WAS THIS HOW SOCCER
WAS INTRODUCED - THE ORIGINS & HISTORY OF THE GREAT GAME
Many different cultures have played a sport similar to the modern
game of soccer but no one can really say with any certainty when or where soccer
began but it is known that the earlier variations of what later became soccer
were played almost 3000 years ago.
One
of the earliest forms of soccer in which players kicked a ball around on a small
field has been traced as far back to 1004 B.C. in Japan. The Munich Ethnological
Museum in Germany has a Chinese text from approximately 50 B.C. that mentions
games very similar to soccer that were played between teams from Japan and China.
The Chinese kicked a leather ball ( hair-filled ) and it is known with certainty
that a soccer game was played in 611 A.D. in the then Japanese capital, Kyoto.
The Romans played a game that somewhat resembled modern soccer. The early Olympic games in Rome featured twenty-seven men on a side who completed so vigorously that two-thirds of them had to be hospitalized after a fifty-minute game.
While historians kept records of events such as wars and religious movements they had very little interest in preserving the various origins of soccer or many other sports, so no one can say how soccer seems to have spread from Asia to Europe.
The most popular game on earth.
The King of Sports? Not according to King Edward.
In King Edward's reign of England (1307-1327), laws were passed that threatened imprisonment to anyone caught playing soccer. King Edward's proclamation said:" For as much as there is a great noise in the city caused by hustling over large balls, from which many evils may arise, which God forbid, we command and forbid on behalf of the King, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used in the city future."
Evidently judged to be vulgar and indecent, soccer was at times suppressed by the English sheriffs who followed royal orders describing the game as a useless practice. King Henry IV and Henry VIII passed laws against the sport, and Queen Elizabeth I "had soccer players jailed for a week, with follow-up church penance"
Laws, however,
failed to stop the sport, which had earned official sanction in England by 1681.
The game became so popular by 1800s that, in certain annual contests in northern
and middle England, large groups roamed and raged through towns and villages.
In 1829, an account of such match in Derbyshire spoke of "broken skins,
broken heads, torn coats and lost hats."
A record of the development of soccer in England shows that Eton college had the earliest known rules of the game in 1815, perhaps implying that until then, chaos was preferred over order. But order gradually came to the game, and standardized rules known as the Cambridge rules were adopted by England's major colleges.
At 1st, it was England where soccer was originally banned, that eventually exported modern soccer to every continent in the world. today, undisputedly soccer is the most watched and played sport in the world enjoyed by 8 million people. This past World cup, that took place in the united States was watched by an estimated 33 million people around the world for almost 27 days. This makes soccer, the most watched single sports event in the world not surpassed even by the Olympics. This sport is bigger than baseball, football and basketball combined.
1. The Field of Play - The field of play is the surface on
which the game of soccer is played on. This law regulates everything regarding
line markings, soccer pitch dimensions and how to use them properly. For example,
a soccer pitch must be between 90 and 120 meters long and 45 to 90 meters wide.
However, it must also have a rectangular shape, so you can't have a square field
with a length and width of 90 at the same time.
Other basic rules of soccer and field measurements are specified in this law, such as the dimensions of each goal (7.32 meters long and 2.44 meters high), the diameter of the centre circle (18.30 meters) or the distance between the penalty spot and the goal (11 meters, perpendicularly on the goal).
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2.
The Ball - Throughout the time, the rules for soccer regarding
the football remained the same, but the way in which they were applied was on
a constant change. The rules state that the soccer bull must have a circumference
between 68 and 70 centimeters and a weight between 410 and 450 grams but they
also state that the ball can be made out of "leather or any similar material".
Well that "any similar material" bit constantly improved over time and nowadays soccer balls reached near-perfection. Almost each World Cup brought a new type of soccer ball, with improved characteristics, although all of them stayed inside the official soccer rules stated in the Laws.
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3. The Number of Players - According to the official soccer
rules, a team can bring in 10 outfield players and one goalkeeper on the pitch
and can have several substitutes on the bench. The numbers of benched subs as
well as the actual number of substitutions that are allowed in a single match
vary with the type of the game played. For example, in official matches only
3 substitutions are allowed, with 5, 7 or 9 players on the bench. In friendlies
however, a coach can fit in as many players as he wants on the bench and usually
he can also make as many substitutions as he needs. In the past, the official
soccer rules regarding substitutions were a lot stricter than this. Top
of the Rules
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4. The Player's Equipment - Just like with the soccer ball,
soccer equipment maintained most of the original rules in the Laws of the Game,
but the way people interpret them today is quite different from how they did
back in 1863. Basically the rules of soccer say that a player must wear a shirt
or jersey, footwear, shin pads, shorts and socks and the two teams must have
different equipment so that they can be differentiated on the pitch.
