Association football, commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players. It is the most popular sport in the world.

Football is a ball game played on a rectangular grass or artificial turf field, with a goal at each of the short ends. The object of the game is to score by manoeuvring the ball into the opposing goal.

In general play, the goalkeeper is the only player allowed to use their hands or arms to propel the ball; the rest of the team usually use their feet to kick the ball into position, occasionally using their torso or head to intercept a ball in mid air. 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 extra time and/or a penalty shootout, 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), 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 in the world, boasts an audience twice that of the Summer Olympics. (From wikipeida)

Download Laws of the Game 2007/2008

PDF format, 1.8MB, 73Pages, provided by ussoccer.com.

Notes on The Laws of the Game:

Modifications:

Subject to the agreement of the national association concerned and provided the principles of these Laws are maintained, the Laws may be modified in their application for matches for players of under 16 years of age, for women footballers, for veteran footballers (over 35 years) and for players with disabilities.

Any or all of the following modifications are permissible:

• size of the field of play
• size, weight and material of the ball
• width between the goalposts and height of the crossbar from the ground
• the duration of the periods of play
• substitutions

Further modifications are only allowed with the consent of the International Football Association Board.

Male and Female

References to the male gender in the Laws of the Game in respect of referees, assistant referees, players and officials are for simplification and apply to both males and females.

Visit U.S. Soccer Website

As the governing body of soccer in all its forms in the United States, U.S. Soccer has helped chart the course for the sport in the USA for more than 90 years. In this time, the Federation’s mission statement has been very simple and very clear: to make soccer, in all its forms, a preeminent sport in the United States and to continue the development of soccer at all recreational and competitive levels.

To that end, the sports growth in the past two decades has been nothing short of remarkable. In 1989, the U.S. Men's National Team hadn't played in a World Cup in 40 years and the U.S. Women's program was just four years old. U.S. Soccer was playing games in small stadiums that were rarely filled to capacity. There were few games being televised (and none without commercials during play). There were no soccer-specific stadiums, and there were no high-level professional outdoor leagues of which to speak.

Since that time, things have evolved significantly. The U.S. MNT has qualified for their fifth consecutive World Cup, and advanced to the quarterfinals at the 2002 event. U.S. Soccer is a world leader in women’s soccer at every level, and the team has won two Women's World Cups, along with two Olympic Gold Medals. The United States has also hosted three World Cups with the support of its members and strong organizational abilities.

Professionally, Major League Soccer recently celebrated its tenth season of play and continues to further the development of the American player, along with the three-tiered developmental league, the United Soccer Leagues. Perhaps most importantly of all, though, no fewer than five major soccer specific stadiums are in place now coast-to-coast with more facilities en route.

Founded in 1913, U.S. Soccer is one of the world’s first organizations to be affiliated with FIFA, the Federation Internationale de Football Association, soccer’s world governing body. U.S. Soccer has continued to grow in the 90-plus years since, and now has the largest membership among U.S. Olympic Committee national governing bodies.

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