The game is called football in most of the world, but it is not to be confused with what Americans call football. The world version of football is played with a ball that is kicked by a team of eleven players, with an aim of scoring a goal into the opposing teams net. The players on the field, with the exception of the goalkeeper cannot use their hands in the field of play, but move the ball from one side of the field to the other with skill, speed and deception to try and score a goal. And, this is the most popular sport in the world, which is played by young and old in every corner of the world. This sport in America is called soccer!
In the purest form, soccer is a very simple game where you dribble the ball with your foot, pass the ball with your foot (or head) and you try to score a goal with your foot (or head). Despite the fact that it is a relatively simple game, there is a set of rules for the sport that helps to keep the game played fairly. The rules dictate that players can not use their hands to control the ball and that unfair contact with another player can result in a foul, which means the other team can receive a free kick without pressure from the other team. However, if the foul is harmful enough the referee can call a yellow card on the player. If a player accumulates two yellow cards in a game, they will be removed from the remainder of the game and his/her team will play one player short for the remainder of the match. If a referee feels that a player was attempting to injure another player, they can just issue them a red card and be removed from the rest of the game.
Soccer, or football, is played all over the world and is enjoyed by millions of people each year, either through playing or being a spectator. To help people understand the flow and the rules of the game, we have come up with a listing of helpful pages that can explain the origins, rules and how the game is played. We hope you enjoy this article, and pass it along to others who can benefit from learning about the beautiful game of soccer!
Find more about the author: Kim Hart
