The laws of football
History and development
The rules of football are known as
Laws of Football[?]
[1] (http://www.fifa.com/refs/laws_E.html) and are based on
efforts made in the mid-19th century to standardise the rules of the widely
varying games of football played at the
public schools and
universities of England[?]. The first set of rules resembling the modern
game were produced at
Trinity College, Cambridge in
1848, at a meeting attended by representatives from
Eton,
Harrow,
Rugby,
Winchester and
Shrewsbury, but it was far from universally adopted. In particular, the
width of a football goal is defined as the distance between two trees in a
Cambridge park. A number of revised rules were subsequently proposed, most
notably by the Sheffield football club (formed by former pupils from Harrow)
in
1857 and the rules of JC Thring in
1862. These efforts culminated in the formation of the Football
Association in
1863. Between
October and
December 1863 at the Freemason's tavern in
London, the Football Association held a series of six meetings which
eventually produced the first comprehensive set of rules. At the final
meeting, the representative from Blackheath withdrew his club from the FA
over a rule outlawing hacking (kicking an opponent in the shins). The
Blackheath club later went on to form the
Rugby Football Union[?].
Today the laws of football are determined by the
International Football Association Board[?] (IFAB). The board was formed
in 1882 after a meeting in Manchester of the Football Association, the
Scottish Football Association[?] (SFA), the
Football Association of Wales[?] (FAW) and the
Irish Football Association[?] (IFA) (now the governing body in
Northern Ireland and not to be confused with the
Football Assocation of Ireland[?] (FAI) the governing body in the
Republic of Ireland). The International football body FIFA was formed in
Paris in
1884 and declared that they would adhere to the rules laid down by the
IFAB. The growing popularity of the international game led to the admittance
of FIFA representatives to the IFAB in
1913. Today the board is made up of four representatives from FIFA and
one representative from each of the British associations.
The official rules of the game are
- Law 1: The Field of Play
- Law 2: The Ball
- Law 3: The Number of Players
- Law 4: The Players' Equipment
- Law 5: The Referee
- Law 6: The Assistant Referees
- Law 7: The Duration of the Match
- Law 8: The Start and Restart of Play
- Law 9: The Ball In and Out of Play
- Law 10: The Method of Scoring
- Law 11:
Offside
- Law 12: Fouls and Misconduct
- Law 13: Free Kicks
- Law 14: The Penalty Kick
- Law 15: The Throw-In
- Law 16: The Goal Kick
- Law 17: The Corner Kick
Two teams of eleven players on each side contend to get a spherical
ball into the other team's goal. The side which does this the most
frequently is the winner. The primary rule for this objective is that nearly
all players cannot use their hands or arms in any way while on the field.
The game is presided over by a referee, whose decisions are final,
assisted by two linesmen, now officially referred to in these days
of
PC as referee's assistants. In many games a replacement is
available, and he or she is commonly known as the fourth official
Each team has a goal keeper that is allowed to touch the ball with his arms
and shoulders when he is standing within the outer marked area around the
home goal, which is called the
penalty area (aka the "box"). The penalty area or the 18 yards
box, has limits set twelve yards to each side of the goal, and 18 yards in
front of it.
The ten outfield players on either side are not allowed to touch the ball
with their arms or shoulders whilst the ball is in play, but may however
play it with any other part of their anatomies. The sole exception to this
is when the ball is kicked out of play and a throw in results.
A number, (variable by league and nation), of players may be replaced by
substitutes during the course of the game. The usual reasons for a
player's replacement include injury, tiredness, ineffectiveness, a tactical
switch, or to waste a little time at the end of a finely poised game.
Illustration: simplified schematic of the pitch.
According to
FIFA regulations the length of the football field (or "pitch") for
international matches should be in the range (100-110
metres) and the width should be in the range
64-75 metres. (For other matches the constraints are looser: 90-120
metres length by 45-90 metres width.)
The pitch is divided at the centre: this is the halfway line.
Exactly halfway across the halfway line is the centre spot (this is
where the ball commences play from). A circle is drawn around the centre
spot, the centre circle which has a radius of 10 yards from the
centre spot.
At either end of the pitch is a goal. This is a letterbox-shaped
receptacle with a net behind it whose dimensions are: 8 feet in height and
24 feet in width. Two boxes are marked out on the pitch in front of the
goal. The smaller box, which is laid out to surround the goal at an equal
distance of 6 yards is to denote where the goalkeeper is to take goal
kicks from. The outer box is known as the penalty area or the
18 yards box, and is set twelve yards to each side of the goal, and
18 yards in front of it. A small semicircle is also drawn at the edge of the
penalty area, the D. This is an exclusion zone for all players
other than the one taking the kick in the event of a penalty being awarded.
The penalty spot is immediately in the middle of and 12 yards in
front of the goal.
In each corner of the pitch a small quarter circle with a 1 yard radius
is drawn where corner kicks are taken from.
Ordinarily a match lasts 90 minutes (two halves - 45 minutes each) plus
any additional time for stoppages. The only events for which time may be
added are for the assessment of injured players, the removal of injured
players and time wasting (which may include time for substitutions). Some
games, particularly knock-out competition matches, provide for 'extra time'
in the event of a tied result at the end of normal time. Other variations on
a theme such as the 'golden goal' or 'penalty shoot-outs' may also be
involved in concluding a game.
