Scoring in association football
In games of association football, teams compete to score the most goals during the match. A goal is scored when the ball passes completely over a goal line at either end of the field of play between two centrally positioned upright goal posts 24 feet (7.32 m) apart and underneath a horizontal crossbar at a height of 8 feet (2.44 m) — this frame is itself referred to as a goal. Each team aims to score at one end of the pitch, while preventing their opponents from scoring at the other end. Nets are usually attached to the goal frame to catch goalscoring balls, but the ball is not required to touch the net.
A goal being scored (1961)
Atlético Madrid players celebrate a goal with a group hug
Illustration of the goals used at Rugby School (1858)
Association football, commonly known as football, or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players each, who primarily use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular-framed goal defended by the opposing team. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries and territories, it is the world's most popular sport.
The attacking player (No. 10) attempts to kick the ball into the net behind the opposing team's goalkeeper (here wearing red and yellow) to score a goal.
An early draft of the original hand-written 'Laws of the Game' drawn up on behalf of The Football Association by Ebenezer Cobb Morley in 1863 on display at the National Football Museum, Manchester, England
The Aston Villa team in 1897, after winning both the FA Cup and the English Football League
North team of the British Ladies', the first organised women's football team, here pictured in March 1895