What etiketine sahip kayıtlar gösteriliyor. Tüm kayıtları göster
What etiketine sahip kayıtlar gösteriliyor. Tüm kayıtları göster
28 Haziran 2010 Pazartesi
Of the mouth of a beggar -
Of the mouth of a beggar - SPECIAL DAY FOR I get the following verses from the mouth of a beggar is probably the most poetic lyrics. Goethe Faust ta course of this beautiful verse was written to us from the jaws of a beggar. See what it says, good-hearted men and pretty women you wish you happy holidays and please my face, Look And I narrowly saved from the wasted to let this song charity as giving you happy Day when everyone Sevin get some of that lonely For what joy the holiday's to me a divided the Goethe telling most of us beggar my brother said we were giving money or work or have had thought that real beggars. The following verses from the mouth of a beggar, but was transferred to us largely a matter of fact in need of assistance to people in the community and to share how we will help emphasize the idea. 1700 great German poet and playwright lü year, the Goethe I think those days away from technology these days has seen a lot of things that nobody had seen.X in place of the earth or killing people unjustly killed, or how we see news bulletins like ostriches burying our heads in the ground was not anything like as we continue our conversation. Of course, everyone get rich. But everything in this world is not given the command of some people. Yes, some say it gets stronger. I like that alminde animals. If people can stop and think and analyze. And says no. That is strong does not deserve a good win and live. If you are able to win this game myself taking my ball and go on to say is not true. Let's look around us like a. Proudly offering the bread and the struggle for survival, but that does not meet the needs of people together, let us help. Then perhaps Goethe in the streets of bohemian fun of us like dizelerideki beggars we encountered. 'll Chat to them talk poetry. Is Happy to youre heart and pen to the mercy of Goethe
Half of the night after the fire basliyordu
Half of the night after the fire basliyordu.Dumani sardi.Bir apartmani smell of smoke, the dog began to bark like one that aroused before the poor man, then people of all apartments ... Mothers and fathers who smoke to bogulmak yavrularini kucaklayip, all from the dead ... all these kurtardilar , picayunish without even a smile was the result of the cost. MUTLU HOLD SUCH A SWEET GÜLÜMSEYiSiN not place anyNON-COST NOTWITHSTANDING picayunish STORY young girl's smile, he smiled a sad yabanciya. This smiling man caused him feel better. In the air to help those close to him in the past thanks to a friend he wrote in a note etmedigini hatirladi.Hemen, yolladi. Thanks so much cheer His friend said that every waiter in a restaurant eating lunch birakti tip-laden sleigh. Aliyordu.Aksam waiter a big tip like the first girl to go home, while always a part of earned money to the poor man sitting at a corner birakti sapkasina. He was so grateful that ... but it is two days geçmemisti throat bite down. After feeding your kami for the first time, an apartment in the basement is one way of odasinin caught stealing. Neseliydi so that when you see a puppy shivering under the eaves, lap aliverdi. Sogugundan kurtuldugu of the night for small dogs was happy. Apartmani hot smoke in the room until morning and then half of kosusturdu.Gece sard.
Click-n Important to reach
Click-n Important to reach my blog the other COM port are also fairly safe for me. Current blogger's my system, blog name: "Enes and blog," there signed up and interesting is this description of my site's name was:) So enes.veblogu.com: (Anyway, overly extended've herhalde.Daha than write something from you in this blessing benefit from your advice I would: ... especially people who use Blogger, I would like to congratulate once again launched a project like this to people (especially Mr. Ilkay) Come Stay soundly ...Öncelikle.Bugün auspicious day we wish everyone a very enjoyable blog project of the "Veblogu.com" istiyorum.İsmini first time yesterday to talk about this blog system I've heard many sevdim.Şubat 's opened a beautiful servis.Kısaca 18 To sum up: free and worpress infrastructure that uses the system after signing up you 25 megabytes, a quota veriyor.Kayıt to be the most kolay.Kayıt to be only a minute takes. I really do not like worpress related news, developments, etc (jealousy must have been) but this for me it is not something the council oldu.Uzun kesinlikle.En important since people who take advantage of Blogger blessings that my wordpress blog system ısındırması.Tabii görüşüm.Diğer not know what people say? But definitely try it useful to have as easy var.O paneli.İstediğiniz WordPress as admin widget, theme, navigation module ekleyebiliyorsunuz.Orada he thought it would use WordPress for the infrastructure at a time:) New veblogu.com 'Click-n to get in my blog Other points are also important for me council.
Work
Work, a machine that a technician to install or maintain a technical translation is wrong for him to consider what might be causing problems. To obtain an accurate technical translation, it seems that is not easy. Even within a language similar areas can be significant differences among the terminology. A technical translation, the translation the person who made only the source and target language dominant, but not at the same time the translation issue with the field of terminology and information to the best level bilmelidir.İngilizce Turkish Translation A good technical translation of the key terminology correctly is to use. The correct use of terminology in technical translation and adaptation as a factor that increases accuracy is involved. The people at the same time to translate technical jargon in both languages is very good at technical level should know. A large part of the technical translation, one is simply able to write the technical content of the topic. Technical translation, literary translation is quite different from. Turkish to English Translation - Translated Sentences
Production of virus-free stem cells
Production of virus-free stem cells
Skin cells, the virus re-programmed without the use of a living thing capable of all that, the cells similar to embryonic stem cells were produced.
James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin and the U.S. team has been able to produce these stem cells, heart, lung or nerve cells, such cells could become like the 220. "Human embryos will be your" due to be produced without destroying the cells without causing ethical and religious conflicts that can be used in treatment.
Produced without the use of viruses for the first time this type of cells that are configured Thomson noted that the stem cells to cause tumor activity of certain genes and reduces the risk of stopping too stressed.
Thomson and his team are required to reprogram skin cells to the virus rather than the gene transfer plasmid (a kind of DNA molecule) was used. Research published in the journal Science.
In 1998, embryonic stem cell culture to obtain the first person that Thomson, in 2007, the Japanese counterpart of human skin cells, stem cells turned into a method of improving the patient tissue or organs, changing the revolution can be considered an invention enjoyed.
Skin cells, the virus re-programmed without the use of a living thing capable of all that, the cells similar to embryonic stem cells were produced.
James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin and the U.S. team has been able to produce these stem cells, heart, lung or nerve cells, such cells could become like the 220. "Human embryos will be your" due to be produced without destroying the cells without causing ethical and religious conflicts that can be used in treatment.
Produced without the use of viruses for the first time this type of cells that are configured Thomson noted that the stem cells to cause tumor activity of certain genes and reduces the risk of stopping too stressed.
Thomson and his team are required to reprogram skin cells to the virus rather than the gene transfer plasmid (a kind of DNA molecule) was used. Research published in the journal Science.
In 1998, embryonic stem cell culture to obtain the first person that Thomson, in 2007, the Japanese counterpart of human skin cells, stem cells turned into a method of improving the patient tissue or organs, changing the revolution can be considered an invention enjoyed.
Causes of Aircraft Wing was the first Double Layer?
Causes of Aircraft Wing was the first Double Layer?
Here's our question why bu.Bugün first double-decker aircraft wings will try to learn to do even a little bit.
Wings with double-decker aircraft, flying slowly, despite a very useful araçtır.Her years in certain areas of the world most in the interest of this aircraft aerobatic flight çeker.Türkiye from example! If you say, I say follow the Redbull Air Race =)
1930-35 to double the wing of a multi-engined aircraft made katlıydı.Kanatlar top two wings stretching between the wood and wire, were made.
The old wing of the advantage of much lighter material being performed and the aerodynamics of the very best olmasıydı.Dezavantajı that used wood and the wings looking back to the wire against the wind koymasıydı.Bu monoplane more than the air resistance to be encountered to say was.
Besides making them more difficult and protection of double-wing than the propagation of single birds hafiftir.Eski meşakkatlidir.Fakat wing aircraft pilots as a pulpit that oturuyorlardı.Şimdiki ejection in a depression, there was no comfortable chair:)
In 1903 the first motorized aircraft uçmuştur.Önceleri kullanınlan planes for mail distribution, beginning of the First World War and then participated in operations from passenger to cargo transportation have been used in many fields.
Here's our question why bu.Bugün first double-decker aircraft wings will try to learn to do even a little bit.
Wings with double-decker aircraft, flying slowly, despite a very useful araçtır.Her years in certain areas of the world most in the interest of this aircraft aerobatic flight çeker.Türkiye from example! If you say, I say follow the Redbull Air Race =)
1930-35 to double the wing of a multi-engined aircraft made katlıydı.Kanatlar top two wings stretching between the wood and wire, were made.
The old wing of the advantage of much lighter material being performed and the aerodynamics of the very best olmasıydı.Dezavantajı that used wood and the wings looking back to the wire against the wind koymasıydı.Bu monoplane more than the air resistance to be encountered to say was.
Besides making them more difficult and protection of double-wing than the propagation of single birds hafiftir.Eski meşakkatlidir.Fakat wing aircraft pilots as a pulpit that oturuyorlardı.Şimdiki ejection in a depression, there was no comfortable chair:)
In 1903 the first motorized aircraft uçmuştur.Önceleri kullanınlan planes for mail distribution, beginning of the First World War and then participated in operations from passenger to cargo transportation have been used in many fields.
What is the American football ?
American football, known in the United States simply as football and often as gridiron outside the United States, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. The ball can be advanced by carrying it (a running play) or by throwing it to a teammate (a passing play). Points can be scored in a variety of ways, including carrying the ball over the opponent's goal line, catching a pass thrown over that goal line, kicking the ball through the goal posts at the opponent's end zone, or tackling an opposing ball carrier within his end zone. The winner is the team with the most points when the time expires.
American football is closely related to Canadian football but with some differences in rules and in the configuration of the field.[1]
In the United States, the major forms are high school football, college football and professional football, which are essentially similar but feature slightly different rules.[2]
High school football is governed in the U.S. by the National Federation of State High School Associations. College football is governed in the U.S. by two bodies; the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The major league for professional football is the National Football League. Over the years, there have been other notable professional football leagues, including the All America Football Conference during the 1940s, the American Football League during the 1960s, the United States Football League during the 1980s, and the currently active United Football League.
The sport is also played outside the United States. National professional and collegiate leagues exist in United Kingdom, Germany, Italy,[3] Switzerland,[4] Finland, Sweden,[5] Japan, Mexico, Israel,[6] Spain, Austria,[7] and several Pacific Island nations. The International Federation of American Football acts as an international governing body for the sport on five continents, but the organization has little standing in the United States compared to the other bodies and leagues mentioned above.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Rules
2.1 Field and players
2.2 Start of halves
2.3 Game duration
2.4 Advancing the ball
2.5 Change of possession
2.6 Scoring
2.7 Kickoffs and free kicks
2.8 Penalties
2.9 Variations
3 Players
3.1 Offense
3.2 Defense
3.3 Special teams
3.4 Uniform numbering
4 Basic strategy
5 Physicality
5.1 Nutrition and dehydration
5.2 Brain injury
6 Organization in the United States
6.1 Calendar
7 Outside the United States
8 See also
9 References
9.1 Notes
9.2 Bibliography
10 Further reading
11 External links
History
Main article: History of American football
An American football team at the turn of the twentieth century. Note the continued use of a rugby-type ball (front row, right).The history of American football can be traced to early versions of rugby football and association football. Both games have their origins in varieties of football played in the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century, in which a ball is kicked at a goal and/or run over a line. Many games known as "football" were being played at colleges and universities in the United States in the first half of the 19th century.[8][9]
Walter CampAmerican football resulted from several major divergences from rugby football, most notably the rule changes instituted by Walter Camp, considered the "Father of American Football". Among these important changes were the introduction of the line of scrimmage and of down-and-distance rules. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, game play developments by college coaches such as Eddie Cochems, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Knute Rockne, and Glenn "Pop" Warner helped take advantage of the newly introduced forward pass.
The popularity of collegiate football grew as it became the dominant version of the sport for the first half of the twentieth century. Bowl games, a college football tradition, attracted a national audience for collegiate teams. Bolstered by fierce rivalries, college football still holds widespread appeal in the US.[8][10][11]
The origin of professional football can be traced back to 1892, with William "Pudge" Heffelfinger's $500 contract to play in a game for the Allegheny Athletic Association against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. The first Professional "league" was the Ohio League, formed in 1903, and the first Professional Football championship game was between the Buffalo Prospects and the Canton Bulldogs in 1919. In 1920, the American Professional Football Association was formed. The first game was played in Dayton, Ohio on October 3, 1920 with the host Triangles defeating the Columbus Panhandles 14–0. The league changed its name to the National Football League (NFL) two years later, and eventually became the major league of American football. Initially a sport of Midwestern industrial towns in the United States, professional football eventually became a national phenomenon. Football's increasing popularity is usually traced to the 1958 NFL Championship Game, a contest that has been dubbed the "Greatest Game Ever Played". A rival league to the NFL, the American Football League (AFL), began play in 1960; the pressure it put on the senior league led to a merger between the two leagues and the creation of the Super Bowl, which has become the most watched television event in the United States on an annual basis.[12]
Rules
Main article: American football rules
Field and players
The numbers on the field indicate the number of yards to the nearest end zone.American football is played on a field 360 by 160 feet (109.7 by 48.8 m).[13] The longer boundary lines are sidelines, while the shorter boundary lines are end lines. Sidelines and end lines are out of bounds. Near each end of the field is a goal line; they are 100 yards (91.4 m) apart. A scoring area called an end zone extends 10 yards (9.1 m) beyond each goal line to each end line. The end zone includes the goal line but not the end line.[13] While the playing field is effectively flat, it is common for a field to be built with a slight crown—with the middle of the field higher than the sides—to allow water to drain from the field.
Yard lines cross the field every 5 yards (4.6 m), and are numbered every 10 yards from each goal line to the 50-yard line, or midfield (similar to a typical rugby league field). Two rows of short lines, known as inbounds lines or hash marks, run at 1-yard (91.4 cm) intervals perpendicular to the sidelines near the middle of the field. All plays start with the ball on or between the hash marks. Because of the arrangement of the lines, the field is occasionally referred to as a gridiron.
At the back of each end zone are two goalposts (also called uprights) connected by a crossbar 10 feet (3.05 m) from the ground. For high skill levels, the posts are 18 feet 6 inches (5.64 m) apart. For lower skill levels, these are widened to 23 feet 4 inches (7.11 m).
Each team has 11 players on the field at a time. Usually there are many more players off the field. There are at least 46 active players on an NFL team. However, if time allows, teams may substitute for any or all of their players during the breaks between plays. As a result, players have very specialized roles and are divided into three separate units: the offense, the defense and the special teams. Although this is rare, in some games, almost all of the players will play during the course of the game.
