Soccer

Soccer, also 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. The match is played on a rectangular field known as a pitch, which has a goal at each end. Players primarily use their feet, but they can also utilize other parts of the body except for the arms and hands (goalkeepers are an exception, as they can use their hands within their penalty area).

Soccer is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) at the international level and is one of the most popular sports worldwide. The game is played in multiple formats, ranging from amateur to professional leagues, and culminates in prestigious tournaments like the FIFA World Cup. Each match is typically organized into two halves, with the team that scores the most goals being declared the winner. If both teams score the same number of goals, the match may end in a draw or proceed to additional time or penalties, depending on the competition’s rules. Soccer emphasizes teamwork, strategy, and endurance, and it has a significant cultural impact in many nations.