Basic Knowledge of How the Beautiful Game of Soccer Is Played

I have been watching some sports for some years now, with a view to understanding how they are played, won, and lost by their players, yet I have not been able to do so, apart from watching their players running about the field.

One of such difficult games for me is cricket, while another one is rugby.

Each time I watch either of them, I wonder how goals are scored and how winners emerge, yet I have not been able to figure that out myself.

Because of that, if I’m asked to name the sports that I don’t like, two of them will surely top my list.

The difficulty I suffer in understanding cricket, rugby, and some other sports is strange to me because I didn’t suffer it with soccer.

I acquired a basic knowledge of how soccer is played when I was a little boy, and without anybody giving me special education on it.

The same thing applies to most other soccer fans; most of them learned how soccer was played when they were very young, by merely watching soccer players in action.

The point I am trying to make here is that it is very easy for anyone, Black and White, men and women, old and young, educated and non-educated, to understand how football is played, even on their first day of watching it.

In this article, I am going to make it easier for those who already understand how soccer is played to understand it more, and for those who have no idea about the game to understand, enjoy and love it.

Come on in to our football classroom and join me as I take you through the ABCs of how soccer is played, won, and lost.

FIRST THING FIRST

To be able to play football, a player must, in the first place, be physically fit, energetic, and tactful.

This condition is very important for two main reasons.

One, because the game of soccer needs a lot of running and technical skills in dealing with the ball and the opponent.

And two, to prevent sudden death that sometimes results from playing football.

FIFA Sudden Death Report, FIFA-SDR, has revealed that the sudden deaths of some soccer players while playing or shortly after playing football, was attributed to sudden cardiac arrest or other unexplained causes.

List of association football players, from across the globe, including Nigerian Samuel Okwaraji, who died while playing can be found on Wikipedia’s Website.

So, to reduce or prevent the incidence of footballers dying while in action or immediately after the action, players are expected to be fit in health before embarking on the journey of playing soccer.

This is why the International Federation of Association Football, FIFA, insists on considering mandatory cardiac testing.

FIFA’s pre-competition medical assessment included family history, heart rhythm, sounds, and electrocardiogram, ECG, results.

The Union of European Football Associations, UEFA, on the other hand, requires extensive medical tests, including ECG and echocardiogram for players in the Europa League.

Another condition that must be fulfilled by anybody who is serious about playing football is that he or she must be ready to train hard on a regular basis, usually with his teammates, and if possible, on a daily basis, in order to become skillful, a good team-player, and a good individual contributor.

VENUE

Football or soccer can be played almost anywhere, from official football playing fields or pitches to gymnasiums, streets, school playgrounds, parks, or beaches.

Since this blog is focused mainly on professional football, I‘ll limit myself, therefore, to official football playing fields or pitches used by professional soccer teams.

The pitch or field used by professional soccer teams must be made of either artificial or natural grass, whose size may vary but not less than 100-130 yards long and 50-100 yards wide, usually divided into two equal halves, by a centre circle.

The pitch or the dimensions vary from ground to ground, but are roughly 120 yards long and 75 yards wide, usually divided into two equal halves, divided by a centre circle.

On each half of the pitch is a goalpost, made of two vertical poles and a crossbar, measuring 8 feet high and 8 feet wide.

Each half of the pitch must be a mirror image of the other in terms of dimensions and markings.

FORMAT AND METHODOLOGY

The soccer game is a team sport played with a spherical football between two teams of a maximum of 11 players and a minimum of 7 players, on a rectangular field or pitch, which should have a goal at each end.

A soccer match usually begins with the toss of a coin.

The match referee and the captains of the two teams usually meet at the centre for different formalities, which include the toss of the coin, by the referee.

The captain of the team who wins the toss gets the opportunity to decide which goalpost to attack in the first half, while the team that loses the toss gets to kick-off to begin the match.

After the toss of the coin, the players of each team will be required to take their positions in their own half of the field.

After that is done, the referee places the ball at the center point of the field, in preparation for a kick-off.

Once the referee blows the whistle, a player from the team that lost the toss takes the kick-off, for the game to commence.

An important point to note here is that the player who takes the kick-off cannot touch the ball again until another player from either team touches the ball.

As the game commences, the two teams have to compete to get the ball into the opponents’ goal that is, between the posts and under the crossbar, through dribbling, passing of the ball to a teammate, and taking shots at the goal, thereby scoring a goal.

