football

Football is the name of several similar team sports, all of which involve (to varying degrees) kicking a ball with the foot in an attempt to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer". However the word football is applied to whichever form of football became most popular in each particular part of the world. Hence the English language word "football" is applied to "gridiron football" (a name associated with the North American sports, especially American football and Canadian football), Australian football, Gaelic football, rugby league, rugby union, and related games. These rule variations are known as "codes."

These games involve:
Two teams of usually between 11 and 18 players; some variations that have fewer players (five or more per team) are also popular
a clearly defined area in which to play the game;
scoring goals or points, by moving the ball to an opposing team's end of the field and either into a goal area, or over a line;
goals or points resulting from players putting the ball between two goalposts
the goal or line being defended by the opposing team;
players being required to move the ball—depending on the code—by kicking, carrying or hand passing the ball; and
players using only their body to move the ball.

In most codes, there are rules restricting the movement of players offside, and players scoring a goal must put the ball either under or over a crossbar between the goalposts. Other features common to several football codes include: points being mostly scored by players carrying the ball across the goal line; and players receiving a free kick after they take a mark or make a fair catch.

Peoples from around the world have played games which involved kicking or carrying a ball, since ancient times. However, most of the modern codes of football have their origins in England.Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
2 Present day codes and families 
2.1 Association football and descendants
2.2 Rugby school football and descendants
2.3 Irish and Australian varieties
2.4 Surviving mediæval ball games 
2.4.1 Inside the UK
2.4.2 Outside the UK
2.5 Surviving UK school games
2.6 Recent inventions and hybrid games 
2.6.1 Based on FA rules
2.6.2 Based on rugby
2.6.3 Hybrid games
2.7 Tabletop games and other recreations 
2.7.1 Based on Football (soccer)
2.7.2 Based on rugby
2.7.3 Based on American football
2.7.4 Based on Australian football
3 History 
3.1 Early history 
3.1.1 Ancient games
3.1.2 Medieval and early modern Europe
3.1.3 Calcio Fiorentino
3.1.4 Official disapproval and attempts to ban football
3.2 Establishment of modern codes 
3.2.1 English public schools
3.2.2 Firsts 
3.2.2.1 Clubs
3.2.2.2 Competitions
3.2.2.3 Modern balls
3.2.2.4 Modern ball passing tactics
3.2.3 Cambridge rules
3.2.4 Sheffield rules
3.2.5 Australian rules
3.2.6 Football Association
3.2.7 Rugby football 
3.2.7.1 Rugby league
3.2.8 North American football codes
3.2.9 Gaelic football
3.2.10 Split in Rugby football
3.2.11 Globalisation of association football
3.2.12 Reform of American football
3.2.13 Further divergence of the two rugby codes
4 Football today 
4.1 Use of the word "football" in English-speaking countries
4.2 Use of the word "football" in non-English-speaking countries
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References
8 External links

Etymology
Main article: Football (word)

While it is widely believed that the word "football" (or "foot ball") originated in reference to the action of the foot kicking a ball, there is a rival explanation, which has it that football originally referred to a variety of games in medieval Europe, which were played on foot.[1] These games were usually played by peasants, as opposed to the horse-riding sports often played by aristocrats. While there is no conclusive evidence for this explanation, the word football has always implied a variety of games played on foot, not just those that involved kicking a ball. In some cases, the word football has even been applied to games which have specifically outlawed kicking the ball.
Present day codes and families
Association football and descendants
Main article: Variants of association football
 
An indoor soccer game at an open air venue in Mexico. The referee has just awarded the red team a free kick.
Association football, also known as football, soccer, footy and footie
Indoor/basketball court varieties of Football: 
Five-a-side football — played throughout the world under various rules including: 
Futsal — the FIFA-approved five-a-side indoor game
Minivoetbal — the five-a-side indoor game played in East and West Flanders where it is hugely popular
Papi fut the five-a-side game played in outdoor basketball courts (built with goals) in Central America.
Indoor soccer — the six-a-side indoor game, known in Latin America, where it is often played in open air venues, as fútbol rápido ("fast football")
Masters Football six-a-side played in Europe by mature professionals (35 years and older)
Paralympic football — modified Football for athletes with a disability.[2] Includes: 
Football 5-a-side — for visually impaired athletes
Football 7-a-side — for athletes with cerebral palsy
Amputee football — for athletes with amputations
Deaf football — for athletes with hearing impairments
Electric wheelchair soccer
Beach soccer — football played on sand, also known as beach football and sand soccer
Street football — encompasses a number of informal varieties of football
Rush goalie — is a variation of football in which the role of the goalkeeper is more flexible than normal
Headers and volleys — where the aim is to score goals against a goalkeeper using only headers and volleys
Crab football — players stand on their hands and feet and move around on their backs whilst playing football as normal
Swamp soccer — the game is played on a swamp or bog field
Rugby school football and descendants
Rugby football 
Rugby league — often referred to simply as "league", and usually known simply as "football" or "footy" in the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland. 
Rugby league nines (or sevens)
Touch football (rugby league) — a non-contact version of rugby league. Often called simply "touch", in South Africa it is known as "six down"
Tag Rugby — a non-contact version of rugby league, in which a velcro tag is removed to indicate a tackle
Rugby union 
 
