Portal:Association football

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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players each, who primarily use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular-framed goal defended by the opposing team. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries and territories, it is the world's most popular sport.

The game of association football is played in accordance with the Laws of the Game, a set of rules that has been in effect since 1863 and maintained by the IFAB since 1886. The game is played with a football that is 68–70 cm (27–28 in) in circumference. The two teams compete to score goals by getting the ball into the other team's goal (between the posts, under the bar, and fully across the goal line). When the ball is in play, the players mainly use their feet, but may also use any other part of their body, such as their head, chest and thighs, except for their hands or arms, to control, strike, or pass the ball. Only the goalkeepers may use their hands and arms, and only then within the penalty area. The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner. There are situations where a goal can be disallowed, such as an offside call or a foul in the build-up to the goal. Depending on the format of the competition, an equal number of goals scored may result in a draw being declared, or the game goes into extra time or a penalty shoot-out.

Internationally, association football is governed by FIFA. Under FIFA, there are six continental confederations: AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, and UEFA. Of these confederations, CONMEBOL is the oldest one, being founded in 1916. National associations (e.g. The FA or JFA) are responsible for managing the game in their own countries both professionally and at an amateur level, and coordinating competitions in accordance with the Laws of the Game. The most senior and prestigious international competitions are the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Women's World Cup. The men's World Cup is the most-viewed sporting event in the world, surpassing the Olympic Games. The two most prestigious competitions in European club football are the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Women's Champions League, which attract an extensive television audience throughout the world. Since 2009, the final of the men's tournament has been the most-watched annual sporting event in the world. (Full article...)

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The crowd at the 1923 cup final spilling onto the pitch

The 1923 FA Cup Final was a football match between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United on 28 April 1923 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. The showpiece game of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (better known as the FA Cup), it was the first football match to be played at Wembley Stadium.

A crowd estimated at up to 300,000 gained entrance and the terraces overflowed, with the result that spectators found their way into the area around the pitch and even onto the playing area itself. Mounted policemen, including one on a white horse which became the defining image of the day, had to be brought in to clear the crowds from the pitch to allow the match to take place. The pre-match events prompted discussion in the House of Commons and led to the introduction of a number of safety measures for future finals. The match is often referred to as the "White Horse Final" and is commemorated by the White Horse Bridge at the new Wembley Stadium. (Full article...)

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Joey Barton in action for Manchester City

Joey Barton (born 2 September 1982 in Liverpool, Merseyside) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder.

Barton was raised in a rough area and as a child saw football as a form of escapism, he began his professional career in 2002 with Manchester City after working his way through their youth system. His appearances in the senior side gradually increased in regularity over a period of five years - he made more than 150 appearances for the club in total - which earned him his first cap for the England national team in February 2007, despite his criticism of some of the team's players.

His career has been marred by numerous controversial incidents and disciplinary problems, one of which being a fight with City team-mate Ousmane Dabo which led to him leaving the club. Barton has been described as a "tough tackler", a style reflected in the high number of fouls he has committed during his career: he received 39 bookings and three red cards during his time at Manchester City. He joined Newcastle United for a fee of £5.8 million in July 2007.

Outside of football, Barton is a patron of the Tamsin Gulvin Fund and also works with the 'Get Hooked on Fishing' campaign, designed to keep children out of trouble by getting them interested in fishing. (Full article...)

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Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only established in 1961 as the Australian Soccer Federation. It was later reconstituted in 2003 as the Australian Soccer Association before adopting the name of Football Federation Australia in 2005. In contemporary identification, a corporate decision was undertaken to institute that name to deliver a "more united football" in a deliberation from the current CEO, James Johnson. The name was changed to Football Australia in December 2020.

Football Australia oversees the men's, women's, youth, Paralympic, beach and futsal national teams in Australia, the national coaching programs and the state governing bodies for the sport. It sanctions professional, semi-professional and amateur soccer in Australia. Football Australia made the decision to leave the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), for which it was a founding member, and become a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on 1 January 2006 and ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) on 27 August 2013. (Full article...)

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... that Carlton Town F.C., now competing at the eighth tier of the English football pyramid, was once denied promotion by a hat-trick scored by future England international Jamie Vardy?
... that goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse, who has lived in England, Africa and the US, has been chosen to play soccer for the Republic of Ireland?
... that Welsh footballer Jon Morgan went on to become a college principal after retiring?
... that Ecuadorian footballer Hernán Galíndez won a bicycle for beating a team featuring Lionel Messi when they were children?
... that after his soccer career, Steve Palacios enlisted in the United States Army and played for the United States Armed Forces soccer team?
... that Ryan Roberts, a defensive end for Notre Dame, was a soccer player in high school?

