Portal:Association football

The Sheffield Rules was a code of football devised and played in the English city of Sheffield between 1857 and 1877. They were devised by Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest for use by the newly founded Sheffield Football Club. The rules were subsequently adopted as the official rules of Sheffield Football Association upon its creation in 1867. They spread beyond the city boundaries to other clubs and associations in the north and midlands of England making them one of the most popular forms of football during the 1860s and 70s.

Six years after the creation of the Sheffield Rules the Football Association rules were created. These were influenced by the Sheffield game but ongoing disputes meant that the Sheffield rules continued to be used. During this time many of the elements of the rules were incorporated into the association game. Regular games were played between Sheffield and London using both sets of rules. This led to an agreement on a single set of laws administered by the Football Association in 1877. Read more...

In association football, the referee is the person responsible for enforcing the Laws of the Game during the course of a match. He or she is the final decision-making authority on all facts connected with play, and is the only official on the pitch with the authority to start and stop play and impose disciplinary action against players during a match. At most levels of play the referee is assisted by two assistant referees (formerly known as linesmen), who are empowered to advise the referee in certain situations such as the ball leaving play or infringements of the Laws of the Game occurring out of the view of the referee; however, the assistant referees' decisions are not binding and the referee has authority to overrule an assistant referee. At higher levels of play the referee may also be assisted by a fourth official who supervises the teams' technical areas and assists the referee with administrative tasks.

Referees' remuneration for their services varies between leagues. Many are wholly amateur, some may be paid a small fee or reimbursed for expenses, and, in some countries, a limited number of referees – mainly those who officiate in their country's top league – are employed full-time by their national associations and receive a retainer at the start of every season plus match fees. Read more...

The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team which, after 1921, became the Northern Ireland national football team. It should not be confused with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), the governing body in the Republic of Ireland. Read more...

The Football Association of Wales (FAW; Welsh: Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the governing body of association football in Wales, and controls the Wales national football team and its corresponding women's team. It is a member of FIFA, UEFA and the IFAB.

Established in 1876, it is the third-oldest national association in the world, and one of the four associations, along with the English Football Association, Scottish Football Association, Irish Football Association and FIFA, that make up the International Football Association Board, responsible for the Laws of the Game. Read more...

The Start and Restart of Play is the 8th of the Laws of the Game of association football. It concerns the methods of starting or restarting play in a game via the kick-off and dropped ball. Other methods of restarting play are addressed in other laws. Read more...

The Football Association (FA) is the governing body of association football in England, the Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amateur and professional game in its territory.

The FA sanctions all competitive football matches within its remit at national level, and indirectly at local level through the County Football Associations. It runs numerous competitions, the most famous of which is the FA Cup. It is also responsible for appointing the management of the men's, women's, and youth national football teams. Read more...

A direct free kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football that is awarded to a team following most types of fouls. In a direct free kick, the fouled team is entitled to freely kick the ball from the spot of the foul, with opponents required to be at least 10 yards (9.1 m) from the ball. The kicking team may score a goal directly from a direct free kick, that is, without the ball having first touched another player. This is in contrast with an indirect free kick – a restart with a similar procedure that is usually awarded for technical infringements – where the ball must contact another player before a goal is scored. If a player commits a foul punishable by a direct freekick within his/her own penalty area, a penalty kick is awarded instead.

Direct free kicks awarded near the opponent's goal can often lead to scoring opportunities, either from the kick itself or from an ensuing set piece. Accordingly, developing plays from free kicks are an important part of team strategy, and defending against them is an important skill for defenders. Read more...

A corner kick is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored, and having last been touched by a member of the defending team. The kick is taken from the corner of the field of play nearest to where it went out. Corners are considered to be a reasonable goal scoring opportunity for the attacking side, though not as much as a penalty kick or a direct free kick near the edge of the penalty area.

A corner kick is also awarded instead of an own goal if a team places the ball directly into its own goal from certain restarts (e.g., throw-in, free kick, etc.), though this is rare. Read more...

A football pitch (also known as a football field or soccer field) is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The surface can either be natural or artificial. Artificial surfaces must be green in colour. The pitch is typically made of turf (grass) or artificial turf, although amateur and recreational teams often play on dirt fields.

All line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define. For example, a ball on or above the touchline is still on the field of play, and a foul committed over the line bounding the penalty area results in a penalty. Therefore, a ball must completely cross the touchline to be out of play, and a ball must wholly cross the goal line (between the goal posts) before a goal is scored; if any part of the ball is still on or above the line, the ball is still in play. Read more...

In association football, kit (also referred to as a strip or uniform) is the standard equipment and attire worn by players. The sport's Laws of the Game specify the minimum kit which a player must use, and also prohibit the use of anything that is dangerous to either the player or another participant. Individual competitions may stipulate further restrictions, such as regulating the size of logos displayed on shirts and stating that, in the event of a match between teams with identical or similar colours, the away team must change to different coloured attire.

Footballers generally wear identifying numbers on the backs of their shirts. Originally a team of players wore numbers from 1 to 11, corresponding roughly to their playing positions, but at the professional level this has generally been superseded by squad numbering, whereby each player in a squad is allocated a fixed number for the duration of a season. Professional clubs also usually display players' surnames or nicknames on their shirts, above (or, infrequently, below) their squad numbers. Read more...

A football, soccer ball, or association football ball is the ball used in the sport of association football. The name of the ball varies according to whether the sport is called "football", "soccer", or "association football". The ball's spherical shape, as well as its size, weight, and material composition, are specified by Law 2 of the Laws of the Game maintained by the International Football Association Board. Additional, more stringent, standards are specified by FIFA and subordinate governing bodies for the balls used in the competitions they sanction.

Early footballs began as animal bladders or stomachs that would easily fall apart if kicked too much. Improvements became possible in the 19th century with the introduction of rubber and discoveries of vulcanization by Charles Goodyear. The modern 32-panel ball design was developed in 1962 by Eigil Nielsen, and technological research continues today to develop footballs with improved performance. The 32-panel ball design was soon overcome by 24-panel balls as well as 42-panel balls, both of which improved performance compared to before, in 2007. Read more...

Comparison of association football rugby union is possible because of the games' similarities and shared origins.

Rugby union has a number of set pieces, such as line-outs, scrums and rucks that do not have direct equivalents in association football. Association football aims at a more open kind of play, and there is not the same differentiation between forwards and backs. Another major difference is that rugby union, unlike association football, has no goal keeper. Read more...

Each team consists of a maximum of eleven players (excluding substitutes), one of whom must be the goalkeeper. Competition rules may state a minimum number of players required to constitute a team, which is usually seven. Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to play the ball with their hands or arms, provided they do so within the penalty area in front of their own goal. Though there are a variety of positions in which the outfield (non-goalkeeper) players are strategically placed by a coach, these positions are not defined or required by the Laws.

The basic equipment or kit players are required to wear includes a shirt, shorts, socks, footwear and adequate shin guards. An athletic supporter and protective cup is highly recommended for male players by medical experts and professionals. Headgear is not a required piece of basic equipment, but players today may choose to wear it to protect themselves from head injury. Players are forbidden to wear or use anything that is dangerous to themselves or another player, such as jewellery or watches. The goalkeeper must wear clothing that is easily distinguishable from that worn by the other players and the match officials. Read more...

Futsal began in the 1930s South America as a version of association football, taking elements of its parent game into an indoor format so players could still play during inclement weather.
Over the years, both sports have developed, creating a situation where the two sports share common traits while also hosting various differences.

The Laws of the Game for each sport both have 17 laws, all of which cover the same topics, although with some variations in certain areas. Read more...

Fouls and misconduct in association football are acts committed by players which are deemed by the referee to be unfair and are subsequently penalized. An offense may be a foul, misconduct or both depending on the nature of the offence and the circumstances in which it occurs. Fouls and misconduct are addressed in Law 12 of the Laws of the Game.

A foul is an unfair act by a player, deemed by the referee to contravene the game's laws, that interferes with the active play of the game. Fouls are punished by the award of a free kick (possibly a penalty kick) to the opposing team. A list of specific offences that can be fouls are detailed in Law 12 of the Laws of the Game (other infractions, such as technical infractions at restarts, are not deemed to be fouls); these mostly concern unnecessarily aggressive physical play and the offence of handling the ball. An infringement is classified as a foul when the infringement meets ALL of conditions of: 1) It is committed by a player (not a substitute), 2) on the field of play, 3) while the ball is in play and 4) committed against an opponent. For example, a player striking the referee or a teammate is not a foul, but is misconduct. Read more...

