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, which is located at either end of a rectangular field known as a pitch. Players, apart from the goalkeepers, are not allowed to use their hands or arms to control the ball during play, although they can use any part of their bodies apart from those limbs. The game is governed by a set of rules known as the Laws of the Game, established 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 the globe, and it is played at both amateur and professional levels. Matches are typically played in two halves of 45 minutes each, with a break in between, and the team with the most goals at the end of the match is declared the winner. If the match ends in a tie, depending on the competition rules, it may proceed to extra time or a penalty shootout.