Football

Football is the most popular sport on the planet. There’s no doubt about that, with every country in the world having their own teams and a larger national team for competing in the world cup every four years. Some of the highest paid and most well known sports stars come from the world of football, from David Beckham to Wayne Rooney and from Michael Owen to Thierry Henri, these men have led teams to victory on countless occasions and are now household names. Then there are the teams, some of which are world famous such as Manchester United and others are followed by millions of people, including Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool FC, Everton, Newcastle United, Birmingham City, Leeds United, Aston Villa, Stoke City, Port Vale, Portsmouth FC, Blackburn Rovers and Nottingham Forest.

It has been around for a long time as well, having originated in its current form in England back in 1863. Since then people all over the world have enjoyed the game in which a ball is kicked into the goal of the opposing team. Played on rectangular grass and with goals on either side, it is an iconic layout. By scoring more goals than your opponents, you can be crowned the winner and if you tie, it’s up to extra time or a
penalty shoot out to make a decision. The year this was codified was the year in which the Football Association (FA) was formed and since then we haven’t looked back with the modern day game governed by the world governing body the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

For many, football is defined by the rule that is famous as something many people do not understand – the offside rule. To this day people are baffled by this, but it is a necessary rule whereby a player finds himself closer to the goal line of the opposition than the ball as well as the second last opponent. This becomes hugely influential at critical points in the game when a goal could be disallowed if it is found that the player was offside.
With footballs stars, its competitiveness and its world famous teams, it will continue to dominate the world of sport for many years to come. The kids kicking a ball around in a local park could be the stars of tomorrow.