A throw-in is a method of restarting play in a game of football (or soccer) when the ball has exited the side of the field of play. Read more...

Offside is one of the laws of association football, codified in Law 11 of the Laws of the Game. The law states that a player is in an offside position if any of their body parts, except the hands and arms, are in the opponents' half of the pitch, and closer to the opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent (the last opponent is usually, but not necessarily, the goalkeeper).

Being in an offside position is not an offence in itself, but a player so positioned when the ball is played by a teammate can be judged guilty of an offside offence if they become "involved in active play", "interfere with an opponent", or "gain an advantage" by being in that position. Read more...

In games of association football teams compete to score the most goals during the match. A goal is scored when the ball passes completely over a goal line at each end of the field of play between two centrally positioned upright goal posts 24 feet (7.32 m) apart and underneath a horizontal crossbar at a height of 8 feet (2.44 m) — this frame is also referred to as a goal. Each team aims to score at one end of the pitch, while also preventing their opponents scoring at the other. Nets are usually attached to the goal frame to catch goalscoring balls. Read more...

A penalty kick (commonly known as a penalty or a PK) is a method of restarting play in association football, in which a player is allowed to take a single shot on the goal while it is defended only by the opposing team's goalkeeper. It is awarded when a foul punishable by a direct free kick is committed by a player in his or her own penalty area. The shot is taken from the penalty mark, which is 12 yards (11 m) from the goal line and centred between the touch lines.

In practice, penalty kicks result in goals more often than not, even against the best and most experienced goalkeepers. This means that penalty awards are often decisive, especially in low-scoring games. Read more...

A goal kick, called a goalie kick in some regions, is a method of restarting play in a game of association football. Its procedure is dictated by Law 16 of the Laws of the Game. Read more...

In association football, an assistant referee (AR, known as a linesman or lineswoman before 1996, expressions which are still in common unofficial use) is an official empowered with assisting the referee in enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. Although assistants are not required under the Laws, at most organised levels of football the match officiating crew consists of the referee and at least two assistant referees. The responsibilities of the various assistant referees are listed in Law 6, "The Other Match Officials". In the current Laws the term "assistant referee" technically refers only to the two officials who generally patrol the touchlines, with the wider range of assistants to the referee given other titles.

The assistant referees' duties generally consist of judging when the ball has left the field of play – including which team is entitled to return the ball to play, judging when an offside offence has occurred, and advising the referee when an infringement of the Laws has occurred out of his or her view. These two officials are typically positioned on opposite touchlines, and each stay beside different halves of the pitch. Read more...

The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; Scottish Gaelic: Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba; Scots: Scots Fitbaw Association), is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations. It was formed in 1873, making it the second oldest national football association in the world. It is not to be confused with the "Scottish Football Union", which is the name that the SRU was known by until the 1920s.

The Scottish Football Association sits on the International Football Association Board which is responsible for the laws of the game. The SFA is also a member of FIFA and founder member of UEFA. It is based at Hampden Park in Glasgow. In addition, the Scottish Football Museum is located there. Read more...

The ball in and out of play is the ninth law of the Laws of the Game of association football, and describes to the two basic states of play in the game. Read more...

In association football, the formation describes how the players in a team generally position themselves on the pitch. Association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, and (with the exception of the goalkeeper) a player's position in a formation does not define their role as rigidly as for, for instance, a rugby player, nor are there episodes in play where players must expressly line up in formation (as in gridiron football). Nevertheless, a player's position in a formation generally defines whether a player has a mostly defensive or attacking role, and whether they tend to play towards one side of the pitch or centrally.

Formations are typically described by three or four numbers, which denote how many players are in each row of the formation from the most defensive to the most forward. For example, the popular "4–5–1" formation has four defenders, five midfielders, and a single forward. Different formations can be used depending on whether a team wishes to play more attacking or defensive football, and a team may switch formations between or during games for tactical reasons. Read more...

There are various individual skills and team tactics needed to play effective football. Football is in theory a very simple game, as illustrated by Kevin Keegan's famous assertion that his tactics for winning a match were to "score more goals than the opposition". However, well-organised and well-prepared teams are often seen beating teams with supposedly more skillful players, even over time. Coaching manuals and books generally cover not only individual skills but tactics as well. Read more...

Keepie uppie, keep-ups or kick-ups is the skill of juggling with an association football using feet, lower legs, knees, chest, shoulders, and head, without allowing the ball to hit the ground. It is similar to Kemari, a game formerly practiced in the Japanese imperial court. Read more...

In association football, the rabona is a method of kicking the football whereby the kicking leg is wrapped around the back of the standing leg–effectively with one's legs crossed.

There are several reasons why a player might opt to strike the ball this way: for example, a right-footed striker advancing towards the goal slightly on the left side rather than having the goal straight in front may feel that his shot power or accuracy with his left foot is inadequate, so will perform a rabona in order to take a better shot. Another scenario could be a right-footed winger sending a cross while playing on the left side of the pitch without having to turn first. Another reason why a player could perform a rabona might be to confuse a defending player, or simply to show off his own ability, as it is considered a skilful trick at any level. Read more...

This is a list of nicknames for United Kingdom football clubs. Nicknames are usually preceded by 'The'. The origins of some nicknames are unclear with various stories being put forward.

The usual basis for nicknames are: Read more...

Tiki-taka or Tiqui-taca ([ˈtikiˈtaka]) is a Spanish style of play in football characterised by short passing and movement, working the ball through various channels, and maintaining possession. The style is primarily associated with La Liga club Barcelona, especially during the era of manager Pep Guardiola - however Guardiola distanced himself from the style stating his view that "I loathe all that passing for the sake of it". Its development and influence goes back to Johan Cruyff's tenure as manager in the early 1990s all the way to the present. Tiki-Taka methods were eventually embraced by the Spanish national team by the managers Luis Aragonés and Vicente del Bosque. Tiki-taka moves away from the traditional thinking of formations in football to a concept derived from zonal play. Read more...

A volley is an air-borne strike in association football, where a player's foot meets and directs the ball in an angled direction before it has time to reach the ground. A volley can be extremely hard to aim and requires good foot-eye coordination and timing.

In general, the volley requires that the player strike the ball with the front of his foot, with the toes pointing downward, ankle locked, and the knee lifted. It is important for most applications to keep the knee high over the ball when struck, and lean slightly forward to keep the shot accurate and keeping it down. Doing so imparts a great deal of topspin and prevents the ball from flying wildly over the goal if done correctly. Because of the power and spin imparted on the ball, the shot can follow an unpredictable path to goal and prove difficult to defend against. Read more...

The rainbow kick (also called the reverse flick-over, the rainbow flick, the Carretilha or the Lambreta in Brazil, the Lambretta in Italy, the Ardiles flick in the UK, the arco iris in Spain, the Okocha-Trick in Germany and the coup du sombrero in France) is a trick used in association football, in which a player steps to the side of the ball and flicks it up round from the side of them. The trajectory of the ball gives this trick its name. The trick is usually performed while running forward with the ball, and is done by rolling the ball up the back of one leg with the other foot, before flicking the standing foot upwards to propel the ball forward and over the head. Read more...

In association football, the Panenka is a technique used in penalty kick-taking in which the player, instead of kicking the ball toward the left or right corner of the goal, gives a subtle touch underneath the ball, causing it to rise and fall within the centre of the goal thus deceiving the goalkeeper. It was first used by Czech player Antonín Panenka, who presented this technique to the world in the 1976 UEFA European Championship final, when he beat German goalkeeper Sepp Maier to claim the title for the Czechoslovakian national team. After its sensational debut in the tournament, the Panenka kick has been used on rare occasions and mostly by highly respected players who can deal with the consequences of missing such an attempt. This style of penalty kick is also called Il cucchiaio ("the spoon") in the Italian-speaking world. Read more...

In sports, dribbling is maneuvering of a ball by a single player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. Such control may be exercised with the legs (e.g., association football), hands (basketball and handball), stick (bandy, field hockey, and ice hockey) or swimming strokes (water polo). A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. Read more...

The Pelé runaround move is a football move designed to get around an opponent. The move requires split-second timing and speed in execution - letting a pass from a teammate approach but allowing it run past the opponent, then sprinting around the opposing player to continue the attack. It relies on speed for its execution in situations where there is little time or space. The "Pelé variant" was demonstrated by Brazilian Pelé during the 1970 FIFA World Cup match against Uruguay. In the second half, Brazilian centre-forward Tostão played a through pass to Pelé as a counter-attack started. Sprinting up the middle, Pelé was immediately confronted with the Uruguayan goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz who came off his line quickly. Pelé got there first and fooled Mazurkiewicz by not touching the ball, causing it to roll to the goalkeeper's left, while Pelé went to the goalkeepers right. Circling the goalkeeper to collect, Pelé shot while turning towards the goal, but he turned in excess as he shot, and the ball drifted just wide of the far post.

