Your Daily Facts about Soccer
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. It is a sport played between two teams with eleven players each (including the goalie). The object of soccer is to score in the opposing team’s net. Players can move the ball with any body part except their hands and arms.
Soccer originated in Britain, where it remains popular. Though it’s been around since the Middle Ages, it didn’t become the organized, well-liked sport it is today until the 1800s. Soccer is known as football in Europe; in fact, it’s known as football everywhere except for the U.S.
Sheffield FC is the world’s oldest soccer club, forming in 1857. Other clubs soon followed and soccer became semi-professional in the 1860s.
Until 1913, goalies wore the same colored jersey as their teammates.
Rugby was developed from soccer, when a soccer player at the Rugby School picked up the ball and ran with it.
The field soccer is played on is commonly known as the “pitch.” Games are called “matches.”
The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the head of organized international soccer.
The outfield of soccer is 100 to 130 yards long and 50 to 100 yards wide. A single soccer player runs about 7 miles during an entire game. The soccer ball is measured to be around 28 inches in its circumference, and I bet, you didn’t know that more than 80% of the world’s soccer balls are produced in Pakistan. The World Cup, held in a different country after every 4 years, is the biggest and the most desired event amongst the game’s fans. The first ever soccer World Cup was held in the year 1930, which was won by the host country, Uruguay. The number of spectators was 300.
Soccer is a rather simple sport to follow; there are only 17 rules. However, the offside rule in soccer is one of the most difficult sports rules to understand.
If a match is tied at the end and a winner must be determined, an extra fifteen minutes is added to the clock. If the score is still tied after these fifteen minutes, the two teams go to a shootout.
Soccer involves referees to control the game.
The goalkeeper is allowed to use his/her hands.
Soccer allow players to have shoulder to shoulder contact.