Football

Types of Football

Football is a family of team sports. Players try to move a ball over a goal line, into a goal, or between goalposts. They use their body, either by carrying, throwing, or kicking it. Different places and cultures have their own versions of football, each with its own rules and traditions.

The word "football" usually means the version of the sport that is most popular in a particular region. For example, in many parts of the world, it refers to association football, which is known as soccer in places like Australia, Canada, South Africa, the United States, and sometimes in Ireland and New Zealand. Other popular types include Australian rules football, Gaelic football, gridiron football (which includes American football and Canadian football), International rules football, rugby league football, and rugby union football.

History

These different kinds of football all have roots in ancient ball games played long ago. They began to take shape in the 19th century at English public schools, influenced by medieval football games. As the British Empire expanded, these rules spread to many parts of the world. By the late 19th century, distinct regional versions like Gaelic football had formed. In 1888, the Football League was founded in England, marking the start of professional football associations. Over the 20th century, several types of football became some of the most popular team sports globally.

Common elements

Football games, whether called soccer, rugby, or American football, share some basic ideas. Teams usually have between 11 and 18 players, and they play on a field with a clear goal area. The goal is to move the ball to the other team's end and score by getting it into or over a line or between two posts.

Players can only use their bodies to move the ball — no bats or sticks allowed. All forms of football use an inflatable ball, and common skills include passing, tackling, and kicking. Each game has rules to keep things fair, like not letting players get too far ahead of the ball.

Etymology

The word "football" may come from kicking a ball with your foot. It might also have started from games played on foot in medieval Europe. We don’t know for sure which idea is correct.

Early history

Ancient games

See also: Episkyros and Cuju

Ancient China

The Chinese game cuju was an early ball game where players used their feet. It looked a bit like modern association football. People played it around the Han dynasty and early Qin dynasty. In one way of playing, teammates passed the ball without letting it touch the ground. In the competitive version, two teams passed the ball and then kicked it through a hole in the middle of the field. FIFA says cuju is the earliest form of football. The Japanese version of cuju is kemari, which started in the Asuka period. People in the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto played it from about 600 AD. In kemari, people stand in a circle and kick a ball to each other, trying not to let it fall to the ground. The Silk Road helped spread cuju, especially during the Tang dynasty.

Ancient Greece and Rome

The Ancient Greeks and Romans played many ball games, some using their feet. The Roman game harpastum came from a Greek game called ἐπίσκυρος (episkyros) or φαινίνδα (phaininda). These games looked like rugby football. Roman ball games used an air-filled ball called the follis. FIFA says episkyros is an early form of football.

Native Americans

Many parts of the world had traditional ball games. In 1586, men from a ship led by John Davis played a kind of football with Inuit in Greenland. There are stories of an Inuit game on ice called Aqsaqtuk. In 1610, William Strachey, a colonist in Jamestown, Virginia, wrote about a game Native Americans played called Pahsaheman. Another game, Pasuckuakohowog, was like modern association football and was played by Amerindians in the 1600s. Games played in Mesoamerica with rubber balls by indigenous peoples were also known before that time.

Oceania

On the Australian continent, some tribes played games where they kicked and caught stuffed balls. Historians call this Marn Grook (Djab Wurrung for "game ball"). The oldest story about it comes from a book in 1878 by Robert Brough-Smyth. Some historians think Marn Grook helped start Australian rules football. The Māori in New Zealand played a game called Kī-o-rahi. Teams of seven players tried to score points by touching markers and hitting a target in the middle.

Turkic peoples

Mahmud al-Kashgari wrote in his Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk about a game called tepuk played by Turks in Central Asia. In this game, people tried to kick a ball made of sheep leather to attack each other's castle.

Medieval and early modern Europe

Further information: Medieval football

During the Middle Ages, many places in Europe played yearly Shrovetide football matches, especially in England. An old story from the 9th century in Britain talks about boys playing ball. There are stories from the 12th century about a game in northern France called La Soule or Choule, where players used hands, feet, and sticks to move the ball.

