Football
Football (from English foot - foot, ball - ball) is a team sport in which the goal is to score a ball into the opponent's goal with feet or other body parts (except hands) more times than the opposing team. Currently the most popular and massive sport in the world.
History of football
Early varieties of football
Ball games have been played in many countries. In China, this variety was called Zhu-Ke. In ancient Sparta, the game was called Episkyros, and in ancient Rome, Harpastum. Somewhere in the New time in the Bryansk lands there were games, the inventory of which was a leather ball the size of a human head, stuffed with feathers. These contests were called “shalyga” and “kila”. Around the XIV century, the Italians invented the game "Calcio". They brought this game to the British Isles.
First rules
In the XIX century, football in England gained popularity comparable to cricket. It was played mainly in colleges. But in some colleges the rules allowed the keeping and handing over the ball, while in others, on the contrary, it was forbidden. The first attempt to create uniform rules was made in 1846, when representatives of several colleges met. They established the first set of rules. In 1855, the first specialized football club, Sheffield, was founded. In 1863, after long negotiations, a set of rules of the Football Association of England was adopted. The dimensions of the field and the gate were also taken. And in 1871 the England Cup was founded - the oldest football tournament in the world. In 1891, the penalty rule was adopted. But first, the penalty kick was fought not from the point, but from the line, which, as now, was at a distance of 11 meters from the gate.
Rules of the game
There are 17 official rules of the game, each of which contains a list of reservations and guidelines. These rules are designed to apply at all levels of football, although there are some changes for groups such as juniors, adults, women and people with disabilities. The laws are very often formulated in general terms, which allow to simplify their application depending on the nature of the game. The rules of the game are published in FIFA, but are supported by the International Football Association Council (IFAB).
Each team consists of a maximum of eleven players (excluding substitutes), one of whom must be the goalkeeper. The rules of informal competitions can reduce the number of players, up to a maximum of 7. Goalkeepers are the only players who are allowed to play with their hands, provided that they do this within the penalty area at their own goal. Although there are different positions on the field, these positions are optional.
A separate football game is called a match, which in turn consists of two halves of 45 minutes each. The pause between the first and second halves is 15 minutes, during which the teams rest, and upon its completion change the gate.
The goal of the game is to score the ball into the opponent's goal, do it as many times as possible and try to prevent a goal from entering your own goal. The match is won by the team that scores more goals.
If during the two halves the teams scored the same number of goals, then either a draw is fixed or the winner is revealed according to the established rules of the match. In this case, additional time can be assigned - two more periods, 15 minutes each. As a rule, between the main and additional time of the match, the teams are given a break. Between extra time, teams are given only time to change sides. At one time in football, there was a rule according to which the team was declared the winner, scoring the first goal (the “golden goal” rule) or winning at the end of any of the extra time (the “silver goal” rule). At the moment, extra time is either not played at all, or is being played in full (2 halves of 15 minutes each). If for the extra time the winner cannot be identified, there is a series of shoot-out penalties that are not part of the match: on the opponent's goal from a distance of 11 meters five punches are punched by different players. If the number of penalties scored by both teams will be equal, then they make their way through one pair of penalties until the winner is revealed.