Football is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players, with a distinctive global ball. As of the 21st century, it has been played by more than 250 million players in over 200 countries and is the most popular sport in the world.
Football matches are played on a rectangular pitch, covered with artificial or real grass. There are castles in the middle of the short sides of the field. The aim of the players is to score goals by putting the ball into the opposing team’s goal by using certain parts of the body (excluding hands and arms), mainly the feet. Exceptionally, goalkeepers guarding the goals of both teams can interfere with the ball manually within the boundaries of the areas designated for them, called the penalty area.

Of the ball; Throw-in (whichever team player has touched the ball last), corner if it goes out of the short sides (where a player crosses the goal line and the sideline in favor of the opponent if he moves the ball out of his own goal line. play is restarted with the ball kick) or the out-of-bounds shot (the ball is kicked from the goal area inside the penalty area as a result of the ball being kicked outside the goal line by the attackers).
In the matches consisting of 90 minutes divided into two periods of forty-five minutes, the team that managed to score more goals than the opposing team wins, and the match ends in a draw if the number of goals scored is equal. According to the rules of some organizations, the extra minutes played in two periods of fifteen minutes in the matches whose normal duration is drawn, and if the equality is not broken during this period, the winner is determined as a result of the penalty shootout.
Cuju, which emerged in China in 300-200 BC and has similarities with today’s football, is considered to be the first game similar to football in terms of gameplay. Although games similar to football have been played in different parts of the world over the years, modern football rules were first systematized by the Football Association in 1863 and have undergone many changes until today. The management organization of football in the international arena is the Association of International Football Associations (FIFA).

Football Etymology;
The word “football” has been translated into Turkish from the word “football”, which is formed by combining the English words “foot” and “ball”. In order to distinguish it from other football sports called “football” in English, the term “association football” is used, referring to the Football Association (English: The Football Association), which is the name of the institution that determined the first rules of modern football. The origin of the word “soccer”, which was formed by adding -er to the syllable “soc” in “football association” and used to describe football in some English speaking countries, coincides with the 1880s. Today, some of the English speaking countries use only the word “football” to describe football, and this word has changed into some other languages and has been used in this way. While using original words to describe football in some languages, in others, these words were combined using the equivalents of the words “foot” and “ball” in those languages, and the expression football took place in this way.
Football Origin;
FIFA states that the first game that resembles football and has scientific evidence was based on cuju, which was played for military training in China in 300-200 BC. In this game, which aims to put a ball made of leather filled with hair and feathers into a castle with a height of 30-40 cm fixed with two bamboo canes; It was possible to touch the ball with everywhere except hands and arms. A few centuries later, the play called kemari, which bears traces of cuju and was first seen in 644, appeared in Japan. Unlike Cuju, the aim of kemari, which was not based on competition, was based on the players in a circular area hitting the ball with their feet and sending the ball to each other without falling on the ground.
In Europe, the first game similar to football was played in Ancient Greece, called episkiros. In the game where contact with all parts of the body was free, the players were divided into two teams and each team tried to pass the ball through the line at the end of the opponent’s area by passing or throwing the ball. A similar game was played in the Roman Empire period under the name of harpastum.
Football Middle Ages;
The first statements about a game played with the ball in Medieval Europe are found in Nennius’s Historia Brittonum from the 9th century. In the work written in the northern parts of Wales, it is mentioned that a group of children were playing ball. [14] Played between neighboring towns or villages in England, the aim of the game called crowd football was to send the ball to the designated area in the opponent’s town or village. In this game where there were almost no rules, there was no player limitation and hundreds of people could fight. [15] Citing the chaos and events that occurred during these events, King II. Edward was banned from playing football in the country on April 13, 1314, [16] this ban was continued by the rulers afterward, and football in the country was banned for 300 years. The existence of a game similar to the crowd football in England is also found in France. The first known data about this game known as soule, cholle or choule belong to the year 1147. In 1319, V. Philippe and in 1369 Charles V. In the sport called calcio fiorentino, which originated in Italy and whose rules were established in the 16th century, although its origins date back to earlier times, the aim was to send the ball to the opposing team’s goal. It was free to use hands and feet to control the ball, pass the ball to a teammate and send it to the goal. FIFA states that all these sports, which are similar to football, are not directly related to football today.