Start of halves
Similarly to association football, the game begins with a coin toss to determine which team will kick off to begin the game and which goal each team will defend.[14] The options are presented again to start the second half; the choices for the first half do not automatically determine the start of the second half. The referee conducts the coin toss with the captains (or sometimes coaches) of the opposing teams. The team that wins the coin toss has three options:[14]
1.They may choose whether to kick or receive the opening kickoff.
2.They may choose which goal to defend.
3.They may choose to defer the first choice to the other team and have first choice to start the second half.[15]
Whatever the first team chooses, the second team has the option on the other choice (for example, if the first team elects to receive at the start of the game, the second team can decide which goal to defend).
At the start of the second half, the options to kick, receive, or choose a goal to defend are presented to the captains again. The team which did not choose first to start the first half (or which deferred its privilege to choose first) now gets first choice of options.[14][16]
Game duration
A standard football game consists of four 15-minute quarters (12-minute quarters in high-school football and often shorter at lower levels),[17] with a 12 minute half-time intermission after the second quarter.[18] The clock stops after certain plays; therefore, a game can last considerably longer (often more than three hours in real time), and if a game is broadcast on television, TV timeouts are taken at certain intervals of the game to broadcast commercials outside of game action. If an NFL game is tied after four quarters, the teams play an additional period lasting up to 15 minutes. In a regular season NFL overtime game, the first team that scores wins, even if the other team does not get a possession; this is referred to as sudden death. However, in a post-season NFL game during the playoffs, if the first team with possession scores only a field goal, the other team is allowed the opportunity to match or better this score. This rule only affects playoff games in overtime in which the first team with possession scores a field goal: if the first team with possession scores a touchdown, the sudden death rules take effect. In a regular-season NFL game, if neither team scores in overtime, the game is a tie. In an NFL playoff game, additional overtime periods are played, as needed, to determine a winner. College overtime rules are more complicated and are described in Overtime (sport).
A line of scrimmage on the 48-yard line. The offense is on the left.
A quarterback searching for opportunity to throw a pass.
A running back being tackled when he tries to run with the ball.
A quarterback preparing to throw a pass.
Forward pass in progress, during practice.
A kicker attempts an extra point.Advancing the ball
Advancing the ball in American football resembles the six-tackle rule and the play-the-ball in rugby league. The team that takes possession of the ball (the offense) has four attempts, called downs, in which to advance the ball at least 10 yards (9.1 m) toward their opponent's (the defense's) end zone. When the offense succeeds in gaining at least 10 yards, it gets a first down, meaning the team starts a new set of four downs to gain yet another 10 yards or to score. If the offense fails to gain a first down (10 yards) after 4 downs, the other team gets possession of the ball at the point where the fourth down ended, beginning with their first down to advance the ball in the opposite direction.
Except at the beginning of halves and after scores, the ball is always put into play by a snap. Offensive players line up facing defensive players at the line of scrimmage (the position on the field where the play begins). One offensive player, the center, then passes (or "snaps") the ball backwards between his legs to a teammate behind him, usually the quarterback.
Players can then advance the ball in two ways:
1.By running with the ball, also known as rushing.
2.By throwing the ball to a teammate, known as a pass or as passing the football. If the pass is thrown down-field, it is known as a forward pass. The forward pass is a key factor distinguishing American and Canadian football from other football sports. The offense can throw the ball forward only once during a down and only from behind the line of scrimmage. However, the ball can be handed-off to another player or thrown, pitched, or tossed sideways or backwards (a lateral pass) at any time.
A down ends, and the ball becomes dead, after any of the following:
The player with the ball is forced to the ground (a tackle) or has his forward progress halted by members of the other team (as determined by an official).
A forward pass flies beyond the dimensions of the field (out of bounds) or touches the ground before it is caught. This is known as an incomplete pass. The ball is returned to the most recent line of scrimmage for the next down.
The ball or the player with the ball goes out of bounds.
A team scores.
Officials blow a whistle to notify players that the down is over.
Before each down, each team chooses a play, or coordinated movements and actions, that the players should follow on a down. Sometimes, downs themselves are referred to as "plays."
Change of possession
The offense maintains possession of the ball unless one of the following things occurs:
The team fails to get a first down— i.e., in four downs they fail to move the ball past a line 10 yards ahead of where they got their last first down. The defensive team takes over the ball at the spot where the 4th-down play ends. A change of possession in this manner is commonly called a turnover on downs.
The offense scores a touchdown or field goal. The team that scored then kicks the ball to the other team in a special play called a kickoff.
The offense punts the ball to the defense. A punt is a kick in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it hits the ground. Punts are nearly always made on fourth down, when the offensive team does not want to risk giving up the ball to the other team at its current spot on the field (through a failed attempt to make a first down) and feels it is too far from the other team's goal posts to attempt a field goal.
A defensive player catches a forward pass. This is called an interception, and the player who makes the interception can run with the ball until he is tackled, forced out of bounds, or scores.
An offensive player drops the ball (a fumble) and a defensive player picks it up. As with interceptions, a player recovering a fumble can run with the ball until tackled, forced out of bounds, or scores. Backward passes that are not caught do not cause the down to end like incomplete forward passes do; instead the ball is still live as if it had been fumbled. Lost fumbles and interceptions are together known as turnovers.
The offensive team misses a field goal attempt. The defensive team gets the ball at the spot where the previous play began (or, in the NFL, at the spot of the kick). If the unsuccessful kick was attempted from within 20 yards (18.3 m) of the end zone, the other team gets the ball at its own 20 yard line (that is, 20 yards from the end zone). If a field goal is missed or blocked and the ball remains in the field of play, a defensive player may pick up the ball and attempt to advance it.
While in his own end zone, an offensive ball carrier is tackled, forced out of bounds, loses the ball out of bounds, or the offense commits certain fouls. This fairly rare occurrence is called a safety.
An offensive ball carrier fumbles the ball forward into the opposing end zone, and then the ball goes out of bounds. This extremely rare occurrence leads to a touchback, with the ball going over to the opposing team at their 20 yard line (Note that touchbacks during non-offensive special teams plays, such as punts and kickoffs, are quite common).
Scoring
A team scores points by the following plays:
A touchdown (TD) is worth 6 points.[18] It is scored when a player runs the ball into or catches a pass in his opponent's end zone.[18] A touchdown is analogous to a try in rugby. Unlike rugby, a player does not have to touch the ball to the ground to score; a touchdown is scored any time a player has possession of the ball while the ball is on or beyond the opponents' goal line (or the plane above it).
After a touchdown, the scoring team attempts a try (which is also analogous to the conversion in rugby). The ball is placed at the other team's 3-yard (2.7 m) line (the 2-yard (1.8 m) line in the NFL). The team can attempt to kick it over the crossbar and through the goal posts in the manner of a field goal for 1 point (an extra point or point-after touchdown (PAT)[19]), or run or pass it into the end zone in the manner of a touchdown for 2 points (a two-point conversion). In college football, if the defense intercepts or recovers a fumble during a one or two point conversion attempt and returns it to the opposing end zone, the defensive team is awarded the two points.
A field goal (FG) is worth 3 points, and it is scored by kicking the ball over the crossbar and through the goal posts (uprights).[18] Field goals may be placekicked (kicked when the ball is held vertically against the ground by a teammate) or drop-kicked (extremely uncommon in the modern game, with only two successes in sixty-plus years in the NFL). A field goal is usually attempted on fourth down instead of a punt when the ball is close to the opponent's goal line, or, when there is little or no time left to otherwise score.
A safety, worth 2 points, is scored by the opposing team when the team in possession at the end of a down is responsible for the ball becoming dead behind its own goal line. For instance, a safety is scored by the defense if an offensive player is tackled, goes out of bounds, or fumbles the ball out of bounds in his own end zone.[18] Safeties are relatively rare. Note that, though even more rare, the team initially on offense during a down can score a safety if a player of the original defense gains possession of the ball in front of his own goal line and then carries the ball or fumbles it into his own end zone where it becomes dead. However, if the ball becomes dead behind the goal line of the team in possession and its opponent is responsible for the ball being there (for instance, if the defense intercepts a forward pass in its own end zone and the ball becomes dead before the ball is advanced out of the end zone) it is a touchback: no points are scored and the team last in possession keeps possession with a first down at its own 20 yard line. In amateur football, in the extremely rare instance that a safety is scored on a try, it is worth only 1 point.
Kickoffs and free kicks
Each half begins with a kickoff. Teams also kick off after scoring touchdowns and field goals. The ball is kicked using a kicking tee from the team's own 30-yard (27 m) line in the NFL and college football (as of the 2007 season). The other team's kick returner tries to catch the ball and advance it as far as possible. Where he is stopped is the point where the offense will begin its drive, or series of offensive plays. If the kick returner catches the ball in his own end zone, he can either run with the ball, or elect for a touchback by kneeling in the end zone, in which case the receiving team then starts its offensive drive from its own 20 yard line. A touchback also occurs when the kick goes out-of-bounds in the end zone. A kickoff that goes out-of-bounds anywhere other than the end zone before being touched by the receiving team is a foul, and the ball will be placed where it went out of bounds or 30 yards (27 m) from the kickoff spot, depending on which is more advantageous to the opposite team.[20] Unlike with punts, once a kickoff goes 10 yards and the ball has hit the ground, it can be recovered by the kicking team.[20] A team, especially one who is losing, can try to take advantage of this by attempting an onside kick. Punts and turnovers in the end zone can also end in a touchback.
After safeties, the team that gave up the points must free kick the ball to the other team from its own 20 yard line.[21]
Penalties
A penalty flag on the field during a game on November 16, 2008 between the San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams.Main article: Penalty (American football)
Fouls (a type of rule violation) are punished with penalties against the offending team. Most penalties result in moving the football towards the offending team's end zone. If the penalty would move the ball more than half the distance towards the offender's end zone, the penalty becomes half the distance to the goal instead of its normal value.
Most penalties result in replaying the down. Some defensive penalties give the offense an automatic first down.[22] Conversely, some offensive penalties result in loss of a down (loss of the right to repeat the down).[22] If a penalty gives the offensive team enough yardage to gain a first down, they get a first down, as usual.
If a foul occurs during a down, an official throws a yellow penalty flag near the spot of the foul. When the down ends, the team that did not commit the foul has the option of accepting the penalty, or declining the penalty and accepting the result of the down.
Variations
See also: List of gridiron football codes
Limited contact
touch football. A play ends when a defender touches the ball carrier (sometimes with two hands).
flag football. A play ends when a defender removes a designated token ("flag") worn by the ball carrier.
Wrap. A play ends when a defender wraps his arms round the ball carrier.
Fewer players
nine-man football
eight-man football
six-man football
Smaller field
The Arena Football League is a league that plays eight-man football, but also plays indoors and on a much smaller playing surface with rule changes to encourage a much more offensive game.
Catch and Run
In this game, the children split into two teams and line up at opposite sides of the playing field. One side throws the ball to the other side. If the opposing team catches the ball, that player tries to run to the throwing teams touchdown without being tagged/tackled. If no one catches the ball or if the player is tagged/tackled, then that team has to throw the ball to the opposing team. This repeats until time runs out or the players decide to quit.
Players
This diagram shows typical offensive and defensive formations. The offense (blue) consists of the quarterback (QB), fullback (FB), tailback (TB), wide receivers (WR), tight end (TE), and offensive linemen (C, OG, OT). The defense (red) consists of the defensive line (DL, DE), linebackers (LBs), cornerbacks (CB), strong safety (SS) and free safety (FS). Because teams can change any or all of the players between plays, the number of players at certain positions may differ on a given play. Here the offense is in the Normal I-Formation while the defense is in a 4-3 Normal.Main article: American football positions
See also: Formation (American football)
Most football players have highly specialized roles. At the college and NFL levels, most play only offense or only defense.
Offense
The offensive line (OL) consists of five players whose job is to protect the passer and clear the way for runners by blocking members of the defense. The lineman in the middle is the Center. Outside the Center are the Guards, and outside them are the Tackles. Except for the center, who snaps the ball to one of the backs, offensive linemen generally do not handle the ball.
The quarterback (QB) receives the snap from the center on most plays. He then hands or tosses it to a running back, throws it to a receiver or runs with it himself. The quarterback is the leader of the offense and calls the plays that are signaled to him from the sidelines.
Running backs (RB) line up behind or beside the QB and specialize in running with the ball. They also block, catch passes and, on rare occasions, pass the ball to others or even receive the snap. If a team has two running backs in the game, usually one will be a halfback (HB) (or tailback (TB)), who is more likely to run with the ball, and the other will usually be a fullback (FB), who is more likely to block.
Wide receivers (WR) line up near the sidelines. They specialize in catching passes, though they also block for running plays or downfield after another receiver makes a catch.
Tight ends (TE) line up outside the offensive line. They can either play like wide receivers (catch passes) or like offensive linemen (protect the QB or create spaces for runners). Sometimes an offensive lineman takes the tight end position and is referred to as a tackle eligible.[23]
At least seven players must line up on the line of scrimmage on every offensive play. The other players may line up anywhere behind the line. The exact number of running backs, wide receivers and tight ends may differ on any given play. For example, if the team needs only 1 yard, it may use three tight ends, two running backs and no wide receivers. On the other hand, if it needs 20 yards, it may replace all of its running backs and tight ends with wide receivers.
Defense
In contrast to members of the offense, the rules of professional football (NFL Rulebook) and American college football (NCAA Rulebook) do not specify starting position, movement, or coverage zones for members of the defensive team, except that they must be in the defensive zone at the start of play. The positions, movements and responsibilities of all defensive players are assigned by the team by selection of certain coverages, or patterns of placement and assignment of responsibilities. The positional roles are customary. These roles have varied over the history of American football. The following are customary defensive positions used in many coverages in modern American football.
The defensive line consists of three to six players who line up immediately across from the offensive line. They try to occupy the offensive linemen in order to free up the linebackers, disrupt the backfield (behind the offensive line) of the offense, and tackle the running back if he has the ball before he can gain yardage or the quarterback before he can throw or pass the ball. They are the first line of defense.
Behind the defensive line are the linebackers. They line up between the defensive line and defensive backs and may either rush the quarterback or cover potential receivers.
The last line of defense is known as the secondary, comprising at least three players who line up as defensive backs, who are either cornerbacks or positionsafeties. They cover the receivers and try to stop pass completions. They occasionally rush the quarterback.
Special teams
The units of players who handle kicking plays are known as special teams. Three important special-teams players are the punter, who handles punts, the placekicker or kicker, who kicks off and attempts field goals and extra points, and the long snapper, who snaps the ball for extra points, field goals, and punts. Also included on special teams are the returners. These players return punts or kickoffs and try to get in good field position. These players can also score touchdowns.
