefoot, the suggestion that the Indian team refused to play because they were not allowed to play barefoot is not entirely true; according to the then-Indian captain Shailen Manna, it was invented to cover up. The team has never since come close to qualifying for the World Cup.

1951-1962: The Golden Era of Indian Football[edit]

The period from 1951 to 1962 is considered the golden era in Indian football. Under the tutelage of legendary Syed Abdul Rahim India became the best team in Asia. The Indian team started the 1950s with victory in the 1951 Asian Games which they hosted. India beat both Indonesia and Afghanistan 3–0 to reach the final where they beat Iran 1–0. In 1952, India continued their form by winning the Colombo Quadrangular Cup held in Sri Lanka. This is called as the Golden time of Indian football. As four years earlier, many of the team played without boots but after the result in the Olympics AIFF immediately made it mandatory to wear boots.

India also won three further editions of the Quadrangular Cup, which were held in Burma, Calcutta and Dhaka in 1953, 1954 and 1955 respectively. India then went on to finish second ? in the 1954 Asian Games held in Manila.

At the 1956 Olympics they finished fourth, this is the second time India made second history in the world of football. India first met hosts Australia, winning 4–2 with Neville D'Souza becoming the first Asian to score a hatrick in the Olympics and also making India the first Asian team to reach the Olympic semi-finals. They lost 4–1 to Yugoslavia, and lost the third place play-off match 3–0 to Bulgaria.

India participated in the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan where they finished fourth, and the Merdeka Cup 1959 in Malaysia finishing second. The side started off 1960 with Asian Cup qualifiers in which they failed to qualify. India went on to win the 1962 Asian Games where they

beat South Korea 2–1 in the final, and two years later finished second in the 1964 Asian Cup which was held in round-robin format. India played in the Merdeka Cup in 1964, 1965 and 1966 where they finished 2nd, 3rd and 3rd .

1963-1984: Post-Golden Era[edit]

Rahim's death in early 60s pegged Indian football back after a successful period. India played in the 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok but were eliminated in first round. India then took third place in the 1970 Asian Games, beating Japan 1–0 in the third place, play-off. In mid-70s, Indian youth team jointly won the Youth Asian Cup with Iran. Indian football would go through a barren phase in 70s, 80s and 90s, gradually losing its foothold as a top Asian team.

In 1984 India qualified for the 1984 Asian Cup. The team were placed in Group B but ended in last place after losing all but 1 match (which was a draw). India also failed to score during the Asian Cup as well which brought up questions about team selection.

1985-2000[edit]

India won gold medals in the SAF Games of both 1984 (in Dhaka) and 1987 (Calcutta). They won the inaugural SAARC Cup in 1993 in Lahore, and finished runner-up in Colombo two years later. By 1997 the competition had been renamed as the SAFF Cup, and India won it in both 1997 and 1999 edition, when they hosted it in Goa.

India also got a major boost when the All India Football Federation created the National Football League in 1996. This was India's first ever national domestic league.

2000-2010: The rebirth of Indian Football[edit]

Although India failed to qualify for the 2004 Asian Cup, the senior team gained the silver medal in the inaugural Afro Asian Games, with victories over Rwanda and Zimbabwe(then 85 places ahead of India in the world rankings), losing the final 1–0 to Uzbekistan. As a result, Indian football has steadily earned greater recognition and respect, both within the country and abroad. In November 2003 then-India coach Stephen Constantine was named AFC Manager of the Month.

India lost to Pakistan and Bangladesh in the 2003 SAFF Cup, and defeats in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers meant Stephen Constantine was sacked. The LG Cup win in Vietnam under Stephen Constantine was one of the few bright spots in the early part of the 2000s. It was India's first victory in a football tournament outside the subcontinent since 1974. India defeated hosts Vietnam 3–2 in the final despite trailing 2–0 after 30 minutes.

In 2005 Syed Nayeemuddin was appointed as India coach but he was immediately sacked the following year after heavy defeats in 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. Much traveled and experienced coach Bob Houghton was later appointed coach of team in 2006. Under Houghton India saw a huge revival in World Football. In August 2007, the Indian national team won the Nehru Cup for the first time in its history beating Syria 1-0. In August the following year, India

defeated Tajikistan 4-1 to lift the 2008 AFC Challenge Cupand in turn qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. In 2009 August, India again won the Nehru Cup beating Syria again but this time in penalties (6-5).

