Football

Soccer is one of the most popular sports and it is spread all over the world. The first official international football match in history took place on November 30th, 1872 in Glasgow between Scotland and England. In 1878 the first German football club was founded in Hanover.

Soccer is a ball sport in which 2 teams, each with 10 field players and a goalkeeper, play against each other. The actual game device, the ball, is also called a football and is preferably made of leather. The venue for the football game is a rectangular field, the goals are located in the middle of the two short sides of the field. The goal is guarded by the goalkeeper, who is the only player allowed to play the ball with his hands inside the penalty area. The goalkeeper also differs visually from his teammates by special clothing and goalkeeper gloves.

Although football is played primarily with the foot, outfield players are allowed to use other parts of the body (except arms and hands). The field players are divided into attacking, midfielding and defending players. The winner of the soccer match is the team that scored the most goals, i.e. that got the ball into the opposing goal. A tie in the goals scored means that the game ended in a draw after the end of regulation time (usually 2 x 45 minutes). However, if it is absolutely necessary for the game to result in a winner, this will be decided by a so-called penalty shoot-out after an appropriate overtime period. 5 selected players from each team take turns shooting from the penalty spot at the opposing goal. In the event of a tie, the penalty shootout will continue until the decision is reached.

A football referee monitors compliance with the rules of the game. This intervenes in the game if a player disregards the rules of the game. For games in higher classes, the referee is supported by two line judges who follow the game from the long sides of the soccer field.