1.
Football pitch
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A football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football. Made of turf or artificial turf, its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, all line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define. For example, a ball on or above the touchline is still on the field of play, the field descriptions that apply to adult matches are described below. The Laws now express dimensions with approximate metric equivalents, but use of the imperial units remains common in some countries, the pitch is rectangular in shape. The longer sides are called touchlines, the other opposing sides are called the goal lines. The two goal lines must be between 45 and 90 m and be the same length, the two touch lines must also be of the same length, and be between 90 and 120 m in length. All lines must be wide, not to exceed 12 centimetres. The corners of the pitch are marked by corner flags, for international matches the field dimensions are more tightly constrained, the goal lines must be between 64 and 75 m long and the touchlines must be between 100 and 110 m. In March 2008 the IFAB attempted to standardise the size of the pitch for international matches. However, at a meeting of the IFAB on 8 May 2008, it was ruled that this change would be put on hold pending a review. In contrast, the byline is often used to refer to that portion of the goal line outside the goalposts. This term is used in football commentaries and match descriptions, such as this example from a BBC match report, Udeze gets to the left byline. Goals are placed at the centre of each goal-line and these consist of two upright posts placed equidistant from the corner flagposts, joined at the top by a horizontal crossbar. The inner edges of the posts must be 7.32 metres apart, nets are usually placed behind the goal, though are not required by the Laws. Goalposts and crossbars must be white, and made of wood, Rules regarding the shape of goalposts and crossbars are somewhat more lenient, but they must conform to a shape that does not pose a threat to players. Since the beginning of the football there have always been goalposts, but the crossbar wasnt invented until 1875, a goal is scored when the ball crosses the goal line between the goal-posts, even if a defending player last touched the ball before it crossed the goal line. Football goals were first described in England in the late 16th, in 1584 and 1602 respectively, John Norden and Richard Carew referred to goals in Cornish hurling. The first reference to scoring a goal is in John Days play The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, similarly in a poem in 1613, Michael Drayton refers to when the Ball to throw, And drive it to the Gole, in squadrons forth they goe
2.
Penalty kick (association football)
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A penalty kick is a method of restarting play in association football, taken from 11 metres out from the goal, on the penalty mark. Penalty kicks are performed during normal play and they are awarded when a foul that is punishable by a direct free kick is committed within the offending players own penalty area. Similar kicks are made in a penalty shootout in some tournaments to determine which team is victorious after a drawn match, in practice, penalties are converted to goals more often than not, even against world class goalkeepers. This means that penalty awards are often decisive, especially in low-scoring games, the referee gives the ball to the non-offending team. The goalkeeper must stand on the line between the post until the ball is kicked. Lateral movement is allowed, but the keeper is not permitted to come off the goal line by stepping or lunging forward until the ball is in play. When the goalkeeper indicates to the referee that they are ready, once the shooter has started their approach to the ball, they are not permitted to interrupt it. The ball must be stationary before the kick, and must be struck forwards, violation of these rules will result in a re-kick. After the penalty is taken properly, the ball may be played by any player except the one who executed the penalty kick. The kicker may not play the ball again until it has touched or played by another player on either team. For penalties taken near the end of time, play may be extended so that the penalty kick may be taken. A two-man penalty, or tap penalty, occurs when the penalty-taker, instead of shooting for goal, taps the ball slightly forward so that a team-mate can run on to it and shoot. The team-mate, like all other players, must be at least ten yards from the penalty mark when the ball is initially kicked and this strategy depends on the element of surprise, so that the team-mate can reach the ball ahead of any defenders. There is no requirement for the penalty taker to shoot for goal, the first recorded tap penalty was taken by Jimmy McIlroy and Danny Blanchflower of Northern Ireland against Portugal on 1 May 1957. Another was taken by Rik Coppens and André Piters in the World Cup Qualifying match Belgium v Iceland on 5 June 1957, arsenal players Thierry Henry and Robert Pirès failed in an attempt at a similar penalty in 2005, during a Premier League match against Manchester City at Highbury. Lionel Messi tapped a penalty for Luis Suárez as Suárez completed his hat-trick on 14 February 2016 against league opponents Celta De Vigo, in the case of a player repeatedly infringing the laws during the penalty kick, the referee may caution the player for persistent infringement. Note that all offences that occur before kick may be dealt with in this manner, as with a direct free kick, the kicker may not touch the ball a second time, until another player has touched the ball. Another example of an infringement is when a player will run up, stop directly at the ball and this gives the goalkeeper no chance at saving it, and the result of this would be a free kick for the opposing team
3.
