Question Number: 16343

Other 8/17/2007

RE: ? Under 15

chelsea bradford of ashland, ky united states asks...

i had a few questions and i am doing a report for a gym teacher on soccer because i am disabled to participate in gym because i have a 3rd degree burn on my foot (dont ask how it happened long story)

1.what are the rules?
2.how many fouls can a player make?
3.where did soccer come from?
4.what is another name for soccer?
5.diagram of soccer field and the positions

please if you could get back to me as soon as possible i would greatly appreciate it

sincerely
chelsea bradford

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

I recommend you try the www.fifa.com website and/or the www.ussoccer.com website. You will find the rules of play (called the Laws of the Game) and as much history as you can stand. Good luck on your report! Oh, and "the other name" for soccer is football. It is called 'football', futbol and various other spellings the world over, except in the USA, because we use that term for the pointy-ended ball game.

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

Sorry to hear about your foot.

Study the laws of the game to learn about them. There is no set number of fouls a player can commit before they are ejected, like in basketball.

Where soccer came from... that?s tricky, some people think it was played by Native Americans, other think the game originated in Africa, Asia, or Europe. It depends on what country you ask the question in! To some degree there is truth to this - primitive forms of the game used to be played in different forms all over the world, long before the advent of truly organized team sports.

That said, it is accepted that the current game that you know and love called "soccer", properly known as "association football" was invented in England and the other countries of the English Isle. Organized forms of the game had started popping up during the Dark ages. At one time a football game was played with teams of more than 1000 players per team and the goals were miles apart! Many times the two sides played to score just 1 goal, because it took so long to score. Back then you were allowed to carry the ball about. The game was so violent that people died while playing it. This led to various kings and queens trying to ban the sport - but even they couldn't keep it away from the people. It truly was and remains "the people's game".

Overtime the game was developed in the boarding schools of England. Finally in 1863 the very first meeting of the FA (Football Association) was held and the first sets of laws were written. This was significant because this was when the split between soccer and rugby happened. Some teams decided not to join the FA because they wanted to be able to pick the ball up and run with it (and kick each other while doing so!) and the other schools did not want to allow the use of hands. So born out of that dispute was the game we play today.

Once the laws were finalized, it didn't take long for the other "countries" of the British Isle (Scotland, Ireland, and Wales) to form their own Football Associations. Then in 1912 FIFA was formed. Now the laws are written by a group called "The International Football Association Board". The original 4 FA's sit on this board and each country gets 1 vote; FIFA also sits on this board and get 4 votes. When they want to change the laws 6 votes are needed to carry a motion. It has been via this process that the laws have changed from how the game used to be played in 1863 and how it is played today!

I hope this little bit of history is useful for you. Check out FIFA.com for more on the history of our (asktheref.com's) favorite sport!