Monday 7 January 2013

All You Need To Know About Soccer

Soccer is another name for Association Football, also called simply as football. It is a game played between two teams comprising of eleven players each with a spherical ball. It is played on a rectangular field of grass or green artificial turf, with a goal in the middle of each of the short sides of the field. The object of the game is to score by driving the ball into the opponent’s goalposts. Each score is called a goal. The goalkeepers are the only players allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms, while the other players have to use only their feet to kick and maneuver the ball, occasionally using other parts of their legs, their torso, or their head. 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.

Association Football is governed internationally by FIFA—Fédération Internationale de Football Association (English: International Federation of Association Football). The term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an abbreviation of the word "association". Now this term is used to signify the sport only in Canada and the United States, while the rest of the world uses the term ‘football’ or other local names. So whether you call it soccer news or football news, you will get the same news about the same games.

Games revolving around the kicking of a ball have been played in many countries throughout history, from the Roman Empire to Australia and China. The history of football in England shows records from the 8th century onwards. Today, football is played at a professional level all over the world. Millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their favorite teams, while billions more watch soccer highlights or the game on television or on the internet. 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. Football has the highest global television audience in sport.

The popularity of football is such that many terms have been included in spoken English that refer to certain situations in or brought on by the game. For instance, the term ‘football widow’ refers to a woman (generally) whose partner is too engrossed in football news, the match highlights or the game itself to pay attention to her needs or wants. Both the term as well as the fact that it is commonly used bears witness to the tremendous popularity of the game.

If you are a football fan, you can log in to Sportsbox360.com to find videos of old and new football matches played around the world.