FOOTBALL TERMINOLOGIES

FOOTBALL, ALSO CALLED ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL OR SOCCER, IS A GAME INVOLVING TWO TEAMS OF 11 PLAYERS WHO TRY TO MANEUVER THE BALL INTO THE OTHER TEAM’S GOAL WITHOUT USING THEIR HANDS OR ARMS. THE TEAM THAT SCORES MORE GOALS WINS. FOOTBALL IS THE WORLD’S MOST POPULAR BALL GAME IN NUMBERS OF PARTICIPANTS AND SPECTATORS.

MODERN FOOTBALL ORIGINATED IN BRITAIN IN THE 19TH CENTURY. THOUGH “FOLK FOOTBALL” HAD BEEN PLAYED SINCE MEDIEVAL TIMES WITH VARYING RULES, THE GAME BEGAN TO BE STANDARDIZED WHEN IT WAS TAKEN UP AS A WINTER GAME AT PUBLIC SCHOOLS. THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, FORMED IN 1863, CODIFIED THE RULES OF THE GAME AND HOSTED THE FIRST CUP COMPETITION BETWEEN REGIONAL FOOTBALL CLUBS IN BRITAIN

A MATCH:-

A 90 MINUTE GAME BETWEEN TWO TEAMS.

A FIELD OR PITCH:–

A PLACE WHERE FOOTBALL IS PLAYED.

A REFEREE: –

A PERSON WHO MAKES SURE THE GAME IS PLAYED ACCORDING TO THE RULES AND IS USUALLY DRESSED IN BLACK AND HAS A WHISTLE.

A LINESMAN (REFEREE’S ASSISTANT):-

HE ASSISTS THE REFEREE AND WATCHES FOR OUT-OF-BOUNDS BALLS AND OFFSIDE PLAYERS.

A GOALKEEPER:-

THIS IS THE PLAYER WHO STANDS IN THE GOALIE POSITION AND STOPS THE BALL FROM ENTERING THE GOAL.

A DEFENDER:-

A PLAYER WHO PLAYS AT THE BACK AND PREVENTS THE OPPOSING TEAM FROM SCORING A GOAL.

A MIDFIELDER:-

A PLAYER WHO PLAYS IN THE MIDDLE AND ASSISTS IN THE GAME PLAN.

AN ATTACKER:-

ALSO CALLED A FORWARD, HE PLAYS FROM THE FRONT AND HIS MAIN JOB IS TO SCORE GOALS.

A SKIPPER:

THE LEADER OR CAPTAIN OF THE TEAM.

A SUBSTITUTE:-

THIS EXTRA PLAYER SITS READY ON THE SIDELINES AND COMES TO PLAY IN PLACE OF ANOTHER PLAYER.

A MANAGER:-

A PERSON WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TEAM AND IS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR TRAINING THE TEAM.

A FOUL:-

THIS IS A VIOLATION OF THE RULES. FOR EXAMPLE, SOMEONE PUSHED SOMEONE OR A PLAYER OTHER THAN THE GOALKEEPER TOUCHED THE BALL WITH HIS HAND.

A BOOKING:

THIS MEANS BEING SHOWN A YELLOW CARD FOR A SERIOUS VIOLATION OF THE RULES. TWO YELLOW CARDS EQUAL A RED CARD AND THIS MEANS IMMEDIATE ELIMINATION FROM THE GAME.

FULL-TIME:-

THE TIME WHEN PLAY ENDS. USUALLY A 90-MINUTE PERIOD.

INJURY TIME:-

IT IS ALSO CALLED STOPPAGE TIME. THIS IS THE PERIOD IN WHICH THE GAME IS STOPPED FOR SOME REASON AND THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME IS ADDED TO THE GAME AT THE INTERVAL OR END OF THE GAME ON THE ORDERS OF THE REFEREE.

EXTRA TIME:-

IN SOME MATCHES, IF THE GAME IS NOT DECIDED IN THE REGULAR TIME THEN EXTRA TIME OF 15 MINUTES IS GIVEN.

