Soccer

Soccer, known as football in most countries outside North America, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players each. The objective of the game is to score goals by getting a spherical ball into the opposing team’s net using any part of the body except the arms and hands; only the goalkeepers are permitted to handle the ball, and only within the penalty area. The game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. Soccer is governed by a set of rules known as the Laws of the Game, maintained by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).

Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world, with millions of fans and players across continents. Matches are typically played in two 45-minute halves with a 15-minute halftime interval. The team with the most goals at the end of the match wins; if the match is tied, various competitive formats may be employed to determine a winner, depending on the competition’s rules. Soccer emphasizes skills such as passing, dribbling, and teamwork, and is renowned for its passionate fanbase and global tournaments, most notably the FIFA World Cup.