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Switzerland national football team

Credit: R. Niemeyer

The Swiss national team pose before a 2006 friendly against China in Zurich. Controlled by the Swiss Football Association, Switzerland have reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup three times as well as winning silver at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

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Things have taken time to get used to, the weather's not great and people seem to drink beer all the time, but there’s nowhere I’d rather be playing.

— Obafemi Martins, on settling into Newcastle

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The following are images from various association football-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Iran women's national football team maintained a higher rank internationally. (from Women's association football)
Image 2Striker Cristiana Girelli and coach Rita Guarino of Juventus in 2019. Juventus is one of the most storied and successful football clubs in Italy. (from Women's association football)
Image 3Olympique Lyonnais vs Paris Saint-Germain. (from Women's association football)
Image 4Arsenal in 2007 of the Women's FA Cup. (from Women's association football)
Image 5A Welsh women's football team pose for a photograph in 1959 (from Women's association football)
Image 6The official record attendance for a women's football match was set at Camp Nou on 22 April 2022, with 91,648 people watching Barcelona defeat Wolfsburg 5–1 (pictured). (from Women's association football)
Image 7When first introduced in 1891, the penalty was awarded for offences within 12 yards of the goal-line. (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 8Old Etonians v Blackburn Rovers match. Illustration by S.T. Dadd, 1882 (from History of association football)
Image 9Marta of Brazil is the all-time leading scorer of the senior FIFA World Cups. (from Women's association football)
Image 10Japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team wearing sashes (c. 1920) (from Women's association football)
Image 11The Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (from Women's association football)
Image 12Harrow School team of 1867. (from History of association football)
Image 13"North" team of the British Ladies' Football Club, 1895 (from Women's association football)
Image 14Megan Rapinoe speaks on equal pay in March 2021. (from Women's association football)
Image 15From 1866 to 1883, the laws provided for a tape between the goalposts (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 16FC de Rakt DA1 (2008/2009) (from Women's association football)
Image 17Representation of a football match from the book Athletics and football, 1894 (from History of association football)
Image 18Mia Hamm (left) battles with German defender Kerstin Stegemann (from Women's association football)
Image 19The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872 (from History of association football)
Image 20Sheffield F.C. (here pictured in 1876) is the oldest association club still active, having been founded in 1857 (from History of association football)
Image 21Iran vs Turkey in 2010 Youth Olympics (from Women's association football)
Image 22Drawing of the first international game by artist William Ralston (from History of association football)
Image 23Florida state vs north carolina soccer 2005. (from Women's association football)
Image 24Sam Kerr with Australia during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal against Japan in Edmonton, 2015 (from Women's association football)
Image 25An early draft of the original hand-written 'Laws of the Game' drawn up on behalf of The Football Association by Ebenezer Cobb Morley in 1863 on display at the National Football Museum, Manchester. (from Laws of the Game (association football))
Image 26United States Abby Wambach plays off a corner kick against Canada.
Image 27Players fighting for the ball during the match between Germany and Norway in UEFA Women's Euro 2009 in Tampere, Finland. (from Women's association football)
Image 28Portland Thorns traveling supporters at Seattle's Memorial Stadium. (from Women's association football)
Image 29Association football history (from History of association football)

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The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial championship of women's national soccer teams organized by FIFA. It was held in the United States from September 20 to October 12, 2003, at six venues in six cities across the country. The tournament was won by Germany, who became the first country to win both the men's and women's World Cup.

China was originally awarded the right to host the tournament, which would have taken place from September 23 to October 11 in four cities. A severe outbreak of SARS in early 2003 affected Guangdong in southern China and prompted FIFA to move the Women's World Cup to the United States, who had hosted the previous edition in 1999. China was instead granted hosting rights for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup and financial compensation while the United States Soccer Federation made new arrangements to host at smaller stadiums. (Full article...)

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Aston Villa F.C.

History (1874–1961)

History (1961–present)

Seasons

Statistics and records

Villa Park

List of players

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... that Claude Callegari gained cult-hero status among English football fans for his speeches about Arsenal? (24 April 2021)
... that Andy Crosby captained Scunthorpe United to victory in the 2009 League One play-off Final, the last match of his 715-game career? (31 March 2021)
... that Cheltenham Town lost the 2012 Football League Two play-off Final, their first defeat in nine play-off matches? (6 March 2021)
... that Blackpool became the most successful club in the history of English Football League play-offs when they won the 2017 EFL League Two play-off Final against Exeter City? (8 February 2021)
... that Mark Cullen was named as League Two Player of the Month for October 2014 after scoring a perfect hat-trick? (3 April 2021)
... that footballer Billy Hardy is Cardiff City F.C.'s record appearance holder, having played in 590 matches between 1911 and 1932? (16 March 2021)