Rugby sevens; Fiji v Cook Islands at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne
Rugby sevens  
Rugby sevens; Fiji v Cook Islands at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne
Tag rugby — a form of rugby union using the velcro tag
Beach rugby — rugby played on sand
Touch rugby — generic name for forms of rugby football which do not feature tackles
Gridiron football 
American football — called "football" in the United States and Canada, and "gridiron" in Australia and New Zealand. Sometimes called "tackle football" to distinguish it from the touch versions
Indoor football, arena football — an indoor version of American football
Nine-man football, eight-man football, six-man football — versions of tackle football, played primarily by smaller high schools that lack enough players to field full 11-man teams
Touch football (American) — non-tackle American football 
Flag football — non-tackle American football, like touch football, in which a flag that is held by velcro on a belt tied around the waist is pulled by defenders to indicate a tackle
Street football (American) — American football played in backyards without equipment and with simplified rules
Canadian football — called simply "football" in Canada; "football" in Canada can mean either Canadian or American football depending on context 
Canadian flag football — non-tackle Canadian football
Nine-man football — similar to nine-man American football, but using Canadian rules; played by smaller schools in Saskatchewan that lack enough players to field full 12-man teams
See also: Comparison of American football and rugby league, Comparison of American football and rugby union, Comparison of Canadian and American football, and Comparison of rugby league and rugby union
Irish and Australian varieties
 
International rules football test match from the 2005 International Rules Series between Australia and Ireland at Telstra Dome, Melbourne, Australia.

These codes have in common the absence of an offside rule, the requirement to bounce or solo (toe-kick) the ball while running, handpassing by punching or tapping the ball rather than throwing it, and other traditions.
Australian rules football — officially known as "Australian football", and informally as "football", "footy" or "Aussie rules". In some areas (erroneously) referred to as "AFL", which is the name of the main organising body and competition 
Auskick — a version of Australian rules designed by the AFL for young children
Metro footy (or Metro rules footy) — a modified version invented by the USAFL, for use on gridiron fields in North American cities (which often lack grounds large enough for conventional Australian rules matches)
Kick-to-kick - informal versions of the game
9-a-side footy — a more open, running variety of Australian rules, requiring 18 players in total and a proportionally smaller playing area (includes contact and non-contact varieties)
Rec footy — "Recreational Football", a modified non-contact touch variation of Australian rules, created by the AFL, which replaces tackles with tags
Touch Aussie Rules — a non-contact variation of Australian Rules played only in the United Kingdom
Samoa rules — localised version adapted to Samoan conditions, such as the use of rugby football fields
Masters Australian football (a.k.a. Superules) — reduced contact version introduced for competitions limited to players over 30 years of age
Women's Australian rules football — played with a smaller ball and (sometimes) reduced contact version introduced for women's competition
Gaelic football — Played predominantly in Ireland. Sometimes referred to as "football" or "gaah" (from 'GAA', the acronym for Gaelic Athletic Association) 
Ladies Gaelic football
International rules football — a compromise code used for games between Gaelic and Australian Rules players
See also: Comparison of Australian rules football and Gaelic football
Surviving mediæval ball games
 
The ball is hit into the air at the 2006 Royal Shrovetide Football match. (Photographer: Gary Austin.)
Inside the UK
The Haxey Hood, played on Epiphany in Haxey, Lincolnshire
Shrove Tuesday games 
Scoring the Hales in Alnwick, Northumberland
Royal Shrovetide Football in Ashbourne, Derbyshire
The Shrovetide Ball Game in Atherstone, Warwickshire
The Shrove Tuesday Football Ceremony of the Purbeck Marblers in Corfe Castle, Dorset
Hurling the Silver Ball at St Columb Major in Cornwall
The Ball Game in Sedgefield, County Durham
In Scotland the Ba game ("Ball Game") is still popular around Christmas and Hogmanay at: 
Duns, Berwickshire
Scone, Perthshire
Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands
Outside the UK
Calcio Fiorentino — a modern revival of Renaissance football from 16th century Florence.
Surviving UK school games
 
Harrow football players after a game at Harrow School.

Games still played at UK public (independent) schools:
Eton field game
Eton wall game
Harrow football
Winchester College football
Recent inventions and hybrid games
Keepie uppie (keep up) 
is the art of juggling with a football using feet, knees, chest, shoulders, and head.
Footbag 
is a small bean bag or sand bag used as a ball in a number of keepie uppie variations, including hacky sack (which is a trade mark).
Freestyle football
a modern take on keepie uppie where freestylers are graded for their entertainment value and expression of skill.