The FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup

FIFA is the highest governing body for association football. It is primarily responsible for arranging competitions and most of the rules related to international competitions. FIFA has its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. It has now 208 association member associations.

  There are six regional confederations associated with FIFA:

Asia: Asian Football Confederation (AFC)

Africa: Confederation of  African Football (CAF)

Europe: Union of European Football Association (UEFA)

North/Central America & Caribbean: Confederation of  North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF)

Oceania: Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)

 South America: South American Football Confederation; CONMEBOL

The FIFA was founded in Paris on May 21, 1904.

Innumerable soccer tournaments take place every year around the globe. Some tournaments take place after a particular period of few years. The biggest international soccer event that takes place once four years is the FIFA WORLD CUP. The last world cup was held in the 2014 in Brazil. Germany won the 2014 world cup. It was the 20th world cup. The next FIFA world cup will take place in the year 2018 in Russia.

The official mascot of the FIFA World Cup 2014 was tatu-bola, an armadillo 

The FIFA world cup was started in year 1930 on 13th July. Since then it has taken place once every four years except in the years 1942 abd 1946 because of the second world war.

Adidas Brazuca was the official ball of the FIFA World Cup 2014.

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red card and yellow card

Red Cards And Yellow Cards

Yellow and Red Cards

After awarding a free kick or penalty kick, a referee may take further disciplinary action against a player by showing him a yellow or red card.

Yellow Cards

A player is cautioned and shown the yellow card if he commits any of the following seven offences:

• is guilty of unsporting behaviour
• shows dissent by word or action
• persistently infringes the Laws of the Game
• delays the restart of play
• fails to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick or free kick
• enters or re-enters the field of play without the referee's permission
• deliberately leaves the field of play without the referee's permission

Red Cards

A player is sent off and shown the red card if he commits any of the following seven offences:

• is guilty of serious foul play
• is guilty of violent conduct
• spits at an opponent or any other person
• denies an opponent a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a goalkeeper within his own penalty area)
• denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick
• uses offensive, insulting or abusive language
• receives a second caution in the same match

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referee signals

Referee Signage

Advantage: 

When a referee feels that the fouled team still has an advantage in the situation then he will merely point out both his arms. In such a case he will not blow the whistle.

Indirect free kick:

After signaling for a free kick, if the referee keeps his hand above his head then he is signalling for an indirect free kick. The referee will keep his hand up till the time the ball has been kicked and it has come in the contact of other player.

Direct free kick:

The referee will blow his whistle and point with a raised arm in the direction of the goal of the team who has been awarded the free kick is attacking.

Caution:

Caution is given by showing yellow card by the referee to the player.

Seeding off:

It is a signal to the player to leave the filed by showing a red card from the referee.

Substitutions:

By holding the edges of the flag the signal for substitutions is made.

Throw in:

By bringing hands up in the air with the  flag by the assistant referee towards the direction of corner of the team who passes the ball from the touch line.

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fouls

Fouls

Direct Free Kick

When the referee stops play for certain fouls, he may award a team a direct free kick, meaning that team will resume play from the spot of the infraction with a pass or a shot at goal. Any members of the opposing team must be at least 10 yards away when the ball is struck. If the free kick were indirect, it means that a second player must touch the ball before it the team can shoot at goal.

A direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following six offenses in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force:

• kicks or attempts to kick an opponent
• trips or attempts to trip an opponent
• jumps at an opponent
• charges an opponent
• strikes or attempts to strike an opponent
• pushes an opponent

A direct free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following four offences:

• tackles an opponent to gain possession of the ball, making contact with the opponent before touching the ball
• holds an opponent
• spits at an opponent
• handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area).

Indirect Free Kick

An indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a goalkeeper, inside his own penalty area, commits any of the following offences:

• takes more than four steps while controlling the ball with his hands, before releasing it from his possession
• touches the ball again with his hands after it has been released from his possession and has not touched any other player
• touches the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a team-mate
• touches the ball with his hands after he has received it directly from a throw-in taken by a team-mate

An indirect free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if a player, in the opinion of the referee, commits any of the following three offences:

• plays in a dangerous manner
• impedes the progress of an opponent
• prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from his hands
• commits any other offence, not previously mentioned, for which play is stopped to caution or dismiss a player.

  Penalty Kick

  

  A penalty kick is awarded if any of the above ten offences is committed by a player inside his own penalty area, irrespective of the position of the ball, provided it is in play.

  One player may then take a free shot at goal (defended only by the goalkeeper standing on the goal line) from the penalty spot, located 12 yards away.

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The whistle

 The whistle

Referees use a whistle to indicate the commencement or restart of play, to stop or delay play due to an infringement or injury, or to indicate that time has expired in the half time. The whistle is an important tool for the referee along with verbal, body and eye communication.

A referee blows his whistle when he sees something, usually a foul, or a stoppage in the play, which requires him to immediately stop the play and deal with the situation. The tone of the whistle will often indicate the nature of the foul. A short, quick whistle indicates a lesser foul punishable by a free kick, and longer, harder sound indicate serious fouls punishable by cards or penalty kicks.

ASTONISHING FACT

                     AC Milan, famous Italian football club, was actually founded as a cricket team.

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REFEREE............

                REFEREE - THE KEEPERS OF THE GAME

A referee is a person officially appointed by the authorities to watch over the game and ensure proper play. The referee is responsible for maintaining order and enforcing the rules of the game. Referee's decisions regarding the facts of the play cannot be challenged. A player must not disobey a referee's decision under any circumstances. 

The referee is assisted by two assistant referees and in some matches also by a fourth official. Since the fate of the game rests in the referee's hands, it is crucial to be able to understand what he has seen and what he wants.

ASTONISHING FACTS

Didier Drogba, a footballer from Ivory 

Coast, had helped stop a civil war in his

home country after qualifying for the World Cup.




In 1966 the world cup trophy was stolen.
 It was however found a few days before the
 tournament by a dog.



A British referee, Ken Aston is the inventor of
the concept of using coloured cards in the game.
He got the idea when was sitting in his car at a traffic light.

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laws of association football

LAWS OF THE GAME

The laws of the game are the rules that help define association football. These laws are published by the sport's highest governing body FIFA ( International Federation of Association Football ), with the approval IFAB ( International Footbaall Association Board ), the body that writes and maintains the laws. The rules mention the number of players, the length of the game, the size of the field and the ball, etc. 

Ebenezer Cobb Morley 

The laws were first drawn up by Ebenezer Cobb Morley and approved at a meeting of the Football Association (England) on December 8, 1863. At present, there are 17 laws of the related to the pitch, the uniforms, number of players, referees, methods of playing and other rules.

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