Back then however, a soccer jersey was a largely uncomfortable one and it was very simple, without too many details strapped on it. Today's jerseys are very light and comfortable and on many occasions they have the club's sponsors imprinted on them, they have the number of the player (and the name in some cases) on the back and the club's badge on the chest. These are not enforced by the soccer rules, but they have become common standards in today's game. Top
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5.
The Referee - Well the man in black (or more recently phosphorus
green) is probably the biggest "invention" that came with the initial
soccer rules constitution and his role is to enforce these official rules of
soccer "in connection to the match he has been appointed to".
The center referee is accompanied and helped by two assistant referees (one on each side of the pitch) and a fourth one that handles small issues like showing injury time duration, checking a substitute player's equipment and replacing one of the three main referees if they can't continue the game. Top of the Rules
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6.
The Assistant Referees - As I explained above, the assistant
referees are placed on the sides of the pitch (one each) and their main role
is to help the main referee with some decisions. Actually, the assistant referee
has no decision power, he can only signal a game issue (an offside, a foul,
handball and so forth) but it's up to the central ref if he's or she is going
to take up the assistant's advice.
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7. The Duration of the Match - Standard adult games are limited
by the official soccer rules to two halves of 45 minutes each, separated by
a 15 minutes break. This is not the actual time of play, since this 90 minute
clock ticks even when the ball is out of play, during substitutions and so forth.
In order to try to balance this timing a bit, the end of each half also brings
a few minutes of "injury time" on the table.
In some cases, when the match must have a winner (a knockout match for example), two extra mini-periods of 15 minutes each, with no break between them are added. If the match is tied at the end of extra time as well, the players go on for a penalty-shootout that will eventually decide the winner. Top
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8. The
Start and Restart of Play - There are 8 reasons for which the game
can be stopped and similarly, 8 ways to restart it. Each period of time starts
with a kick-off (1) and the game is also restarted with a kick-off
if a team scores a goal. If the ball goes out on the side lines, the player
who last touched the ball conceded a throw-in (2). The game
is restarted with the other team throwing the ball back into play. Top
of the Rules
The
goal kick (3) is awarded to the defending team, if the attacking
team took the ball out of play on the defending team's goal line. The game is
restarted with the goalkeeper kicking it from within the safety box. If the
defending team touches the ball last and it goes over their own goal line, outside
of the goal itself, then the opposing team earns a corner kick
(4) and they will be required to restart the game from the corner nearest to
where the ball went out.
An
indirect free kick (5) is awarded when a team produces a non-penal
foul (dangerous play or offside for example) and the game is restarted with
a ground kick that cannot be taken towards goal (if a player scores directly
from an indirect free kick, without another player touching the ball, the goal
won't stand). A direct free kick (6) is caused by a foul or
handball and unlike the indirect free kick it can be struck directly towards
the goal. Top of the Rules
A
penalty kick (7) is similar to a direct free kick in that it
is caused by a foul or handball, but the offence occurs inside the defending
team's penalty area. The game is restarted with one of the attacking team's
players shooting for goal from the penalty spot (11 meters, perpendicularly
on goal), with nothing but a goalkeeper to beat.
The last of these eight soccer rules is rarer and it's called the dropped ball (8). The dropped ball occurs when the referee stops the game for a special reason (an injured player, ball becoming defective or the interference of an external factor) and the game is restarted with him dropping the ball from shoulder height in front of two players who will battle for possession (sort of how basketball matches decide initial possession). Top
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9.
Ball In and Out of Play - According to the official soccer
rules, the ball is in play all throughout the match duration, except when it
passes a bounding line (goal lines and touch lines), when an offence occurs
or when play is stopped by the referee. In these particular cases, the ball
is out of play and the soccer players cannot score goals or interact with the
ball. In addition, substitutions can only occur when the ball is out of play
according to the rules for the game of soccer. Top of the Rules
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10. The Methods of Scoring - As long as the ball is in play
and no infringements of any soccer rules are being made, the players can score
goals. A goal is considered when the ball crosses one of the goal areas with
its entire circumference. Goals can be scored from action, from penalty spots
and direct free kicks.