Early football in England, sometimes called "mob football", was played in towns or between villages. Any number of players from each side would clash together, trying to move something like an animal's bladder to certain places, like the other team's church. They played during big festivals like Shrovetide, Christmas, or Easter. Shrovetide games are still played today in some English towns.

Calcio Fiorentino

Main article: Calcio Fiorentino

In the 1500s, the city of Florence celebrated between Epiphany and Lent by playing a game now called "calcio storico" ("historic kickball") in the Piazza Santa Croce. Rich young men dressed in silk and played a rough version of football. They could punch, push, and kick each other, and hits below the belt were allowed. The game started as a way to train for war. In 1580, Count Giovanni de' Bardi di Vernio wrote rules for the game. It stopped being played in 1739 but started again in 1930.

Official disapproval and attempts to ban football

Main article: Attempts to ban football games

Many places tried to ban football from the Middle Ages to today. England passed its first law against football in 1314, and more than 30 laws followed there by 1667. In 1921, women were banned from playing at English and Scottish football grounds, and this rule stayed until the 1970s. Women still have trouble in some places. American football also had problems. In the 1800s, it was like the old mob football from Europe, and some places banned it. By 1905, some people wanted to ban American football in the U.S. because it was too rough. A meeting with American president Theodore Roosevelt led to new rules that changed the game.

Establishment of modern codes

English public schools

Football in Britain changed a lot because of its public schools. These schools helped turn football from a messy game into an organized team sport. The schools wrote down early rules and made football more structured. The first records of football-like games in these schools go back to 1519. Richard Mulcaster helped describe early team ideas.

Firsts

Matches

Some of the first football matches between public schools happened in the 1800s. Games between Eton and Harrow took place in 1834. Later, matches with Old Rugbeians and Old Salopians occurred in the 1840s.

Clubs

The first football clubs started in the 1700s. The Edinburgh Foot-Ball Club formed in Scotland between 1824 and 1841. Sheffield F.C., founded in 1857, is the oldest surviving association football club in the world.

Competitions

The Cordner-Eggleston Cup has been played every year since 1858 between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College. Other early competitions were the Caledonian Challenge Cup in 1861 and the English FA Cup, which started in 1871.

Modern balls

Early footballs were made from animal bladders and covered in leather. In 1851, Richard Lindon and William Gilbert made round and oval-shaped balls. Charles Goodyear showed a rubber ball in 1855.

Modern ball passing tactics

Passing in football was first seen in 1633 and grew in the 1800s. The Royal Engineers AFC were among the first to use passing in the 1870s.

Rugby football

Rugby football started around 1845 at Rugby School in England. By 1870, many clubs played versions of the game in Britain and its colonies. The Rugby Football Union formed in 1871 to make the rules the same, and international matches began after that.

Cambridge rules

In the 1800s, the University of Cambridge made rules so students from different schools could play together. This helped shape association football.

Sheffield rules

Sheffield Football Club, started in 1857, made its own rules. These rules included ideas like free kicks and corner kicks, which later influenced association football.

Australian rules football

Australian rules football began in Melbourne in 1858. Tom Wills helped develop it. The Melbourne Football Club formed in 1859, and the game spread across Australia with special goal posts and rules for bouncing while running.

The Football Association

The Football Association started in London in 1863 to make one set of rules for football. People from different clubs met to write the first rules, creating association football as we know it today.

North American football codes

In North America, early football games were rough and messy. By the mid-1800s, two types of games emerged. The first American college football game was between Rutgers and Princeton in 1869. Modern American football grew from a game between McGill University and Harvard University in 1874. This led to rules like the line of scrimmage and down-and-distance.

Gaelic football

Gaelic football started in Ireland in the late 1800s. The Gaelic Athletic Association formed in 1884 and published the first rules in 1887. The game focused on Irish culture and did not have an offside rule.

