Fundamental Skills in Football

replacement for one of the 11 current

RULES OF THE GAME players.
Field of play Football can be played on a
natural or artificial (e.g. Astroturf) surface.
EQUIPMENT
However, the shape of the field must be Basic equipment is the team jersey, shorts,
rectangular, with the dimensions of 90-120 shinguards with long socks and studded
metres long by 45-90 metres wide. Notably, boots or trainers depending on the surface.
the guidelines for international matches are The goalkeeper is also permitted gloves and
stricter (100-110 metres x 64-75 metres). a different coloured jersey for identification
purposes.
 Goal Area: Starts 5.5 metres
from each goalpost and extends REFEREE
5.5 metres out, with the two lines
joining vertically The referee adjudicates the match in
collaboration with two linesmen
 Penalty Area: Starts 16.5 (properly referred to as ‘referee’s
metres from each goalpost and assistants’) and a fourth official, situated
extends 16.5 metres out, with on the touchline, if necessary. The
the two lines joining vertically. referee’s tasks include acting as a
timekeeper (although with advice on the
 Flagpost: Placed at each amount of ‘injury time’ to be added on to
corner, with a quartercircle on the 45 minutes each half to compensate
the field (1 metre in radius). for injuries and other stoppages),
awarding free kicks and penalties and
 Goals: 7.32 metre area between generally dealing with anything requiring
the posts, and 2.44 metres high. a ruling. Can also choose to allow play
The posts cannot exceed 5 to proceed in case of a foul, providing
inches in width. there is an ‘advantage’ to be gained by
the team against which the foul has
THE BALL been committed.
Naturally spherical, with a circumference ASSISTANT REFEREES
of 27-28 inches.
Follow play from their respective touch lines
NUMBER OF PLAYERS and help to decide on throw-ins, corner kicks
and goal kicks along with offside decisions
One of the eleven is classified as the (although naturally the referee has the final
goalkeeper and permitted to handle the say). Can also draw the referee’s attention
ball in his team’s penalty area. The and advise on or alert him/her to any on-field
eleven players are supplemented by the activity, which can influence all manner of
option to bring on a maximum of three decisions. To signify their decision or grab
the referee’s attention, they wave a brightly
substitutes from a pre-decided list of
colored small flag, which they keep at all
three to seven players (the number of times.
substitutes permitted is slightly higher
for international friendly matches). DURATION OF THE MATCH
In order to bring on a substitute, the The match officially lasts 90 minutes, split
referee must first be informed and then into two 45-minute halves with a half-time
there has to be a break in the play (for interval of no longer than 15 minutes.
example, a free-kick or a throw-in). The In the knock-out stages of competitions,
extra-time is used if there is no winner after
substitute then comes on as a
90 minutes. This extra period is 30 minutes,
split into two 15-minute halves. If extra-time To be in an offside position is to be closer to
does not find a winner, then a penalty shoot- the opponent’s goal than the last opposition
out takes place, where five players from outfield player (therefore excluding the
each team are selected and alternate shots goalkeeper) and the ball. However, to
on goal from the penalty spot against the commit an offside offence is to have the ball
opposition goalkeeper. In that instance, the played forward towards you while in that
team with the most successful penalties is position. As such, you can be in an offside
declared the winner. If they are still tied then position and not commit an offside
they will move on to sudden-death penalties, offence.
where each team will take one penalty until
one of the two sides has scored move than FOULS AND MISCONDUCT
the other after the side amount of spot kicks.
A foul can take place anywhere on the pitch,
START AND RESTART OF PLAY and a free kick is awarded where that foul
takes place (excepting fouls in the penalty
A coin toss takes place just before the game area, which result in a penalty kick). The
starts, the winner of which will get the choice referee can choose simply to award the foul,
of choosing which end to attack or whether speak to the player about his conduct or
to kick-off. Should they choose to kick-off take matters further.
then the other captain will be allowed elect
which end to attack in the first half. Should PUNISHMENT FOR OFFENCES
the winner decide to choose which end to
attack then the loser can choose whether to If the single infraction is deemed serious
kick-off in the first or second half. enough or the culprit persistently offends
during a match, the referee can choose to
The kick-off is also used after a goal has take extra action against a particular
been scored, the task befalling the team individual:
who has conceded, and for both halves of  
extra-time.  Yellow Card - A ‘caution’ given to a
player. If two of these cards are
At the kick-off, players from each side must shown to the same player, it means
all be in their half of the field. The actual a…
kick-off takes place on the centre spot in the
centre circle. The player who kicks off  Red Card - Showing a red card to a
cannot touch it again until another player player means he/she is expelled
has made contact. from the match. A straight red card
(no previous ‘caution’) can be
SCORING shown for extreme offences such as
serious foul play, violent conduct,
A team can only score if the whole ball spitting, deliberate hand-ball to
crosses the goal line between the goalposts. prevent a goal, a professional foul
The winner is the team who scores more (denying a goalscoring opportunity)
goals, except in a competition where the and insulting language and/or
‘away goals’ rule applies. The ‘away goals’ gestures.
rule means that, if a team scores a goal
away from their home stadium, the goal FREE KICKS
counts extra (therefore, a 1-1 score line
would mean the away team wins). Whenever a free kick is taken, the
opposition must be at least 10 yards away
OFFSIDE from the ball until it is delivered. If this rule is
not adhered to, the kick is retaken. There
The perennial problem for newcomers to are two types of free kick awarded,
football is understanding the offside rule. depending on the nature of the offence:
This is made somewhat harder by the fact
there are two elements to offsides in  Direct free kick - Allows the team
football: being in an offside position, and to take a direct shot at the
committing an offside offence. opponent’s goal. Awarded as a
result of fouls with evidence intent to
harm or reckless/excessive force
 (e.g. a sliding tackle which takes the Opponents must be 10 yards from the
player first, shirt-pulling and a corner arc and the kicker cannot touch the
deliberate hand-ball). ball a second time without contact from
someone else beforehand (or the opponent
 Indirect free kick - A direct strike receives an indirect free kick).
on goal is not permitted, meaning
any shot must come from the
second player to touch the ball after
the kick is taken. If a direct strike is
successfully made on goal, a goal
kick to the opposition is given. An
indirect free kick is awarded for any
foul which is dangerous or impedes
an opponent.

PENALTY KICK
 A penalty kick is awarded for offences
taking place in the penalty and goal area. A
nominated member of the team awarded the
penalty is allowed a strike at goal from the
penalty spot (see the image in the ‘field of
play’ section), with only the goalkeeper to
beat. The goalkeeper must remain on his
line until the ball has been kicked, and all
other players must be outside the area
behind the penalty spot. After he has taken
the kick, he cannot strike the ball again
without another player touching the ball.

THROW-IN
A throw-in is awarded when the whole ball
crosses the touch line (conceded by the
team who last touched the ball). It is
delivered off the field of play with both hands
and from behind and over the deliverer’s
head. Otherwise, it is deemed to be a ‘foul
throw’ and a throw-in is given to the
opposition. It cannot go direct to the
goalkeeper’s hands (if on the same team)
and you cannot score directly from a throw-
in.

GOAL KICK
 Awarded once the whole ball crosses the
goal line if it last touched an opposition
player. The ball is kicked from anywhere in
the goal area outfield but must cross the
penalty area line.

CORNER KICK
 Awarded once the whole ball crosses the
goal line of the opposition, after last touching
one of their players. Taken from the corner
of whichever side the ball exited the field, in
the prescribed quarter-circle space.