Soccer is the most widely played ball game in the world. The word soccer is actually a short term for Association Football.

A football team has 11 players and in a match two teams compete to put the ball in each other's goalpost. They are allowed to kick, or hit, the ball with their head, but only the goalkeeper can handle it. The team that
scores the most goals is the winner.
Player of the Year

Ronaldo and Mia Hamm have been crowned king and queen of football at FIFA World Player of the Year 2002. The Brazil and Real Madrid striker won the award for a record-breaking third time, collecting the trophy from 2001 Player of Year Luis Figo. A total of 148 of the worlds leading coaches picked Ronaldo’s total of 387 points. In second place was Germany’s Oliver Kahn (171) and third place Zinedine Zidane (141) of France.
Previous winner's of the honour have been Luis Figo (Portugal, 2001), Zinedine Zidane of France (2000, 1998), Rivaldo (Brazil, 1999), Ronaldo (Brazil, 1996 and 1997), Romario (Brazil, 1994) and Roberto Baggio (Italy, 1993) among others.
The most popular game in the world
Soccer is played in over 150 countries around the world. There are 40,000,000 registered players of the game (at all levels) around the world. The last World Cup in France saw 2.5 million descend on France to watch the games live. Around the world an estimated 37 billion watched the 64 games on TV. That's nearly twice the number of viewers (19.6 billion) who tuned in to the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996.
HISTORY

The world's first football game was played in China as early as 206 BC. In ancient Greece, a game with elements of football was played, and it had migrated to Rome as 'harpastum' by the 2nd century BC In medieval Europe there were mob games, called mellays, in which a ball, usually an inflated animal bladder, was advanced by kicking, punching, and carrying. As many as 100 players from two towns or parishes started at a midpoint and used their localities' limits as goals!

The game showed signs of its future popularity when in 1389 King Richard II of England banned football because it interfered with archery practice!

Organized soccer began as late as 1863 when the Football Association was formed in London. The association developed the first set of rules and soon the game spread to America, Europe and India.

In 1904 the European countries of Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands and Switzerland got together and formed
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) which is the world governing body of amateur competition.

FIFA also organizes the Soccer World Cup championship every four years between the Olympic games. The first World Cup was played in 1930 and won by Uruguay. The FIFA Women's World Cup was inaugurated in 1991, and women's Olympic competition began in 1996.

Other major tournaments include the European Champions' Club Cup (begun 1956), African Nations Cup (1957), the South American Copa Libertadores de América Cup (1960), and the European Cup-Winners' Cup (1963).

The International Inter-City Industrial Fairs Cup began tentatively in 1955, but by 1971 was firmly established, renamed the UEFA Cup, and with an annual entry of 64 teams became Europe's largest tournament.

In India, football came with the British settlers and soon became a game of the masses. It is popular all over the country but enjoys a special status in Bengal where fans follow each and every game of popular clubs like East Bengal and Mohan Bagan. Tournaments like the Rovers Cup (1891),


IFA Shield (1893), Santosh Trophy (1941), the Durand Cup (1940), the DCM tournament (1945), the Federation Cup (1977) are some important events in the national football calendar.
For further details on Indian football you can write to netfundu.com or contact:
All India Football Federation Gate
28, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium,
New Delhi - 110003
Tel: 4621192, 288484

CROWDS

Soccer fans are known to be passionate about their favorite sport. Early in the century Latin-American countries started fencing off fields and and even dug moats around them to keep unruly fans at bay. Other countries started the practice of separating fans of rival teams but often without success. The trend of soccer violence continued with one of the worst incident recorded in 1985 at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels. Thirty-nine spectators, mostly Italian, died and 400 were injured at the European Champions' Cup final when a wall collapsed under pressure from rioting Liverpool supporters who were trying to attack fans of the Italian Juventus of Turin team. The incident also led to a ban on English clubs from entering European events!
 
RULES
Equipment and field of play

FIELD: According to the rules laid down by the sports governing body FIFA, the football field can be 90 to 120 metres long and between 45 and 90 metres wide, however, for international matches, it must be 100-110 metres long and 64-75 metres wide.
BALL: The ball is a round, leather-covered, inflated rubber bladder 27-28 inches in circumference and 397-454 grams in weight.
PENALTY AREA: A rectangular area in front of the goal, 40.2 metres wide and extending 16.5 metres into the field where the goalkeeper operates.
GOALPOST: It is 7.3 metres wide and eight feet high.
DURATION: A football match lasts 90 minutes and is divided into halves. The teams change sides after a fourty five-minute half-time break.