Pelé's move is a variant of the "selling the dummy" feint - letting the ball go around a defender then also circling the opponent, rather than following the straight path of a pass or loose ball, and can be useful in tight situations. It is discussed in such books as Scientific Soccer of the Seventies by soccer historian Kenneth MacDonald, who also discusses Pelé's contribution in Brazil's 1970 World Cup victory in detail. This "runaround" move is mentioned in official FIFA World Cup Technical Reports as "audaciously executed, and called for immense skill, timing, judgment and speed." Read more...

Catenaccio (Italian pronunciation: [kateˈnattʃo]) or The Chain is a tactical system in football with a strong emphasis on defence. In Italian, catenaccio means "door-bolt", which implies a highly organised and effective backline defence focused on nullifying opponents' attacks and preventing goal-scoring opportunities. Read more...

This is a list of nicknames for mainland European football clubs. Read more...

This is a list of nicknames of national association football teams. Read more...

A nutmeg (or tunnel, nut, megs, megnuts, panna, brooksy) is a skill used mainly in association football, but also in field hockey, ice hockey, and basketball. The aim is to kick, roll, dribble, throw, or push the ball (or puck) between an opponent's legs (feet). Read more...

Total Football (Dutch: totaalvoetbal) is a tactical theory in football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. It was made famous by the Netherlands national football team when reaching the final of the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Early exponents of Total Football were European sides Ajax and Real Madrid, although the system saw trial in other parts of the world, notably with the Austrian Wunderteam in the 1930s, the Argentine side "La Maquina" of River Plate in the 1940s, the Golden Team of Hungary, and English side Burnley in the 1950s, or Brazilian side Santos in the 1960s.

In Total Football, a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team's intended organisational structure. In this fluid system, no outfield player is fixed in a predetermined role; anyone can successively play as an attacker, a midfielder and a defender. The only player who must stay in a specified position is the goalkeeper. Read more...

*Association football, also known as football, soccer, footy and footie.

• Indoor varieties of Association football (often created to provide year-round play):
  • Five-a-side football - played throughout the world under various rules including:
    • Futsal ('futebol de salão') — the FIFA-approved Five-a-side indoor game
  • Indoor soccer — the six-a-side indoor game as played in North America
• Paralympic association football — modified association football for disabled competitors.
  • Powerchair football
• Beach soccer — football played on sand, also known as sand soccer
• Crab football
• Jorkyball
• Rush goalie is a variation of football in which the role of the goalkeeper is more flexible than normal.
• Keepie uppie is the art of juggling with a football using feet, knees, chest, shoulders, and head.
  • Footbag is a small bean bag or sand bag used as a ball in a number of keepie uppie variations such as hacky sack.
• Freestyle Football a modern take on Keepie uppie where freestylers are graded for their entertainment value and expression of skill.
• Swamp football
• Street football - encompasses a number of informal varieties of football.
• Three-sided football
• Walking football

Some games, such as footballtennis, are not related to association football but use a football to produce a variant of another game. Read more...

The Cruyff Turn (also spelled Cruijff Turn in the Netherlands) is an evasive football move, or feint, named after Dutch player Johan Cruyff. Cruyff first executed the move during the 1974 World Cup group stage match between Holland and Sweden. In the 24th minute, while Cruyff had control of the ball in an attacking position but was facing his own goal and being guarded tightly by Swedish defender Jan Olsson, Cruyff feigned a pass before dragging the ball behind his standing leg, turning 180 degrees, and accelerating away. A move widely replicated in the modern game, the Cruyff turn was one of the four new skills added to EA Sports’ FIFA video game FIFA 18. Read more...

The step over (also known as the pedalada, the denílson, or the scissors) is a dribbling move, or feint, in football, used to fool a defensive player into thinking the offensive player, in possession of the ball, is going to move in a direction he does not intend to move in. The move was reportedly invented by Argentine striker Pedro Calomino in the early 1900s. It was reportedly first used in Europe by Dutch player Law Adam, who was famous for it in the late 1920s/early 1930s, earning the nickname "Adam the Scissorsman", and it was later also used in Italy by Amedeo Biavati in the 1930s. It was popularised in the mid-1990s by global superstar Ronaldo. Nowadays, the technique is in widespread use by attacking players all over the world, such as Cristiano Ronaldo. Read more...

The Marseille turn, also known as the 360, the Girosflin, the Roulette, and the double drag-back, is a specialised dribbling skill unique to the game of football. Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane are arguably the most notable exponents of the move, thus it has also been known as the Maradona turn and Zidane turn. Read more...

Futsal began in the 1930s South America as a version of association football, taking elements of its parent game into an indoor format so players could still play during inclement weather.
Over the years, both sports have developed, creating a situation where the two sports share common traits while also hosting various differences.

The Laws of the Game for each sport both have 17 laws, all of which cover the same topics, although with some variations in certain areas. Read more...

This is a list of nicknames of football clubs in The Americas. For United States based teams, only those nicknames distinct from those used in the official club name, are listed, e.g. The Crew, for Columbus Crew.

• Level 1: Primera División Argentina, Brasileirão, Primera División de Chile, Primera División de Costa Rica, Liga Nacional de Guatemala, La Liga Mayor de El Salvador, Liga Nacional de Honduras, Primera División de México, Primera División Uruguaya, MLS
• ** Level 2: Primera B Nacional, Série B, Primera B Chilena, Liga de Ascenso, NASL
• *** Level 3: Torneo Argentino A and Primera B Metropolitana, Série C, Segunda División
• **** Level 4: Primera C Metropolitana, Série D, Tercera División

Read more...

In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick or scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before descending on the ground, making a shearing movement with the lower limbs to get the ball-striking leg in front of the other. In most languages, the manoeuvre is named after either the cycling motion or the scissor motion that it resembles. Its complexity, and uncommon performance in competitive football matches, makes it one of association football's most celebrated skills.

Bicycle kicks can be used defensively to clear away the ball from the goalmouth or offensively to strike at the opponent's goal in an attempt to score. The bicycle kick is an advanced football skill that is dangerous for inexperienced players. Its successful performance has been limited largely to the most experienced and athletic players in football history. Read more...

Curl or bend in association football is spin on the ball which will make it change direction, called a 'screw shot' in the 19th century. When kicking the ball, the inside of the foot is often used to curl the ball, but this can also be done by using the outside of the foot. Similar to curl, the ball can also swerve in the air, without the spin on the ball which makes the ball curl.

Curling or bending the ball is especially evident from free kicks, shots from outside the penalty area and crosses. Differences between balls can also affect the amount of swerve and curl: traditional leather footballs were too heavy to curl without great effort, whereas the lighter modern footballs curl with a lower effort threshold. As a general rule, the lighter and smoother the ball the more deviation there is. Read more...

The Laws of the Game (LOTG) are the codified rules that help define association football. They are the only rules of association football subscribed to by FIFA. The laws mention the number of players a team should have, the game length, the size of the field and ball, the type and nature of fouls that referees may penalise, the frequently misinterpreted offside law, and many other laws that define the sport. During a match, it is the task of the referee to interpret and enforce the Laws of the Game.

There were various attempts to codify the rules of football in England in the mid-19th century. The extant Laws date back to 1863 where a ruleset was formally adopted by the newly formed Football Association. The original Laws were heavily influenced by the Cambridge rules and their early development saw substantial influence from the Sheffield Rules. Over time, the Laws have been amended, and since 1886 they have been maintained by the International Football Association Board. Read more...

Zona mista (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdzɔːna ˈmista]; in English : "Mixed Zone"), often referred to as Gioco all'italiana ("The Game in the Italian Style"), is a tactic used in Italian association football mainly from the second half of 1970s to the mid-'90s. The introduction of this system has been attributed to Luigi Radice and Giovanni Trapattoni, then coaches of Torino and Juventus, respectively. The tactic reached the highest sporting level with Trapattoni's Juventus becoming the first club in history to reach the European Treble having won the three seasonal UEFA competitions and, in 1985, the first European side to win the Intercontinental Cup since it was restructured since years before, and the Italian national team, managed by Enzo Bearzot, which won the FIFA World Cup in 1982, for the first time since 1938, with notable participation from the Blocco-Juve; making both teams acclaimed by some as among the greatest in sports history.