Schism in Rugby football

In 1895, a disagreement about professional players led to the creation of the Northern Rugby Football Union, later called rugby league. This split from the Rugby Football Union and created two different types of rugby that still exist today.

Globalisation of association football

The need for a global organization led to the formation of FIFA in 1904 by countries in Europe. This marked the start of international association football.

Further divergence of the two rugby codes

Rugby league and rugby union kept evolving in different ways. Rugby league reduced teams to 13 players in 1906 and added new rules. Rugby union allowed professional players in 1995, but the two codes stay different.

Use of the word football

The word football can mean different sports in different places. In most English-speaking world countries, football means association football, which many people call soccer. But in places like Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, football can mean other sports such as rugby union, Australian rules football, or Canadian football.

Some countries have changed the names of their sports groups to use the word football. For example, Australia's association football governing body changed from soccer to football in 2005. New Zealand's governing body made the same change in 2007, and Football Federation Samoa updated its name in 2009.

Popularity

Many people around the world love to play football. Association football, called soccer in some places, is played by millions of people in over 200 countries. It has the biggest TV audiences of any sport. In the United States, American football is very popular, especially with the Super Bowl being a big TV event each year.

Other popular kinds of football include Australian rules football in Australia, Gaelic football in Ireland, and Rugby union in New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji. Rugby is also becoming more popular in the U.S., especially in colleges.

Football codes board

Association football, rugby football, gridiron football, and Australian football are the main kinds of football. Each type has its own rules and ways of playing. But they all use a ball to score points. These games have changed and grown over time to become popular sports today.

Present-day codes and families

Main article: Variants of association football

Football is a group of sports where players use their bodies to move a ball toward a goal. The word "football" usually means the most popular version in a particular area. Common types include:

• Association football (called soccer in some places) where players mainly use their feet, and only the goalkeeper can use hands.
• Rugby where players can carry and pass the ball with their hands, and there are different ways to score.
• Gridiron football (like American football) which allows forward passing and is popular in North America.

Each type has many variations, such as smaller teams, indoor versions, and games adapted for different players, including those with disabilities. These sports all share the basic idea of using a ball to score points, but they have unique rules and styles of play.

See also: Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, Comparison of American football and rugby league, Comparison of American football and rugby union, Comparison of Canadian football and rugby league, Comparison of Canadian football and rugby union, Comparison of Gaelic football and rugby union, Comparison of association football and rugby union, and Comparison of American and Canadian football

