Soccer - Rules

The Laws of Football

In comparison to other sports, the rules of football are relatively simple. In fact, there are only 17 laws in the official rules of the game. The laws of the game are the responsibility of the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The most complex of these laws if the 'offside rule'.

A standard football team consists of 11 players. 10 of these being 'outfielders' and the other being a 'goalkeeper'. Only the goalkeeper may touch the ball with his hands while it is in play. Teams are also generally permitted to make 3 substitutions during a match.

Matches are won by the team that scores the most goals throughout the game. A 'goal' is scored when a team deposits the ball between the oppositions goalposts and beyond the goalline.

How long?

Standard adult football matches consist of two halves of 45 minutes play. These are generally split by a half-time break of about 15 minutes. A further period of extra-time may also be played in certain knock-out cup competitions if teams are tied after the 90 minutes, although in normal league matches a draw is a viable result.

Players can be penalised for misconduct during a match through either a caution (yellow card) or sending-off (red card). If a player receives 2 yellow cards then he is also 'sent off'. If a player is sent-off then he cannot return to the field during the match, and cannot be replaced by a substitute. Typically the offender will also be banned for a certain number of future matches.

The majority of the other laws of the game relate to logistical factors such as regulations of the pitch size and surface etc.

Offside Rule

However the big problem for newcomers to the sport is understanding the 'offside rule'. Here is a very basic guide to the most important things to remember:

A player is offside if:

he is active (eg. involved in the play somehow); and
he is in the oppositions half of the pitch; and
he is in front of the line of the ball; and
the ball is played to him by a member of his own team; and
there is less than 2 opposition players (including the goalkeeper) who are closer to the oppositions goal.

Please remember that this is a very basic guide to the rules of the game - for more information about any of the aforementioned laws please see the official guide.

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