Uniform numbering
Quarterback Shaun Carney has uniform number 5.In the NFL, ranges of uniform numbers are (usually) reserved for certain positions:[24]
1–19: Quarterbacks, kickers, and punters
20–49: Running backs, Fullbacks, and defensive backs
50–79: Centers
50–79: Offensive Lineman
10-19, 80–89: Wide receivers
40-49, 80-89: tight ends
60–99: Defensive linemen
40-59, 90-99: Linebackers
NCAA and high school rules specify only that offensive linemen must have numbers in the 50-79 range, but the NCAA "strongly recommends" that quarterbacks and running backs have numbers below 50 and wide receivers numbers above 79. This helps officials, as it means that numbers 50 to 79 are ineligible receivers, or players that may never receive a forward pass. There are no numbering restrictions on defensive players in the NCAA, other than that a team may not have two players on the field at the same time with the same jersey number.
Basic strategy
Main article: American football strategy
Because the game stops after every down, giving teams a chance to call a new play, strategy plays a major role in football. Each team has a playbook of dozens to hundreds of plays. Ideally, each play is a scripted, strategically sound team-coordinated endeavor. Some plays are very safe; they are likely to get only a few yards. Other plays have the potential for long gains but at a greater risk of a loss of yardage or a turnover.
Generally speaking, rushing plays are less risky than passing plays. However, there are relatively safe passing plays and risky running plays. To deceive the other team, some passing plays are designed to resemble running plays and vice versa. These are referred to as play-action passes and draws, respectively. There are many trick or gadget plays, such as when a team lines up as if it intends to punt and then tries to run or pass for a first down. Such high-risk plays are a great thrill to the fans when they work. However, they can spell disaster if the opposing team realizes the deception and acts accordingly.
The defense also plans plays in response to expectations of what the offense will do. For example, a "blitz" (using linebackers or defensive backs to charge the quarterback) is often attempted when the team on defense expects a pass. A blitz makes downfield passing more difficult but exposes the defense to big gains if the offensive line stems the rush.
Many hours of preparation and strategizing, including film review by both players and coaches, go into the days between football games. This, along with the demanding physicality of football (see below), is why teams typically play at most one game per week.
Physicality
Main articles: Health issues in American football and American football protective equipment
A halfback leads fellow backs through an agility drill at the Air Force AcademyAmerican football is a collision sport. To stop the offense from advancing the ball, the defense must tackle the player with the ball by knocking or pulling him down. As such, defensive players must use some form of physical contact to bring the ball-carrier to the ground, within certain rules and guidelines. Tacklers cannot kick or punch the runner. They also cannot grab the face mask of the runner's helmet or lead into a tackle with their own helmet. Despite these and other rules regarding unnecessary roughness, most other forms of tackling are legal. Blockers and defenders trying to evade them also have wide leeway in trying to force their opponents out of the way. Quarterbacks are regularly hit by defenders coming on full speed from outside the quarterback's field of vision. This is commonly known as a blindside.
To compensate for this, players must wear special protective equipment, such as a padded plastic helmet, shoulder pads, hip pads and knee pads. These protective pads were introduced decades ago and have improved ever since to help minimize lasting injury to players. An unintended consequence of all the safety equipment has resulted in increasing levels of violence in the game. Players may now hurl themselves at one another at high speeds without a significant chance of injury. The injuries that do result tend to be severe and often season or career-ending and sometimes fatal. In previous years with less padding, tackling more closely resembled tackles in Rugby football. Better helmets have allowed players to use their helmets as weapons. This form of tackling is particularly unwise, because of the great potential for brain or spinal injury. All this has caused the various leagues, especially the NFL, to implement a complicated series of penalties for various types of contact. Most recently, virtually any contact with the helmet of a defensive player on the quarterback, or any contact to the quarterback's head, is now a foul. During the late 1970s, the penalty in high school football for spearing included ejection from the game.[25]
Despite protective equipment and rule changes to emphasize safety, injuries remain very common in football. It is increasingly rare, for example, for NFL quarterbacks or running backs (who take the most direct hits) to make it through an entire season without missing some time to injury. Additionally, 28 football players died from direct football injuries in the years 2000-05 and an additional 68 died indirectly from dehydration or other examples of "non-physical" dangers, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research.[26] Concussions are common, with about 41,000 suffered every year among high school players according to the Brain Injury Association of Arizona.[27] In 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who played football in high school, commented on the contact of the sport: "Football is the last thing left in civilization where men can literally fling themselves bodily at one another in combat and not be at war."[28]
Extra and optional equipment such as neck rolls, spider pads, rib protectors (referred to as "flak jackets"), and elbow pads help against injury as well, though they do not tend to be used by the majority of players due to their lack of requirement.
The danger of football and the equipment required to reduce it make regulation football impractical for casual play. Flag football and touch football are less violent variants of the game popular among recreational players.
Nutrition and dehydration
Football players typically begin their season while the weather is still extremely warm and with the dangerous combination of warm weather and high humidity, dehydration is a great risk for the players.[29] The players are usually required to follow a hydration schedule. It is extremely important for players to drink enough fluids because dehydration can seriously reduce athletic performance and increase the risk of heat illnesses. Most trainers and coaches make it imperative for their players to drink fluids before they are thirsty.[29]
Brain injury
The Concussions Committee of the NFL, co-chaired by Dr. Ira Casson, has generally denied that concussions result in permanent brain injury. However, there is some research, reported in 2009, which, using phone interviews based on the National Health Interview Survey, showed increased incidence of diagnosis of memory loss and dementia among retired professional football players. Such symptoms are believed related to the effects of concussion. More rigorous research is being conducted by Dr. Casson, neurologist, for the NFL. This finding is considered significant as such injuries may potentially affect high school and college players also.[30]
Organization in the United States
Main article: American football in the United States
Calendar
Traditionally, football is an autumn sport. A season typically begins in mid-to-late August and runs through December, into January. The professional playoffs run through January, and the Super Bowl is often played in the first week of February.
Amateurs playing on ThanksgivingThe NFL draft is usually held in April, in which eligible college football players are selected by NFL teams, the order of selection determined by the teams' final regular season records.
It is a long-standing tradition in the United States (though not universally observed) that high school football games are played on Friday night, college games on Saturday, and professional games on Sunday.
In the 1970s, the NFL began to schedule one game on Monday nights. Beginning in 2006, the NFL began scheduling games on Thursday and Saturday nights after the college football regular season concludes in mid-November, aired on the NFL Network.
In recent years, nationally televised Thursday night college games have become a weekly fixture on ESPN, and most nights of the week feature at least one college game, though most games are still played on the traditional Saturday.
Certain fall and winter holidays—such as the NFL's Thanksgiving Classic and numerous New Year's Day college bowl games—have traditional football games associated with them.
Despite this, there are a few professional leagues that have played in the spring, mainly to avoid competition with the established leagues. Examples include the now defunct XFL, the United States Football League, and the proposed All American Football League. Indoor football is played primarily in spring for this same reason.
At most levels of competition, college football teams hold several weeks of practices in the spring. These practices typically end with an intramural scrimmage open to the public. In certain areas, high school football teams also hold spring practices.
Outside the United States
Outside the United States, the sport is referred to as "American football" (or a translation thereof) to differentiate it from other football codes such as association football (soccer), rugby football, Australian rules football and Gaelic football. In Australia and New Zealand the game is also known as gridiron football, or more commonly as gridiron,[31][32] although in the United States the term gridiron refers only to the playing field itself.[33] The term gridiron has also been used in the UK to describe the game.[34] In much of the world, the term football is unambiguous and refers to association football (known commonly as 'soccer' in the United States).
The NFL has attempted to introduce the game to other nations and operated a developmental league, NFL Europa, with teams in five German cities and one in the Netherlands, but this league folded following the 2007 season. The professional Canadian Football League and collegiate Canadian Interuniversity Sport play under the slightly different Canadian rules.
In the UK, 46 teams play in the British American Football League. The BAFL has three levels: The Premier, of which there are five teams; BAFL 1, of which there are 19 teams; and BAFL 2, of which there are 26 teams. While the lower level teams have their own championship games during BritBowl Weekend, only Premier league teams face each other in the BritBowl which is it held in Doncaster's Keepmoat Stadium. Unlike the NFL, the BAFL season is played through the summer (April to September), with the British university season spanning the autumn and winter.
In Mexico, the ONEFA is a college league with 26 teams in 3 conferences.
In Japan, the X-League is a professional league with 60 teams in four divisions, using promotion and relegation. After the post-season playoffs, the X-League champion is determined in the Japan X Bowl. There are also over 200 universities fielding teams, with the national collegiate championship determined by the Koshien Bowl. The professional and collegiate champions then face each other in the Rice Bowl to determine the national champion.
In Germany, the German Football League has 12 teams partitioned into north and south conferences. The finalists from the playoffs determine the German champion during the German Bowl.
In Hungary, 18 registered teams participate in the MAFL's two division league structure. The sport has grown significantly since 2004 and with some top Division I teams participating in the CEFL.
In Norway, a rising number of teams (11 in 2010) compete in a two division league structure (division I which determines a national champion by a postseason playoff, and division 2 where newer and smaller teams are allowed to mature). Two teams (Oslo Vikings and Eidsvoll 1814's) regularly compete in either the European Football League or the EFAF Cup. Eidsvoll was the runner-up in EFAF Cup 2006.
The International Federation of American Football is the governing body for American football with 45 member associations from North and South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. The IFAF also oversees the American Football World Cup, which is held every four years. Japan won the first two World Cups, held in 1999 and 2003. Team USA, which had not participated in the previous World Cups, won the title in 2007.
Major American leagues have also held some regular season games outside of the United States. On October 2, 2005, the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers played the first regular season NFL game outside of the United States, in Mexico City's Estadio Azteca,[35] From 2007, the NFL has played or has plans to play at least one regular season game outside of the United States during each season. The NCAA will also play games outside of the U.S. In 2012, The United States Naval Academy will play the University of Notre Dame in Dublin, Ireland.[36]
A long term goal of the IFAF is for American football to be accepted by the International Olympic Committee as an Olympic sport.[37]
American football is closely related to Canadian football but with some differences in rules and in the configuration of the field.[1]
In the United States, the major forms are high school football, college football and professional football, which are essentially similar but feature slightly different rules.[2]
High school football is governed in the U.S. by the National Federation of State High School Associations. College football is governed in the U.S. by two bodies; the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The major league for professional football is the National Football League. Over the years, there have been other notable professional football leagues, including the All America Football Conference during the 1940s, the American Football League during the 1960s, the United States Football League during the 1980s, and the currently active United Football League.
The sport is also played outside the United States. National professional and collegiate leagues exist in United Kingdom, Germany, Italy,[3] Switzerland,[4] Finland, Sweden,[5] Japan, Mexico, Israel,[6] Spain, Austria,[7] and several Pacific Island nations. The International Federation of American Football acts as an international governing body for the sport on five continents, but the organization has little standing in the United States compared to the other bodies and leagues mentioned above.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Rules
2.1 Field and players
2.2 Start of halves
2.3 Game duration
2.4 Advancing the ball
2.5 Change of possession
2.6 Scoring
2.7 Kickoffs and free kicks
2.8 Penalties
2.9 Variations
3 Players
3.1 Offense
3.2 Defense
3.3 Special teams
3.4 Uniform numbering
4 Basic strategy
5 Physicality
5.1 Nutrition and dehydration
5.2 Brain injury
6 Organization in the United States
6.1 Calendar
7 Outside the United States
8 See also
9 References
9.1 Notes
9.2 Bibliography
10 Further reading
11 External links
History
Main article: History of American football
An American football team at the turn of the twentieth century. Note the continued use of a rugby-type ball (front row, right).The history of American football can be traced to early versions of rugby football and association football. Both games have their origins in varieties of football played in the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century, in which a ball is kicked at a goal and/or run over a line. Many games known as "football" were being played at colleges and universities in the United States in the first half of the 19th century.[8][9]
Walter CampAmerican football resulted from several major divergences from rugby football, most notably the rule changes instituted by Walter Camp, considered the "Father of American Football". Among these important changes were the introduction of the line of scrimmage and of down-and-distance rules. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, game play developments by college coaches such as Eddie Cochems, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Knute Rockne, and Glenn "Pop" Warner helped take advantage of the newly introduced forward pass.
The popularity of collegiate football grew as it became the dominant version of the sport for the first half of the twentieth century. Bowl games, a college football tradition, attracted a national audience for collegiate teams. Bolstered by fierce rivalries, college football still holds widespread appeal in the US.[8][10][11]
The origin of professional football can be traced back to 1892, with William "Pudge" Heffelfinger's $500 contract to play in a game for the Allegheny Athletic Association against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. The first Professional "league" was the Ohio League, formed in 1903, and the first Professional Football championship game was between the Buffalo Prospects and the Canton Bulldogs in 1919. In 1920, the American Professional Football Association was formed. The first game was played in Dayton, Ohio on October 3, 1920 with the host Triangles defeating the Columbus Panhandles 14–0. The league changed its name to the National Football League (NFL) two years later, and eventually became the major league of American football. Initially a sport of Midwestern industrial towns in the United States, professional football eventually became a national phenomenon. Football's increasing popularity is usually traced to the 1958 NFL Championship Game, a contest that has been dubbed the "Greatest Game Ever Played". A rival league to the NFL, the American Football League (AFL), began play in 1960; the pressure it put on the senior league led to a merger between the two leagues and the creation of the Super Bowl, which has become the most watched television event in the United States on an annual basis.[12]
Rules
Main article: American football rules
Field and players
The numbers on the field indicate the number of yards to the nearest end zone.American football is played on a field 360 by 160 feet (109.7 by 48.8 m).[13] The longer boundary lines are sidelines, while the shorter boundary lines are end lines. Sidelines and end lines are out of bounds. Near each end of the field is a goal line; they are 100 yards (91.4 m) apart. A scoring area called an end zone extends 10 yards (9.1 m) beyond each goal line to each end line. The end zone includes the goal line but not the end line.[13] While the playing field is effectively flat, it is common for a field to be built with a slight crown—with the middle of the field higher than the sides—to allow water to drain from the field.
Yard lines cross the field every 5 yards (4.6 m), and are numbered every 10 yards from each goal line to the 50-yard line, or midfield (similar to a typical rugby league field). Two rows of short lines, known as inbounds lines or hash marks, run at 1-yard (91.4 cm) intervals perpendicular to the sidelines near the middle of the field. All plays start with the ball on or between the hash marks. Because of the arrangement of the lines, the field is occasionally referred to as a gridiron.