Club wise Indian Football took a turn for the better as the National Football League folded in 2006 and in 2007 the brand new I-League was started. The first I-League season was won by Goa club Dempo. During the 2008 AFC Cup Dempo made history when they made it all the way to the semi-finals of the AFC Cup before losing out to Safa Beirut SC.

2011: The 2011 AFC Asian Cup[edit]

In the beginning of 2011 India took part in the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 27 years. India were placed in Group C with Australia, Bahrain, and South Korea. On 10 January 2011 India played their first match against Australia where they lost 4-0. Then on 14 January 2011 India played Bahrain where again they lost 5-2 with Sunil Chhetri andGouramangi Singh. Then on 18 January 2011 India played their final match of the tournament against South Korea where they again lost 4-1. Sunil Chhetri was the goal scorer for India which meant that he scored the most goals for India in the tournament with two goals in three matches.

2011: A new beginning[edit]

Since the 2011 Asian Cup the All India Football Federation has been working very hard on Indian Football. They allowed former coach Bob Houghton to coach the Indian side in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers. India played its first match in 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification on 21 March winning 3–0 against Chinese Taipei, with Jewel Raja Shaikh, Sunil Chhetri and Jeje Lalpekhlua scoring the goals. On 23 March they faced Pakistan. India came from behind and defeated Pakistan 3–1 with Jeje Lalpekhlua scoring 2 goals and Steven Dias scoring one. On 25 March they faced Turkmenistan their last 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifying game and India drew the game 1–1. The result meant that they finished on top of Group B and qualified for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup.

In April 2011 Houghton was resigned as India coach after reports of racial abuse to an Indian referee during a match against Vietnam. In May 2011 the AIFF appointed Armando Colaco as Indian head coach. The Indian senior team defeated Qatar 2–1 in an historic international friendly before the start of the world cup qualifier against UAE (United Arab Emirates). India went on to lose the qualifying encounter by 5-2 on aggregate over two legs, having contentiously suffered two red cards and two converted penalties in the first 23 minutes of the opening leg, which the UAE won by 3-0. The Indian national team went on a friendly tour to the Carrebiean Islands, which turned out to be very unsuccessful. Recently they were beaten 2-1 by Guyana.

Football fieldFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Football field or football pitch may refer to the playing areas of several codes of football: ,

Association football pitch (soccer), a rectangular field, usually 105 m × 68 m or 7140 m2

American football field, a rectangular field, 120.0 yd × 53.3 yd or 6400 yd2

Australian rules football playing field Canadian football field, a rectangular field, 150 yd × 65 yd or 9750 yd2

Gaelic football playing field, a rectangular field, 130–145 m long and 80–90 m wide Rugby league playing field, a rectangular field, 112–122 m long and 68 m wide Rugby union playing field, a rectangular field, 100 m long and 70 m wide

Financial fair play: All you need to know about how it worksWe are hearing more and more about financial fair play (FFP) in football, with clubs across Europe already facing punishments for breaching its rules, but how does it work?BBC Sport explains why it was brought in and how clubs in breach of the regulations can be punished.

1. What exactly is FFP?

It was introduced by Uefa  to prevent clubs that qualify for its competitions from spending beyond their means and stamp out what their president Michael Platini called "financial doping" within football.Platini believes the big spending of some clubs is ruining the game and feels that the level of debt carried by many is unsustainable.

2. What must clubs do to comply with FFP?

Uefa made its first FFP ruling in April based on club accounts from the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.

Clubs can spend up to 5m euros (£3.9m) more than they earn per assessment period, although, under this monitoring period, total losses of 45m euros (£35m) were permitted as long as clubs had owners who could cover such amounts.From now on, the assessment will be made over a rolling three-year period.