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11. The Offside - Since this is one of the trickiest rules of soccer today, I've decided to explain it in detail in a separate article on offside soccer rules.
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12.
Fouls and Misconduct - There's a difference between fouls and
misconduct that many people fail to understand. A foul can occur when a player
tries to get the ball from his opponent and kicks him or pushes him away accidentally,
whereas misconduct means that a player willfully targets his opponent and punches,
kicks or pushes him away.
Fouls can only occur when
the ball is in play, but misconduct can occur when it's out of play as well.
Depending on the seriousness of the foul or misconduct, the referee can penalize
it with a yellow or red card in addition to a free kick or penalty kick.
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13. Free
Kicks - I've explained most of the soccer rules regarding free kicks
in "Soccer Rule Number 8 – The Start and Restart of Play". One
additional soccer rule worth mentioning is that players from the opposing team
must be at least 9.15 meters away from the position where the free kick will
be struck. Also, the player that kicks the ball initially on a free kick cannot
touch it again until a teammate or opposing player touches it. Top
of the Rules
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14.
Penalty Kicks - Penalty kicks are conceded when a defended
player fouls or commits handball inside the 18 yard box (commonly known as the
penalty box). It's important to know that not all offences inside the penalty
box are punished with a penalty kick. For example, if a player commits dangerous
play inside his own penalty box, the referee will award an indirect free kick
from the place that the offence occurred.
When the penalty kick is taken, the only two players in the 18 yard box are the penalty taker and the defending team's goalkeeper. Everyone else must sit outside the box and can only move towards the ball once it is kicked. So if the penalty is saved by the goalkeeper or strikes the bar, a player could run from the edge of the box and gain possession.
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15. The
Throw In - When the ball goes out of play on the side lines, the opponent
of the player who last touched the ball will take a throw in. The throwing method
has to follow some rather strict rules; otherwise the referee might dictate
a throw in for the other team. The player taking the throw must keep his feet
outside the side line, with the sole on the ground and the actual throw must
be executed with the ball over the thrower's head.
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16. The
Goal Kick - The goal kick is a means of restarting play after the attacking
team took the ball over the defending team's byline. The goal kick acts as a
direct free kick, so if a player would kick the ball so hard that it would reach
the opposing team's goal and score, the goal would count.
One extra soccer rule regarding the goal kick states that the kick must be powerful enough to pass the penalty area. So in case the goalkeeper executes the goal kick and passes the ball to a teammate in his own penalty box, the goal kick is re-taken.
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17. The Corner Kick - The last of the 17 rules of soccer refers
to the corner kick, which occurs when the ball passes over the defending player's
goal line, with a defender having touched the ball last. The corner kick acts
as a direct free kick taken from the corner of the pitch (if the ball passes
the line on the left of the goal, the corner is taken from the left corner and
if it passes on the right, the corner is taken from the right corner).
The same rules as for a direct free kick apply, in that opposing players must
be at least 9.15 meters away from the corner, the corner taker may score directly
from the corner kick and the kicker can't play the ball a second time until
it's touched by another player. The only additional rule is that the ball be
placed in the corner arc.
Well that's pretty much all you need to know about soccer and soccer rules.
Most of these rules seem harder than they actually are on paper and if you watch
a couple of matches you'll soon get the hang of them naturally. The only one
that requires some special attention is the offside soccer rule, which indeed
can be harder to understand without the proper explanation, so check out the
offside article on the site for a more detailed clarification on that. Top
of the Rules
Soccer injuries
are generally defined as either cumulative (overuse) or acute (traumatic) injuries.
Overuse injuries occur over time due to stress on the muscles, joints and soft
tissues without proper time for healing. They begin as a small, nagging ache
or pain, and can grow into a debilitating injury if they aren't treated early.
Acute or traumatic injuries occur due to a sudden force, or impact, and can be quite dramatic
As a dynamic, high speed game where physical contact occurs both incidentally and deliberately, soccer creates many circumstances where injury may result. Most soccer injuries are relatively minor in terms of the degree of disability created; more serious injuries often result through the execution of a hard sliding tackle or other sudden physical collisions between players. Data from researchers regarding soccer injuries indicates that there are over 150,000 soccer injuries reported annually in the United States, among a playing population of over three million athletes; approximately 45% of these injuries occur in players under the age of 15 years.
