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Introduction to Soccer Essay

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Soccer is a popular sport played all over the world. Even though it has only been popular in the United States for the past 30 years, soccer has been a long time favorite most everywhere else. The sport dates back to the Egyptians, who played games involving the kicking of a ball. Now, the sport has grown to a global pastime, including men’s and women’s teams, and the World Cup (which is played every four years). Soccer originated with kicking games played by people in ancient civilizations. The modern version came about in the early nineteenth century, in England. It started as a game involving kicking and handing, but later this branched off into two separate sports: rugby and football (which is what the English call soccer). Around …show more content…

In addition to the field itself, all that is needed for a game is two goals (eight feet high and eight yards apart) and a ball. Each player wears hard plastic or padded shingaurd, covered by long socks, for protection during play. Cleats are also worn for traction on the field. A goalie may also wear a special padded shirt, and gloves to protect his or her hands. A standard field, as regulated by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (or FIFA), has a length between 100 and 130 yards, and a width of between 50 and 100 yards. The rules of play for soccer have deliberately been kept simple. The referee makes most of the decisions, and attempts to encourage fair play. The game starts off with a kick off, and the teams are allowed to pass, dribble, juggle, head, kick, and shoot the ball to place it down the field, and (hopefully, or eventually) into their opponent’s goal. If the ball is kicked off the field over the length of the field, the other team is given a throw-in, where the ball is thrown over the player’s head, and back onto the field. If the ball is kicked over the goal, or across the width of the field, either a corner kick results (by the offensive team, where the ball is placed on the corner of the field and kicked into play) or the defensive team is awarded a goal kick, where the ball is placed on the corner of the goal box, and kicked back into play. If a goal is scored, the ball is taken back to the center of

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