JUDGING: The game is controlled by a referee, who is also the timekeeper, and two linesmen who keep guard of the touchlines, or sidelines, signaling when the ball crosses the boundary lines.

PLAYER UNIFORM: Players wear colourful numbered t-shirts and shorts and sometimes shin guards tucked inside their socks. The goalkeeper in addition wears protective gear while defending his team's position.

PLAY: A soccer game begins with one team kicking off the play which generally lasts for 90 minutes with a 5 minute break in the middle. If the game is tied at the end, an overtime period is usually played.
Did you know?
Players run as many as 6 or 7 miles during the course of a game.

PENALTIES

Penalties against an opposing team are pushing, tripping, intentional kicking, and hitting a player from behind.
Referee 2 Player Cards : Two types and are given for two kinds of offences:
Yellow - Warning card for dangerous play.
Red - Ejection from the game.
Free kicks are awarded for fouls or violations of rules; all players of the offending side must be 10 yards from the ball. Free kicks are of two kinds:
Direct kicks - These are awarded for more serious fouls such as kicking an opponent, tripping, or handling the ball. A penalty kick is taken 11 metres away from the centre of the goal, with all players other than the goalkeeper and the kicker outside the penalty area.
Did you know?

The best way to take a penalty kick is with the inside of your foot, because it's the most accurate shot. Accuracy often is better than power.

Indirect kicks - Kicks from which goals cannot be scored until the ball has been passed to another player by the player who takes the free kick. These are awarded for lesser violations such as obstruction of play (interfering with an opponent while not playing the ball).

When the ball goes out of bounds over the side lines, it is returned back into play with a two hand overhead throw, with both of the players feet touching the ground.

When the ball goes over the goal line, but does not go into the goal, either the attacking team is given a corner kick or the defending team is given a free kick depending on who was responsible for the ball going out of play.

Total football
This new form of football started in Netherlands in the early 1970s. Traditional football field positions with some players were allocated for attack and others for defence were ignored. Every outfield player could serve in any position. The quality of individual players helped the system become a qualified success.
FUNDU FACTS
 

MOST EXPENSIVE PLAYER: The highest ever transfer fee (fees payed by a club to another for the transfer of a player to their club) for a footballer is US $ 56 million paid by Real Madrid to Barcelona for Portuguese winger Luis Figo in July 2000. Figo's contract with his new club is expected to net him around $5,61 million a year.

MOST CAREER GOALS: The greatest number of goals scored by a player in a specified period is 1,281 by Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) between 7 Sept 1956 and 1 Oct 1977.

BIGGEST FOOTBALL STADIUM: The Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has a normal capacity of 205,000, with seats for 155,000. The stadium also hosted the largest ever crowd for a football match (199,854 people), for the World Cup deciding match between Brazil and Uruguay way back in 1950!
World cup trophy

MOST INDIVIDUAL WORLD CUP WINS: Pele (Brazil) is the only player to have been a member of three World Cup winning teams, in 1958, 1962 and 1970.

MOST WORLD CUP WINS: Brazil has won the World Cup a record five times (2002, 1958, 1962, 1970, and 1994); Brazil is the only team to have taken part in all 16 finals tournaments and has won a record 53 matches out of 80 in the final stage.

TERMS
 

ARC - The quarter circle at each corner of the field in which the ball is placed for a corner kick.

ATTACKER - A player trying to score a goal.

BREAKAWAY - When a player has the ball behind the fullbacks and has an open field between him and the goal.

CALL - A decision made by the referee.

CENTERING - Kicking the ball from one of the wings into the goal or penalty area.

CHIP - Causing the ball to travel in the air by kicking below it.

CHIP-PASS - A short kick over the opponent's head to a teammate.

CHIP-SHOT - A kick at goal, usually lifted over the goalkeeper's head.

CORNER KICK - A kick taken at the corner of the field by the attacking team when the defending team last touched the ball before it crossed the goal line.

COVER - Guarding a player on the other team to stop him from getting the ball.

CROSSBAR - The goal bar which is parallel to the ground.

DANGEROUS PLAY - Any play, action or movement that has the risk of injury to any player.

DRIBBLING - Moving the ball with the feet, using small, short kicks.