Regarded as a tactical evolution of catenaccio, zona mista requires each outfield player to perform, systematically and simultaneously, the zonal marking and continuous attack on the spaces characteristic of totaalvoetbal, but also engaging in the defensive individual marking characteristic of Italian football. In this system, a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team's intended organisational structure, and each player performs a different function. Several players, such as the libero, the wing-back (terzino fluidificante), the winger (ala tornante) and the box-to-box midfielder (mezzala) simultaneously play roles in both defense and attack, while the playmaker (regista/trequartista) (e.g. Michel Platini, Lothar Matthäus or Roberto Baggio) regularly runs to the opponents' box to try and score. This flexibility made it much more versatile, fluid and offensive than the rigid standard scheme used in Italy at the time. Although it is one of the first to use four defenders, zona mista is aesthetically more related to formations which succeeded it: 3–5–2 and an asymmetric 4–3–3 system. Read more...

The flip flap (also known as the elástico, snakebite and la culebrita) is a dribbling move, or feint, in football, used to fool a defensive player into thinking the offensive player, in possession of the ball, is going to move in a direction they do not intend to. Players perform it by using the outside of their dominant foot to push the ball towards their dominant side, then quickly move the dominant foot around the ball and using the inside to push the ball to their non-dominant side. Although the footwork is the most distinctive aspect of the flip-flap, its success as a feint also relies heavily on the attacking player having an explosive acceleration from a stationary position. Read more...

In the sport of association football, each of the 11 players on a team is assigned to a particular position on the field of play. A team is made up of one goalkeeper and ten outfield players who fill various defensive, midfield, and attacking positions depending on the formation deployed. These positions describe both the player's main role and their area of operation on the pitch.

In the early development of the game, formations were much more offensively aggressive, with the 1–2–7 being prominent in the late 1800s. In the latter part of the 19th century, the 2–3–5 formation became widely used and the position names became more refined to reflect this. In defence, there were full-backs, known as the left-back and right-back; in midfield, left-half, centre-half and right-half; and for the forward line there were outside-left (or left wing), inside-left, centre-forward, inside-right and outside-right (or right wing). As the game has evolved, tactics and team formations have changed and so many of the names of the positions have changed to reflect their duties in the modern game (though some old familiar ones remain). The term "half-back" fell out of use by the early 1970s and "midfield" was used in naming the positions that play around the middle third as in centre midfield and wide midfield. Read more...

* "L'Aeroplanino" (Italian for "The Little Aeroplane") = Vincenzo Montella, Italian striker

