5 of 12

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 2

world now have their own football associations and therefore a governing body was needed in order to oversee the masses.

FIFA are the main governing body of soccer in the world. They are the people responsible for the World Cup I mentioned before, a competition which has been held since 1930. FIFA has 208 member associations which is actually 16 more than that of the United Nations and 3 more than the International Olympic Committee. They hold an annual awards ceremony in which the prestigious 'World Player of the Year Award' is acclaimed. This has been awarded since 1991, during which time both Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane have won three times; the most of anyone. FIFA formed in 1904 and its main headquarters are held in Zurich, Switzerland. FIFAs list of official languages includes English, French, German and Spanish. FIFA has its own anthem also, a Franz Lambert composition. This anthem is played before FIFA arranged matches and tournaments.

Soccer is played with a round ball known as a football which is kicked around the field by the 22 players (maximum) on the field of play. Each team consists of 11 players and for each game 11 players must definitely be fielded. There is one goalkeeper who is allowed to handle the ball within the 18 yard box around the goal, however none of the other 10 players on each team are able to handle the ball anywhere on the field. There are defenders who are designated the role of protecting the goal and stopping the other team from scoring in it, midfielders who can help protect the defence and also supply balls to make goals or attempt to make goals themselves, and then there are the forwards with a designated aim of trying to score as many goals as humanly possible. The more goals scored, the more effective the forward is seen to be.

The reason I said there will be 22 players maximum on the field before is because players can be given red cards for particularly poor challenges that are dangerous and potentially damaging. If a player goes in for a tackle with an intent of malice then they can be shown a yellow card or a red, a red will mean they need to leave the field, and a yellow will require that they spend the rest of the game acting with caution as two yellow cards leads to a red being shown also. So, one red card or two yellow ones means leaving the field of play and reducing your team to ten players or less.

There are professional players around the world, some of which get paid extremely high salaries for their roles. At the time of writing this, the highest paid player in soccer (football) in the world is Ronaldinho of Barcelona, followed closely by second placed David Beckham of LA Galaxy. In 2007 Ronaldinho reportedly netted $29.5 million whilst Beckham came close with his $29.1 million fortune. These are hugely paid professionals, something which goes some way in explaining and assessing the popularity of the great game that is soccer.

Soccer has been played for many years and surely will continue to be played for many years to come as well. I personally am a huge fan of the worlds most popular sport, a sport I take part in personally on a regular basis. I may not play for my country, but to do so would be a great honor. Soccer is a gentleman sport, a sport that can be enjoyed and appreciated by many and one which can be greatly rewarding and hugely fun also. Soccer; it's a game of two halves.

Learn more about this author, Richard Leigh.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2

Add your voice

Know something about Facts about soccer?
We want to hear your view. Write now!