At the back of each end zone are two goalposts (also called uprights) connected by a crossbar 10 feet (3.05 m) from the ground. For high skill levels, the posts are 18 feet 6 inches (5.64 m) apart. For lower skill levels, these are widened to 23 feet 4 inches (7.11 m).
Each team has 11 players on the field at a time. Usually there are many more players off the field. There are at least 46 active players on an NFL team. However, if time allows, teams may substitute for any or all of their players during the breaks between plays. As a result, players have very specialized roles and are divided into three separate units: the offense, the defense and the special teams. Although this is rare, in some games, almost all of the players will play during the course of the game.
Start of halves
Similarly to association football, the game begins with a coin toss to determine which team will kick off to begin the game and which goal each team will defend.[14] The options are presented again to start the second half; the choices for the first half do not automatically determine the start of the second half. The referee conducts the coin toss with the captains (or sometimes coaches) of the opposing teams. The team that wins the coin toss has three options:[14]
1.They may choose whether to kick or receive the opening kickoff.
2.They may choose which goal to defend.
3.They may choose to defer the first choice to the other team and have first choice to start the second half.[15]
Whatever the first team chooses, the second team has the option on the other choice (for example, if the first team elects to receive at the start of the game, the second team can decide which goal to defend).
At the start of the second half, the options to kick, receive, or choose a goal to defend are presented to the captains again. The team which did not choose first to start the first half (or which deferred its privilege to choose first) now gets first choice of options.[14][16]
Game duration
A standard football game consists of four 15-minute quarters (12-minute quarters in high-school football and often shorter at lower levels),[17] with a 12 minute half-time intermission after the second quarter.[18] The clock stops after certain plays; therefore, a game can last considerably longer (often more than three hours in real time), and if a game is broadcast on television, TV timeouts are taken at certain intervals of the game to broadcast commercials outside of game action. If an NFL game is tied after four quarters, the teams play an additional period lasting up to 15 minutes. In a regular season NFL overtime game, the first team that scores wins, even if the other team does not get a possession; this is referred to as sudden death. However, in a post-season NFL game during the playoffs, if the first team with possession scores only a field goal, the other team is allowed the opportunity to match or better this score. This rule only affects playoff games in overtime in which the first team with possession scores a field goal: if the first team with possession scores a touchdown, the sudden death rules take effect. In a regular-season NFL game, if neither team scores in overtime, the game is a tie. In an NFL playoff game, additional overtime periods are played, as needed, to determine a winner. College overtime rules are more complicated and are described in Overtime (sport).
A line of scrimmage on the 48-yard line. The offense is on the left.
A quarterback searching for opportunity to throw a pass.
A running back being tackled when he tries to run with the ball.
A quarterback preparing to throw a pass.
Forward pass in progress, during practice.
A kicker attempts an extra point.Advancing the ball
Advancing the ball in American football resembles the six-tackle rule and the play-the-ball in rugby league. The team that takes possession of the ball (the offense) has four attempts, called downs, in which to advance the ball at least 10 yards (9.1 m) toward their opponent's (the defense's) end zone. When the offense succeeds in gaining at least 10 yards, it gets a first down, meaning the team starts a new set of four downs to gain yet another 10 yards or to score. If the offense fails to gain a first down (10 yards) after 4 downs, the other team gets possession of the ball at the point where the fourth down ended, beginning with their first down to advance the ball in the opposite direction.
Except at the beginning of halves and after scores, the ball is always put into play by a snap. Offensive players line up facing defensive players at the line of scrimmage (the position on the field where the play begins). One offensive player, the center, then passes (or "snaps") the ball backwards between his legs to a teammate behind him, usually the quarterback.
Players can then advance the ball in two ways:
1.By running with the ball, also known as rushing.
2.By throwing the ball to a teammate, known as a pass or as passing the football. If the pass is thrown down-field, it is known as a forward pass. The forward pass is a key factor distinguishing American and Canadian football from other football sports. The offense can throw the ball forward only once during a down and only from behind the line of scrimmage. However, the ball can be handed-off to another player or thrown, pitched, or tossed sideways or backwards (a lateral pass) at any time.
A down ends, and the ball becomes dead, after any of the following:
The player with the ball is forced to the ground (a tackle) or has his forward progress halted by members of the other team (as determined by an official).
A forward pass flies beyond the dimensions of the field (out of bounds) or touches the ground before it is caught. This is known as an incomplete pass. The ball is returned to the most recent line of scrimmage for the next down.
The ball or the player with the ball goes out of bounds.
A team scores.
Officials blow a whistle to notify players that the down is over.
Before each down, each team chooses a play, or coordinated movements and actions, that the players should follow on a down. Sometimes, downs themselves are referred to as "plays."
Change of possession
The offense maintains possession of the ball unless one of the following things occurs:
The team fails to get a first down— i.e., in four downs they fail to move the ball past a line 10 yards ahead of where they got their last first down. The defensive team takes over the ball at the spot where the 4th-down play ends. A change of possession in this manner is commonly called a turnover on downs.
The offense scores a touchdown or field goal. The team that scored then kicks the ball to the other team in a special play called a kickoff.
The offense punts the ball to the defense. A punt is a kick in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it hits the ground. Punts are nearly always made on fourth down, when the offensive team does not want to risk giving up the ball to the other team at its current spot on the field (through a failed attempt to make a first down) and feels it is too far from the other team's goal posts to attempt a field goal.
A defensive player catches a forward pass. This is called an interception, and the player who makes the interception can run with the ball until he is tackled, forced out of bounds, or scores.
An offensive player drops the ball (a fumble) and a defensive player picks it up. As with interceptions, a player recovering a fumble can run with the ball until tackled, forced out of bounds, or scores. Backward passes that are not caught do not cause the down to end like incomplete forward passes do; instead the ball is still live as if it had been fumbled. Lost fumbles and interceptions are together known as turnovers.
The offensive team misses a field goal attempt. The defensive team gets the ball at the spot where the previous play began (or, in the NFL, at the spot of the kick). If the unsuccessful kick was attempted from within 20 yards (18.3 m) of the end zone, the other team gets the ball at its own 20 yard line (that is, 20 yards from the end zone). If a field goal is missed or blocked and the ball remains in the field of play, a defensive player may pick up the ball and attempt to advance it.
While in his own end zone, an offensive ball carrier is tackled, forced out of bounds, loses the ball out of bounds, or the offense commits certain fouls. This fairly rare occurrence is called a safety.
An offensive ball carrier fumbles the ball forward into the opposing end zone, and then the ball goes out of bounds. This extremely rare occurrence leads to a touchback, with the ball going over to the opposing team at their 20 yard line (Note that touchbacks during non-offensive special teams plays, such as punts and kickoffs, are quite common).
Scoring
A team scores points by the following plays:
A touchdown (TD) is worth 6 points.[18] It is scored when a player runs the ball into or catches a pass in his opponent's end zone.[18] A touchdown is analogous to a try in rugby. Unlike rugby, a player does not have to touch the ball to the ground to score; a touchdown is scored any time a player has possession of the ball while the ball is on or beyond the opponents' goal line (or the plane above it).
After a touchdown, the scoring team attempts a try (which is also analogous to the conversion in rugby). The ball is placed at the other team's 3-yard (2.7 m) line (the 2-yard (1.8 m) line in the NFL). The team can attempt to kick it over the crossbar and through the goal posts in the manner of a field goal for 1 point (an extra point or point-after touchdown (PAT)[19]), or run or pass it into the end zone in the manner of a touchdown for 2 points (a two-point conversion). In college football, if the defense intercepts or recovers a fumble during a one or two point conversion attempt and returns it to the opposing end zone, the defensive team is awarded the two points.
A field goal (FG) is worth 3 points, and it is scored by kicking the ball over the crossbar and through the goal posts (uprights).[18] Field goals may be placekicked (kicked when the ball is held vertically against the ground by a teammate) or drop-kicked (extremely uncommon in the modern game, with only two successes in sixty-plus years in the NFL). A field goal is usually attempted on fourth down instead of a punt when the ball is close to the opponent's goal line, or, when there is little or no time left to otherwise score.
A safety, worth 2 points, is scored by the opposing team when the team in possession at the end of a down is responsible for the ball becoming dead behind its own goal line. For instance, a safety is scored by the defense if an offensive player is tackled, goes out of bounds, or fumbles the ball out of bounds in his own end zone.[18] Safeties are relatively rare. Note that, though even more rare, the team initially on offense during a down can score a safety if a player of the original defense gains possession of the ball in front of his own goal line and then carries the ball or fumbles it into his own end zone where it becomes dead. However, if the ball becomes dead behind the goal line of the team in possession and its opponent is responsible for the ball being there (for instance, if the defense intercepts a forward pass in its own end zone and the ball becomes dead before the ball is advanced out of the end zone) it is a touchback: no points are scored and the team last in possession keeps possession with a first down at its own 20 yard line. In amateur football, in the extremely rare instance that a safety is scored on a try, it is worth only 1 point.
Kickoffs and free kicks
Each half begins with a kickoff. Teams also kick off after scoring touchdowns and field goals. The ball is kicked using a kicking tee from the team's own 30-yard (27 m) line in the NFL and college football (as of the 2007 season). The other team's kick returner tries to catch the ball and advance it as far as possible. Where he is stopped is the point where the offense will begin its drive, or series of offensive plays. If the kick returner catches the ball in his own end zone, he can either run with the ball, or elect for a touchback by kneeling in the end zone, in which case the receiving team then starts its offensive drive from its own 20 yard line. A touchback also occurs when the kick goes out-of-bounds in the end zone. A kickoff that goes out-of-bounds anywhere other than the end zone before being touched by the receiving team is a foul, and the ball will be placed where it went out of bounds or 30 yards (27 m) from the kickoff spot, depending on which is more advantageous to the opposite team.[20] Unlike with punts, once a kickoff goes 10 yards and the ball has hit the ground, it can be recovered by the kicking team.[20] A team, especially one who is losing, can try to take advantage of this by attempting an onside kick. Punts and turnovers in the end zone can also end in a touchback.
After safeties, the team that gave up the points must free kick the ball to the other team from its own 20 yard line.[21]
Penalties
A penalty flag on the field during a game on November 16, 2008 between the San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams.Main article: Penalty (American football)
Fouls (a type of rule violation) are punished with penalties against the offending team. Most penalties result in moving the football towards the offending team's end zone. If the penalty would move the ball more than half the distance towards the offender's end zone, the penalty becomes half the distance to the goal instead of its normal value.
Most penalties result in replaying the down. Some defensive penalties give the offense an automatic first down.[22] Conversely, some offensive penalties result in loss of a down (loss of the right to repeat the down).[22] If a penalty gives the offensive team enough yardage to gain a first down, they get a first down, as usual.
If a foul occurs during a down, an official throws a yellow penalty flag near the spot of the foul. When the down ends, the team that did not commit the foul has the option of accepting the penalty, or declining the penalty and accepting the result of the down.
Variations
See also: List of gridiron football codes
Limited contact
touch football. A play ends when a defender touches the ball carrier (sometimes with two hands).
flag football. A play ends when a defender removes a designated token ("flag") worn by the ball carrier.
Wrap. A play ends when a defender wraps his arms round the ball carrier.
Fewer players
nine-man football
eight-man football
six-man football
Smaller field
The Arena Football League is a league that plays eight-man football, but also plays indoors and on a much smaller playing surface with rule changes to encourage a much more offensive game.
Catch and Run
In this game, the children split into two teams and line up at opposite sides of the playing field. One side throws the ball to the other side. If the opposing team catches the ball, that player tries to run to the throwing teams touchdown without being tagged/tackled. If no one catches the ball or if the player is tagged/tackled, then that team has to throw the ball to the opposing team. This repeats until time runs out or the players decide to quit.
Players
This diagram shows typical offensive and defensive formations. The offense (blue) consists of the quarterback (QB), fullback (FB), tailback (TB), wide receivers (WR), tight end (TE), and offensive linemen (C, OG, OT). The defense (red) consists of the defensive line (DL, DE), linebackers (LBs), cornerbacks (CB), strong safety (SS) and free safety (FS). Because teams can change any or all of the players between plays, the number of players at certain positions may differ on a given play. Here the offense is in the Normal I-Formation while the defense is in a 4-3 Normal.Main article: American football positions
See also: Formation (American football)
Most football players have highly specialized roles. At the college and NFL levels, most play only offense or only defense.
Offense
The offensive line (OL) consists of five players whose job is to protect the passer and clear the way for runners by blocking members of the defense. The lineman in the middle is the Center. Outside the Center are the Guards, and outside them are the Tackles. Except for the center, who snaps the ball to one of the backs, offensive linemen generally do not handle the ball.
The quarterback (QB) receives the snap from the center on most plays. He then hands or tosses it to a running back, throws it to a receiver or runs with it himself. The quarterback is the leader of the offense and calls the plays that are signaled to him from the sidelines.
Running backs (RB) line up behind or beside the QB and specialize in running with the ball. They also block, catch passes and, on rare occasions, pass the ball to others or even receive the snap. If a team has two running backs in the game, usually one will be a halfback (HB) (or tailback (TB)), who is more likely to run with the ball, and the other will usually be a fullback (FB), who is more likely to block.
Wide receivers (WR) line up near the sidelines. They specialize in catching passes, though they also block for running plays or downfield after another receiver makes a catch.
Tight ends (TE) line up outside the offensive line. They can either play like wide receivers (catch passes) or like offensive linemen (protect the QB or create spaces for runners). Sometimes an offensive lineman takes the tight end position and is referred to as a tackle eligible.[23]
At least seven players must line up on the line of scrimmage on every offensive play. The other players may line up anywhere behind the line. The exact number of running backs, wide receivers and tight ends may differ on any given play. For example, if the team needs only 1 yard, it may use three tight ends, two running backs and no wide receivers. On the other hand, if it needs 20 yards, it may replace all of its running backs and tight ends with wide receivers.
Defense
In contrast to members of the offense, the rules of professional football (NFL Rulebook) and American college football (NCAA Rulebook) do not specify starting position, movement, or coverage zones for members of the defensive team, except that they must be in the defensive zone at the start of play. The positions, movements and responsibilities of all defensive players are assigned by the team by selection of certain coverages, or patterns of placement and assignment of responsibilities. The positional roles are customary. These roles have varied over the history of American football. The following are customary defensive positions used in many coverages in modern American football.
The defensive line consists of three to six players who line up immediately across from the offensive line. They try to occupy the offensive linemen in order to free up the linebackers, disrupt the backfield (behind the offensive line) of the offense, and tackle the running back if he has the ball before he can gain yardage or the quarterback before he can throw or pass the ball. They are the first line of defense.
Behind the defensive line are the linebackers. They line up between the defensive line and defensive backs and may either rush the quarterback or cover potential receivers.