Modern Football;
The rules of modern football are based on different forms of football played in private schools in England in the mid-19th century. The Cambridge rules, which were created at Cambridge University in 1848 with the participation of representatives of educational institutions called Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester and Shrewsbury, and became the first written football rules, influenced the development of football and similar sports. Although some matches were made using these rules, it was not accepted by the large community. In the 1850s, various clubs in English-speaking countries left their schools or universities and began operating as independent organizations. Some of them created their own rules and played according to these rules. Founded in 1857 by former students, Sheffield Football Club initiated the establishment of the Sheffield Football Association in 1867. Uppingham School student John Charles Thring also drafted some rules in 1862. The first comprehensive rules for football were prepared as a result of five meetings held between October and November of the same year by the Football Association (“The Football Association” in English, “FA”), which was established after a meeting held on October 26, 1863. In the last meeting held, the first treasurer of the institution representing Blackheath stated that his club had left the association, after the decision to remove the two draft rules that required the ball from the previous meeting to be handled and run and the runs to be prevented by hitting the opponent’s leg was not accepted. The remaining eleven clubs formed the top fourteen rules of football, under the chairmanship of Ebenezer Cobb Morley. [26] The first match in which these rules were used was played on 18 December 1863 at Mortlake between Barnes and Richmond, who was not an alliance member, and ended in a goalless draw. The FA Cup, the first football competition in which English clubs competed, was founded in 1872 by C. W. Alcock. The first official international football match was held in Glasgow between England and Scotland on 30 November 1872 and ended 0-0. In 1884, the first international football tournament, the British Home (sex soccer scandal) Championship, was held. Aston Villa manager William McGregor became the name who founded the first football league with the English Football League he founded in Birmingham in 1888. 12 teams were competing in this league. Professional football was recognized by the Football Association on 20 July 1885, while the foundations of professionalization in football were laid in the 1870s.

Following the establishment of the Football Association, football began to be spread all over the world by the British. The first known football match in South America was played in 1867 by British workers in Argentina. The same year, Buenos Aires Football Club, the first football club in South America, was founded in Buenos Aires. In 1891, the first football tournament on the continent was organized together with the national league held in Argentina. Britons living in South Africa started their first football movements in the country in 1869, while the first football tournament in the country was held in 1884.
Held in the same year by the American Football Association, which was established in 1884, the league was the first football competition in the United States, held under the rules of the Football Association.
The first known data on football in Japan is from the 1870s, and it mentions British sailors playing football in Yokohama. After the spread of football, the International Football Association Board (IFAB for short), the organization that determines the rules of football; The Football Association was formed after a meeting of the Scottish Football Association, the Welsh Football Association and the Irish Football Association in 1886 in Manchester. The International Association of Football Associations (FIFA for short), the top management organization of football in the international arena, was founded in Paris in 1904 and stated that the Football Association would abide by the rules set by it. In 1913, FIFA representatives also started to send representatives to IFAB. The process of professionalization in football accelerated in the 1920s and 1930s in various parts of the world.
Played by more than 250 million players in over 200 countries as of the 21st century, football is the most popular sport in the world.
More than 270 million people play football worldwide, according to a report published by FIFA in May 2007. Again, according to this report, there are over 301 thousand football clubs, over 1.752 million football teams, over 840 thousand football referees and over 113 thousand professional football players in the world.
Football Rules and Measures;
Football consists of 17 main rules. Some of these rules may vary for groups such as women, disabled people and youth. The rules set by the International Football Association Board (shortly IFAB) are published by FIFA. In addition to these 17 main rules, there are also a number of decisions and regulations issued by the IFAB for the proper play of the matches. The football field is rectangular and the two long lines on the sides of the field are called touch lines, and the lines on the short sides are called the goal line. The goal lines must be between 45 and 90 m (50 to 100 yd) and the touch lines must be between 90 and 120 m (100 to 130 yd). For international matches, these lengths are set at 64 to 75 m (70 to 80 yd) for the goal lines and 100 to 110 m (110 to 120 yd) for the touchlines. The field is divided into two by a line joining the midpoints of both touch lines. In the middle of this line is the midpoint, surrounded by a circle with a radius of 9.15 m (10 yd). On the other hand, football fields can consist of natural or artificial grass, provided that the ground color is green.
In the middle of both goal lines; There is a castle each consisting of two poles perpendicular to the floor and an upper pole that connects them and is parallel to the floor. The distance between the two posts is 7.32 m (8 yd) and the distance between the crossbar and the ground is 2.44 m (8 ft). Usually one net is placed behind each goal, but this is not mandatory by the rules. There are two rectangular areas in front of both castles. Goal area (also known as underpass); The goal line is the area delimited by the 5.5 m (6 yd) long lines drawn perpendicular to the goal line 5.5 m (6 yd) from the inside edges of the goalposts and the line connecting them. Aut throw or a free kick won from within the field can be taken from anywhere in the field Indirect free kicks won by the attacking team inside the goal area are taken over the upper line of the goal area, in line with the point where the incident occurred. The penalty area has a similar shape to the castle area, being larger than the castle area. The dimensions set as 5.5 m (6 yd) in the goal area are 16.5 m (18 yd) for the penalty area. Within this area, it is possible for the goalkeepers to touch the ball manually. On the other hand, misconduct by one of the defending team players in this area is penalized with a penalty kick awarded to the opposing team. Penalty kicks are taken from the penalty point located within the penalty area and 11 m (12 yd) from the center of the goal. The penalty arc, located just outside the penalty area and with the central penalty point, 9.15 m (10 yd), indicates the distance that other players should not pass during the penalty kick except the player who will take the penalty kick and the goalkeeper in defense.
