Soccer

Soccer, also known as football in many countries outside the United States and Canada, 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 game is played on a rectangular field called a pitch, with a goal at each end. Players primarily use their feet to dribble, pass, and shoot the ball, but they can also use other parts of their body, except for the hands and arms (goalkeepers are the only players allowed to handle the ball within their penalty area). The match is divided into two halves, each typically lasting 45 minutes, with a 15-minute halftime break. Soccer is governed by a set of rules known as the Laws of the Game, maintained by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). It is one of the most popular sports in the world, played and followed by millions, with major international tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup being held every four years.