The last line of defense is known as the secondary, comprising at least three players who line up as defensive backs, who are either cornerbacks or positionsafeties. They cover the receivers and try to stop pass completions. They occasionally rush the quarterback.
Special teams
The units of players who handle kicking plays are known as special teams. Three important special-teams players are the punter, who handles punts, the placekicker or kicker, who kicks off and attempts field goals and extra points, and the long snapper, who snaps the ball for extra points, field goals, and punts. Also included on special teams are the returners. These players return punts or kickoffs and try to get in good field position. These players can also score touchdowns.
Uniform numbering
Quarterback Shaun Carney has uniform number 5.In the NFL, ranges of uniform numbers are (usually) reserved for certain positions:[24]
1–19: Quarterbacks, kickers, and punters
20–49: Running backs, Fullbacks, and defensive backs
50–79: Centers
50–79: Offensive Lineman
10-19, 80–89: Wide receivers
40-49, 80-89: tight ends
60–99: Defensive linemen
40-59, 90-99: Linebackers
NCAA and high school rules specify only that offensive linemen must have numbers in the 50-79 range, but the NCAA "strongly recommends" that quarterbacks and running backs have numbers below 50 and wide receivers numbers above 79. This helps officials, as it means that numbers 50 to 79 are ineligible receivers, or players that may never receive a forward pass. There are no numbering restrictions on defensive players in the NCAA, other than that a team may not have two players on the field at the same time with the same jersey number.
Basic strategy
Main article: American football strategy
Because the game stops after every down, giving teams a chance to call a new play, strategy plays a major role in football. Each team has a playbook of dozens to hundreds of plays. Ideally, each play is a scripted, strategically sound team-coordinated endeavor. Some plays are very safe; they are likely to get only a few yards. Other plays have the potential for long gains but at a greater risk of a loss of yardage or a turnover.
Generally speaking, rushing plays are less risky than passing plays. However, there are relatively safe passing plays and risky running plays. To deceive the other team, some passing plays are designed to resemble running plays and vice versa. These are referred to as play-action passes and draws, respectively. There are many trick or gadget plays, such as when a team lines up as if it intends to punt and then tries to run or pass for a first down. Such high-risk plays are a great thrill to the fans when they work. However, they can spell disaster if the opposing team realizes the deception and acts accordingly.
The defense also plans plays in response to expectations of what the offense will do. For example, a "blitz" (using linebackers or defensive backs to charge the quarterback) is often attempted when the team on defense expects a pass. A blitz makes downfield passing more difficult but exposes the defense to big gains if the offensive line stems the rush.
Many hours of preparation and strategizing, including film review by both players and coaches, go into the days between football games. This, along with the demanding physicality of football (see below), is why teams typically play at most one game per week.
Physicality
Main articles: Health issues in American football and American football protective equipment
A halfback leads fellow backs through an agility drill at the Air Force AcademyAmerican football is a collision sport. To stop the offense from advancing the ball, the defense must tackle the player with the ball by knocking or pulling him down. As such, defensive players must use some form of physical contact to bring the ball-carrier to the ground, within certain rules and guidelines. Tacklers cannot kick or punch the runner. They also cannot grab the face mask of the runner's helmet or lead into a tackle with their own helmet. Despite these and other rules regarding unnecessary roughness, most other forms of tackling are legal. Blockers and defenders trying to evade them also have wide leeway in trying to force their opponents out of the way. Quarterbacks are regularly hit by defenders coming on full speed from outside the quarterback's field of vision. This is commonly known as a blindside.
To compensate for this, players must wear special protective equipment, such as a padded plastic helmet, shoulder pads, hip pads and knee pads. These protective pads were introduced decades ago and have improved ever since to help minimize lasting injury to players. An unintended consequence of all the safety equipment has resulted in increasing levels of violence in the game. Players may now hurl themselves at one another at high speeds without a significant chance of injury. The injuries that do result tend to be severe and often season or career-ending and sometimes fatal. In previous years with less padding, tackling more closely resembled tackles in Rugby football. Better helmets have allowed players to use their helmets as weapons. This form of tackling is particularly unwise, because of the great potential for brain or spinal injury. All this has caused the various leagues, especially the NFL, to implement a complicated series of penalties for various types of contact. Most recently, virtually any contact with the helmet of a defensive player on the quarterback, or any contact to the quarterback's head, is now a foul. During the late 1970s, the penalty in high school football for spearing included ejection from the game.[25]
Despite protective equipment and rule changes to emphasize safety, injuries remain very common in football. It is increasingly rare, for example, for NFL quarterbacks or running backs (who take the most direct hits) to make it through an entire season without missing some time to injury. Additionally, 28 football players died from direct football injuries in the years 2000-05 and an additional 68 died indirectly from dehydration or other examples of "non-physical" dangers, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research.[26] Concussions are common, with about 41,000 suffered every year among high school players according to the Brain Injury Association of Arizona.[27] In 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who played football in high school, commented on the contact of the sport: "Football is the last thing left in civilization where men can literally fling themselves bodily at one another in combat and not be at war."[28]
Extra and optional equipment such as neck rolls, spider pads, rib protectors (referred to as "flak jackets"), and elbow pads help against injury as well, though they do not tend to be used by the majority of players due to their lack of requirement.
The danger of football and the equipment required to reduce it make regulation football impractical for casual play. Flag football and touch football are less violent variants of the game popular among recreational players.
Nutrition and dehydration
Football players typically begin their season while the weather is still extremely warm and with the dangerous combination of warm weather and high humidity, dehydration is a great risk for the players.[29] The players are usually required to follow a hydration schedule. It is extremely important for players to drink enough fluids because dehydration can seriously reduce athletic performance and increase the risk of heat illnesses. Most trainers and coaches make it imperative for their players to drink fluids before they are thirsty.[29]
Brain injury
The Concussions Committee of the NFL, co-chaired by Dr. Ira Casson, has generally denied that concussions result in permanent brain injury. However, there is some research, reported in 2009, which, using phone interviews based on the National Health Interview Survey, showed increased incidence of diagnosis of memory loss and dementia among retired professional football players. Such symptoms are believed related to the effects of concussion. More rigorous research is being conducted by Dr. Casson, neurologist, for the NFL. This finding is considered significant as such injuries may potentially affect high school and college players also.[30]
Organization in the United States
Main article: American football in the United States
Calendar
Traditionally, football is an autumn sport. A season typically begins in mid-to-late August and runs through December, into January. The professional playoffs run through January, and the Super Bowl is often played in the first week of February.
Amateurs playing on ThanksgivingThe NFL draft is usually held in April, in which eligible college football players are selected by NFL teams, the order of selection determined by the teams' final regular season records.
It is a long-standing tradition in the United States (though not universally observed) that high school football games are played on Friday night, college games on Saturday, and professional games on Sunday.
In the 1970s, the NFL began to schedule one game on Monday nights. Beginning in 2006, the NFL began scheduling games on Thursday and Saturday nights after the college football regular season concludes in mid-November, aired on the NFL Network.
In recent years, nationally televised Thursday night college games have become a weekly fixture on ESPN, and most nights of the week feature at least one college game, though most games are still played on the traditional Saturday.
Certain fall and winter holidays—such as the NFL's Thanksgiving Classic and numerous New Year's Day college bowl games—have traditional football games associated with them.
Despite this, there are a few professional leagues that have played in the spring, mainly to avoid competition with the established leagues. Examples include the now defunct XFL, the United States Football League, and the proposed All American Football League. Indoor football is played primarily in spring for this same reason.
At most levels of competition, college football teams hold several weeks of practices in the spring. These practices typically end with an intramural scrimmage open to the public. In certain areas, high school football teams also hold spring practices.
Outside the United States
Outside the United States, the sport is referred to as "American football" (or a translation thereof) to differentiate it from other football codes such as association football (soccer), rugby football, Australian rules football and Gaelic football. In Australia and New Zealand the game is also known as gridiron football, or more commonly as gridiron,[31][32] although in the United States the term gridiron refers only to the playing field itself.[33] The term gridiron has also been used in the UK to describe the game.[34] In much of the world, the term football is unambiguous and refers to association football (known commonly as 'soccer' in the United States).
The NFL has attempted to introduce the game to other nations and operated a developmental league, NFL Europa, with teams in five German cities and one in the Netherlands, but this league folded following the 2007 season. The professional Canadian Football League and collegiate Canadian Interuniversity Sport play under the slightly different Canadian rules.
In the UK, 46 teams play in the British American Football League. The BAFL has three levels: The Premier, of which there are five teams; BAFL 1, of which there are 19 teams; and BAFL 2, of which there are 26 teams. While the lower level teams have their own championship games during BritBowl Weekend, only Premier league teams face each other in the BritBowl which is it held in Doncaster's Keepmoat Stadium. Unlike the NFL, the BAFL season is played through the summer (April to September), with the British university season spanning the autumn and winter.
In Mexico, the ONEFA is a college league with 26 teams in 3 conferences.
In Japan, the X-League is a professional league with 60 teams in four divisions, using promotion and relegation. After the post-season playoffs, the X-League champion is determined in the Japan X Bowl. There are also over 200 universities fielding teams, with the national collegiate championship determined by the Koshien Bowl. The professional and collegiate champions then face each other in the Rice Bowl to determine the national champion.
In Germany, the German Football League has 12 teams partitioned into north and south conferences. The finalists from the playoffs determine the German champion during the German Bowl.
In Hungary, 18 registered teams participate in the MAFL's two division league structure. The sport has grown significantly since 2004 and with some top Division I teams participating in the CEFL.
In Norway, a rising number of teams (11 in 2010) compete in a two division league structure (division I which determines a national champion by a postseason playoff, and division 2 where newer and smaller teams are allowed to mature). Two teams (Oslo Vikings and Eidsvoll 1814's) regularly compete in either the European Football League or the EFAF Cup. Eidsvoll was the runner-up in EFAF Cup 2006.
The International Federation of American Football is the governing body for American football with 45 member associations from North and South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. The IFAF also oversees the American Football World Cup, which is held every four years. Japan won the first two World Cups, held in 1999 and 2003. Team USA, which had not participated in the previous World Cups, won the title in 2007.
Major American leagues have also held some regular season games outside of the United States. On October 2, 2005, the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers played the first regular season NFL game outside of the United States, in Mexico City's Estadio Azteca,[35] From 2007, the NFL has played or has plans to play at least one regular season game outside of the United States during each season. The NCAA will also play games outside of the U.S. In 2012, The United States Naval Academy will play the University of Notre Dame in Dublin, Ireland.[36]
A long term goal of the IFAF is for American football to be accepted by the International Olympic Committee as an Olympic sport.[37]
What is the Association football ?
Association football, commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball. It is the most popular sport in the world.[1][2][3]
The game is played on a rectangular grass, or green artificial turf, field, with a goal in the centre of each of the short ends. The object of the game is to score by driving the ball into the opposing goal. In general play, the goalkeepers are the only players allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms; the rest of the team usually use their feet to kick the ball into position, occasionally using their torso or head to intercept a ball in midair. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time and/or a penalty shootout, depending on the format of the competition.
The modern game was codified in England following the formation of The Football Association, whose 1863 Laws of the Game created the foundations for the way the sport is played today. Football is governed internationally by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football), commonly known by the acronym FIFA. The most prestigious international football competition is the FIFA World Cup, held every four years.[4]
Etymology
See also: Names for association football
The rules of football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863, and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford "-er" abbreviation of the word "association",[5] often credited to former England captain Charles Wreford-Brown.[6]
Today the sport is known as football in English-speaking countries in which it is the most popular football code; where other codes are more popular, the sport is more commonly referred to as soccer. Non-English-speaking countries predominantly use a variation of football, such as French le football, Spanish fútbol, or German Fußball.
Football is played in accordance with a set of rules known as the Laws of the Game. The game is played using a single spherical ball, known as the football or soccer ball. Two teams of eleven players each compete to get the ball into the other team's goal (between the posts and under the bar), thereby scoring a goal. The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner; if both teams have scored an equal number of goals then the game is a draw. Each team is led by a captain.
The primary law is that players other than goalkeepers may not deliberately handle the ball with their hands or arms during play, though they do use their hands during a throw-in restart. Although players usually use their feet to move the ball around, they may use any part of their bodies other than their hands or arms.[7] Within normal play, all players are free to play the ball in any direction and move throughout the pitch, though the ball cannot be received in an offside position.
In typical game play, players attempt to create goal-scoring opportunities through individual control of the ball, such as by dribbling, passing the ball to a team-mate, and by taking shots at the goal, which is guarded by the opposing goalkeeper. Opposing players may try to regain control of the ball by intercepting a pass or through tackling the opponent in possession of the ball; however, physical contact between opponents is restricted. Football is generally a free-flowing game, with play stopping only when the ball has left the field of play or when play is stopped by the referee. After a stoppage, play recommences with a specified restart.[8]
A goalkeeper dives to stop the ball from entering his goalAt a professional level, most matches produce only a few goals. For example, the 2005–06 season of the English Premier League produced an average of 2.48 goals per match.[9] The Laws of the Game do not specify any player positions other than goalkeeper,[10] but a number of specialised roles have evolved. Broadly, these include three main categories: strikers, or forwards, whose main task is to score goals; defenders, who specialise in preventing their opponents from scoring; and midfielders, who dispossess the opposition and keep possession of the ball in order to pass it to the forwards on their team. Players in these positions are referred to as outfield players, in order to discern them from the single goalkeeper. These positions are further subdivided according to the area of the field in which the player spends most time. For example, there are central defenders, and left and right midfielders. The ten outfield players may be arranged in any combination. The number of players in each position determines the style of the team's play; more forwards and fewer defenders creates a more aggressive and offensive-minded game, while the reverse creates a slower, more defensive style of play. While players typically spend most of the game in a specific position, there are few restrictions on player movement, and players can switch positions at any time.[11] The layout of a team's players is known as a formation. Defining the team's formation and tactics is usually the prerogative of the team's manager.[12]
[edit] History
Main article: History of association football
Map showing the popularity of football around the world. The various shades of green and red indicate the number of players per 1,000 inhabitants.
England play Scotland in the first ever international football game (The Oval, 1872)
The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played at the public schools of England.
