be 100 to 130 yards (90 to 120 meters)
long and 50 to 100 yards (45 to 90
meters) wide. Boundary lines called
touchlines mark the sides of the field.
Goal lines mark the ends of the field. A
goal is located at each end of the field.
The goal is a frame that is 8 yards (7.3
meters) wide and 8 feet (2.4 meters)
high. It has a net on the top, sides, and
back. A soccer ball is round and filled
with air.
Snow piles up against a window in Norway.
The crystal structure of snow can be
seen in the small clumps of flakes.
116 Soccer BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Playing the Game
Soccer teams are made up of 11 players
each. Each team tries to control the ball
and move it toward the opponent’s goal.
Only one player on each team, the goalkeeper,
can touch the ball with the
hands and arms. The rest of the players
can touch the ball with any part of the
body except the hands and arms. They
usually move the ball with their feet.
Roles of the Players
During a soccer game the players of each
team spread across the field in loose formations.
A formation generally has
front, back, and middle sections.
The front section is the offensive, or
scoring, part of the team. The main
offensive players are called forwards, or
strikers. When a team has the ball, the
forwards try to score goals. A team’s
forwards are usually located closest to
the opponent’s goal.
The back section is mostly defensive—it
protects the team’s goal. Each team has a
goalkeeper in front of its goal. Goalkeepers
try to deflect or catch the opponent’s
shots at the goal. Players called
defenders form a defensive screen
between their goalkeeper and the opposing
team. Defenders try to take the ball
from the other team.
The players in the middle section play
both offense and defense. Midfielders
generally are located between their
team’s forwards and defenders.
Playing Skills
Soccer players move the ball by either
dribbling, kicking, or heading it. A
player dribbles by using very short kicks
to move the ball forward. Dribbling
allows a player to keep control of the
ball while running down the field. Players
use longer kicks to pass the ball to
teammates or to try to make a goal.
Striking the ball with the head is called
heading. Players often head the ball
when receiving long, high passes. Sometimes
they also try to head the ball into
the goal.
When one player has the ball, players on
the opposing team try to take the ball
away from that player. This is called
tackling. In one type of tackle a player
uses the feet to kick or steal the ball
Soccer fields can vary in overall length and width. But penalty areas, goal areas, and
goals always are the same sizes.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Soccer 117
away from an opponent. Another way to
get the ball is to intercept a pass. A
player intercepts a pass by stealing the
ball during a pass between two opponents.
Fouls
Three officials—a referee and two
assistants—control the game. They give
teams penalties when players commit
fouls, or break the rules. After some
fouls the officials award free kicks to the
other team. When a free kick is taken,
all players of the offending team must be
at least 10 yards (9 meters) from the
ball. The officials award penalty kicks
for more serious fouls. A penalty kick is
a free kick at the offending team’s goal.
It is taken from a spot 12 yards (11
meters) from the goal. All players other
than the defending goalkeeper and the
kicker must stand aside.
History
Games like soccer were played in China
more than 2,000 years ago. Similar
games were also played in ancient
Greece, Rome, Japan, and Mexico. But
the modern game of soccer started in
England. In 1863 several English soccer
teams formed the Football Association
(FA). It created the first standard set of
rules for the game.
The FA was an amateur organization,
which means that its players were not
paid. Professional soccer leagues, in
which players were paid, began in the
late 1880s. They formed first in England
and then in other countries. By 1900
people were playing soccer throughout
the world.
In 1904 the Federation Internationale
de Football Association (FIFA) was
formed. FIFA governs the game at the
international level. In 1930 FIFA organized
the firstWorld Cup tournament.
Portugal’s goalkeeper fails to stop France
from scoring a goal on a penalty kick during
the 2006 World Cup.
Mia Hamm of the United States drives to the
goal in a game against Brazil in 1999.
Later that year Hamm led the U.S. team to a
women’s World Cup championship.
118 Soccer BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
The first women’sWorld Cup was held
in 1991.
Soccer became an official event at the
Olympic Games in 1908. It was the first
team sport to be included in the Olympics.
Women’s soccer became an Olympic
event in 1996.
Soccer is not as popular in the United
States as it is in other parts of the world.
In the 1990s, however, it began to grow
in popularity. In 1994 the United States
hosted theWorld Cup. Two years later a
professional league—Major League
Soccer—was formed. The United States
also hosted theWomen’sWorld Cup in
1999, and the U.S. team won that
championship. In addition, many young