Code			Association			Gridiron				Rugby		International and related
			Soccer	Beach	Futsal	American	Flag	Indoor	Canadian	Union	League	Australian	International	Gaelic
Image
Country of origin			England	Brazil	Uruguay	United States			Canada	England		Australia	Compromise rules between Australian and Gaelic codes	Ireland
Governing Body			FIFA			IFAF			Football Canada	World Rugby	IRL	AFL Commission	AFL and GAA	GAA
Pitch	Shape		Rectangular			Rectangular		Rounded rectangular	Rectangular	Rectangular		Oval	Rectangular
	Total length		100–130 yards (91–119 m) 110–120 yards (100–110 m) (international)	35–37 metres	25–42 metres 38–42 metres (international)	120 yards (110 m)	70 yards (64 m) (standard, 5 a side)	66 yards (60 m)	150 yards (140 m)	106–144 metres	112–122 metres	135–185 metres (professional)	145 metres	130–145 metres
	Total width		50–100 yards (46–91 m) 70–80 yards (64–73 m) (international)	26–28 metres	16–25 metres 20–25 metres (international)	160 feet (49 m)	25 yards (23 m) (standard, 5 a side)	28 yards (26 m)	65 yards (59 m)	68–70 metres	68 metres	110–155 metres (professional)	90 metres	80–90 metres
	Surface		grass, artificial	sand	wood, artificial	grass, artificial	solid, sand	artificial	grass, artificial	grass, sand, clay, snow, artificial	grass	grass
	Goalposts	Shape	Netted rectangular			Carving fork	None	Uppercase H, with bouncing nets/ Uppercase U (hanged)	Carving fork	Uppercase H		4 posts	Uppercase H (netted bottom) + 2 post	Uppercase H (netted bottom)
		Width	8 yards (7.3 m)	5.5 metres	3 metres	222 inches (5.6 m)		10 feet (3.0 m)	222 inches (5.6 m)	5.6 metres	5.5 metres	2 goal posts (6.4 metres apart) + 2 behind posts (6.4 metres apart from each side of goal post)		6.5 metres
		Height	8 feet (2.4 m)	2.2 metres	2 metres	10 feet (3.0 m) above ground		10 feet (3.0 m) above ground		3 metres above ground		Goal posts: 6–15 metres Behind posts: 3–10 metres	Goal posts: 6 metres, crossbar at 2.5 metres Behind posts: 3 metres	7 meters, crossbar at 2.5 meters, netted bottom 0.9 meters in depth
Equipment	Football	Shape	Sphere			Lemon				Prolate spheroid		Prolate spheroid	Sphere
		Circumference	27–28 inches (69–71 cm)	68–70 centimetres	62–64 centimetres	27.75–28.5 inches (70.5–72.4 cm) (longitudinal) × 20.75–21.25 inches (52.7–54.0 cm) (transversal)	27–28 inches (69–71 cm) (longitudinal) 20–21 inches (51–53 cm) (transversal)		27.75–28.5 inches (70.5–72.4 cm) (longitudinal) 20.75–21.375 inches (52.71–54.29 cm) (transversal)	74 – 77 centimetres (elliptic) × 58 – 62 centimetres (circular)		72 – 73 centimetres (elliptic) × 54.5 -55.5 centimetres (circular)	68–70 centimetres
		Diameter	–	–	–	10.875–11.4375 inches (27.623–29.051 cm) (longitudinal)	11–11.5 inches (28–29 cm) (longitudinal) 6.25–6.75 inches (15.9–17.1 cm) (transversal)		10.875–11.4375 inches (27.623–29.051 cm) (longitudinal) 6.25–6.75 inches (15.9–17.1 cm) (transversal)	28–30 centimetres (longitudinal)	–	–	–
		Weight	14–16 ounces (400–450 g)	400–440 grams		14–15 ounces (400–430 g)				410 – 460 grams			480–500 grams
		Pressure	8.5–15.6 pounds per square inch (59–108 kPa)	0.4–0.6 standard atmospheres (41–61 kPa)	0.6–0.9 standard atmospheres (61–91 kPa)	12.5–13.5 pounds per square inch (86–93 kPa)				9.5–10 pounds per square inch (66–69 kPa)		69 kilopascals	9–10 pounds per square inch (62–69 kPa)
		Bounce			50–65 centimetres when dropped from 2 metres								0.5222–0.576 e when dropped from 1.8 metres
	Uniform	Non protective	Shirt with sleeves, shorts, socks, footwear	Shirt with sleeves, shorts, no footwear allowed	Shirt with sleeves, shorts, socks, footwear	Jersey, pants, socks	Jersey, shorts or pants, flag belts	Jersey, pants, socks, footwear		Shirt, shorts, socks, footwear		Sleeveless shirt, shorts, socks, footwear	Shirt with sleeves, shorts, socks, footwear