The Cambridge Rules, first drawn up at Cambridge University in 1848, were particularly influential in the development of subsequent codes, including association football. The Cambridge Rules were written at Trinity College, Cambridge, at a meeting attended by representatives from Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester and Shrewsbury schools. They were not universally adopted. During the 1850s, many clubs unconnected to schools or universities were formed throughout the English-speaking world, to play various forms of football. Some came up with their own distinct codes of rules, most notably the Sheffield Football Club, formed by former public school pupils in 1857,[13] which led to formation of a Sheffield FA in 1867. In 1862, John Charles Thring of Uppingham School also devised an influential set of rules.[14]
These ongoing efforts contributed to the formation of The Football Association (The FA) in 1863, which first met on the morning of 26 October 1863 at the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street, London.[15] The only school to be represented on this occasion was Charterhouse. The Freemason's Tavern was the setting for five more meetings between October and December, which eventually produced the first comprehensive set of rules. At the final meeting, the first FA treasurer, the representative from Blackheath, withdrew his club from the FA over the removal of two draft rules at the previous meeting: the first allowed for running with the ball in hand; the second for obstructing such a run by hacking (kicking an opponent in the shins), tripping and holding. Other English rugby football clubs followed this lead and did not join the FA, or subsequently left the FA and instead in 1871 formed the Rugby Football Union. The eleven remaining clubs, under the charge of Ebenezer Cobb Morley, went on to ratify the original thirteen laws of the game.[15] These rules included handling of the ball by "marks" and the lack of a crossbar, rules which made it remarkably similar to Victorian rules football being developed at that time in Australia. The Sheffield FA played by its own rules until the 1870s with the FA absorbing some of its rules until there was little difference between the games.
The laws of the game are currently determined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The Board was formed in 1886[16] after a meeting in Manchester of The Football Association, the Scottish Football Association, the Football Association of Wales, and the Irish Football Association. The world's oldest football competition is the FA Cup, which was founded by C. W. Alcock and has been contested by English teams since 1872. The first official international football match took place in 1872 between Scotland and England in Glasgow, again at the instigation of C. W. Alcock. England is home to the world's first football league, which was founded in Birmingham in 1888 by Aston Villa director William McGregor.[17] The original format contained 12 clubs from the Midlands and the North of England. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the international football body, was formed in Paris in 1904 and declared that they would adhere to Laws of the Game of the Football Association.[18] The growing popularity of the international game led to the admittance of FIFA representatives to the International Football Association Board in 1913. The board currently consists of four representatives from FIFA and one representative from each of the four British associations.
Today, football is played at a professional level all over the world. Millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their favourite teams,[19] while billions more watch the game on television.[20] A very large number of people also play football at an amateur level. According to a survey conducted by FIFA published in 2001, over 240 million people from more than 200 countries regularly play football.[21] While football has the highest global television audience in sport,[22] its simple rules and minimal equipment requirements at amateur level, have no doubt aided its growth in terms of participation.
In many parts of the world football evokes great passions and plays an important role in the life of individual fans, local communities, and even nations. The Côte d'Ivoire national football team helped secure a truce to the nation's civil war in 2006[23] and it helped further reduce tensions between government and rebel forces in 2007 by playing a match in the rebel capital of Bouaké, an occasion that brought both armies together peacefully for the first time.[24] By contrast, football is widely considered to be the final proximate cause in the Football War in June 1969 between El Salvador and Honduras.[25] The sport also exacerbated tensions at the beginning of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, when a match between Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade devolved into rioting in March 1990.[26]
[edit] Laws
There are seventeen laws in the official Laws of the Game. The same laws are designed to apply to all levels of football, although certain modifications for groups such as juniors, seniors, women and people with physical disabilities are permitted. The laws are often framed in broad terms, which allow flexibility in their application depending on the nature of the game. In addition to the seventeen laws, numerous IFAB decisions and other directives contribute to the regulation of football. The Laws of the Game are published by FIFA, but are maintained by the International Football Association Board, not FIFA itself.[27] The most complex of the laws is offside. The offside law limits the ability of attacking players to receive the ball when closer to the opponent's goal line than: the ball itself; the second-to-last defending player (which can include the goalkeeper); and the half-way line.[28]
[edit] Players, equipment and officials
See also: Association football positions, Formation (association football), and Kit (Association football)
Each team consists of a maximum of eleven players (excluding substitutes), one of whom must be the goalkeeper. Competition rules may state a minimum number of players required to constitute a team, which is usually seven. Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to play the ball with their hands or arms, provided they do so within the penalty area in front of their own goal. Though there are a variety of positions in which the outfield (non-goalkeeper) players are strategically placed by a coach, these positions are not defined or required by the Laws.[10]
The basic equipment or kit players are required to wear includes a shirt, shorts, socks, footwear and adequate shin guards. Headgear is not a required piece of basic equipment, but players today may choose to wear it to protect themselves from head injury. Players are forbidden to wear or use anything that is dangerous to themselves or another player, such as jewellery or watches. The goalkeeper must wear clothing that is easily distinguishable from that worn by the other players and the match officials.[29]
A number of players may be replaced by substitutes during the course of the game. The maximum number of substitutions permitted in most competitive international and domestic league games is three, though the permitted number may vary in other competitions or in friendly matches. Common reasons for a substitution include injury, tiredness, ineffectiveness, a tactical switch, or timewasting at the end of a finely poised game. In standard adult matches, a player who has been substituted may not take further part in a match.[30] If any team is unable to field at least seven players due to players being injured or sent-off, the referee will stop the game. The game will be declared as a loss against the team who were unable to field the required number of players.
A game is officiated by a referee, who has "full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed" (Law 5), and whose decisions are final. The referee is assisted by two assistant referees. In many high-level games there is also a fourth official who assists the referee and may replace another official should the need arise.[31]
[edit] Pitch
Main article: Association football pitch
Standard pitch measurements (See Imperial version)As the Laws were formulated in England, and were initially administered solely by the four British football associations within IFAB, the standard dimensions of a football pitch were originally expressed in imperial units. The Laws now express dimensions with approximate metric equivalents (followed by traditional units in brackets), though popular use tends to continue to use traditional units in English-speaking countries with a relatively recent history of metrication, such as Britain.[32]
The length of the pitch for international adult matches is in the range of 100–110 m (110–120 yd) and the width is in the range of 64–75 m (70–80 yd). Fields for non-international matches may be 91–120 m (100–130 yd) length and 45–91 m (50–101 yd) in width, provided that the pitch does not become square. In 2008, the IFAB set a fixed size of 105 m long and 68 m wide as a standard pitch dimension for A international matches.[33]
The longer boundary lines are touchlines, while the shorter boundaries (on which the goals are placed) are goal lines. A rectangular goal is positioned at the middle of each goal line.[34] The inner edges of the vertical goal posts must be 7.32 m (8 yd) apart, and the lower edge of the horizontal crossbar supported by the goal posts must be 2.44 m (8 ft) above the ground. Nets are usually placed behind the goal, but are not required by the Laws.[35]
In front of each goal is an area known as the penalty area. This area is marked by the goal line, two lines starting on the goal line 16.5 m (18 yd) from the goalposts and extending 16.5 m (18 yd) into the pitch perpendicular to the goal line, and a line joining them. This area has a number of functions, the most prominent being to mark where the goalkeeper may handle the ball and where a penalty foul by a member of the defending team becomes punishable by a penalty kick. Other markings define the position of the ball or players at kick-offs, goal kicks, penalty kicks and corner kicks.[36]
[edit] Duration and tie-breaking methods
A standard adult football match consists of two periods of 45 minutes each, known as halves. Each half runs continuously, meaning that the clock is not stopped when the ball is out of play. There is usually a 15-minute half-time break between halves. The end of the match is known as full-time.
The referee is the official timekeeper for the match, and may make an allowance for time lost through substitutions, injured players requiring attention, or other stoppages. This added time is commonly referred to as stoppage time or injury time, and is at the sole discretion of the referee. The referee alone signals the end of the match. In matches where a fourth official is appointed, toward the end of the half the referee signals how many minutes of stoppage time he intends to add. The fourth official then informs the players and spectators by holding up a board showing this number. The signalled stoppage time may be further extended by the referee.[37] Added time was introduced because of an incident which happened in 1891 during a match between Stoke and Aston Villa. Trailing 1–0 and with just two minutes remaining, Stoke were awarded a penalty. Villa's goalkeeper kicked the ball out of the ground, and by the time the ball had been recovered, the 90 minutes had elapsed and the game was over.[38] The same law also stands that the duration of either half is extended until the penalty kick to be taken or retaken is completed,[39] thus no game shall end with a penalty to be taken.
In league competitions, games may end in a draw, but in some knockout competitions if a game is tied at the end of regulation time it may go into extra time, which consists of two further 15-minute periods. If the score is still tied after extra time, some competitions allow the use of penalty shootouts (known officially in the Laws of the Game as "kicks from the penalty mark") to determine which team will progress to the next stage of the tournament. Goals scored during extra time periods count toward the final score of the game, but kicks from the penalty mark are only used to decide the team that progresses to the next part of the tournament (with goals scored in a penalty shootout not making up part of the final score).
In competitions using two-legged matches, each team competes at home once, with an aggregate score from the two matches deciding which team progresses. Where aggregates are equal, the away goals rule may be used to determine the winners, in which case the winner is the team that scored the most goals in the leg played away from home. If the result is still equal, kicks from the penalty mark are usually required, though some competitions may require a tied game to be replayed.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the IFAB experimented with ways of creating a winner without requiring a penalty shootout, which was often seen as an undesirable way to end a match. These involved rules ending a game in extra time early, either when the first goal in extra time was scored (golden goal), or if one team held a lead at the end of the first period of extra time (silver goal). Golden goal was used at the World Cup in 1998 and 2002. The first World Cup game decided by a golden goal was France's victory over Paraguay in 1998. Germany was the first nation to score a golden goal in a major competition, beating Czech Republic in the final of Euro 1996. Silver goal was used in Euro 2004. Both these experiments have been discontinued by IFAB.[40]
[edit] Ball in and out of play
Main article: Ball in and out of play
Under the Laws, the two basic states of play during a game are ball in play and ball out of play. From the beginning of each playing period with a kick-off until the end of the playing period, the ball is in play at all times, except when either the ball leaves the field of play, or play is stopped by the referee. When the ball becomes out of play, play is restarted by one of eight restart methods depending on how it went out of play:
A player takes a free kick, while the opposition form a "wall" in order to try to deflect the ballKick-off: following a goal by the opposing team, or to begin each period of play.[8]
Throw-in: when the ball has wholly crossed the touchline; awarded to opposing team to that which last touched the ball.[41]
Goal kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by a player of the attacking team; awarded to defending team.[42]
Corner kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by a player of the defending team; awarded to attacking team.[43]
Indirect free kick: awarded to the opposing team following "non-penal" fouls, certain technical infringements, or when play is stopped to caution or send-off an opponent without a specific foul having occurred. A goal may not be scored directly from an indirect free kick.[44]
Direct free kick: awarded to fouled team following certain listed "penal" fouls.[44] A goal may be scored directly from a direct free kick.
Penalty kick: awarded to the fouled team following a foul usually punishable by a direct free kick but that has occurred within their opponent's penalty area.[45]
Dropped-ball: occurs when the referee has stopped play for any other reason, such as a serious injury to a player, interference by an external party, or a ball becoming defective. This restart is uncommon in adult games.[8]
[edit] Misconduct
Players are cautioned with a yellow card, and sent off with a red card. These colours were first introduced at the 1970 FIFA World Cup and used consistently since.
A player scores a penalty kick given after an offence is committed inside the penalty areaA foul occurs when a player commits an offence listed in the Laws of the Game while the ball is in play. The offences that constitute a foul are listed in Law 12. Handling the ball deliberately, tripping an opponent, or pushing an opponent, are examples of "penal fouls", punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on where the offence occurred. Other fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick.[7] The referee may punish a player or substitute's misconduct by a caution (yellow card) or sending-off (red card). A second yellow card at the same game leads to a red card, and therefore to a sending-off. A player given a yellow card is said to have been "booked", the referee writing the player's name in his official notebook. If a player has been sent off, no substitute can be brought on in their place. Misconduct may occur at any time, and while the offences that constitute misconduct are listed, the definitions are broad. In particular, the offence of "unsporting behaviour" may be used to deal with most events that violate the spirit of the game, even if they are not listed as specific offences. A referee can show a yellow or red card to a player, substitute or substituted player. Non-players such as managers and support staff cannot be shown the yellow or red card, but may be expelled from the technical area if they fail to conduct themselves in a responsible manner.[7]
Rather than stopping play, the referee may allow play to continue if doing so will benefit the team against which an offence has been committed. This is known as "playing an advantage". The referee may "call back" play and penalise the original offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue within a short period, typically taken to be four to five seconds. Even if an offence is not penalised due to advantage being played, the offender may still be sanctioned for misconduct at the next stoppage of play.
[edit] Governing bodies
See also: Association football around the world
The recognised international governing body of football (and associated games, such as futsal and beach soccer) is the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The FIFA headquarters are located in Zürich.
Six regional confederations are associated with FIFA; these are:
Asia: Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
Africa: Confederation of African Football (CAF)
Europe: Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)
North/Central America & Caribbean: Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF)
Oceania: Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)
South America: Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol/Confederação Sul-americana de Futebol (South American Football Confederation; CONMEBOL)
National associations oversee football within individual countries. These are generally synonymous with sovereign states, (for example: the Fédération Camerounaise de Football in Cameroon) but also include a smaller number of associations responsible for sub-national entities or autonomous regions (for example the Scottish Football Association in Scotland). 208 national associations are affiliated both with FIFA and with their respective continental confederations; an additional 13 are affiliated to continental confederations but not to FIFA.
Some of the football associations not recognised by FIFA are affiliated to the Nouvelle Fédération-Board (NF-Board).
[edit] International competitions
A minute's silence before an international matchThe major international competition in football is the World Cup, organised by FIFA. This competition takes place over a four-year period. More than 190 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within the scope of continental confederations for a place in the finals. The finals tournament, which is held every four years, involves 32 national teams competing over a four-week period.[46] The 2010 FIFA World Cup is underway in South Africa from 11 June – 11 July.[47]
There has been a football tournament at every Summer Olympic Games since 1900, except at the 1932 games in Los Angeles. Before the inception of the World Cup, the Olympics (especially during the 1920s) had the same status as the World Cup. Originally, the event was for amateurs only,[18] however, since the 1984 Summer Olympics professional players have been permitted, albeit with certain restrictions which prevent countries from fielding their strongest sides. Currently, the Olympic men's tournament is played at Under-23 level. In the past the Olympics have allowed a restricted number of over-age players per team;[48] but that practice ceased in the 2008 Olympics. The Olympic competition is not generally considered to carry the same international significance and prestige as the World Cup. A women's tournament was added in 1996; in contrast to the men's event, full international sides without age restrictions play the women’s Olympic tournament. It thus carries international prestige considered comparable to that of the FIFA Women's World Cup.