Uefa president Michel Platini says "the framework for FFP must be dynamic and it must evolve constantly"For 2014-15, losses will still be limited to 45m euros (£35m).For 2015-16, the monitoring period will again cover the previous three seasons, but the limit will drop to 30m euros (£25.5m).The pattern is repeated in 2016-17 and 2017-18.In the following years the limit will be lower, with the exact amount still to be decided.Clubs are also obliged to meet all their transfer and employee payment commitments at all times.

3. What is covered by FFP?

Clubs need to balance football-related expenditure - transfers and wages - with television and ticket income, plus revenues raised by their commercial departments. Money spent on stadiums, training facilities, youth development or community projects is exempt.

4. Who polices the regulations?

The Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) was set up by Uefa to oversee the application of the its Club Licensing System and Financial Fair Play Regulations.

5. What are the possible sanctions for clubs in breach of FFP?

"The atomic bomb is a ban from European competition," said Jean-Luc Dehaene, the first chairman and chief investigator of CFCB, back in 2011 (Dehaene died in May 2014).The CFCB's investigatory chamber can offer clubs settlement agreements, with potential punishments including warnings, fines, withholding prize money, transfer bans, points deductions, a ban on registration of new players and a restriction on the number of players who can be registered for Uefa competitions.

6. So how does that affect big European teams?

Nine clubs were found to have breached the FFP criteria in the first assessment period, most notably Manchester City and Paris St-Germain, and a range of fines and sanctions were imposed.City were fined £49m, £32m of which was suspended, had spending restrictions imposed and could only name a 21-man Champions League squad for 2014-15.

Paris St-Germain failed FFP when their £167m sponsorship contract with the Qatar Tourism Authority was ruled to have an unfair valueThey had posted combined losses of £149m for the first two seasons assessed - £97m in 2012 and £51.6m in 2013 - and the CFCB ruled that not enough of their costs could be attributed to a new training complex and youth development investment.Qatar-owned Paris St-Germain received a similar punishment to City. They were deemed to have failed the test when the CFCB decided their back-dated £167m sponsorship contract with the Qatar Tourism Authority, which wiped out their losses, had an unfair value.

7. Can punishments be overturned?

We will see. Jean-Louis Dupont, a lawyer who helped win the landmark Bosman case, has launched a legal challenge with the European Commission, claiming that FFP breaches European competition law.An independent Manchester City supporters' club, which has 15,000 members, has voted to back the complaint.Clubs could also appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

8. And why are Liverpool being investigated?

Because they posted losses of £49.8m in 2012-13 and £41m in 2011-12 and are back in European competition this season having qualified for the Champions League.

Liverpool face investigation for potentially breaching FFPThe Reds, along with Monaco, Inter Milan, Roma, Besiktas, FC Krasnodar and Sporting Lisbon - none of whom took part in European competition in 2013-14 - have submitted their accounts to the CFCB but have been told to submit further information on their finances in October and November.After signing a series of lucrative commercial deals over the past 18 months, Liverpool are confident they have adhered to the FFP regulations.

9. Is there just one form of FFP?

No. The Premier League has brought in its own form of financial regulation which is not as stringent as Uefa's FFP.Clubs cannot make a loss in excess of £105m across the 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons (as with FFP, investment in infrastructure and youth development is exempt).Any club that posts losses in excess of that figure could face severe penalties, including a points deduction.A loss between £15m and £105m has to be guaranteed by club owners.The league has also introduced a short-term cost control measure in which clubs are restricted in the amount of increased PL central funds that can be used to improve player wages.The increase in wages from the fund was limited to £4m in 2013-14, £8m in 2014-15 and £12m in 2015-16 (wages can be increased from clubs' own commercial revenue).

QPR owner Tony Fernandes says he will appeal against any FFP punishment imposed by the Football LeagueThe measure applies only to clubs with a player wage bill in excess of £52m in 2013-14, £56m in 2014-15 and £60m in 2015-16.Meanwhile, the Football League and its clubs have agreed on a FFP framework  across all three of its divisions.Championship clubs are permitted losses of £8m (£5m funded by shareholders) in 2013-14 (accounts must be submitted by 1 December).They have to reduce them, season-on-season, to a maximum of £5m (£3m funded by shareholders) by 2015-16.Clubs promoted back to the Premier League who exceed those losses are subject to a fine.

