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Soccer

Soccer

 
 
HISTORY
 

Soccer is considered to be the most popular sport in the world. It is the only sport played on six of the seven continents. It is impossible to say accurately where and when soccer started, but it is reasonable to assume that some type of ball game from which the organized sport we know today developed, has been played somewhere on the planet for over 3000 years.

 

 

THE FIELD

 
A soccer team consists of 11 players on a team. They play the game on a rectangular field that is 100-130 yard long, and 50-100 yards wide. The halfway line cuts through a center circle that is 20 yards in diameter. A penalty area, 18 yards long and 44 yards wide, is located in front of each goal. In this area only, the goalkeepers can use their hands to catch and move the ball. No other player is allowed to use their hands within the boundaries of the field. The goal itself is 8 feet high and 24 feet wide. The entire ball must pass over the goal line for a goal to be scored.

 

 

PLAYING THE GAME

 

The game, which is played in two 45 min halves, begins with a kickoff in the center circle. The player with the ball must kick it forward to begin play. If during the course of the game the ball crosses either sideline, it is brought back into play with a throw in. With both feet on the ground, the player throws the ball from behind their head to a teammate on the field. A goal kick results when an attacking player kicks the ball over the end line. The defending team places the ball in front of the goal area and kicks the ball downfield. If the defending team kicks the ball over their own end line, a corner kick results. The attacking team places the ball in the corner of the field, and kicks it towards the goal. A goal can be scored by kicking or heading the ball into the goal.

A referee on the field controls the game and stops play of fouls, and misconduct. Serious fouls result in a direct kick, and less serious fouls result in an indirect kick. In both types of kicks the offended team receives possession of the ball. A goal can be scored off a direct kick, but not off of an indirect kick. Serious fouls that occur in the penalty area by the defending team results in a penalty kick. The ball is placed on the penalty kick mark 12 yards from the goal. Only the kicker and the goal keeper are allowed in the penalty area. The kicker attempts to kick the ball past the goalie and into the goal.

 

 

SUMMARY

 

In most parts of the world soccer is known as football. When rugby and American football were created the term soccer came into use. The U.S. Soccer Federation was originally formed in 1913.  Every four years the World Cup Tournament is played. The current world cup champion is __________.  The world cup was played in the United States for the first time in 1994.