Football / Soccer

Football, also known as Association football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players each. It is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world. A ball game, it is played on a rectangular grass field, or occasionally on artificial turf, with a goal at each end of the field. The object of the game is to score by manoeuvring the ball into the opposing goal; only the goalkeepers may use their hands or arms to propel the ball in general play. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extended time, depending on the format of the competition.

The modern game was codified in England following the formation of the Football Association, whose 1863 Laws of the Game created the foundations for the way the sport is played today. Football is governed internationally by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football), which is commonly known by the acronym FIFA. The most prestigious international football competition is the World Cup, held every four years. This event, the most widely viewed and famous in the world, boasts twice the audience of the Summer Olympics.^[1]

The major international competition in football is the World Cup, organised by FIFA. This competition takes place over a four-year period. More than 190 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within the scope of continental confederations for a place in the finals. The finals tournament, which is held every four years, now involves 32 national teams (increased in 1998 from the 24 of 1994) competing over a four-week period. The 2006 FIFA World Cup took place in Germany;^[15] in 2010 it will be held in South Africa.

There has been a football tournament at every Summer Olympic Games since 1900, except at the 1932 games in Los Angeles. Prior to the inception of the World Cup, the Olympics (especially during the 1920s) had the same status as the World Cup. Originally, the event was for amateurs only,^[16] however, since the 1984 Summer Olympics professionals have been permitted as well, albeit with certain restrictions which effectively prevent countries from fielding their strongest sides. Currently, the Olympic men's tournament is played at Under-23 level. In the past the Olympics have allowed a restricted number of over-age players per team;^[17] but that practice will cease in the 2008 Olympics. The Olympic competition is not generally considered to carry the same international significance and prestige as the World Cup. A women's tournament was added in 1996; in contrast to the men's event, the women's Olympic tournament is played by full international sides without age restrictions. It thus carries international prestige considered comparable to that of the FIFA Women's World Cup.

After the World Cup, the most important football competitions are the continental championships, which are organised by each continental confederation and contested between national teams. These are the European Championship (UEFA), the Copa América (CONMEBOL), African Cup of Nations (CAF), the Asian Cup (AFC), the CONCACAF Gold Cup (CONCACAF) and the OFC Nations Cup (OFC). Two of the most prestigious competitions in club football are the respective continental championships, which are generally contested between national champions, for example the UEFA Champions League in Europe and the Copa Libertadores de América in South America. The most prestigious competition until 2005 was the Intercontinental Cup which was contested by the winner club of the European Champions League cup and the winner of the Copa Libertadores. This was a single match played in Tokyo, Japan and went from 1980 until 2004. This was also known as the Toyota Cup. Due to the growing number of audience and interest of people from Africa, North America and Asia, this "cup" was replaced in 2005 by the FIFA Club World Championship in which there is no single match, but a whole tournament between the winners of the six club championships of each FIFA confederation.