• "El Ángel Gabriel" (Spanish for "The Angel Gabriel"), "Batigol" = Gabriel Batistuta, Argentine striker
• "Angelo Anguilla" (Italian for "Angelo the Eel") = Angelo Anquilletti, Italian defender
• "El Apache" (Spanish for "The Apache") = Carlos Tevez, Argentine striker
• "The Architect", "Maestro", "The Metronome", "Mozart", "The Professor" = Andrea Pirlo, Italian midfielder
• "L'Ascensore Umano" (Italian for "The Human Lift") = Sebastiano Rossi, Italian goalkeeper
• "The Atomic Ant" = Sebastian Giovinco, Italian forward
• "Aussie Guus" = Guus Hiddink, Dutch football manager
• "O Baixinho" (Portuguese for "The Shorty") = Romário, Brazilian striker
• "The Bald Eagle"
  • Attilio Lombardo (also "Popeye", "The Ostrich"), Italian football player and manager
  • Jim Smith, English football player, manager and director
• "Il Balilla" (Genoese for "The Little Boy") = Giuseppe Meazza, Italian forward and manager
• "Baz" = Barry Cogan, Irish footballer
• "BBC"
  • Juventus's defensive trio, made up of Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, and Giorgio Chiellini
  • Real Madrid's attacking trio, made up of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, and Cristiano Ronaldo
• "The Baby-Faced Assassin" = Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian striker
• "Berba" = Dimitar Berbatov, Bulgarian striker
• "The Beast" = Mamadou Sakho, French defender; Zach Thornton, American goalkeeper
• "El Beatle", "The Fifth Beatle" = George Best, Northern Irish winger
• "Becks", "DB7" = David Beckham, English midfielder
• "Bello di Notte" (Italian for "Beautiful at Night"), "Zibì" = Zbigniew Boniek, Polish midfielder
• "Bes" (Russian for "Demon") = Vladimir Beschastnykh, Russian striker
• "Big Ben" = Christian Benteke, Belgian striker
• "The Big Man", "Cesar", "King Billy" = Billy McNeill, Scottish defender
• "Big Phil" = Luiz Felipe Scolari, Brazilian manager
• "Billy" = Alessandro Costacurta, Italian defender
• "Er Bimbo de Oro" (A Roman dialect/Spanish hybrid, translating to "The Golden Boy"), "L'Ottavo Re di Roma" (Italian for "The Eighth King of Rome"), "Er Pupone" (Roman for "The Big Baby"), "Il Capitano" (Italian for "The Captain"), and "Il Gladiatore" (Italian for "The Gladiator")= Francesco Totti, Italian striker
• "The Black Panther", "The Black Pearl" = Eusébio, Portuguese striker
• "The Black Spider"
  • Lev Yashin (also "The Black Panther"), Russian goalkeeper
  • Fabio Cudicini, Italian goalkeeper
  • Thomas N'Kono, Cameroonian goalkeeper
• "Bob" = Aleksandr Sheshukov, Russian midfielder
• "Bobo", "Il Toro" (Italian for "The Bull") = Christian Vieri, Italian striker
• "The Body", "Lewy" = Robert Lewandowski, Polish striker
• "Der Bomber" = Gerd Müller, German striker
• "Bonimba" = Roberto Boninsegna, Italian striker
• "Brian" = Stuart Lewis, English footballer
• "La Brujita" (Spanish for "The Little Witch") = Juan Sebastián Verón, Argentine midfielder
• "Brunelleschi" = Federico Bernardeschi, Italian midfielder
• "El Cabezón" (Spanish for "The Big Head") = Omar Sívori, Argentine-Italian forward
• "El Cañón de Galés (Spanish for "The Cannon of Wales") = Gareth Bale, Welsh midfielder
• "Carletto" = Carlo Ancelotti, Italian midfielder and manager
• "The Cat of Prague" = František Plánička, Hungarian goalkeeper
• "Chicharito" (Spanish for "The Little Pea") = Javier Hernández, Mexican forward
• "Il Cinghiale" (Italian for "The Boar"), "Tyson" = Angelo Peruzzi, Italian goalkeeper
• "Cobra", "Re David" (Italian for "King David"), "Trezegol" = David Trezeguet, French striker
• "Cookie" (Given by Ryan Giggs and Gary Speed due to his affinity for sweets on International duty = Chris Coleman, Welsh defender and manager
• "The Commander", "Regele" (Romanian for "The King"), "The Maradona of the Carpathians" = Gheorghe Hagi, Romanian midfielder
• "CR7", "The Commander", "The Steam Engine"(because of his speed), "The Sultan of Stepover", "Ron" = Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese striker
• "Deltaplano" (Italian for "Hang glider"), "Spiderman" = Walter Zenga, Italian goalkeeper
• "Dhagandey" (Maldivian for "Man of Steel") = Ali Ashfaq, Maldivian striker
• "Dino" = Jan Koller, Czech striker
• "Il Divin Codino" (Italian for "The Divine Ponytail"), "Raffaello", "Robi" = Roberto Baggio, Italian forward
• "El Divino" (Spanish for "The Divine") = Ricardo Zamora, Spanish goalkeeper
• "Don Fabio" = Fabio Capello, Italian midfielder and manager
• "Enceradeira" (Portuguese for "floor polisher") = Zinho, Brazilian midfielder (nickname given as a mockery, regarding his playing style where he constantly went around in circles)
• "Il Fenomeno" (Italian for "The Phenomenon") = Ronaldo, Brazilian striker
• "Fergie" = Alex Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager
• "Fideo" (Spanish for "Noodle") = Ángel Di María, Argentine midfielder
• "El Flaco" (Spanish for "The Skinny One"), "El Salvador" (Spanish for "The Saviour"), "El Profeta del Gol" (Spanish for "The Goal Prophet") = Johan Cruyff, Dutch winger and manager
• "The Flying Dutchman" = Robin van Persie, Dutch striker
• "Furia Ceca" (Italian for "Czech Fury" or "Blind Fury"), "The Czech Cannon" = Pavel Nedvěd, Czech midfielder
• "The Galloping Major" = Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian striker
• "Galinho de Quintino" (Portuguese for "Little Rooster from Quintino") = Zico, Brazilian forward or midfielder
• "Il Gallo" (Italian for "The Rooster") = Andrea Belotti, Italian striker
• "The Gardner", "Poncherello" = Julio Ricardo Cruz, Argentine striker
• "Gazza" = Paul Gascoigne, English footballer
• "I Gemelli del Gol" (Italian for "The Goal Twins)" = Sampdoria's attacking duo, made up of Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini
• "Genghis Kahn", "Der Titan" (German for "The Titan"), "Vol-Kahn-o", "King Kahn" = Oliver Kahn, German goalkeeper
• "Il Genio" (Italian for "The Genius")
  • Evaristo Beccalossi, Italian midfielder
  • Dejan Savićević, Montenegrin midfielder
• "Giero" = Rob Gier, English footballer
• "Il Gigante Buono" (Italian for "The Gentle Giant") = John Charles, Welsh footballer
• "The Golden Boy" = Gianni Rivera, Italian midfielder
• "Golden Guus" = Guus Hiddink, Dutch football manager
• "Gre-No-Li" = the Swedish attacking trio who played for A.C. Milan, made up of Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl and Nils Liedholm
• "El Guaje" (Asturian for "The Kid") = David Villa, Spanish striker
• "Guly" = Andrés Guglielminpietro, Argentine midfielder
• "Guus Geluk" (literally 'Lucky Guus', Dutch for Disney's Gladstone Gander) = Guus Hiddink, Dutch football manager
• "Henke", "The King of Kings" = Henrik Larsson, Swedish striker
• "The Holy Goalie" = Artur Boruc, Polish goalkeeper (due to his custom of blessing himself before games)
• "Ibra", "Ibracadabra" = Zlatan Ibrahimović, Swedish striker
• "Landycakes" = Landon Donovan, American midfielder
• "L'Imperatore" (Italian for "The Emperor") = Adriano, Brazilian striker
• "The Incredible Sulk" = Nicolas Anelka, French striker
• "The Iron Curtain", "The Cat" = Rinat Dasayev, Russian goalkeeper
• "Ironhead" = Tam Kong-pak, Hong Kong defender
• "Jinky", "The Wee Man", "The Lord of the Wing" = Jimmy Johnstone, Scottish winger
• "La Joya" (Spanish for "The Jewel"), "El Pibe de la Pensión" (Spanish for "The Kid from the Boarding House") = Paulo Dybala, Argentine forward
• "Justo" = Just Fontaine, French striker
• "Der Kaiser" (German for "The Emperor") = Franz Beckenbauer, German sweeper and manager
• "Kaiser Franz" (German for "Emperor Franz"), "Piscinin" (Milanese for "The Little One") = Franco Baresi, Italian defender
• "Kamikaze" = Giorgio Ghezzi, Italian goalkeeper
• "Keano" = Roy Keane, Irish midfielder
• "Khomyak" (Russian for "Hamster") = Vladimir Beschastnykh, Russian midfielder/striker
• "King Eric" = Eric Cantona, French forward
• "King George" = George Weah, Liberian striker
• "King Kenny" = Kenny Dalglish, Scottish striker and manager
• "King Kong" = Giorgio Chiellini, Italian defender
• "Kun" = Sergio Agüero, Argentine striker
• "Kuningas" (Finnish for "The King") = Jari Litmanen
• "The Little General" = Dick Advocaat, Dutch manager
• "Lorenzo Il Magnifico" (Italian for "Lorenzo The Magnificent")
  • Lorenzo Buffon, Italian goalkeeper
  • Lorenzo Insigne, Italian forward
• "Los" (Russian for "Moose") = Dmitri Loskov, Russian midfielder
• "Ma-Gi-Ca" = Napoli's attacking trio during the late 1980s, made up of Diego Maradona, Bruno Giordano, and Careca
• "Magic Box" = Gianfranco Zola, Italian forward
• "Magic Dwarf" = Philipp Lahm, German defender
• "O Mágico" (Portuguese for "The Magic"), "The Little Magician" = Philippe Coutinho, Brazilian midfielder
• "El Mago de Osijek" (Spanish for "The Wizard of Osijek"), "Šukerman" = Davor Šuker, Croatian footballer
• "Il Mago" (Italian for "The Wizard") = Helenio Herrera, Argentine defender and manager
• "Mary Poppins" = Alan Shearer, English striker (given as an insult by two Newcastle United executives during a candid interview with a journalist)
• "Mr Wembley" (Nickname given for scoring the winning goal in 2013 UEFA Champions League Final for FC Bayern Munich in Wembley Stadium), "Der Mann aus Glas" (German for "The Man of Glass", in reference to his susceptibility to injury) = Arjen Robben, Dutch midfielder,
• "El Matador" (Spanish for "The Bull Fighter")
  • Edinson Cavani, Uruguayan striker
  • Marcelo Salas, Chilean striker
• "Matrix" = Marco Materazzi, Italian defender
• "Miracle Worker" = Bora Milutinović, Serbian football soccer trainer (for his achievement of taking four different modest teams beyond the first round in four different World Cup finals)
• "The Mosquito" = Roberto Anzolin, Italian goalkeeper
• "A Muralha Azul" (Portuguese for "The Blue Wall") = Dida, Brazilian goalkeeper
• "MSN" = Barcelona's attacking trio, made up of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Neymar
• "Myggen" (Norwegian for mosquito) = Erik Mykland, Norwegian midfielder
• "Nacho" = Ignacio González, Uruguayan footballer