After the World Cup, the most important international football competitions are the continental championships, which are organised by each continental confederation and contested between national teams. These are the European Championship (UEFA), the Copa América (CONMEBOL), African Cup of Nations (CAF), the Asian Cup (AFC), the CONCACAF Gold Cup (CONCACAF) and the OFC Nations Cup (OFC). The FIFA Confederations Cup is contested by the winners of all 6 continental championships, the current FIFA World Cup champions and the country which is hosting the Confederations Cup. This is generally regarded as a warm up tournament for the upcoming FIFA World Cup and does not carry the same prestige as the World Cup itself. The most prestigious competitions in club football are the respective continental championships, which are generally contested between national champions, for example the UEFA Champions League in Europe and the Copa Libertadores de América in South America. The winners of each continental competition contest the FIFA Club World Cup.[49]
[edit] Domestic competitions
Main article: Association football around the world
Two players trying to win the ballThe governing bodies in each country operate league systems in a domestic season, normally comprising several divisions, in which the teams gain points throughout the season depending on results. Teams are placed into tables, placing them in order according to points accrued. Most commonly, each team plays every other team in its league at home and away in each season, in a round-robin tournament. At the end of a season, the top team is declared the champion. The top few teams may be promoted to a higher division, and one or more of the teams finishing at the bottom are relegated to a lower division. The teams finishing at the top of a country's league may be eligible also to play in international club competitions in the following season. The main exceptions to this system occur in some Latin American leagues, which divide football championships into two sections named Apertura and Clausura, awarding a champion for each.
The majority of countries supplement the league system with one or more "cup" competitions. These are organised on a knock-out basis, the winner of each match proceeding to the next round; the loser takes no further part in the competition.
Some countries' top divisions feature highly paid star players; in smaller countries and lower divisions, players may be part-timers with a second job, or amateurs. The five top European leagues – the Premier League (England), La Liga (Spain), Serie A (Italy),[50] the Bundesliga (Germany) and Ligue 1 (France) – attract most of the world's best players and each of the leagues has a total wage cost in excess of £600 million/€763 million/$1.185 billion.[51]
The game is played on a rectangular grass, or green artificial turf, field, with a goal in the centre of each of the short ends. The object of the game is to score by driving the ball into the opposing goal. In general play, the goalkeepers are the only players allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms; the rest of the team usually use their feet to kick the ball into position, occasionally using their torso or head to intercept a ball in midair. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time and/or a penalty shootout, depending on the format of the competition.
The modern game was codified in England following the formation of The Football Association, whose 1863 Laws of the Game created the foundations for the way the sport is played today. Football is governed internationally by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football), commonly known by the acronym FIFA. The most prestigious international football competition is the FIFA World Cup, held every four years.[4]
Etymology
See also: Names for association football
The rules of football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863, and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford "-er" abbreviation of the word "association",[5] often credited to former England captain Charles Wreford-Brown.[6]
Today the sport is known as football in English-speaking countries in which it is the most popular football code; where other codes are more popular, the sport is more commonly referred to as soccer. Non-English-speaking countries predominantly use a variation of football, such as French le football, Spanish fútbol, or German Fußball.
Football is played in accordance with a set of rules known as the Laws of the Game. The game is played using a single spherical ball, known as the football or soccer ball. Two teams of eleven players each compete to get the ball into the other team's goal (between the posts and under the bar), thereby scoring a goal. The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner; if both teams have scored an equal number of goals then the game is a draw. Each team is led by a captain.
The primary law is that players other than goalkeepers may not deliberately handle the ball with their hands or arms during play, though they do use their hands during a throw-in restart. Although players usually use their feet to move the ball around, they may use any part of their bodies other than their hands or arms.[7] Within normal play, all players are free to play the ball in any direction and move throughout the pitch, though the ball cannot be received in an offside position.
In typical game play, players attempt to create goal-scoring opportunities through individual control of the ball, such as by dribbling, passing the ball to a team-mate, and by taking shots at the goal, which is guarded by the opposing goalkeeper. Opposing players may try to regain control of the ball by intercepting a pass or through tackling the opponent in possession of the ball; however, physical contact between opponents is restricted. Football is generally a free-flowing game, with play stopping only when the ball has left the field of play or when play is stopped by the referee. After a stoppage, play recommences with a specified restart.[8]
A goalkeeper dives to stop the ball from entering his goalAt a professional level, most matches produce only a few goals. For example, the 2005–06 season of the English Premier League produced an average of 2.48 goals per match.[9] The Laws of the Game do not specify any player positions other than goalkeeper,[10] but a number of specialised roles have evolved. Broadly, these include three main categories: strikers, or forwards, whose main task is to score goals; defenders, who specialise in preventing their opponents from scoring; and midfielders, who dispossess the opposition and keep possession of the ball in order to pass it to the forwards on their team. Players in these positions are referred to as outfield players, in order to discern them from the single goalkeeper. These positions are further subdivided according to the area of the field in which the player spends most time. For example, there are central defenders, and left and right midfielders. The ten outfield players may be arranged in any combination. The number of players in each position determines the style of the team's play; more forwards and fewer defenders creates a more aggressive and offensive-minded game, while the reverse creates a slower, more defensive style of play. While players typically spend most of the game in a specific position, there are few restrictions on player movement, and players can switch positions at any time.[11] The layout of a team's players is known as a formation. Defining the team's formation and tactics is usually the prerogative of the team's manager.[12]
[edit] History
Main article: History of association football
Map showing the popularity of football around the world. The various shades of green and red indicate the number of players per 1,000 inhabitants.
England play Scotland in the first ever international football game (The Oval, 1872)
The Royal Engineers team who reached the first FA Cup final in 1872The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played at the public schools of England.
The Cambridge Rules, first drawn up at Cambridge University in 1848, were particularly influential in the development of subsequent codes, including association football. The Cambridge Rules were written at Trinity College, Cambridge, at a meeting attended by representatives from Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester and Shrewsbury schools. They were not universally adopted. During the 1850s, many clubs unconnected to schools or universities were formed throughout the English-speaking world, to play various forms of football. Some came up with their own distinct codes of rules, most notably the Sheffield Football Club, formed by former public school pupils in 1857,[13] which led to formation of a Sheffield FA in 1867. In 1862, John Charles Thring of Uppingham School also devised an influential set of rules.[14]
These ongoing efforts contributed to the formation of The Football Association (The FA) in 1863, which first met on the morning of 26 October 1863 at the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street, London.[15] The only school to be represented on this occasion was Charterhouse. The Freemason's Tavern was the setting for five more meetings between October and December, which eventually produced the first comprehensive set of rules. At the final meeting, the first FA treasurer, the representative from Blackheath, withdrew his club from the FA over the removal of two draft rules at the previous meeting: the first allowed for running with the ball in hand; the second for obstructing such a run by hacking (kicking an opponent in the shins), tripping and holding. Other English rugby football clubs followed this lead and did not join the FA, or subsequently left the FA and instead in 1871 formed the Rugby Football Union. The eleven remaining clubs, under the charge of Ebenezer Cobb Morley, went on to ratify the original thirteen laws of the game.[15] These rules included handling of the ball by "marks" and the lack of a crossbar, rules which made it remarkably similar to Victorian rules football being developed at that time in Australia. The Sheffield FA played by its own rules until the 1870s with the FA absorbing some of its rules until there was little difference between the games.
The laws of the game are currently determined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The Board was formed in 1886[16] after a meeting in Manchester of The Football Association, the Scottish Football Association, the Football Association of Wales, and the Irish Football Association. The world's oldest football competition is the FA Cup, which was founded by C. W. Alcock and has been contested by English teams since 1872. The first official international football match took place in 1872 between Scotland and England in Glasgow, again at the instigation of C. W. Alcock. England is home to the world's first football league, which was founded in Birmingham in 1888 by Aston Villa director William McGregor.[17] The original format contained 12 clubs from the Midlands and the North of England. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the international football body, was formed in Paris in 1904 and declared that they would adhere to Laws of the Game of the Football Association.[18] The growing popularity of the international game led to the admittance of FIFA representatives to the International Football Association Board in 1913. The board currently consists of four representatives from FIFA and one representative from each of the four British associations.
Today, football is played at a professional level all over the world. Millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their favourite teams,[19] while billions more watch the game on television.[20] A very large number of people also play football at an amateur level. According to a survey conducted by FIFA published in 2001, over 240 million people from more than 200 countries regularly play football.[21] While football has the highest global television audience in sport,[22] its simple rules and minimal equipment requirements at amateur level, have no doubt aided its growth in terms of participation.
In many parts of the world football evokes great passions and plays an important role in the life of individual fans, local communities, and even nations. The Côte d'Ivoire national football team helped secure a truce to the nation's civil war in 2006[23] and it helped further reduce tensions between government and rebel forces in 2007 by playing a match in the rebel capital of Bouaké, an occasion that brought both armies together peacefully for the first time.[24] By contrast, football is widely considered to be the final proximate cause in the Football War in June 1969 between El Salvador and Honduras.[25] The sport also exacerbated tensions at the beginning of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, when a match between Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade devolved into rioting in March 1990.[26]
[edit] Laws
There are seventeen laws in the official Laws of the Game. The same laws are designed to apply to all levels of football, although certain modifications for groups such as juniors, seniors, women and people with physical disabilities are permitted. The laws are often framed in broad terms, which allow flexibility in their application depending on the nature of the game. In addition to the seventeen laws, numerous IFAB decisions and other directives contribute to the regulation of football. The Laws of the Game are published by FIFA, but are maintained by the International Football Association Board, not FIFA itself.[27] The most complex of the laws is offside. The offside law limits the ability of attacking players to receive the ball when closer to the opponent's goal line than: the ball itself; the second-to-last defending player (which can include the goalkeeper); and the half-way line.[28]
[edit] Players, equipment and officials
See also: Association football positions, Formation (association football), and Kit (Association football)
Each team consists of a maximum of eleven players (excluding substitutes), one of whom must be the goalkeeper. Competition rules may state a minimum number of players required to constitute a team, which is usually seven. Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to play the ball with their hands or arms, provided they do so within the penalty area in front of their own goal. Though there are a variety of positions in which the outfield (non-goalkeeper) players are strategically placed by a coach, these positions are not defined or required by the Laws.[10]
The basic equipment or kit players are required to wear includes a shirt, shorts, socks, footwear and adequate shin guards. Headgear is not a required piece of basic equipment, but players today may choose to wear it to protect themselves from head injury. Players are forbidden to wear or use anything that is dangerous to themselves or another player, such as jewellery or watches. The goalkeeper must wear clothing that is easily distinguishable from that worn by the other players and the match officials.[29]
A number of players may be replaced by substitutes during the course of the game. The maximum number of substitutions permitted in most competitive international and domestic league games is three, though the permitted number may vary in other competitions or in friendly matches. Common reasons for a substitution include injury, tiredness, ineffectiveness, a tactical switch, or timewasting at the end of a finely poised game. In standard adult matches, a player who has been substituted may not take further part in a match.[30] If any team is unable to field at least seven players due to players being injured or sent-off, the referee will stop the game. The game will be declared as a loss against the team who were unable to field the required number of players.
A game is officiated by a referee, who has "full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed" (Law 5), and whose decisions are final. The referee is assisted by two assistant referees. In many high-level games there is also a fourth official who assists the referee and may replace another official should the need arise.[31]
[edit] Pitch
Main article: Association football pitch
Standard pitch measurements (See Imperial version)As the Laws were formulated in England, and were initially administered solely by the four British football associations within IFAB, the standard dimensions of a football pitch were originally expressed in imperial units. The Laws now express dimensions with approximate metric equivalents (followed by traditional units in brackets), though popular use tends to continue to use traditional units in English-speaking countries with a relatively recent history of metrication, such as Britain.[32]
The length of the pitch for international adult matches is in the range of 100–110 m (110–120 yd) and the width is in the range of 64–75 m (70–80 yd). Fields for non-international matches may be 91–120 m (100–130 yd) length and 45–91 m (50–101 yd) in width, provided that the pitch does not become square. In 2008, the IFAB set a fixed size of 105 m long and 68 m wide as a standard pitch dimension for A international matches.[33]
The longer boundary lines are touchlines, while the shorter boundaries (on which the goals are placed) are goal lines. A rectangular goal is positioned at the middle of each goal line.[34] The inner edges of the vertical goal posts must be 7.32 m (8 yd) apart, and the lower edge of the horizontal crossbar supported by the goal posts must be 2.44 m (8 ft) above the ground. Nets are usually placed behind the goal, but are not required by the Laws.[35]
In front of each goal is an area known as the penalty area. This area is marked by the goal line, two lines starting on the goal line 16.5 m (18 yd) from the goalposts and extending 16.5 m (18 yd) into the pitch perpendicular to the goal line, and a line joining them. This area has a number of functions, the most prominent being to mark where the goalkeeper may handle the ball and where a penalty foul by a member of the defending team becomes punishable by a penalty kick. Other markings define the position of the ball or players at kick-offs, goal kicks, penalty kicks and corner kicks.[36]
[edit] Duration and tie-breaking methods
A standard adult football match consists of two periods of 45 minutes each, known as halves. Each half runs continuously, meaning that the clock is not stopped when the ball is out of play. There is usually a 15-minute half-time break between halves. The end of the match is known as full-time.
The referee is the official timekeeper for the match, and may make an allowance for time lost through substitutions, injured players requiring attention, or other stoppages. This added time is commonly referred to as stoppage time or injury time, and is at the sole discretion of the referee. The referee alone signals the end of the match. In matches where a fourth official is appointed, toward the end of the half the referee signals how many minutes of stoppage time he intends to add. The fourth official then informs the players and spectators by holding up a board showing this number. The signalled stoppage time may be further extended by the referee.[37] Added time was introduced because of an incident which happened in 1891 during a match between Stoke and Aston Villa. Trailing 1–0 and with just two minutes remaining, Stoke were awarded a penalty. Villa's goalkeeper kicked the ball out of the ground, and by the time the ball had been recovered, the 90 minutes had elapsed and the game was over.[38] The same law also stands that the duration of either half is extended until the penalty kick to be taken or retaken is completed,[39] thus no game shall end with a penalty to be taken.
In league competitions, games may end in a draw, but in some knockout competitions if a game is tied at the end of regulation time it may go into extra time, which consists of two further 15-minute periods. If the score is still tied after extra time, some competitions allow the use of penalty shootouts (known officially in the Laws of the Game as "kicks from the penalty mark") to determine which team will progress to the next stage of the tournament. Goals scored during extra time periods count toward the final score of the game, but kicks from the penalty mark are only used to decide the team that progresses to the next part of the tournament (with goals scored in a penalty shootout not making up part of the final score).
