Contents

1.History of Football
2.Rules and Regulations
3.Measurements of Play Field
4.Equipments Required
5.Basic Skills
6.Terminology
 HISTORY
The contemporary history of the world's favourite game spans more than 100 years.
It all began in 1863 in England, when rugby football and association football
branched off on their different courses and the Football Association in England was
formed - becoming the sport's first governing body.
Both codes stemmed from a common root and both have a long and intricately
branched ancestral tree. A search down the centuries reveals at least half a dozen
different games, varying to different degrees, and to which the historical
development of football has been traced back. Whether this can be justified in some
instances is disputable. Nevertheless, the fact remains that people have enjoyed
kicking a ball about for thousands of years and there is absolutely no reason to
consider it an aberration of the more 'natural' form of playing a ball with the hands.
On the contrary, apart from the need to employ the legs and feet in tough tussles for
the ball, often without any laws for protection, it was recognized right at the outset
that the art of controlling the ball with the feet was not easy and, as such, required
no small measure of skill. The very earliest form of the game for which there is
scientific evidence was an exercise from a military manual dating back to the second
and third centuries BC in China.
This Han Dynasty forebear of football was called Tsu' Chu and it consisted of kicking a
leather ball filled with feathers and hair through an opening, measuring only 30-40cm
in width, into a small net fixed onto long bamboo canes. According to one variation
of this exercise, the player was not permitted to aim at his target unimpeded, but
had to use his feet, chest, back and shoulders while trying to withstand the attacks of
his opponents. Use of the hands was not permitted.
Another form of the game, also originating from the Far East, was the Japanese
Kemari, which began some 500-600 years later and is still played today. This is a sport
lacking the competitive element of Tsu' Chu with no struggle for possession involved.
Standing in a circle, the players had to pass the ball to each other, in a relatively small
space, trying not to let it touch the ground.
The Greek 'Episkyros' - of which few concrete details survive - was much livelier, as
was the Roman 'Harpastum'. The latter was played out with a smaller ball by two
teams on a rectangular field marked by boundary lines and a center line. The
objective was to get the ball over the opposition's boundary lines and as players
passed it between themselves, trickery was the order of the day. The game remained
popular for 700-800 years, but, although the Romans took it to Britain with them, the
use of feet was so small as to scarcely be of consequence.

Rules and Regulations

1.Ball in and out of Play: The soccer ball is out of bounds when it has crossed the goal
line or touchline whether on the ground or in air. If it rebounds off the referee, an
assistant referee, a goal post, crossbar, or corner flag post and remains inside the
field, then it is still in play.
2.Method of scoring: A goal is scored in football if the ball crosses the goal line
between the two goalposts and under the crossbar, as long as no violation of the
rules has taken place. The side that scores the most goals win. If both teams have the
same number of goals at the end of the match, it is considered a draw even if neither
of them scored a goal.
3.Offside: A player is in offside position if there are fewer than two defenders
(including the goalie) between him and the goal line. A violation of the offside rule in
football occurs if he is in that position and the ball is played to him. A free kick is
awarded to the opposition if a player is caught offside.
 4.Fouls and misconducts: The following are the most common fouls in football:
kicking, tripping, pushing, or charging another player recklessly; striking or
attempting to strike an opponent or any member of the opposing side. A foul is
called if a player: makes a tackle but hits the player before the ball; deliberately
handles the ball (except the goalkeeper in his proper area); or if he uses excessive
force in defending an opponent.
5.Free kicks: A restarts a play after a foul or rule infringement is committed and is
usually taken from the spot where the violation was committed. A free-kick can
either be “direct”, in which a kicker may score directly, or “indirect”, in which
another player must touch the ball before a goal can be scored.
6.Penalty kick: A penalty kick in football is awarded if a defender commits a foul
inside its own penalty area. The kick is taken from the penalty spot and all the players
(except the kicker and the goalkeeper) must be outside the penalty area and penalty
arc.
7.Throw-in: A throw-in in football is awarded to a team if the ball goes over the
touchline. It is awarded to the team opposing the side that touched the ball last. The
throw is taken from the spot where the ball goes out of bounds. The taker must
throw the ball with both hands, both feet on the ground, and facing the field of play.
8.Goal kick: A goal-kick in football is awarded to the defending team if the opposing
team causes the ball to go over the goal-line. Any player from the defending side is
allowed to take the goal kick. It must be taken anywhere on the goal area and must
go beyond the penalty area or it will be retaken. The ball must be touched by another
player before the taker can play it again.
9.Corner kick: A corner kick in football is awarded to the attacking team if an
opposing player is the last to touch the ball before it goes out of bounds on the goal-
line. The attacking team resumes play by placing the ball in the corner arc nearest to
where it crossed the goal line.
 Measurements of Play Field and Football
Length of field :120 yards.
Width of field :53 1/3 yards (160 feet).
Height of goal posts: Height of crossbar: At least 30 feet.
Width of goal posts (above crossbar) :18 feet 6 inches, inside to inside.
Length of ball :10 7/8 to 11 7/16 inches (long axis).
Circumference of ball :20 3/4 to 21 1/4 inches (middle); 27 3/4 to
28 1/2 inches (long axis).