Dropped-ball
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A dropped-ball is a method of restarting play in a game of association football. It is designed to offer no advantage to either side, generally being awarded when play has stopped due to reasons other than normal gameplay or misconduct. The rules concerning the dropped-ball are part of Law 8 of the Laws of the Game, a drop-ball is not awarded to either team, rather it is used to restart play when the referee has stopped play for any reason not listed for another form of restart. Examples include when play has stopped due to serious injury to a player, interference by an external party. The ball becomes in play as soon as it touches the ground, players must not touch the ball until it has touched the ground. If the ball leaves the field of play before it has been touched by a player, there is no mention in the Laws of the Game as to how many players, if any, may take part in a drop-ball or where they may be positioned. However, it is normal that a drop-ball is contested by two players, like at a face-off in bandy or ice hockey, if a player touches the ball before it touches the ground, the drop-ball is retaken. After the situation has been resolved, the team typically
4.
Direct free kick
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A direct free kick is a method of restarting of association football following a foul. A goal may be scored directly against the side without the ball having first touched another player. This is opposed to a free kick where the ball must be passed before an attempt on goal. According to The Laws of the Game, if the ball out of play. A player who concedes a indirect free kick to the opposing side. A direct free kick is awarded when a player commits a foul outside of their own penalty area, however, if the offence was committed by the defending team within their own penalty area, the kick becomes a penalty kick. The kick is taken from where the foul occurred, unless it was within the teams own goal area. The ball must be prior to being kicked. Opponents must remain 10 yards from the ball until the ball is in play, observing the minimum distance limit, the opposite players may choose to form a wall between the ball and the goal. Vanishing foam has been used at the level since 2000 to keep the defending players at the right distance. To keep the initiative a quick free kick is taken without waiting for the opposing players to retire from the 9.15 m radius. A goal may be scored directly from a free kick. Should the ball land in the kicking teams own goal. A player may be penalised for an offence committed from a direct free kick. There are various techniques used with direct free kicks, first, the player taking the direct free kick may blast the ball as hard as he can, usually with the laces of the boot. Alternatively, some try to curl the ball around the keeper or the wall. Additionally, certain free kick specialists will choose to kick the ball with minimal spin, the kicker may also attempt to drive the shot under the wall formed by the opposition defenders. Kicks are retaken if an opponent is closer to the spot from where the kick is taken than the required distance, also, for a kick taken by a team inside their own penalty area, the ball is not considered in play until it has left the area
5.
Penalty area
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The penalty area or 18-yard box is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16. 5m to each side of the goal and 16. 5m in front of it. Within the penalty area is the penalty spot, which is 11 metres or 12 yards from the goal line, previously, penalty areas extended the width of the field, but were reduced to their current dimensions in 1901. Fouls punishable by a free kick, committed by the defensive team within the penalty area. A penalty kick is taken from the penalty spot, the penalty spot is located 12 yards away from the goal line. In a typical game, for the majority of time the penalty area is occupied by the goalkeeper
6.