10. Any clubs at risk of failing this test?

Most notably, QPR. They posted losses of £65.4m, with a wage bill of £68m, in their 2012-13 accounts.Chairman Tony Fernandes has indicated he would appeal against a fine from the Football League, which would be around £54m if losses for Rangers' promotion season matched the 2012-13 figures.There is a sliding scale on the next £10m of losses, with a maximum fine of £6.681m. Once losses exceed £18m, the fine is imposed on a strict pound-for-pound basis.Should there be an overall loss of £30m, the fine would be almost £19m. If it was £50m, the figure would be nearly £39m.

If the club don't pay, the league can block entry to its competitions, which theoretically could force QPR down to the Conference if they were relegated from the Premier League in 2014-15.

11. And what about Leagues One & Two?

These clubs already have a limit on spending as a percentage of turnover.Any club that is deemed to have breached the permitted spending threshold can be subject to a transfer embargo.

The 10 Fundamental Soccer Skills You Must Learn

So what are the basic skills you need to know as a soccer player? Well, I would say that there are 10 basic skills you need to know to start playing soccer.

However, I think that the 10 presented skills below are the most essential ones if you are new to soccer.

But if you are serious with your soccer playing you will need to learn many other things that are not presented below.

If you are just interested in chilling with your friends the most important ones you should concentrate on to learn are 1, 2, 6 and 9.

Now, let's take a look at fundamental soccer skills that you should have in your soccer arsenal:

1. Passing

Knowing this one is a must whether you are playing with your friends or participating in a regular soccer team. If you don't know how to pass the ball then no one will either pass it to you.

2. Receiving

You need to know how to receive and control the soccer ball when someone passes it to you. If you don't know how to receive it, then the same scenario like what I just mentioned will occur and no one will pass it to you.

3. Rules

Understanding the rules of the game is important. This is something that many new soccer players have problems with. The number one rule that cause the biggest problems is to understand what that offside thing is about.

I can admit that it took me a while to understand what the offside rule actually was and that I was feeling pretty dumb.

What I am trying to say is that you should let it take time and don't try to learn all soccer rules in one day.

4. Heading

Soon or later you will be forced to head a ball. And if you don't know how to do that, I can ensure you that your head will hurt!

5. Communicating

If you can't understand what your teammates are talking about on the field then you will not perform as well as you know you can!

Of course, this can be difficult especially in the beginning of your soccer career. But when you don't understand, ask your coach instead of running around and feeling dumb.

6. Shooting

If you don't know how to shoot, then scoring will be pretty hard, don't you agree? :-)

Of course, your shots must be enough hard to beat the goalkeeper. However, sometimes it will be enough to just kick the ball smoothly.

7. Juggling

This is a skill that you must practice quite often. The reason is that juggling is the key for increasing your overall skills. Try to use every part of your body to juggle and you will notice an improvement of your skills pretty fast.

8. Learning tactics

Tactics are a subject that could form its very own book - but I'll leave you with just two of the most common soccer tactics: attacking and defending. If you learn nothing else as a beginner, start here.

9. Dribbling

Getting into the true art of dribbling will allow you to not only improve yoursoccer skills when it comes to getting past your opponents, but you'll be able to score more goals. Need another benefit? No problem - you will provide your teammates with better passing as well.

10. Tackling

This is a super critical skill that you have to master if you really want to play as a defender. Unless you know how to tackle, your opponents will be able to get around you like a knife slicing through butter - just too easy!

Football Terms or terminology

o Attacker: A player whose job is to play the ball forward towards the opponent's goal area

to create a scoring opportunity.

o Back Heel: A ball kicked using the back (heel) of the foot.

o Back Pass: A pass that a player makes back toward their own goal, usually made back

to the goalkeeper. This is often a defensive move to restart a new phase of play.

o Ball Carrier: The player in possession of the ball.

o Bending the Ball: Striking the ball off-center so that it travels in a curved path, ideally for

shots at goal.

o Bicycle Kick: A spectacular move in which a player jumps in the air in a backflip motion,

kicking the ball backward over their head. The name comes from action which mimics

their legs moving as if pedaling a bicycle.

o Center Spot: The spot marked at the center of the field from which the kickoff is made.

