Basic Rules of Football

Football is a sport loved by many around the world. While it is popularly considered football, in North America, you might hear it called soccer. 

It does not matter whether it is football or soccer to you, we are talking about a beautiful game that is played on a rectangular pitch with goal posts at either ends of the pitch and 22 players trying to outscore their opponent. 

Like every other game today, football has rules and in today’s article, we will be looking at 5 basic rules of football. 

If you are new to the game or have not known what football is about, after reading this piece, you will have gained sufficient understanding about how football works. 

5 Basic Rules of Football 

There are so many rules in football but for brevity I am going to show you five of these rules: 

1. Match duration 
2. Ball handling 
3. Offside 
4. Number of players 
5. Freekicks and penalties 

Match Duration 

The time for a football match is 90 minutes which is divided into 45 minutes of the first half and 45 minutes of the second half. There is always a 15 minute half-time period between the first 45 minutes and the second 45 minutes. 

Because of delays during the match, there could be additional time sometimes called stoppage time or extra time. This is time that is added to the 45 minutes of both halves before the referee blows his/her whistle. 

If there are injuries, time wasted due to VAR checks, and other gimmicks by players, the 4th official who is a part of the refereeing team can decide to add more minutes to the match. 

In some cases, when there has to be a winner and the match ends in a tie, then “Extra Time” is played. This is another 30 minutes of football that is divided into two halves as well after the 90 minutes of regular time has been exhausted without a winner. 

After that time, if there is no winner still, then the game goes into penalties where a winner will definitely be decided. 

There are games where the extratime and penalties apply. It is not in every game. For instance, a league match does not need to go into extra time and penalties but a match in a knockout stage of a tournament or a final match will. 

Ball Handling 

Football is designed to be kicked around and this should not be confused with American Football where players hold the ball and run around. In football, as in soccer, the idea is to kick the ball around, evading opponents, until there is a chance to kick the ball into the opponent’s goal post. 

The goalkeepers are the only ones that are allowed to touch the ball with their hands but they can only do so when they are in the 18-yard box. Also, they cannot hold the ball if their teammate passes the ball with their feet. If the teammate passes the ball to them with their head, then they can hold on to it. 

Any back pass to the keeper can only be played with the foot and not carried. 

Players can only use their hand to handle the ball if play is stopped or the ball goes out for a throw-in or goal kick. A throw-in occurs when the ball crosses the touchline and a goal is when the ball crosses the goal-line. 

Offside 

Another interesting rule is the offside rule. The offside rule stipulates that a player is offside if he is nearer to the opponent’s goal post than the ball and the last defender. So, if Team A is playing against Team B and a player from Team A is closer to the opponents goal than the last defender for Team B and the ball, then Team A’s player is offside. 

Now, there is a unique idea that most people do not realize. The player will only be judged offside if he is in front of the last defender and the ball. If by any chance, the ball is ahead of him, then he is not offside. 

Today, there are technologies to vet when a player is onside or offside. 

Number of Players 

The stipulated number of players for each team in a standard football match is 11. So, a team will have 11 players and play against another team with 11 players. 

So, at every given time, there are going to be at least 22 players on the pitch. If a player is injured and has to receive treatment, he is taken off and allowed to return when the referee decides but this does not take long as play will go on. 

Free Kicks and Penalties

Another essential part of football is the free kicks and penalties. Fouls and hand balls are treated very seriously and depending on where they happen, the referee can either award a freekick or a penalty. 

If the foul is committed in the 18-yard box, then it is a penalty. When it is committed anywhere else, then it would be a freekick. 

There is something called an indirect freekick. Before I explain that, you should know how a penalty works. When a penalty is awarded, the penalty is taken by a player facing the goalkeeper. Other players stand at the age of the 18-yard box either to clear the ball away or score on the rebound when the penalty taker plays the shot. 

Now, when a goalkeeper receives a back pass and handles the ball with their hands in the 18-yard box, an indirect freekick is given. Since it is a freekick in the 18-yard box, the opponent can try to defend the goal. So, this is not necessarily a penalty even though it happens in the box. 

Conclusion 

With this article, I believe that you now have a full understanding of what some of the basic rules of football are. You can see that the concepts are easy to understand and if you are considering a career as a footballer, then you are almost ready to get into it.