FAR POST - The goalpost that is farthest away from the kicker.

FORWARDS - The players on a team who take most of the shots, and do most of the scoring.

FOUL - An illegal play or movement by a player.

FREE-KICK - A free-kick is given to a team when the other team commits a foul. The other team must remain 10 yards away while you pass or shoot the ball.

GOAL - When the ball goes between the goalposts to score a point.

GOALIE - Another word for the goalkeeper.

GOALKICK - A free kick taken by the defending team when the attacking team kicks the ball across the goal line, and not in the goal.

GOAL LINE - The line at the end of a playing field which runs behind the goalpost and between the two corner flags.

GOALPOSTS - The posts that make up the goal, also called the uprights.

HALFBACK - The players on a team who play around the middle of the field. They pass the ball to the forwards so they can score.

HALF-LINE - The line across the middle of the field, dividing it in half.

HALF-TIME - A game is divided into two equally timed halves. Half time is the short break in between the two halves.

HEADING - Hitting the ball with your head.

INSTEP DRIVE - A kick or shot taken with the part of the foot where a players' shoelaces are located.

LINESMAN - The person near one of the touchlines who signals when the ball is out of bounds, or a player is offside.

MARKING - Covering or guarding an opponent.

NEAR POST - The goal post nearest to the kicker.

OFF-THE-BALL - Running without the ball to move to an open space so you can receive the ball.

PENALTY BOX - The lines which form the rectangle in which the goalie may use his hands.

PENALTY KICK - A shot on goal inside the penalty area, defended by only the goalkeeper. This is given when the defense commits a foul inside the penalty box.

POWER KICK - A hard, fast shot or kick.

SCREENING - Keeping your body between the ball and an opponent, so he can't take it away.

STRIKERS - The forwards in the middle of the forward line who usually take the most shots.

SUBSTITUTE - A player on a team who is not playing at the beginning of the game, but will probably go in later.

TACKLING - Using the feet to take the ball away from an opponent.

THROW-IN - Putting the ball back in play after it goes out of the field. This is done by one of the players by holding the ball with both hands behind the head, then bringing them forward to throw the ball.

TOUCHLINE - The boundary lines on the long sides of the field.

TRAPPING - Gaining control of a moving ball by stopping it with a part of the body.

TRIPPING - Causing an opponent to fall by hitting his feet out from under him.

VOLLEY - Kicking the ball while it is still in the air.

WING - The forward parts of the field toward the sidelines, or the players who play on that part of the field.

FOOTBALL
Baichung Bhutia
Born on 15-12-1976 in Gangtok, Sikkim, Baichung Bhutia is the first Asian-born player to score a goal in the English professional league. Baichung was signed on by the Division club Bury FC on a 3 year contract and made his debut in early October that year, playing against Cardiff City, in a second division league match.

This was not the first honour for Baichung, who is perhaps India's best known soccer player.

Baichung first came to the forefront at the 1992 Subroto Cup in New Delhi. In 1993, Baichung was signed on by Calcutta giants East Bengal. A successful stint with JCT Mills, Phagwara followed which included winning the first-ever Indian National Football League title with Bhutia as the league's top scorer.

In 1998, he came to East Bengal and served as the team's captain when he was all of 21!

Baichung was voted "Asian Player of the month" for the month of May 1999. He is also a recipient of the Arjuna Award (1999).
Baichung Bhutia
Pele with mother
Edson Arantes Do Nascimento better known as Pele is football's greatest player.
Did you know?

After playing for a minor league club at Bauru, São Paulo state, Pele was rejected by major league teams in the city of São Paulo.

Pele rose to fame in 1956, when he joined the Santos Football Club, which went on to win several South American clubs' cups and, in 1962, its first world club championship.

A medium-sized man (5 feet 8 inches, 160 pounds), Pele combined kicking power and accuracy with a remarkable ability to anticipate other players'

moves. Sometimes called 'Pérola Negra' (Black Pearl), he became a Brazilian hero after he led the national team to three victories (1958, 1962, and 1970) and permanent possession of the trophy.

Pelé retired in 1974 but came back in 1975 with a three-year, $7,000,000 contract with New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League to promote the game in the United States. He retired after leading the Cosmos to the league championship in 1977.

 
In addition to his achievements in Soccer, Pele authored several best-selling autobiographies, starred in films, and composed music including the entire soundtrack for the film 'Pelé'.