All About Football

Share

Football is the world's most popular team sport, played by millions worldwide. It involves two teams of players kicking or heading a ball towards and ultimately into their opponents goal. There are various different formats of the game with different pitch and team sizes but the most prevalent format - and the one used in the Olympic Games - features two teams of eleven players playing outdoors on a grass pitch measuring approximately 105m x 68m.
A basic introduction to the rules can be found on the British Olympic Association website.
Various forms of football were played in the United Kingdom from the nineth century onwards and some of these went on to become the different codes of rugby or Gaelic football. In 1863 the growth and popularity of the game across British public schools demanded that these various forms were separated and rules were agreed for 'association' football. This agreement led to the formation of the English Football Association, which was followed soon after by equivalent bodies in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. A few years later, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), a world governing body, was formed and countries across the world signed up to develop and promote the sport.
Men's football was introduced into the Olympic Games in 1908 with a women's competition being added in 1996. The men's event is an U23 competition (with 3 over-age players permitted) while the women's competition has no age restrictions.

Football and Disabilities
The English Federation for Disability Sport (EFDS), the umbrella organisation for seven national disability sports organisations, was created in 1998 and this, together with the establishment by the FA of the Football Development Department a year later, led to the development of the first national disability football programme - Ability Counts - which launched in 1999. This was seen as the initial step in helping to identify and develop talented footballers, providing quality coaching and increasing participation in the disability game.
Find out more about disability football with the FA.