Terminology
1.Advantage: decision made by the referee during a game, where a player is fouled,
but play is allowed to continue because the team that suffered the foul is in better
position than they would have been had the referee stopped the game.
2.Against the run of play: describes a goal scored, or a win or draw achieved, by a
side that was being clearly outplayed.
3.Assist: pass that leads to a goal being scored
4.Back heel: pass between team-mates, in which one player uses their heel to propel
the ball backwards to another player
5.Brace: when a player scores two goals in a single match
6.Clean-sheet: When a goalkeeper or team does not concede a single goal during a
match.
7.Counter-attack: kick taken from within a one-yard radius of the corner flag.
8.Diving: form of cheating, sometimes employed by an attacking player to win a free
kick or penalty
9.Dribbling: when a player runs with the ball at their feet under close control.
10.Dummy: skill move performed by a player receiving a pass from a teammate; the
player receiving the ball will angle their body in such a way that the opponent thinks
that they are going to play the ball.
11.Extra Time: additional period, normally two halves of 15 minutes, used to
determine the winner in some tied cup matches.
12.False Nine: a centre forward who regularly drops back into midfield to disrupt
opposition marking.
13.Flick-On: when a player receives a pass from a teammate and, instead of
controlling it, touches the ball with their head or foot while it is moving past them,
with the intent of helping the ball reach another teammate
14.Free Kick: the result of a foul outside the penalty area, given against the offending
team.
15.Ghost goal: situation where a ball fairly crossed the goal line but did not result in a
goal, or a goal was awarded despite the ball not crossing the line.
16.Howler: glaring and possibly amusing error made by a player or referee during a
match.
17.Jew Goal: term used to describe a goal scored when a player “passes the ball
when two-on-one with the keeper in order to provide the receiver with an open
goal”.
18.Kick-Off: method of starting a match.
19.Lay-Off Pass: short pass, usually lateral, played delicately into the space
immediately in front of a teammate who is arriving at speed from behind the player
making the pass.
20.Man On: warning shout uttered by players to a teammate with the ball to alert
him of the presence of an opposing player behind him.
21.Man-To-Man Marking: system of marking in which each player is responsible for
an opposing player rather than an area of the pitch.
22.Nutmeg: when a player intentionally plays the ball between an opponent’s legs,
runs past the opponent, and collects their own pass.
23.Offside: law relating to the positioning of defending players in relation to
attacking players when the ball is played to an attacking player by a teammate.
24.Open Goal: where no player is defending the goal.
25.Overlap: move between two teammates.
26.Shielding: defensive technique in which a defensive player positions their body
between the ball and an attacking opponent, in order to prevent that opponent from
reaching the ball.
27.Subbed: a player who is withdrawn from the field of play.
28.Sweeper: defender whose role is to protect the space between the goalkeeper
and the rest of the defence
29.Throw-In: method of restarting play. Involves a player throwing the ball from
behind a touchline after it has been kicked out by an opponent.