o Confederation: Organization responsible for football in their region (see acronyms)

o Corner Flag: The flag marking each of the four corners of the field.

o Corner Kick: A free kick taken from the corner of the field by an attacker. The corner

kick is awarded when the ball has passed over the goal line after last touching a

defensive player. The shot is taken from the corner nearest to where the ball went out.

o Cross: A pass played across the face of a goal.

o Defender: A player whose job is to stop the opposition attacking players from goal

scoring.

o Direct Free Kick: A free kick in which a goal may be scored by the player taking the free

kick.

o Dribble: Keeping control of the ball while running.

o Dummy Run: A run by a player without the ball, to lure defenders away from the ball

carrier.

o Far Post: The goalpost farthest from the ball.

o FIFA: The acronym used for the Federation Internationale de Football Association, the

world governing body for the game of association football, which is based in Switzerland.

o Football: The term used for soccer in Europe and other countries outside of North

America and Australia.

o Foul: Any illegal play.

o Free Kick: A kick awarded to an opposition player when an player has committed a foul.

Free kicks can be either direct or indirect.

o Futsal : version of Fottball played indoors

o Give and Go: (also known as a 1-2) When a player passes the ball to a teammate, who

immediately one-touch passes the ball back to the first player.

o Goal Area: The rectangular area in front of the goal in which the goalkeeper may handle

the ball. It is also known as the 18-yard box because of its dimensions.

o Goal Kick: A goal kick is awarded to the defending team when the ball is played over the

goal line by the attacking team. It can taken by any player though it is normally taken by

the goalkeeper.

o Goal Line: The two boundary lines located at each end of the field.

o Goal Mouth: The area in front of the goal.

o Goalkeeper: The specialized player who is the last line of defense, who is allowed to

control the ball with his hands when in the goal area.

o Header: Using of the head to pass or control the ball.

o Indirect Free Kick: A free kick awarded to a player from which a goal may not be scored

directly.

o Inswinger: A kick that curves in toward the goal.

o Kickoff: The kickoff is taken from the center spot at the start of play at the beginning of

each half and after a goal has been scored.

o Man to Man Marking: A defensive system where defenders are designated one

attacking player to track continuously.

o Midfielder: The playing position for players that are responsible for linking play between

attackers and defenders.

o Nearpost: The goalpost nearest the ball.

o Obstruction: Causing obstruction, which is blocking an opponent with the body, is

penalized by awarding an indirect free kick to the opposition.

o Offside Trap: A technique used by defenders to put attacking players in an offside

position, by moving quickly away from their own goal to leave attackers offside.

o Offside: A player is in an offside position if he is nearer to his opponent's goal line than

both the ball and the second-to-last opponent. This does not apply if the players is is on

their half of the field. An indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team at the place

where the offside occurred.

o One-Touch Pass: A pass in which the ball is played on with a player's first touch.

o Out Swinger: A kick that swerves away from the goal.

o Penalty Spot: The marked spot 12 yards from the goal line from which a penalty kick is

taken.

o Penalty: A penalty kick is awarded when a foul has been committed inside the penalty

area in front of the goal. A penalty is taken by one player opposed only by the goal

keeper.

o Pitch: The soccer field of play.

o Red Card: A red card is issued to a player when that player has committed a serious

infraction or has been issued with two yellow cards within the same game. The red card

held up by the referee to signal that a player is being sent off. The player sent off cannot

be replaced.

o Referee: The official who is in charge of the game.

o Shot: A kick, header, or any intended deflection of the ball toward a goal by a player

attempting to score a goal.

o Sliding Tackle: A tackle in which the defender slides along the surface of the field of

play before making one-footed contact with the ball.

o Striker: An attacking player whose job is to finish attacking plays by scoring a goal.

o Sweeper: A defensive player whose job is to roam behind the other defenders.