OFFSIDE:-

THE PLACE BEHIND WHICH THERE IS NO PLAYER OF THE OPPOSING TEAM AND THE BALL IS THROWN IN THAT DIRECTION. THIS IS AGAINST THE RULES.

THE SCORE:–

THE RECORD OF THE GOAL THAT DECIDES WHO IS WINNING THE FINAL SCORE IS THE RESULT THAT DECIDES WHO HAS WON THE MATCH.

A GOAL:-

THE SUCCESSFUL PROCESS OF PUTTING THE BALL INTO A GOAL

AN OWN GOAL:-

TO ACCIDENTALLY PUT THE BALL INTO ONE’S OWN GOAL,

THE LEAD:-

WHEN A TEAM SCORES FIRST IT TAKES THE LEAD.

AN EQUALIZER:-

            A GOAL AFTER WHICH THE NUMBER OF GOALS SCORED BY BOTH TEAMS IS EQUAL.

TO WIN:- I.E SPAIN WON THE WORLD CUP IN 2010.

A DRAW:

IN A MATCH THAT ENDS IN A DRAW, BOTH TEAMS GET EQUAL

A DEFEAT:-

IRAN STARTED ITS WORLD CUP CAMPAIGN WITH A DEFEAT AGAINST MEXICO.

TO KNOCK OUT:-

TO KNOCK A TEAM OUT OF A TOURNAMENT.

A PENALTY SHOOT-OUT:-

IN KNOCK-OUT MATCHES, WHEN THE MATCH ENDS IN A DRAW, FIVE PLAYERS FROM EACH TEAM ARE GIVEN A CHANCE TO SCORE A GOAL WHICH DECIDES THE MATCH.

A GOAL DIFFERENCE:-

THE DIFFERENCE IN GOALS, IF ONE TEAM SCORES FIVE GOALS AND THE OTHER SCORES THREE THEN THERE IS A DIFFERENCE OF TWO GOALS.

A HEAD-TO-HEAD:-

IF TWO TEAMS ARE EQUAL ON POINTS THEN IT IS SEEN THAT THE ONE WHO WINS THE MATCH WILL BE HIGHER IN THE RANKING.

A PLAY-OFF:-

A SEPARATE MATCH TO DECIDE WHICH TEAM ADVANCES TO THE SECOND ROUND.

THE AWAY-GOAL RULE:-

IN SOME PLACES THIS RULE APPLIES AS TO HOW MANY GOALS YOU SCORED AND HOW MANY YOU CONCEDED AGAINST THE VISITING TEAM AT YOUR HOME. IF A TEAM WINS 2-0 AT HOME AND LOSES 3-1 AGAINST THE VISITING TEAM, THEN BOTH TEAMS ARE EQUAL ON THREE GOALS EACH, BUT THE TEAM THAT HAS SCORED MORE GOALS AWAY WILL BE PLACED HIGHER IN THE ORDER.

DIMENSION OF FOOTWALL GROUND

WIDTH:-

148’-295’ | 45-90 m

LENGTH:-

295’-394’ | 90-120 m

CENTER CIRCLE (RADIUS): –

30’ | 9.15 m

GOAL AREA:- 

18’ | 5.5 m FROM GOAL EDGE, 18’ | 5.5 m FROM FRONT.

PENALTY AREA:- 

54’ | 16.5 m FROM GOAL EDGE, 54’ | 16.5 m FROM FRONT.

Penalty Mark:-

36’ | 11 m CENTERED FROM GOAL..

PENALTY ARC:- 

30’ | 9.15 m FROM PENALTY MARK.

CORNERS (RADIUS):-

3’ | .9 m

MATERIALS:-

GRASS, ARTIFICIAL TURF, DIRT

ACCORDING TO THE STIPULATIONS FROM FIFA A FOOTBALL FIELD SHOULD HAVE SPECIFIC MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM DIMENSIONS.

THE LENGTH (TOUCH LINE) HAS TO BE MINIMUM 90 METRES (100 YDS) AND MAXIMUM 120 METRES (130 YDS).