• "Nacka", "The waving corn cob" = Lennart Skoglund, Swedish striker
• "El Niño" (Spanish for "The Child") = Fernando Torres, Spanish striker
• "The Non-Flying Dutchman" = Dennis Bergkamp, Dutch striker (due to his fear of flying)
• "Nura" = Georgi Nurov, Russian striker
• "The Octopus" = Mohamed Sissoko, Malian midfielder
• "Pablito", "Torero" (Spanish for "Bull fighter") = Paolo Rossi, Italian striker
• "El Paròn" (Triestin for "The Master") = Nereo Rocco, Italian footballer and manager
• "Penna Bianca" (Italian for "The White Feather") = Fabrizio Ravanelli, Italian striker
• "Pepito" = Giuseppe Rossi, Italian striker
• "El Polaco" (Spanish for "The Pole"), "Valdanito" = Hernán Crespo, Argentine striker
• "Il Polpo Paul" (Italian for "Paul The Octopus"), "Pogboom" = Paul Pogba, French midfielder
• "Il Faraone" (Italian for "The Pharaoh") = Stephan El Shaarawy, Italian striker (in reference to his Egyptian father)
• "El Pistolero" (Spanish for "The Gunfighter")
  • Luis Suárez, Uruguayan striker
  • Hristo Stoichkov, Bulgarian forward
• "El Pibe de Bari" (Spanish for "The Kid from Bari"), "Il Gioiello di Bari Vecchia" (Italian for "The Jewel of Old Bari"), "Fantantonio" = Antonio Cassano, Italian forward
• "El Pibe de Oro" = (The Golden Kid) Diego Maradona, Argentine forward or midfielder
• "El Pibe" = (The Kid) Carlos Alberto Valderrama, Colombian midfielder
• "Pinturicchio", = Alessandro Del Piero, Italian forward
• "The Pitbull", "The Piranha", "Tubarão" (Portuguese for "The Shark") = Edgar Davids, Dutch midfielder
• "El Pocho" (Spanish for "The Chubby One") = Ezequiel Lavezzi, Argentine winger
• "Poldi" = Lukas Podolski, German midfielder/striker
• "The Black Pearl" (Pérola Negra), "The King of Football" (O Rei do Futebol), "The King" (O Rei) = Pelé, Brazilian striker
• "Le Président" (French for "The President") = Laurent Blanc, French defender
• "El Príncipe" (Spanish for "The Prince")
  • Enzo Francescoli (also "El Flaco", Spanish for "The Skinny One"), Uruguayan midfielder
  • Diego Milito, Argentine striker
• "El Principito" (Spanish for "The Little Prince") = Lucas Biglia, Argentine midfielder
• "Il Principe" (Italian for "The Prince") = Giuseppe Giannini, Italian midfielder
• "Il Principino"/"Il Piccolo Principe" (Italian for "The Little Prince")
  • Alberto Aquilani, Italian midfielder
  • Claudio Marchisio, Italian midfielder
  • Miralem Pjanić, Bosnian midfielder
• "Il Professore" (Italian for "The Professor")
  • Gunnar Gren, Swedish striker when playing for A.C. Milan
  • Clarence Seedorf, Dutch midfielder
  • Mauro Tassotti, Italian defender
• "The Prophet of Fusignano" = Arrigo Sacchi, Italian manager
• "Providenza" (Italian for Providence), "San Massaro" = Daniele Massaro, Italian forward or midfielder
• "La Pulga" (Spanish. "The Flea") = Lionel Messi, Argentine forward
• "Rey Arturo" (Spanish for "King Arthur"), "Il Guerriero" (Italian for "The Warrior"), "La Piranha" (Spanish for "The Piranha") = Arturo Vidal, Chilean midfielder
• "Rizzi-gol" = Ruggiero Rizzitelli, Italian striker
• "La Roccia" (Italian for "The Rock")
  • Andrea Barzagli, Italian defender
  • Tarcisio Burgnich, Italian defender
• "Le Roi" (French for "The King") = Michel Platini, French midfielder
• "Rombo di Tuono" (Italian for "Roar of Thunder") = Luigi Riva, Italian striker
• "Royce The Voice" = Simon Royce, English goalkeeper
• "Roycey" = Simon Royce, English goalkeeper
• "The Ruud Devil", "Van the Man", "Van Gol" = Ruud van Nistelrooy, Dutch striker
• "La Saeta Rubia" (Spanish for "The Blonde Arrow") = Alfredo Di Stéfano, Argentine striker
• "San Iker" (Spanish for "Saint Iker") = Iker Casillas, Spanish goalkeeper
• "S.A.S."
  • Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham, when they played up front for England together
  • Luis Suárez and Daniel Sturridge, when the player up front for Liverpool
• "Schnapper", "Sweeper-Keeper" (Name given for his brilliant performance against Algeria in 2014 FIFA World Cup) = Manuel Neuer, German goalkeeper
• "El Scorpion" = René Higuita, Colombian goalkeeper (named after his infamous goal save against England during a friendly match)
• "Sikkimese Sniper" = Baichung Bhutia, Indian football striker
• "The Škrtelator", "The Terminator" = Martin Škrtel, Slovakian defender
• "The Special One" = José Mourinho, Portuguese football manager (Nickname given to him by the media for his infamous press conference comment)
• "São Marcos" (literally St. Mark) = Marcos Roberto Silveira Reis, Brazilian goalkeeper
• "Spillo" (Italian for "Needle") = Alessandro Altobelli, Italian striker
• "Le Sulk" = Nicolas Anelka, French striker
• "Superman" = Gianluigi Buffon, Italian goalkeeper
• "Super Mario"
  • Mario Balotelli, Italian striker
  • Mario Basler, German midfielder
• "Superpippo" (Italian for "Super Goof") = Filippo Inzaghi, Italian striker
• "The Swan of Utrecht" = Marco van Basten, Dutch striker
• "The Three Degrees" = Laurie Cunningham, Brendon Batson and Cyrille Regis (a name given to them in the late 1970s by then-manager of West Bromwich Albion, Ron Atkinson when they played under him. Atkinson named them after the African American female soul group of the same name in reference to their Black heritage)
• "El Tigre" (Spanish for "The Tiger") = Radamel Falcao, Colombian striker
• "The Tinkerman", "The Tinkerer" = Claudio Ranieri, Italian football manager (given by the British press during his time at Chelsea)
• "Tisha" = Andrey Tikhonov, Russian midfielder
• "Tit" = Yegor Titov, Russian midfielder
• "El Tractor" (Spanish for "The Tractor") = Javier Zanetti, Argentine defender
• "Trigger" = Nicky Southall, English footballer
• "Tsar Hiddink" = Guus Hiddink, Dutch football manager
• "Tulip" = Danny Cullip, English footballer
• "Vecio" (Venetian for "Old Man") = Enzo Bearzot, Italian footballer and manager
• "Vento dell'Est" (Italian for "Eastern Wind") = Andriy Shevchenko, Ukrainian striker
• "The Wall"
  • Andrea Barzagli, Italian defender
  • Gianluca Pagliuca, Italian goalkeeper
  • Walter Samuel, Argentine defender
• "The Warrior"
  • Gary Medel, Chilean midfielder
  • Felipe Melo, Brazilian midfielder
• "The Washing Machine" = Tiago Mendes, Portuguese midfielder
• "The Water Carrier" = Didier Deschamps, French midfielder.
• "Wazza", "The Wonder Boy", "Shrek" = Wayne Rooney, English striker
• "The Welsh Wizard" = Ryan Giggs, Welsh footballer
• "Wondo" = Chris Wondolowski, American striker
• "Lo Zar" (Italian for "The Tsar") = Pietro Vierchowod, Italian defender
• "Lo Zio" (Italian for "The Uncle") = Giuseppe Bergomi, Italian defender
• "Zizou" = Zinedine Zidane, French midfielder
• "One Size" = Fitz Hall
• "The Octopus" = Tom Starke, German goalkeeper
• "Fußballgott" (German for "Footballgod"), "Basti", "Schweini" = Bastian Schweinsteiger, German midfielder
• "Der Raumdeuter" (German for "Space interpreter") = Thomas Müller, German forward
• "Lord Bendtner" = Nicklas Bendtner, Danish striker
• "Osram" (Nickname given for when his face gets redden, in reference to a German lighting manufacturer). = Jupp Heynckes, German football manager
• "Der General" (German for 'The General') = Ottmar Hitzfeld, German football manager
• "Rolls Reus" (Nickname given for his name similar to car manufacturer Rolls Royce) = Marco Reus, German winger
• "The Normal One" (Nickname given for asking how would he describe himself in his first press conference for Liverpool FC) = Jürgen Klopp, German football manager
• "Scarface" (Nickname given after a scar on his face which he got after the car accident when he aged two year old) = Franck Ribery, French winger
• "Das Phantom" (German for 'The Phantom'. Nickname given for abilities of scoring goals) = Roy Makaay, Dutch striker
• "Brazzo" (German for 'Little boy') = Hasan Salihamidžić, Bosnian midfielder
• "Katsche" (German for 'Kaiser's Bodyguard', Nickname given for being defensive duo with Franz Beckenbauer) = Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, German defender
• "Bulle" (German for 'Bull'. Nickname given for his physical playing style) = Franz Roth, German midfielder
• "Sonaldo" (Nickname given by his Bayer Leverkusen teammates) = Son Heung-min, South Korean forward
• "Ninja" = Radja Nainggolan, Belgian midfielder
• "The Bosnian Diamond" = Edin Džeko, Bosnian forward
• "High Dam" = Essam El-Hadary, Egyptian goalkeeper
• "Egyptian King", "Egyptian Messi" (Nickname given for his playing style similar to Lionel Messi) = Mohamed Salah, Egyptian forward
• "Der Tiger" (German for 'The Tiger') = Stefan Effenberg, German midfielder
• "La Foquita" (Spanish for 'The Little Seal') = Jefferson Farfán, Peruvian forward
• "Tiny Tim" (Nickname given by Everton fans after the Charles Dickens character for being slightly short and slim) = Tim Cahill, Australian forward
• "The Little Prince" = Antoine Griezmann, French forward
• "HurriKane" = Harry Kane, English striker
• "The Croatian Cruyff" (Nickname given because of his similar face and his playing style to Dutch legend Johan Cruyff) = Luka Modrić, Croatian midfielder
• "Uncle Kel" = Kelechi Iheanacho, Nigerian forward
• "Xhakaboom" = Granit Xhaka, Swiss midfielder
• "Paras" (Nickname given after the name of a Pokémon) = Keylor Navas, Costa Rican goalkeeper
• "Batsman" (Nickname given by himself after the famous character Batman) = Michy Batshuayi, Belgian striker
• "La Joya" (Spanish for 'The Jewel') = Manuel Lanzini, Argentine mifielder
• "Iranian Messi" (Nickname given for his playing style similar to Lionel Messi) = Sardar Azmoun, Iranian striker
• "El Mazinger" = Román Torres, Panamanian defender
• "Mini-Mourinho" (Nickname given during his time as an assistant coach by Tim Wiese after the famous football manager José Mourinho) = Julian Nagelsmann, German football manager
• "El Pipita" = Gonzalo Higuaín, Argentine striker
• "Merlin", "El Mago" (Spanish for 'The Magician') = David Silva, Spanish midfielder
• "Die Katze von Anzing" (German for 'the Cat from Anzing') = Sepp Maier, German goalkeeper