Players are not allowed, in the course of the game, to touch the ball with their hands or arms.  The only player that is allowed to do so is the goalkeeper, and he or she must do so only within the penalty area, otherwise, he or she would be guilty of a foul.

Substitutions can be made at any time of the match with each team being able to make a maximum of 3 substitutions per side. In the event of all three substitutes being made and a player having to leave the field for injury, the team will be forced to play without a replacement for that player.

At the end of the first 45 minutes, the referee signals the end of the first half, to enable the players of both teams to go and have a short rest.

During the second half, the teams switch goals, and the team that won the toss gets to kick-off.

The whole ball must cross the goal line for it to constitute a goal.

If both teams score an equal number of goals or score no goal at all, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time or a penalty shootout, depending on the format of the competition.

If the game needs to head to extra time as a result of the above reason, then, an extra 30 minutes will be added, split into two 15-minute halves, in addition to the official 90 minutes.

If teams are still level after extra time then a penalty shootout must take place.

DURATION

Football is played for a period of 90 minutes, split up into two equal halves of 45 minutes.

After the first 45 minutes, players are given 15-minute break or rest period called half time.

The second half of 45 minutes resumes after the 15-minute break. 

An extra amount of time, deemed fit by the referee, is usually added to the 90 minutes period, depending on different intervening circumstances, including certain unforeseeable stoppages.

Another thing that can affect the duration of the game of soccer is the score-line of the game.

If both teams score an equal number of goals or no goals at all, either a draw may be declared or the game is allowed to go into extra time or a penalty shootout, depending on the format of the competition.

If the game inevitably requires an extra time as a result of the above reason, then, an extra 30 minutes, split into two 15-minute halves, will be added, and this shoot up the original official 90 minutes.

If teams are still level after extra time then a penalty shootout must take place, which would further increase the number of minutes used for the whole game.

PRINCIPAL RULES

Football is played in accordance with a set of rules known as the Laws of the Game, which are determined by the International Football Association Board, IFAB, with the support of FIFA.

The Laws guide different aspects of the game of soccer, outline how it should be played, as well as identify offences or fouls and their repercussions.

To enjoy the game of soccer, as much as possible, it is advisable that you familiarize yourself with those Laws.

You can get a copy of the Laws of the Game, free of charge, through the following link, (https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/about-the-laws/) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_the_Game_(association_football)#:~:text=The%20Laws%20of%20the%20Game,laws%20that%20define%20the%20sport.)

OFFICIATING

Every soccer game must have a referee and two assistant referees, formerly called linesmen.

The job of the referee is to act as a timekeeper, interpret the Laws of the Game, as well as make decisions based on those Laws, especially regarding, fouls, free kicks, throw-ins, penalties and extra time to be added at the end of each half.

Referees do their job, primarily, with the use of a whistle, a yellow, and a red card. Below is a photograph of a while with a yellow and a red card.

Another thing referees work with is their body signal. Their body signals are used to demonstrate the meaning of the sound of their whistle, any time they blow it.

Below are some of the soccer referee’s body signals.

You need to learn and master them, for you to enjoy the game better and be able to discuss them intelligently.

The assistant referees’ job, as their name implies, is to assist the centre referee in his assignment of handling the game.

Assistant soccer referees were formerly called linesmen because their jobs involved running along the lines of the soccer field.

Among the specific jobs of assistant referees are spotting goal kicks, corner kicks, offsides, and throw-ins, among others, on either side of the playing teams.

Assistant referees do their own job with the help of a flag, as you can see below.

As I advised you above, you also need to learn and master the use of the assistant referees’ flag, as this would help you understand how they work and help you enjoy the game better.

ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT

There are two different sets of equipment that are needed in the game of soccer.

The first set is for the game itself, while the second set is meant for the use of players.

The first set includes the pitch or the field and the ball, which is usually 68–70 cm (27–28 in) in circumference.

The second set of equipment that is meant for the use of players includes boots or cleats, shin pads or guards, match strips, and gloves for goalkeepers.

OFFENCES AND PUNISHMENTS

If a player goes against any of the Laws of the Game, he is said to have committed a foul.

Fouls committed by a player are punishable with a mere free or indirect free-kick against him and his team or with a combination of either a yellow or red card, depending on the severity of the foul, which comes down to the referee’s discretion.

The yellow is a warning and a red card is a dismissal of that player.

Two yellow cards equal one red, and once a player is sent off, he cannot be replaced.

Basic Knowledge of How the Beautiful Game of Soccer Is Played. THE END.

By Rosemary Duncan (Ms.)

You can reach Soccer Fans Arena via the contact form on this blog.