A sweeper has no specific marking duties and is the last line of defense before the

goalkeeper.

o Tackle: To take the ball away from the opponent using the feet.

o Through Pass: A pass played past defenders into free space to allow a teammate to run

onto the ball.

o Throw-In: The ball is thrown in after the ball has crossed the touch line. A player taking a

throw in must have both feet on or behind the touch line, must maintain contact with the

ground, and must use a two-handed throw made from behind the head. A goal cannot be

score directly from a throw-in.

o Toe Poke: Use of the toe to strike the ball.

o Touch Line: The line that defines the outer edge of the longer sides of the field of play.

o Trapping the Ball: Controlling the ball with the sole of the foot.

o Volley: Striking the ball in mid-air with either foot.

o Wingers: Attackers who play on the wings/flanks of the field.

o Yellow Card: A yellow card is held up by a referee to signal a caution for a minor

infringement.

o Zone Defense: A defensive system where defenders mark a designated area of the field

of play instead of tracking players across the field.

ORGANISATION

F.C. United of Manchester is an English semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester that plays in theNorthern Premier League Premier Division. It was formed in 2005 by Manchester United supporters opposed to American businessman Malcolm Glazer's controversial takeover of the club. The club is owned and democratically run by its supporters.[1]

The club entered the North West Counties Football League Division Two in 2005, winning the league in their inaugural season. In their second season, they were crowned champions of North West Counties Football League Division One and were promoted to the Northern Premier League. The 2007–08 season saw them finish second in the Northern Premier League Division One North and gain promotion through the end of season play-offs. Since then they have played in theNorthern Premier League Premier Division, reaching the play-off final in 2010–11, 2011–12 and 2012–13. The club also reached the Second Round Proper of the FA Cup in the 2010–11 season. F.C. United has played at Gigg Lane since its formation in a ground-share with Bury.

However, the club's own ground in north Manchester is under construction and will open during the 2014–15 season. The team is managed by former professional footballer Karl Marginson.

Real Madrid C.F.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"Real Madrid" redirects here. For the basketball team, see Real Madrid Baloncesto. For the football club in South Africa, see Real Madrid (South Africa). For other uses, seeReal Madrid (disambiguation).

Real Madrid

Full name Real Madrid Club de Fútbol[1]

Nickname(s) Los Blancos (The Whites)Los Merengues (The

Meringues)Los Vikingos (The Vikings)[2]

Founded 6 March 1902; 112 years ago

as Madrid Football Club[3]

Ground Santiago Bernabéu Stadium

 Capacity 81,044[4]

President Florentino Pérez

Manager Carlo Ancelotti[5]

League La Liga

2013–14 La Liga, 3rd

Website Club home page

Home colours Away colours Third colours

 Current season

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (Spanish pronunciation: [reˈal maˈðɾið ˈkluβ ðe ˈfuðβol]; Royal Madrid Football Club), commonly known as Real Madrid, Madrid or simply as Real, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain.

Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the team has traditionally worn a white home kit since. The word real is Spanish for royal and was bestowed to the club by King Alfonso XIII in 1920 together with the royal crown in the emblem. The team has played its home matches in the 81,044-capacity Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in downtown Madrid since 1947. Unlike most European football clubs, Real Madrid's members (socios) have owned and operated the club since its inception.

The club is the world's richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €604 million, and the world'smost valuable sports team, worth €2.5 billion ($3.4 billion).[6][7][8] The club is one of the most widely supported teams in the world.[9] Real Madrid is one of three founding members of the Primera División which have never been relegated from the top division, along with Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona. The club holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably El Clásicowith Barcelona and the Madrid derby with Atlético Madrid.

Real Madrid is the most successful club in Spain, in terms of overall official titles won (79)[10]

[11] and the joint most successful club in European competitions, in terms of official European trophies won (17). The club established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football during the 1950s. Domestically, Real Madrid has won a record 32 La Liga titles, 19 Copa del Rey, 9 Supercopa de España, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la Liga.[12] Internationally the club has won a record 10 European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles and a joint record 3 Intercontinental Cups, as well as 2UEFA Cups, 2 UEFA Super Cups and a FIFA Club World Cup.

Real Madrid was recognised as the FIFA Club of the 20th Century on 23 December 2000, and named Best European Club of the 20th Century by the IFFHS on 11 May 2010. The club also received the FIFA Order of Merit in 2004. The club is allowed to wear a multiple–winner badge on their shirt during UEFA Champions League matches as they have won more than five European Cups.