Goalkeeper (association football)
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Goalkeeper, often shortened to keeper or goalie, is one of the major positions of association football. It is the most specialised position in the sport, the goalkeepers primary role is to prevent the opposing team from successfully moving the ball over the defended goal-line. This is accomplished by the moving into the path of the ball. Within the penalty area goalkeepers are able to use their hands, goalkeepers usually perform goal kicks, and also give commands to their defence during corner kicks, direct and indirect free kicks, and marking. Goalkeepers play an important role in directing on field strategy as they have a view of the entire pitch. If an attacker on the opposing team obstructs the keeper from catching or saving the ball, for example, in a corner, it will normally be a free kick. If a goalkeeper is injured or sent off, a goalkeeper has to take their place. In order to replace a goalkeeper who is sent off, a team usually substitutes an outfield player for the backup keeper and they then play the remainder of the match with nine outfield players. Goalkeepers often have longer playing careers than players, many not retiring until their late thirties or early forties. This can be explained by noting that goalkeepers play a physically demanding position that requires significantly less running. For example, Peter Shilton played for 31 years between 1966 and 1997 before retiring at the age of 47. Because only one player can play in goal and the position is so specialised many professional teams on average especially at the highest level have one player as first-choice for many years, for example Gianlugi Buffon has played as first choice keeper for Juventus for more than 15 years. Petr Cech prior to his move to Aresnal was first choice keeper for Chelsea between 2004 and 2015, the squad number for a first choice goalkeeper is generally number 1. Although this is common, some goalkeepers now wear other numbers when in goal, association football, like many sports, has experienced many changes in tactics resulting in the generation and elimination of different positions. Goalkeeper is the position that is certain to have existed since the codification of the sport. The earliest account of football teams with player positions comes from Richard Mulcaster in 1581, the earliest specific reference to keeping goal comes from Cornish Hurling in 1602. One of these is appointed by lots, to the one side, there is assigned for their guard, a couple of their best stopping Hurlers. Other references to scoring goals begin in English literature in the early 16th century, for example, in John Days play The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, Ill play a gole at camp-ball
7.
Goal kick
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A goal kick, called a goalie kick in some regions, is a method of restarting play in a game of association football. Its procedure is dictated by Law 16 of the Laws of the Game, if the last person to touch the ball was a member of the defending side, a corner kick is instead awarded to the attackers. A goal kick is awarded to the team when the ball is struck directly into the goal by the attacking team from an indirect free kick. The ball is placed anywhere within the defending goal area. All opposing players must be outside the penalty area until the ball is in play, the ball becomes in play as soon as it leaves the penalty area – if any player makes contact with the ball before it becomes in play the kick is retaken. If the ball fails to leave the penalty area the kick is retaken, a goal can be scored directly from a goal kick against the opposing team. A player may not be penalised for offside directly from a goal kick, goal kicks are most often taken by goalkeepers, however this is not compulsory under the laws of the game. In the past, however, outfielders taking the goal kicks was a lot more common, opposing players must retire the required distance as stated above. Failure to do so promptly so may constitute misconduct and be punished by a caution, if an opposing player enters the penalty area before the ball is in play, the goal kick may be retaken. If any player touches the ball after it is kicked, but before it is in play, amadeo Carrizo has been cited as the first goalkeeper to recognize the importance of the goal kick as a method of launching an attack
8.
Corner kick
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A corner kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football. It was devised in Sheffield under the 1867 Sheffield Rules and it was adopted by the Football Association on 17 February 1872. A corner kick is awarded to the team when the ball leaves the field of play by crossing the goal line without a goal having been scored. The kick is taken from the corners of the field of play nearest to where the ball crossed the goal line. Corners are considered to be a reasonable goalscoring opportunity for the attacking side, the referee then awards the corner by pointing to the relevant arc. When taking a kick, the ball is initially placed so that at least some part of the ball is within the corner arc closest to where the ball went out of play. The corner arc is located at the intersection of the goalline and touchline and has a radius of one yard, all defending players must be at least ten yards from the corner arc until the corner kick is taken. A corner kick is taken as soon as the ball is kicked, the attacking side may score directly from a corner kick, though this is uncommon. An attacking player who receives the ball from a corner kick cannot be penalised for offside. Opposing players must retire the required distance as stated above, failure to do so promptly may constitute misconduct and be punished by a yellow card. A common tactic is for several attackers to stand close in front of the goal, the defending team may choose to form a wall of players in an attempt to force the ball to be played to an area which is more easily defended. However, this is not done often because defending players must remain at least 10 yards from the ball until it is in play. The defending team also has the choice of whether to instruct a player to him or herself beside one or both of the goalposts to provide protection to the goal in addition to the goalkeeper. The defending team also has to decide how many players it needs to defend a corner, two popular strategies used for defending corners are called man marking and zonal marking. Man marking involves each player at a corner given an attacking player to defend. The other tactic, zonal marking, involves allocating each player to an area of the box to defend. The objective for players in zonal marking is to get to the ball first if it enters their zone, an alternative strategy for the attacking team is to take a short corner. The ball is kicked to a player located within ten yards of the kicker, the strategy involved Uniteds Wayne Rooney, standing at the corner flag, pretending to change his mind about taking the corner and signalling to winger Ryan Giggs to do it instead