THE WIDTH (GOAL LINE) HAS TO BE MINIMUM 45 METRES (50 YDS) AND MAXIMUM 90 METRES (100 YDS).

FOR INTERNATIONAL MATCHES THE RULES ARE SOMEWHAT STRICTER:

THE LENGTH HAS TO BE MINIMUM 100 METRES AND MAXIMUM 110 METRES.

THE WIDTH HAS TO BE MINIMUM 64 METRES AND MAXIMUM 75 METRES.

IN 1800S, THE FIELDS COULD BE UP TO 100 YARDS WIDE AND 200 YARDS LONG. THE BOUNDARIES WERE ONLY MARKED BY FLAGS UNTIL 1882 WHEN BOUNDARY LINES, AS WELL AS A HALFWAY LINE (THE CENTER CIRCLE BECAME A STANDARD FIVE YEARS LATER), ON THE TURF WERE ENFORCED.

THE GOAL AREA:-

THE GOAL AREA IS THE SMALL BOX INSIDE THE PENALTY AREA. THE FIFA RULES STIPULATES THAT THE DISTANCE FROM EACH GOALPOST TO THE LINES THAT GOES PARALLEL WITH THE TOUCH LINE SHOULD BE 5.5 METRES. WHEN THE SIZE OF A STANDARD GOAL IS ADDED IT MAKES THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE LINES 18.32 METRES.

THE PENALTY AREA:-

THE PENALTY AREA IS THE BIGGER BOX CLOSE TO THE GOAL THAT INTEGRATES THE GOAL AREA AND THE PENALTY MARK (IT WAS INTRODUCED IN 1887 AND WAS COMPLEMENTED BY D-SHAPED CURVE IN 1937). THE LINES THAT EXTEND INTO THE FIELDS ARE 16.5 METRES AND THEY HAVE A 40.32 METRES DISTANCE FROM EACH OTHER.

THE GRASS LENGTH

            THE TYPICAL LENGTH OF THE GRASS ON A PITCH IS 25-30 MILLIMETERS. THE GRASS IS OFTEN CUT FROM SIDE TO SIDE, IN EVERY OTHER LENGTH, WHICH BRINGS VISIBLE STRIPES ON THE GRASS. THIS GIVES VERTICAL REFERENCES WHICH HELPS THE ASSISTANT REFEREES TO SPOT OFFSIDES EASIER.

THE GRASS TYPES:-

DEPENDING OF THE CLIMATE, DIFFERENT TURFGRASS IS NEEDED. IN COOLER REGIONS GRASS SPECIES LIKE RYEGRASS, MEADOW-GRASS AND TALL FAESCUE IS USED. IN WARMER REGIONS, SPECIES SUCH AS BERMUDAGRASS, ZOYSIA SPECIES AND SEASHORE PASPALUM IS USED.

THE DRAINAGE:-

AMONG THE UEFA GUIDELINES IS CONSIDERATIONS FOR DRAINAGE. TO AVOID THAT PITCH IS FILLED WITH WATER IN HEAVY RAIN, IT SHOULD BE A SAND-DOMINATED ROOT ZONE BELOW THE PITCH TURF. UNDERLAYING THIS SAND-DOMINATED ZONE IS A PIPE-DRAINED SUB-BASE.

THE GOAL POST:-

UNTIL 1882, THE GOALPOSTS WOULD LACK A CROSSBAR AND GOALS COULD BE APPROVED WHEN THE BALL WAS KICKED BETWEEN THE POST SEVERAL METRES UP IN THE AIR. A PERIOD BEFORE THE CROSSBAR WERE INTRODUCED, A RIBBON ABOUT 2.5 METERS ABOVE THE GROUND MARKED THE HEIGHT. THE NET WAS INTRODUCED TEN YEARS LATER IN ENGLAND. IN THE BEGINNING OF THE 1900S, ROUND AND OVAL GOAL POSTS WERE REPLACING THE PREVIOUS SQUARE VARIANTS.

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