As
would be expected in a sport that centers on kicking a ball, injuries to the
lower legs are the most common injuries in soccer. Ankle sprains are another
common occurrence, often created by either an awkward plant of one of the feet
while running or changing direction, or by stepping on another player's foot,
causing the ankle to twist forcefully. Most soccer players wear a cleat that
is low cut to permit greater maneuverability, and this footwear is not naturally
supportive of the ankle.
The Achilles tendon is vulnerable to two kinds of injury. Given the explosive movement required of a soccer player, the Achilles must instantly respond to the impulses of musculoskeletal movement. If the Achilles tendon is imbalanced in terms
Injuries to the lower legs, ankles, and feet are the most common injuries in soccer. of either its strength relative to the connected muscles of the calf, or if the tendon is not sufficiently flexible, the fibers of the tendon can become overstretched or subjected to micro tears. The second type of injury to the Achilles results from the tendon being kicked from behind by an opposing player. The resulting trauma can significantly damage the tendon fibers.
Soccer players are subjected to numerous varieties of accidental kicks from an opponent in the course of play. Most of these kicks result only in contusions, as the players wear relatively durable shin guards. More serious injuries to the lower leg may occur as a result of a defender's sliding tackle, where the defender slides forcefully along the turf to strip the ball from an opponent. If the tackle is not executed cleanly, the offensive player's leg may be caught and twisted, the mechanics necessary for either a significant ankle sprain or a fracture of the tibia/fibula bones in the lower shin.
The knee can also be
injured by a sliding tackle, if the offensive player's leg is planted on impact
and the knee joint is forced laterally (sideways); this type of collision prevents
any of the force of impact being directed and absorbed anywhere but the knee
joint. In such circumstances, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a large
connective tissue between the femur and the tibia in the knee joint, is at the
greatest risk of injury. Other knee injuries occur in the same fashion as ankle
injuries, where the leg is planted forcefully on an uneven surface, and the
ultimate stress radiates directly into the knee.
Thigh injuries in soccer are typically one of two types. The first are contusions, as the thigh is exposed to all manner of physical contact in the course of a game. The second type of injuries are those common to all other running sports, muscle strains and pulls caused by repetitive and often explosive acceleration. Soccer players who have an imbalance in the function of the hamstring, which provides flexion to the knee, and that of the quadriceps, which gives the knee its ability to extend, will often experience injuries to these muscle and tendon groups.
Groin injuries are often the bane of the high-level soccer player. The structure of muscles, tendons, and ligaments in the upper thighs and the lower abdomen is complex; these tissues are also vulnerable to injury in soccer due to the almost constant lateral and stop and start movements that place stress on them. The abdominal injury that has attracted attention throughout the sports world that is popularly called a sports hernia is, in fact, a tear of the groin inguinal hernia, first identified among English professional soccer players in 1980. Such injuries require surgical repair.
Other than contusions, injuries to the upper body in soccer are less common. The collisions in the sport will occasionally cause a shoulder separation, which is damage to the acrimoclavical (AC) joint, the connection between the shoulder blade and the collarbone. Soccer goalies are more exposed to shoulder injury as a result of diving across the crease to make saves and striking the goal post.
Head
injuries may occasionally arise due to collisions with opponents—concussion
and damage to the player's teeth are the greatest risk. Many players wear mouth
guards to protect their teeth, which has the additional benefit of reducing
the effect of concussions by keeping the tempomandibular joint (TMJ) from being
driven upward into the skull. Since the mid-1990s, there has been controversy
in the international sports science community as to whether the repeated heading
of a soccer ball will cause damage to the brain or to the muscles and structure
of the neck. Various studies initiated by soccer nations have not yet resolved
this question.
Beach Soccer (Beasal) started in Brazil, more precisely at Leme beach, Rio de Janeiro, and has grown to be an international game. The participation of internationally renowned players such as flamboyant Frenchman Eric Cantona, legendary Spanish strikers Michel and Julio Salinas and Brazilian stars such as Romario, Júnior and Zico has helped to expand television coverage to large audiences in over 170 countries worldwide, making Beach Soccer one of the fastest growing professional sports in the world and converting it into a major showcase for international commercial opportunity.
