Highest governing body | FIFA |
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Nicknames |
|
First played | Mid-19th century England |
Characteristics | |
Contact | Limited |
Team members | 11 per side (including goalkeeper) |
Mixed gender | No, separate competitions |
Type | Team sport, ball sport |
Equipment | Football (or soccer ball),shin pads |
Venue | Football pitch (also known as football field, football ground, soccer field, soccer pitch or "pitch") |
Glossary | Glossary of association football |
Presence | |
Country or region | Worldwide |
Olympic | Men's since the 1900 Olympics and women's since the 1996 Olympics |
Paralympic | 5-a-side since 2004 and 7-a-side from 1984 to 2016 |
Association football is a sport played between two teams. In the United States, Canada and Australia, it is called soccer. In most other English-speaking countries it is called football. Association football is the most popular sport in the world.
Games like football have been played around the world since ancient times. The game came from England, where the Football Association wrote a standard set of rules for the game in 1863.
The game originated in China, for their army. The players had a very heavy ball and goals high. England took the idea of the Chinese game and changed the rules a bit and now it is the modern game we know today.