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This is a list notable channels, programmes and publications, which focus on association football.

:; FourFourTwo : a popular English-language football magazine with a number of international ions and named after the 4–4–2 formation.
:; France Football : French bi-weekly magazine established in 1946 containing football news from all over the world and one of the most reputable European sports publications. Awards the annual Ballon d'Or award for European Footballer of the Year.
:;Kicker : Germany's leading football magazine founded in 1920 and published twice a week.
:; Match of the Day : an English-language television programme broadcast on the BBC since the 1960s. It originally showed the highlights from just one game from the top division each week, but nowadays it features highlights of all Saturday and midweek Premier League games.
:; On the Ball : an English-language television programme broadcast on ITV. It ran intermittently from the 1980s until being discontinued in 2004.
:; When Saturday Comes : an English monthly fanzine-style football magazine first published in 1986.
:; World Soccer (magazine) : a monthly English language football magazine produced by IPC Media since 1950, offering a broad perspective on football news and events worldwide. Read more...

The South American U-17 Championship (Spanish: Campeonato Sudamericano Sub-17) is a football competition held every two years for South American under-17 teams. The tournament was born in 1985 out of a need for a classification tournament for the newly created FIFA U-16 World Cup (now the FIFA U-17 World Cup). For the first three ions (1985, 1986, and 1988), the competition was limited to under-16 teams. Afterwards, the age limit was raised one year. The tournament is held every two years. Since the first ion, Brazil has been the dominant force of the tournament, winning a record twelve times. Read more...

Football has been a sport at the South Asian Games since it commenced in 1984. Since the 2004 South Asian Games, the age limit for men's teams is under 23, plus up to three overaged players for each squad, which is the same as the age limit in football competitions at the Summer Olympics and Asian Games. Pakistan is currently the most successful country in the Men's event with 4 Gold Medals while India is the most successful in Women's event with 2 Gold Medals.

Women's football tournaments were introduced in 2010. Read more...

The CONCACAF Nations League is an international football competition, to be contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The tournament would take place on dates that are currently allocated for international friendlies on the FIFA International Match Calendar. The inaugural tournament is expected to begin in September 2019. Qualifying started in September 2018. Read more...

The UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as the UEFA Euro U-21s) is a football competition for men organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. It is held every two years. Read more...

The AFC U-23 Championship (also known as the AFC U-23 Asian Cup) is an international football tournament held by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The first ion was initially set to be held in 2013 and its qualification matches in 2012, but the finals tournament was postponed to be played in January 2014 due to the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup.

The tournament is planned to be held every two years. The 2016 tournament doubled as the 2016 Olympic qualifiers, where the top 3 teams qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The 2016 ion took place in January 2016. The tournament was also renamed from the "AFC U-22 Championship" to the "AFC U-23 Championship". Read more...

Football has been a regular event at the Pacific Games, the multi-sports event for Pacific nations, territories and dependencies, since 1963. Until 2011 the tournament was known as the South Pacific Games.

Since 1971 the competition has been held every four years, but was not played in 1999 due to contract issues. In 2007, the men's competition doubled as OFC's preliminary qualifying competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Read more...

The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to its current name in 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Read more...

The Total U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (previously known as the African U-17 Championship) is a bi-annual football competition organised by the sport's African governing body, CAF. The competition has been held since 1995. Between 1985 and 1993 only qualifying competitions for the FIFA U-17 World Cup were played.

On 6 August 2015, the CAF Executive Committee decided to change the name of the tournament from the African U-17 Championship to the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, similar to the senior's version, Africa Cup of Nations. Read more...

The OFC U-16 Championship is a biennial football tournament for players under the age of 16. The tournament decides the only two qualification spots for the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and its representatives at the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which is held every two years.

Between 1983 and 2017, the competition was open to teams under 17 years of age and was called the OFC U-17 Championship. Since 2018, the age limit was reduced to under 16 years of age, the tournament is called the OFC U-16 Championship. Read more...

The N.F.-Board (Nouvelle Fédération-Board) was a federation of football associations established on 12 December 2003 and defunct since January 2013 It was made up of teams that represent nations, dependencies, unrecognized states, minorities, stateless peoples, regions and micronations not affiliated to FIFA. One of the founders was Luc Misson, a lawyer who represented Belgian footballer Jean-Marc Bosman in a case that led to the Bosman ruling.

They organized the VIVA World Cup which took place for the first time in November 2006, in Occitania. The N.F.-Board organized its 5th and last VIVA World Cup in June 2012, which was hosted by Kurdistan. A record nine teams featured with the hosts defeating Northern Cyprus 2-1 in the final. Read more...

The FIFA World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, currently led by Belgium. The teams of the member nations of FIFA, football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest. The rankings were introduced in December 1992, and eight teams (Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain) have held the top position, of which Brazil have spent the longest ranked first.

A points system is used, with points being awarded based on the results of all FIFA-recognised full international matches. Read more...

Association football has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition sport, except 1896 and 1932. Women's football was added to the official program in 1996. Read more...

The UEFA European Under-17 Championship is an annual European association football competition contested by the men's under-17 national teams of the member associations of UEFA.

The current competition format consists of three stages: a qualifying round, an elite round and a final tournament. The first stage takes place in autumn of the previous year, while the elite round is played in spring. The winners of each elite round group join the host team in the final tournament, played in May. Read more...

This is a list of international football governing bodies. Read more...

The CECAFA Cup is the oldest football tournament in Africa. A FIFA competition, it includes national teams from the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA). There is an anomaly on national teams in the case of Tanzania. The latter nation fields two teams, Tanzania and Zanzibar. In 2005 and 2006, the tournament was sponsored by the Ethiopian-Saudi businessman Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi, and was dubbed the Al Amoudi Senior Challenge Cup. It is the successor competition of the Gossage Cup, held 37 times from 1926 until 1966, and the East and Central African Senior Challenge Cup, held 7 times between 1965 and 1971.

In August 2012, CECAFA signed a sponsorship deal worth US$450,000 with East African Breweries to have the cup renamed to the CECAFA Tusker Challenge Cup. Read more...

The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF, /ˈkɒn.kəkæf/ KON-kə-kaf; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf) is the continental governing body for association football in North America, which includes Central America and the Caribbean region. Three geographically South American entities — the independent nations of Guyana and Suriname and the French overseas department of French Guiana — are also members. CONCACAF's primary functions are to organize competitions for national teams and clubs, and to conduct World Cup and Women's World Cup qualifying tournaments.

CONCACAF was founded in its current form on 18 September 1961 in Mexico City, Mexico, with the merger of the NAFC and the CCCF, which made it one of the then five, now six continental confederations affiliated with FIFA. Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao), Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname and United States were founding members. Read more...

Men's Association football was a Summer Universiade sport from the 1979 ion. In the 1979 ion, it was an optional sport. From 1985, football was a recognized mandatory sport. The women's football competition began in the 1993 ion. Read more...

The football tournament in the Jeux de la Francophonie occurs every four years. It is contested by French-speaking nations and usually involves the use of youth national teams. Canada and Congo are the only nations to have won the tournament twice. Read more...

The Caribbean Cup was the championship tournament for national association football teams that are members of the Caribbean Football Union. The first competition was contested in 1989 in Barbados. The Caribbean Cup served as a qualification tournament among CFU members for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The Caribbean Cup replaced the CFU Championship competition which was active between 1978 and 1988.

Trinidad and Tobago, eight-time winners, and Jamaica, six-time winners, were the most successful sides, winning a combined 14 of 18 titles. Martinique, Haiti, Cuba and Curaçao also won the tournament. Read more...

The Total Africa U-23 Cup of Nations (known as the CAF U-23 Championship until 2015) is the main international football competition for CAF nations, played by under 23 years old players. It is held every four years with the top three teams qualifying automatically to the Olympic Games and the fourth-placed finisher playing in a play-off against a team from the Asian Football Confederation. Read more...

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football in Asia and Australia. It has 47 member countries, mostly located on the Asian and Australian continent, but excludes the transcontinental countries with territory in both Europe and Asia – Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkey – which are instead members of UEFA. Three other states located geographically along the western fringe of Asia – Cyprus, Armenia and Israel – are also UEFA members. On the other hand, Australia, formerly in the OFC, joined the Asian Football Confederation in 2006, and the Oceanian island of Guam, a territory of the United States, is also a member of AFC, in addition to Northern Mariana Islands, one of the Two Commonwealths of the United States. Hong Kong and Macau, although not independent countries (both are Special administrative regions of China), are also members of the AFC.