		Protective gear	Shin guards	None	Shin guards	Helmet, hip pads, knee pads, mouthguard, shoulder pads, thigh guards	Mouthguard (recommended)	Helmet, hip pads, knee pads, mouthguard, shoulder pads, thigh guards		Optional (headgear, padded clothes, mouthguard, shin guards, goggles)				Mouthguard
Players	Number		11	5		11	5	8	12	15	13	18	15
	Goalkeeper		Yes			No				No		No	Yes
Time	Duration		2 × 45 minutes	3 × 12 minutes	2 × 20 minutes	4 × 15 minutes	2 × 20 minutes	4 × 15 minutes		2 × 40 minutes		4 × 20 minutes	4 × 18 minutes	2 × 35 minutes
	Clock stoppage		No	Yes		Yes				Yes		Yes		No
Kicking	Type of kicks		Off the ground, bicycle, placed, dribbling			Placed, punt	None	Placed	Placed, punt	Off the ground, grubber, dropped, bomb, punt, placed		Off the ground, grubber, bomb, punt		Off the ground, grubber, bomb, dropped, punt, bicycle
	Kickoff		Yes			Yes		Yes		Yes		No
Use of hands			Only goalkeeper, but all in throw-in		Only goalkeeper	Yes				Yes		Yes
Forward pass			Yes			Yes				No		Yes
Offside rule			Yes	No		Yes				Yes		No
Type of tackles			Sliding, standing			Spear, dump, body tackle, ankle tap, diving, bumping, shoulder charge, intercept ball, chicken wig	None	Spear, dump, body tackle, ankle tap, diving, bumping, shoulder charge, intercept ball, chicken wig		Dump, body tackle, ankle tap, diving, charge down		Dump, diving, bumping, intercept ball, spoil, shepherd, smother
Score			Goal 1			Touchdown 6, Field goal 3, try 1 or 2, Safety 2	Touchdown 6, try 1 or 2, safety 2, defense touchdown on a try 2	Touchdown 6, Field goal 3 or 4 (drop kick), try 1 or 2, Safety 2, defense touchdown on a try 2, Rouge 1, Deuce 2	Touchdown 6, Field goal 3, Convert 1 or 2, Safety 2, Single 1	Try 5, Conversion 2, Penalty 3, Drop goal 3	Try 4, Conversion 2, Penalty 2, Drop goal 1 (2 points when kicked from 40m+)	Goal 6, behind 1	Goal 6, over 3, behind 1	Goal 3, over 1 (2 points when kicked from outside 40 m arc)
Methods for breaking ties			Knock-out contests: extratime, penaltyshot-out			Extra periods				Extratime (knock-out contests)				Extratime
Methods for starting play	partials		Kick-off			Kickoff (each half)	Scrimmage			Kick off	Kick off	By umpire: ball-up	By umpire: central throw up
	After scoring					After touchdown: scrimmage for try After try, field goal or safety: kickoff				Restart kick		Goal: ball-up Behind: kick in	Goal: central throw up Behind and over: kicked into play by the Goalkeeper, from inside the 13 m rectangle	Kick out
	when ball goes out of bounds		Touchlines: throw-in Goal lines: goal kick (by defending team), corner kick (by attacking team)	Touchlines: throw-in or kick-in	Touchlines: kick-in	Scrimmage				Touch: lineout or quick throw	Touchlines: scrum	Free kick or throw in (by umpire)	Sidelines: free kick Endlines: free kick (within 13 m rectangle by defending team) or on the nearest 45 m line (by attacking team)	Sidelines: free kick from the hand from outside Endlines: Kick out (by defending team), free kick on the nearest 45 m line (by attacking team)
				Goal lines: goal clearance (by defending team), corner kick (by attacking team)
	After foul		Free kick, penalty kick							Scrum, penalty kick		Free kick	Free kick, penalty kick	Free kick, throw in, penalty kick
Tournaments	World nation championship		Yes			Yes		No		Yes		Yes	No (only Australia vs Ireland)	No
	Olympic		Yes	No	2018, 2026 (SYOG)	1932 (demonstration)	2028	No		1900, 1908, 1920, 1924 (sevens since 2016)	No	1956 (demonstration)	No
	World Games		No			Invitational (2005 and 2017)	Yes	No		Sevens (2001–2013)	No	No
	Professional leagues		Yes			Yes	No	Yes		Yes		Yes	No	No (strictly amateur)