Soccer is a fast–paced, strategy game played by men, women, and kids. Its professional leagues have gained millions of fans around the world. It is considered as a major sport that is well-known and widely played in almost all regions of the world, except for the United States and Canada.
Overview
The game is played by two opposing teams, with eleven members each team including the goalkeeper. It is played on a rectangular field with the main goal of driving the ball into the opponents goal to achieve a score. The ball is primarily played with the feet and only the goalkeeper is allowed to touch and handle the ball. The main reason why this sport has gained its popularity is because it is one of the most accessible and adaptable amongst all other sports.
History
In the past, soccer is identified as a popular peasant game in England and other parts of Europe. In 1363, King Edward II banned the football games (which was then referred to as mob-football) because he was troubled by the unruliness of the game in London and because it distracted the English population from practicing archery, which was necessary for war during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. An early reference to a game that was probably soccer can be traced back to 1280 at Ulgham, Northumberland, England. In Ireland, the sport was played since 1308. In 1314, Nicholas de Farndone, Lord Mayor of the City of London issued a decree banning the game in France because of the hustling and commotion that were linked to the game. The Ancient Greek and Romans have played a similar game called harpastum, adapted from the Greek game Episkyros or phaininda. The Chinese has their own version of the game that dates back to the third and first century and was described as cuju; this later spread to Japan and Korea. The Japanese version was called Kemari. In 1841, the aborigines of Victoria, Australia played a similar game called Mam Grook. In New Zealand, the Mauri also played a similar game called Ki-o-rahi.
Rules of Soccer
The modern rule of soccer was codified in England by the Football Association (FA) in the year 1863 and the name ‘association football’ was used to distinguish the game from other forms of football games played at that time. The term ‘soccer’ originated in England as a slang abbreviation of the word “association”.
Gameplay
The game is played in accordance with a set of rules commonly known as the Laws of the Game. The game is played using a spherical ball with a standard circumference of 28 inches for FIFA games. This is known as football. Two opposing teams consisting of 11 team members compete to get the ball inside the other team’s goal. The team with the higher number of goal scores achieved wins the game.
Players
Each team consists of 11 team members excluding substitutes. Members are broadly categorized into three groups, namely the strikers or forward whose role is to score goals, defenders who specializes on defense, and the midfielders whose main task is to create a scoring play for the strikers. The goalkeeper belongs to the group midfielders, who are also referred as outfielders to distinguish them from the goalkeeper.
Betting
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Officials
A soccer game is officiated by a referee, who has the full authority to enforce the Law of the Game. The referee is assisted by two assistant referees and a fourth official who assists the referee and may replace another official should the need arise.
Apps
There are a ton fo apps footbal related: you can find a good selection on website like Appspy.com, MacWorld.com or FreApp.com