Beach Soccer had been played recreationally all over the world for many years and in many different formats. In 1992 the laws of the game were envisioned and a pilot event was staged by the founding partners of BSWW in Los Angeles. By 1993, the first professional beach soccer competition was organized at Miami Beach, with teams from the United States, Brazil, Argentina and Italy taking part. Top
In April 1994 the first event to be covered by network television transmissions was held on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro and the city hosted the first Beach Soccer World Championship in 1995. The competition was won by the host nation, making Brazil the first ever World Champions of Beach Soccer. The success of the tournament saw commercial interest begin to match developments on the pitch and growing demand for the sport around the world gave rise to the Pro Beach Soccer Tour in 1996.
The first Pro Beach Soccer Tour included a total of 60 games in two years across South America, Europe, Asia and the United States, attracting major names both on and off the pitch. Interest generated by the tour in Europe led to the creation of the European Pro Beach Soccer League in 1998, providing a solid infrastructure that would increase the professionalism of the spectacle on all levels. The EPBSL, now known as the Euro BS League, brought promoters together from across the continent and satisfied the demands of the media, sponsors and fans. Only four years on from its creation, the successful first step in the building of a legitimate Worldwide Competition Structure for the sport of Pro Beach Soccer had been taken.
Behind the scenes key developments were also taking place, with the Beach Soccer Company relocating its headquarters to Europe, firstly to Monaco and then Barcelona, before becoming Pro Beach Soccer, S.L. in April 2000. One year later they would join forces with Octagon Koch Tavares, who had continued to organise the World Championships and events in South America, to form a single entity known as Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW), with the aim of unifying all major Pro Beach Soccer tournaments in the world under the same structure and providing representation of the sport to major sponsors, the media and FIFA.
The EPBSL was also flourishing; a nail-biting 2000 season was decided in the closing match of the final tournament when Spain beat Portugal in an intense encounter. The Americas League also took shape, with teams entered from North and South America, whilst the Pro Beach Soccer Tour extended its horizons to the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Mexico, Greece, Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom. Top
The next four years would see this growth consolidated by further progress both on and off the pitch, with the EPBSL emerging as the strongest Pro Beach Soccer competition in the world. By 2004, some seventeen nations had entered teams, with this number expected to rise to over twenty for the Euro BS League in 2005, contributing to vastly expanded television coverage of the series and unprecedented demand from promoters in more than seventy countries looking to stage events.
Such interest has allowed BSWW to strike major sponsorship deals with international companies including McDonalds, Coca-Cola and MasterCard, who stepped up their involvement in 2004 and are now title sponsors of the Euro BS League. Recognition has also come from FIFA, who have cited BSWW as the major entity behind the creation and growth of Beach Soccer, forming a highly promising partnership that that was in its full splendour seen in the 2005 world cup, held in copacabana beach, Brazil. France won the first world cup and the next year Brazil won it at the same venue. The world cup has continued to flourish with the first world cup held outside Brazil in 2008. Top
Each
team consists of five players, including the goalkeeper and an unlimited amount
of substitutions, from a selection of 3 to 5 players. Throw-ins and kick-ins
mean the pace and flow of the game is much higher than regular football. Shoes
are not allowed, although ankle guards are permitted. Goal kicks are taken by
the goalie using his hands to throw the ball. Top
Match length
A game lasts thirty-six minutes, and is split up into three twelve-minute periods. Every beach soccer match is won by one team, with the game going into three minutes of extra time, followed by a penalty shootout if the score is still on level terms after normal time. Unlike association football, penalty kicks are decided by sudden death rules.
Referees and discipline
Three referees officiate the match. Two on the pitch and one off, controlling the teams' benches. Any fouls committed lead to a free kick on goal, which has to be taken by the player who was fouled, unless awarded for deliberate handling. As in Association football, yellow and red cards can be issued. However unlike in the main game, when a player receives a yellow card he must leave the pitch for two minutes and the team must play with four players for that duration of time. When a player receives a red card, he is dismissed from the game entirely – unlike in 11-a-side football, the team can bring on a substitute to replace the dismissed player after two minutes.
Pitch
A beach soccer pitch is considerably smaller than a regular football pitch. In international competition, the pitch is composed entirely of sand and is cleared of pebbles and seashells, along with any other objects which could injure a player.
The pitch is rectangular in shape, and the touch line is longer than the goal line.
The pitch dimensions are:
Length
35-37m / 38.2-40.4 yds
Width
26-28m / 28.4-30.6 yds
The penalty area is within 9 m (9.8 yds) of the goals, and is marked by a yellow flag situated in touch. Two red flags opposite each other are at the centre of the pitch to represent the half-way line. Top