Football Or Soccer: Basic Rules Of The Game

Understanding how soccer is being played is very easy. But to assist you more when watching the game, here are some of the basic rules: The game is played on a rectangular field. The Length is not less than 100 yards but not more than 130 yards. The width is not less than 50 yards and not more than 100 yards. The length is always longer than the width.The game is divided into 2, 45-minute halves. A stoppage time may be added after each half. There are 11 players on each side, usually composed of 1 goalkeeper, 2 forwards, 4 defenders and 4 midfielders.The first possession is decided by a toss-coin. The winner of the toss shall have the choice of kick-offs or ends.The game starts in the middle of the field. All the players from each side must be in their respective half. When the goal is scored, the game is restarted in the middle of the field with the team losing the goal in possession.The goalkeeper is the only player who can touch the ball by his hands when the ball is at play.The ball that goes out of bounds must be thrown-in by a player from the team that did not touch the ball last. The player must have both feet grounded during throw-in. A corner kick is awarded to the attacking team if the ball is last touched by the opposing team and goes out of bound in the goal line without scoring. A goal kick is given if the ball is last touched by the attacking team and goes out of bound in the goal line without scoring. In case of a bad tackle inside the penalty area, the offensive team is awarded a free kick.A free kick is considered a goal and is equivalent to one point.Off-side is called against the attacking team if at least one of its players is caught nearer to the opponent's goal line. A player is not penalized if is just merely caught in the off-side position or if he receives the ball direct from corner kick, throw in, or corner kick. A penalty is called if the player receives the ball in the off-side position or his teammate passes him the ball while he is in the off-side position. A yellow card is given to a player when a player is guilty of committing an offense that is more serious than a foul. Red card is received if the player has committed a yellow card for the second time, or is guilty of committing a severe violation. Red card means automatic ejection from the game without a substitute.
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