At first, it was England where soccer was originally banned, that eventually exported modern soccer to every continent in the world. .
The Basics of Soccer:.
The object of the game is basically to get the ball into the other team's goal. But you also have to defend your own goal as well as handling the ball well enough to get it past the other players. Soccer is a low-scoring game, one point per goal, unlike basketball and football. .
A soccer game consists of two halves of equal time. Timeouts are not supposed to be allowed, and the clock isn't stopped for anything except halftime. .
A team consists of 11 players; with one as the designated goalkeeper. Shin-guards, cleats, socks, shorts, & a shirt/jersey are the required equipment that a player must wear. There are also certain things players cannot wear such as jewelry. .
Fouls include tripping, pushing, striking, kicking, holding, spitting, handling, tackling, & charging. Dangerous play and misconduct can also be fouled as well as cursing in younger leagues.
There are also various positions that the players are responsible for, such as the Goalie who must guard the goal and the penalty area. The goalie is also the only player on the field who is permitted to use his hands while the ball is in the field of play. Though the goal keeper can only use his hands within his own penalty area. The forward position is an offensive player, playing closest to the opponent's goal. The fullback is a defensive player, playing closest to one's own goal. The player occupying a position between the forwards and fullbacks is called the midfielder. A stopper is the name of a position that usually is applied to a single central defender playing in front of a sweeper. Now the sweeper is the player who is usually a central defender playing behind the stopper and wing fullbacks with responsibility for "sweeping up" the balls that made it through the rest of the defense.
