Association football

Association football, commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries, making it the world’s most popular sport. Two of the earliest recorded football type games from Europe include Episkyros[6][7] from Ancient Greece and the Roman version Harpastum . During the 1850s, many clubs unconnected to schools or universities were formed throughout the English-speaking world, to play various forms of football.

Some came up with their own distinct codes of rules, most notably the Sheffield Football Club, formed by former public school pupils in 1857,[11] which led to formation of a Sheffield FA in 1867. the formation of The Football Association (The FA) in 1863, which first met on the morning of 26 October 1863 at the Freemasons’ Tavern in Great Queen Street, London. The Board was formed in 1886[16] after a meeting in Manchester of The Football Association, the Scottish Football Association, the Football Association of Wales, and the Irish Football Association.

The laws of the game are currently determined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). [15] The world’s oldest football competition is the FA Cup, which was founded by C. W. Alcock and has been contested by English teams since 1872. The first official international football match took place in 1872 between Scotland and England in Glasgow, again at the instigation of C. W. Alcock. England is home to the world’s first football league, FIFA, the international football body, was formed in Paris in 1904 and declared that they would adhere to Laws of the Game of the Football Association.

The growing popularity of the international game led to the admittance of FIFA representatives to the International Football Association Board in 1913. The board currently consists of four representatives from FIFA and one representative from each of the four British associations. [19]Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football which organises a World Cup every four years. latest rules of the game Skills of the game Football Skills & Soccer Skills can cover all aspects of the game from goalkeeping, to heading to tackling.

However, the term is most commonly linked to a players individual skill with the ball at his feet. There are various types of skills in football, each invented by certain gifted players that are used all over the world today. One of the most famous individual football skills is that of the ‘Cruyff Turn’, named after Ajax and Holland legend Johan Cruijff. It’s quite a simple skill, however it’s very effective when performed properly in real game situations. When facing the defender, you shift your body stance suggesting that you’ll be delivering or cross or trying a shot.

However, as your balance leans over to one side, you quickly tap the ball with your foot, just behind the standing leg. You then alter your body position again, and continue dribbling or whatever move you wish to make next. On the face of it, this football skill sounds fairly easy, however, it is very difficult to perform under the pressure of a real match, so as always, practice makes perfect. The most commonly known, and by far the most cheeky football skill is the old ‘Nutmeg’. It simply means putting the ball through both of your opponents legs.

This is probably one of the most simple concepts there is to a football skill, however, it’s been very popular. For example, Nike introduced a competition named ‘Panna K. O’, with the first person to put the ball through the others leg while regaining control on the other side would win. In a real life game, it is potentially very embarrassing for the defender, so it is likely that they will keep their legs closed more to prevent this happening. It’s important to get the timing of when you perform this football skill spot on.

Another football skill, that can at times look sensational is the ‘Overhead kick’, otherwise known as a bicycle kick or scissors kick. This is when the ball is crossed in the air to a player before getting himself into an air-borne horizontal position and making his legs into a scissors shape, with the ball making contact with one of the legs. When it works, it’s spectacular to say the least, however, when it doesn’t work you could be in from a shouting from your manager at full time.

This skill requires perfect timing, great co-ordination skills and the individual must have an athletic build. These are just some well known football skills. There are many more including the ‘Flip-Flap’ which Brazilian Ronaldinho is famous for, along with others such as the old ‘Backheel’ and conventional ‘Diving header’. When learning to perform some of these skills, it’s important to be patient. Keep watching the players do it on television, keep practicing and keep focused. Football skills are more than impressive when they pay off, so it is well worth all the time and effort.