One of FIFA's six continental confederations, the AFC was formed officially on 8 May 1954 in Manila, Philippines, on the sidelines of the second Asian Games. The main headquarters is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The current president is Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa of Bahrain. Read more...

The Confederation of African Football or CAF (French: Confédération Africaine de Football) is the administrative and controlling body for African association football.

CAF represents the national football associations of Africa, runs continental, national, and club competitions, and controls the prize money, regulations and media rights to those competitions. Read more...

Football has been played consistently at the Merranean Games since the year 1951 for men. Italy is the most successful team. From 1991, the men first national teams did not participate to the tournaments. Read more...

Men's football has been a part of the Asian Games sporting events since the 1951 ion. Women's football competition began in 1990.

Since the 2002 Asian Games, age limit for men teams is under-23 plus up to three over aged players for each squad, same as the age limit in football competitions at the Summer Olympics. Although Kazakhstan is a member of the Olympic Council of Asia, the football team has been a member of the UEFA since 2002. The same rule applies to the Guam and Australia who are members of the AFC, but they are members of Oceania National Olympic Committees. Read more...

This is a list of the association football competitions past and present for international teams and for club football, in individual countries and internationally. Confirmed future competitions, such as the 4 Associations' Tournament, are also included.

The competitions are grouped by organising authority: the FIFA (international association), the six confederations (continental associations), and the federations (national associations). Read more...

The AFC U-16 Championship is a football competition, organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held once every two years for Asian under-16 teams that also serves as a qualification tournament for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The top 4 countries qualify to participate in the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Until 2006 it was held as an under-17 tournament. Read more...

This is a list of the men's national association football teams in the world. There are more nations with football teams than for any other sport, with teams representing 191 of the 193 UN member states, as well as several dependent territories, sub-national entities, and states who are not members of the United Nations. This list divides teams into two main groups:

• Teams which are either members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the world's football governing body (211 teams), or have membership in a FIFA-affiliated continental confederation without being members of FIFA (12 teams).
• Teams who are not members of FIFA or any continental federation, but which represent sovereign states. This group includes United Nations members and observer states, as well as states who are not members of the UN (11 teams).

Read more...

The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The current champion is France, which won its second title at the 2018 tournament in Russia.

The current format of the competition involves a qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding three years, to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase, which is often called the World Cup Finals. After this, 32 teams, including the automatically qualifying host nation(s), compete in the tournament phase for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about a month. Read more...

This article is about the association football tournament at the East Asian Games. Since the first ion of the East Asian Games, participants have had to be under 23 years of age. Read more...

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA /juːˈeɪfə/ yoo-AY-fə; French: Union des Associations Européennes de Football; German: Vereinigung Europäischer Fußballverbände) is the administrative body for association football in Europe, although several member states are primarily or entirely located in Asia. It is one of six continental confederations of world football's governing body FIFA. UEFA consists of 55 national association members.

UEFA represents the national football associations of Europe, runs nation and club competitions including the UEFA European Championship, UEFA Nations League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Super Cup, and controls the prize money, regulations, and media rights to those competitions. Read more...

The Central American Games football tournament is a football competition organised by UNCAF and ORDECA. It is scheduled to be held every four years.

The men's tournament is only open to players who are aged 21 and below. Read more...

The AFC U-19 Championship, formerly known as the AFC Youth Championship, is a biennial international association football competition organised by the sport's Asian governing body, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The competition has been held since 1959. Between 1959 and 1978 the tournament was held annually, since 1980 it has been held every two years.

The tournament has been played in a number of different formats during its existence. Currently it consists of two stages, similarly to AFC's other Asian Championship competitions. The qualifying stage is open to all AFC members, and the final stage is contested between sixteen teams. The most recent ion, the fortieth, was held in Indonesia. Read more...

The CONCACAF U-17 Championship is an international association football event in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean region, and is the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Read more...

The Best FIFA Football Awards is an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, since 2016.

The first awarding ceremony was held on 9 January 2017 in Zurich, Switzerland. The award is aimed at reviving the FIFA World Player of the Year, which was merged with France Football 's Ballon d'Or in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or in a six-year partnership. Read more...

The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL, /ˈkɒnmɪbɒl/; Spanish: Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol; Portuguese: Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol or CSF) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana) and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Paraguay, near Asunción. CONMEBOL is responsible for the organization and governance of South American football's major international tournaments. With 10 member football associations, it has the fewest members of all the confederations in FIFA.

CONMEBOL national teams have won nine FIFA World Cups (Brazil five, Uruguay two and Argentina two), and CONMEBOL clubs have won 22 Intercontinental Cups and four FIFA Club World Cups. Argentina and Uruguay have won two Olympic gold medals each, Brazil has won one Olympic gold medal. It is considered one of the strongest confederations in the world. Read more...

The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and Juventud de América (English: "America's Youth") is a South American association football tournament organized by the CONMEBOL (CONfederación SudaMEricana de FútBOL), for South American national teams of men under age of 20. Read more...

Football has been a Southeast Asian Games sport since the 1959 ion. Read more...

The AFF Championship (known formally as the ASEAN Football Federation Championship) is a biennial international association football competition, contested by the men's national teams of the member of ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), determining the sub-continental champion of Southeast Asia.

It was founded as the Tiger Cup after Singapore-based Asia Pacific Breweries, makers of Tiger Beer, sponsored the competition from its inauguration in 1996 until the 2004 ion. After Asia Pacific Breweries withdrew as title sponsors, the competition was known as the AFF Championship for the 2007 ion. From 2008, Japanese auto-company Suzuki bought the naming rights for the competition, and the competition has therefore been named the AFF Suzuki Cup for sponsorship reasons. Read more...

The OFC U-19 Championship is a tournament held once every two years to decide the under-19 champions of Oceania and also decides who will represent Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) at the biennial FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Between 1974 and 2012, the competition was open to teams under 20 years of age and called the OFC U-20 Championship. Since 2014, the age limit was reduced to under 19 years of age, and since 2018, the tournament name was changed to the OFC U-19 Championship. Read more...

The CONIFA European Football Cup is an international football tournament organized by CONIFA, an umbrella association for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA, planned to be held every two years beginning with 2015. The 2017 ion was in Northern Cyprus. Read more...

A men's football tournament is held at every Pan American Games since the first ion of the multi-sports event in 1951. A women's tournament was introduced in 1999. Read more...

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football, consisting of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, and other Pacific Island countries. It promotes the game in Oceania and allows the member nations to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.

OFC is predominantly made up of island nations where association football is not the most popular sport. Consequently, the OFC has little influence in the wider football world,^{[citation needed]} either in terms of international competition or as a source of players for high-profile club competitions. In 2006, the OFC's largest and most successful nation, Australia, left to join the Asian Football Confederation, leaving New Zealand as the largest federation within the OFC. Read more...

The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body.

The first tournament began in September 2018, following the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The four group winners from League A will qualify for the finals, to be played in a yet to be decided European city in June 2019. Four nations, one from each League, will also qualify for the UEFA Euro 2020 finals. Read more...

Futsal began in the 1930s South America as a version of association football, taking elements of its parent game into an indoor format so players could still play during inclement weather.
Over the years, both sports have developed, creating a situation where the two sports share common traits while also hosting various differences.

The Laws of the Game for each sport both have 17 laws, all of which cover the same topics, although with some variations in certain areas. Read more...

Football was inducted at the Youth Olympic Games at the inaugural ion in 2010 for both boys and girls.

For the 2018 ion in Buenos Aires, FIFA has decided that futsal will replace football. Read more...

The Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (previously known as the African Youth Championship or the African U-20 Championship) is the main international youth football competition for CAF nations, and is competed for by under 20 year olds. It is held every two years with the top 4 teams qualifying for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

From 1979 until 1989, the African representatives were determined purely on a home and away qualifying basis without a final tournament, with the African champions determined through the same qualification. Since 1991 there has been a qualifying stage followed by a final tournament played by 8 teams in a chosen country. Read more...

The UEFA European Under-19 Championship is an annual football competition for men organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. Read more...

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA /ˈfiːfə/ FEEF-ə; French for "International Federation of Association Football") is an organization which describes itself as an international governing body of association football, futsal, and beach soccer. FIFA is responsible for the organization of football's major international tournaments, notably the World Cup which commenced in 1930 and the Women's World Cup which commenced in 1991.

FIFA was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, its membership now comprises 211 national associations. Member countries must each also be members of one of the six regional confederations into which the world is divided: Africa, Asia, Europe, North & Central America and the Caribbean, Oceania, and South America. Read more...