In competitions using two-legged matches, each team competes at home once, with an aggregate score from the two matches deciding which team progresses. Where aggregates are equal, the away goals rule may be used to determine the winners, in which case the winner is the team that scored the most goals in the leg played away from home. If the result is still equal, kicks from the penalty mark are usually required, though some competitions may require a tied game to be replayed.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the IFAB experimented with ways of creating a winner without requiring a penalty shootout, which was often seen as an undesirable way to end a match. These involved rules ending a game in extra time early, either when the first goal in extra time was scored (golden goal), or if one team held a lead at the end of the first period of extra time (silver goal). Golden goal was used at the World Cup in 1998 and 2002. The first World Cup game decided by a golden goal was France's victory over Paraguay in 1998. Germany was the first nation to score a golden goal in a major competition, beating Czech Republic in the final of Euro 1996. Silver goal was used in Euro 2004. Both these experiments have been discontinued by IFAB.[40]
[edit] Ball in and out of play
Main article: Ball in and out of play
Under the Laws, the two basic states of play during a game are ball in play and ball out of play. From the beginning of each playing period with a kick-off until the end of the playing period, the ball is in play at all times, except when either the ball leaves the field of play, or play is stopped by the referee. When the ball becomes out of play, play is restarted by one of eight restart methods depending on how it went out of play:
A player takes a free kick, while the opposition form a "wall" in order to try to deflect the ballKick-off: following a goal by the opposing team, or to begin each period of play.[8]
Throw-in: when the ball has wholly crossed the touchline; awarded to opposing team to that which last touched the ball.[41]
Goal kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by a player of the attacking team; awarded to defending team.[42]
Corner kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by a player of the defending team; awarded to attacking team.[43]
Indirect free kick: awarded to the opposing team following "non-penal" fouls, certain technical infringements, or when play is stopped to caution or send-off an opponent without a specific foul having occurred. A goal may not be scored directly from an indirect free kick.[44]
Direct free kick: awarded to fouled team following certain listed "penal" fouls.[44] A goal may be scored directly from a direct free kick.
Penalty kick: awarded to the fouled team following a foul usually punishable by a direct free kick but that has occurred within their opponent's penalty area.[45]
Dropped-ball: occurs when the referee has stopped play for any other reason, such as a serious injury to a player, interference by an external party, or a ball becoming defective. This restart is uncommon in adult games.[8]
[edit] Misconduct
Players are cautioned with a yellow card, and sent off with a red card. These colours were first introduced at the 1970 FIFA World Cup and used consistently since.
A player scores a penalty kick given after an offence is committed inside the penalty areaA foul occurs when a player commits an offence listed in the Laws of the Game while the ball is in play. The offences that constitute a foul are listed in Law 12. Handling the ball deliberately, tripping an opponent, or pushing an opponent, are examples of "penal fouls", punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on where the offence occurred. Other fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick.[7] The referee may punish a player or substitute's misconduct by a caution (yellow card) or sending-off (red card). A second yellow card at the same game leads to a red card, and therefore to a sending-off. A player given a yellow card is said to have been "booked", the referee writing the player's name in his official notebook. If a player has been sent off, no substitute can be brought on in their place. Misconduct may occur at any time, and while the offences that constitute misconduct are listed, the definitions are broad. In particular, the offence of "unsporting behaviour" may be used to deal with most events that violate the spirit of the game, even if they are not listed as specific offences. A referee can show a yellow or red card to a player, substitute or substituted player. Non-players such as managers and support staff cannot be shown the yellow or red card, but may be expelled from the technical area if they fail to conduct themselves in a responsible manner.[7]
Rather than stopping play, the referee may allow play to continue if doing so will benefit the team against which an offence has been committed. This is known as "playing an advantage". The referee may "call back" play and penalise the original offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue within a short period, typically taken to be four to five seconds. Even if an offence is not penalised due to advantage being played, the offender may still be sanctioned for misconduct at the next stoppage of play.
[edit] Governing bodies
See also: Association football around the world
The recognised international governing body of football (and associated games, such as futsal and beach soccer) is the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The FIFA headquarters are located in Zürich.
Six regional confederations are associated with FIFA; these are:
Asia: Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
Africa: Confederation of African Football (CAF)
Europe: Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)
North/Central America & Caribbean: Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF)
Oceania: Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)
South America: Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol/Confederação Sul-americana de Futebol (South American Football Confederation; CONMEBOL)
National associations oversee football within individual countries. These are generally synonymous with sovereign states, (for example: the Fédération Camerounaise de Football in Cameroon) but also include a smaller number of associations responsible for sub-national entities or autonomous regions (for example the Scottish Football Association in Scotland). 208 national associations are affiliated both with FIFA and with their respective continental confederations; an additional 13 are affiliated to continental confederations but not to FIFA.
Some of the football associations not recognised by FIFA are affiliated to the Nouvelle Fédération-Board (NF-Board).
[edit] International competitions
A minute's silence before an international matchThe major international competition in football is the World Cup, organised by FIFA. This competition takes place over a four-year period. More than 190 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within the scope of continental confederations for a place in the finals. The finals tournament, which is held every four years, involves 32 national teams competing over a four-week period.[46] The 2010 FIFA World Cup is underway in South Africa from 11 June – 11 July.[47]
There has been a football tournament at every Summer Olympic Games since 1900, except at the 1932 games in Los Angeles. Before the inception of the World Cup, the Olympics (especially during the 1920s) had the same status as the World Cup. Originally, the event was for amateurs only,[18] however, since the 1984 Summer Olympics professional players have been permitted, albeit with certain restrictions which prevent countries from fielding their strongest sides. Currently, the Olympic men's tournament is played at Under-23 level. In the past the Olympics have allowed a restricted number of over-age players per team;[48] but that practice ceased in the 2008 Olympics. The Olympic competition is not generally considered to carry the same international significance and prestige as the World Cup. A women's tournament was added in 1996; in contrast to the men's event, full international sides without age restrictions play the women’s Olympic tournament. It thus carries international prestige considered comparable to that of the FIFA Women's World Cup.
After the World Cup, the most important international football competitions are the continental championships, which are organised by each continental confederation and contested between national teams. These are the European Championship (UEFA), the Copa América (CONMEBOL), African Cup of Nations (CAF), the Asian Cup (AFC), the CONCACAF Gold Cup (CONCACAF) and the OFC Nations Cup (OFC). The FIFA Confederations Cup is contested by the winners of all 6 continental championships, the current FIFA World Cup champions and the country which is hosting the Confederations Cup. This is generally regarded as a warm up tournament for the upcoming FIFA World Cup and does not carry the same prestige as the World Cup itself. The most prestigious competitions in club football are the respective continental championships, which are generally contested between national champions, for example the UEFA Champions League in Europe and the Copa Libertadores de América in South America. The winners of each continental competition contest the FIFA Club World Cup.[49]
[edit] Domestic competitions
Main article: Association football around the world
Two players trying to win the ballThe governing bodies in each country operate league systems in a domestic season, normally comprising several divisions, in which the teams gain points throughout the season depending on results. Teams are placed into tables, placing them in order according to points accrued. Most commonly, each team plays every other team in its league at home and away in each season, in a round-robin tournament. At the end of a season, the top team is declared the champion. The top few teams may be promoted to a higher division, and one or more of the teams finishing at the bottom are relegated to a lower division. The teams finishing at the top of a country's league may be eligible also to play in international club competitions in the following season. The main exceptions to this system occur in some Latin American leagues, which divide football championships into two sections named Apertura and Clausura, awarding a champion for each.
The majority of countries supplement the league system with one or more "cup" competitions. These are organised on a knock-out basis, the winner of each match proceeding to the next round; the loser takes no further part in the competition.
Some countries' top divisions feature highly paid star players; in smaller countries and lower divisions, players may be part-timers with a second job, or amateurs. The five top European leagues – the Premier League (England), La Liga (Spain), Serie A (Italy),[50] the Bundesliga (Germany) and Ligue 1 (France) – attract most of the world's best players and each of the leagues has a total wage cost in excess of £600 million/€763 million/$1.185 billion.[51]
27 Haziran 2010 Pazar
What is fungus?
What is fungus?
When the cork immediately to mind, meadows, forest, we met in a variety of different colored "plants" income. According to those who poison our stuff, who according to our delicious yiyeceklerdir.Ya stale bread left in a damp place, nor should we appear on the mold? Well do not we make our bread with yeast? There are, of course yeast. If you have our meal, rokfort (Roquefort), mold what is blue cheese? Penicillin or a panacea, it's not forget.
All in all one and the same ones that count are the world's people. Ie 'Mushroom World' s. But we're here, we have considered only the first fungi, ie, toxic or nontoxic, we find in the meadow mushrooms in the woods will.
In general, the face more than a thousand species of fungi are highly variable in size. As a cell microscopic fungi are also those who find the length of the meter. The mushrooms we can, in fact, like the thin strand of hair follicles beneath the earth (hyphae) are composed of mass (mycelium).
The fungus produced mainly in sports (kriptogam) allows organisms to produce spores as they give fruit to create. We have seen on our soil, and fungi as well as the multicolored things wrong, in fact, mushrooms are the fruit.
While we are talking about mushrooms above "plant" was a statement. In fact, whereas fungi are not plants.
Until very recently the world of animals, plants and animals of the world as the world is divided into two groups and fungi, were included in the plant world. However, recent research results in the world of mushrooms, nor what the plant does not belong to the world of animals, fungi world, he creates a separate world that is understood.
The reason for these changes mainly fungi between plants that differ greatly in their determination. The most important of these differences, the mushrooms have green chlorophyll, it does not matter. This article is specific to plants and chlorophyll to be assimilated and in this way 'carbohydrates' that create nutrient benefits.
Classification of fungi
According to the structural development of fungi and format are classified according to their fitness gradually. They also divided according to their size. Seen with the naked eye, ie, large fungi (macrofungi), and microscopic ones (microfungi).
In our paper we will deal with other related fungi mushrooms are fungi that's great. Incentives are based umbrella-like shape, stem (feet, body) and a hat found at the top of the mushrooms, dozens of people will talk about paper. These fungi in the literature "Mushroom Hat" is known.
Fungus Chart
On the other hand, fungi, or charts to identify various practical schemes are made. Very helpful in practice to identify mushrooms that, globally, such a scheme, we put part of the classification of fungi.
As you know, as we gather mushrooms are the fruit of cork ones. Mainly underground fungus or live in the same or similar index consists of a thin thread (mycelium). Mycelium is often lasting longer than one year. However, the majority of fruit a few days / weeks of life would be.
Tags: mushroom fungus is
When the cork immediately to mind, meadows, forest, we met in a variety of different colored "plants" income. According to those who poison our stuff, who according to our delicious yiyeceklerdir.Ya stale bread left in a damp place, nor should we appear on the mold? Well do not we make our bread with yeast? There are, of course yeast. If you have our meal, rokfort (Roquefort), mold what is blue cheese? Penicillin or a panacea, it's not forget.
All in all one and the same ones that count are the world's people. Ie 'Mushroom World' s. But we're here, we have considered only the first fungi, ie, toxic or nontoxic, we find in the meadow mushrooms in the woods will.
In general, the face more than a thousand species of fungi are highly variable in size. As a cell microscopic fungi are also those who find the length of the meter. The mushrooms we can, in fact, like the thin strand of hair follicles beneath the earth (hyphae) are composed of mass (mycelium).
The fungus produced mainly in sports (kriptogam) allows organisms to produce spores as they give fruit to create. We have seen on our soil, and fungi as well as the multicolored things wrong, in fact, mushrooms are the fruit.
While we are talking about mushrooms above "plant" was a statement. In fact, whereas fungi are not plants.
Until very recently the world of animals, plants and animals of the world as the world is divided into two groups and fungi, were included in the plant world. However, recent research results in the world of mushrooms, nor what the plant does not belong to the world of animals, fungi world, he creates a separate world that is understood.
The reason for these changes mainly fungi between plants that differ greatly in their determination. The most important of these differences, the mushrooms have green chlorophyll, it does not matter. This article is specific to plants and chlorophyll to be assimilated and in this way 'carbohydrates' that create nutrient benefits.
Classification of fungi
According to the structural development of fungi and format are classified according to their fitness gradually. They also divided according to their size. Seen with the naked eye, ie, large fungi (macrofungi), and microscopic ones (microfungi).
In our paper we will deal with other related fungi mushrooms are fungi that's great. Incentives are based umbrella-like shape, stem (feet, body) and a hat found at the top of the mushrooms, dozens of people will talk about paper. These fungi in the literature "Mushroom Hat" is known.
Fungus Chart
On the other hand, fungi, or charts to identify various practical schemes are made. Very helpful in practice to identify mushrooms that, globally, such a scheme, we put part of the classification of fungi.
As you know, as we gather mushrooms are the fruit of cork ones. Mainly underground fungus or live in the same or similar index consists of a thin thread (mycelium). Mycelium is often lasting longer than one year. However, the majority of fruit a few days / weeks of life would be.
Tags: mushroom fungus is
How do I change my Facebook password?
How do I change my Facebook password? The answer to the question this summer as we can find a picture.
I make my own pictures for facebook'umu primarily in Turkish in the Turkish language will tell you this. However, the red circle you see in pictures at the site of the English equivalent tıklayarakta to change your password. 1 min without the use of Facebook in the program if you want to translate into Turkish, read our article:
1 min in Turkish to facebook - dan
Change your password facebook
To change your facebook password, user name and password login to Facebook.
Top right corner of your Facebook page in the "Account" section, enter.
-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
Against your password in the "edit" link and click.
-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
Old Password: Enter your password you're using
New Password: enter your new password
Confirm: Re-enter new password
And immediately below the "Change Password" button to click.
Your password was changed, no longer do with your new password next to your Facebook entry:)
Google, What Are You Looking For?
* Facebook password change (6th place)
* Facebook password (4th place)
Tags: facebook password facebook password facebook password Change password Change the picture description picture description change facebook password facebook password facebook password change change
I make my own pictures for facebook'umu primarily in Turkish in the Turkish language will tell you this. However, the red circle you see in pictures at the site of the English equivalent tıklayarakta to change your password. 1 min without the use of Facebook in the program if you want to translate into Turkish, read our article:
1 min in Turkish to facebook - dan
Change your password facebook
To change your facebook password, user name and password login to Facebook.
Top right corner of your Facebook page in the "Account" section, enter.
-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
Against your password in the "edit" link and click.
-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
Old Password: Enter your password you're using
New Password: enter your new password
Confirm: Re-enter new password
And immediately below the "Change Password" button to click.
Your password was changed, no longer do with your new password next to your Facebook entry:)
Google, What Are You Looking For?
* Facebook password change (6th place)
* Facebook password (4th place)
Tags: facebook password facebook password facebook password Change password Change the picture description picture description change facebook password facebook password facebook password change change
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