Players, technical team and referees in football;
People who play football are called footballers and each team is on the field with eleven players, one of which is the goalkeeper. According to the rules, the game can be started even if there are at least seven players in any team. Except for other players, goalkeepers have the right to intervene with the hand and arm within the limits of the areas designated for them (penalty area). Each team has a certain number of substitutes according to the rules of the organization where the football match takes place, except for the players on the field. In all matches, the names of the substitutes are given to the referee before the start of the match. Unnamed substitutes cannot play in the match. A maximum of three players can be substituted for official matches, that is, matches organized by FIFA, confederations or national federations. In the friendly game or other special matches, the teams can change the agreed number of players if they agree on the maximum number of players that can be changed and inform the referee before the match. If the referee is not notified or if an agreement on the number of players to be replaced cannot be reached before the match starts, a maximum of 3 players can be substituted. While the player who quits the game cannot enter the game again, players who enter the game later can be removed from the game with a second change. Ten players, other than the goalkeeper, take different positions on the field. These positions are; While they are divided into three main groups as defender, midfield and striker, these three groups are also separated within themselves. The defense is the position closest to its own goal and the position that meets the opposing team’s attacks at the back. Striker is the position formed by the players closest to the opponent goal, whose main goal is to score goals. The midfield, on the other hand, is a group of players who are between the defender and the striker, who take on both defensive and offensive duties. Duties such as the players and substitutes to play in the match, the formation of the players on the field are determined by the coach at the head of each team. The coaches can give directions to the players on the field, provided that they stay within the limits set for them. Coaches, who perform the duties of assisting the technical director and employing the players in training outside the matches, are among the other officials that make up the technical staff. Football matches are managed by a referee appointed with full authority in running the match and enforcing the game rules. There are two assistant referees to assist the referee. There are a total of two assistant referees, one assistant referee for each half of the court, on the crown line. These are located diagonally. Assistant referees; In addition to signaling the ball out of the field of play and offsides, they also assist the referee in a number of other positions. The assistant referees, who are responsible for half of the field of play, warn the referee with small flags in their hands. On the other hand, the fourth referee in the referee team monitors the game, controls the player entries and exits, and in case of any injury, the referee acts as a referee. On the other hand, in some organizations, there is an additional assistant referee located next to both goals. These additional assistant referees assist the referee in positions lived in the penalty area. (sex soccer scandal)
Goal line technology is used to detect whether the entire ball has crossed the goal line and therefore whether there is a goal, and to communicate this to the referee of the match. The video assistant referee, which was included in the rule book in 2018, is responsible for detecting some potentially erroneous decisions made by the referee as a result of watching the video replays of the relevant positions and conveying them to the referee. Video assistant referees only; prior to the goal to report whether there was an offense for the goal to be invalid, whether there was a clear error in a penalty awarded or not awarded, whether the referee cautioned or sent off the wrong player from the offending team, or which player should be penalized, and explicit in a sending off decision issued or not is obliged to report if there is an error. The referee can change his decision after reviewing the video replay of the relevant position.
The duration of the match and the determination of the winner in football;
Official football matches consist of 90 minutes divided into two forty-five-minute periods. In both halves, the duration of the match continues even if the ball is out of play. Time lost during the match due to substitutions, injuries, wasting time, penalty kicks or other reasons may be added to the game at the end of both halves at the referee’s discretion. This added time is shown on a sign by the fourth referee in minutes. Again, at the discretion of the referee, the game may be extended beyond this shown minute. There is a 15-minute period between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second.
While league matches may result in draws, there are some methods to determine the winner team in tournaments with elimination system. If the regular time of the match ends in a draw, two extra periods of fifteen minutes are played. If the winning side does not appear as a result of these extra periods, penalty kicks are started and each team takes five penalty kicks. (sex football) At this stage, both teams take a penalty throw respectively. If one of the two teams has scored more goals than the other team can reach even though the other team has completed 5 hits, the shots are terminated and that team wins the match. If the tie is not broken as a result of the first five shots, both teams take a penalty shot in turn, and this continues until one team scores more goals than the other. While the goals scored in the overtime period are reflected in the score of the match, the result obtained at the end of the penalty kicks is not reflected.
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