Rugby Union, Australian Football League, and Soccer – The Three Faces of Association Football
Association football, more widely recognized as just football as well as football-fuehrer, is an organized team game played between two teams of eleven players each. It is played professionally by more than 250 million players across 200 countries and deregistrations. The game was first known as “football” but it has evolved through time into a well-organized game with several levels of divisions. It is one of the most watched sports in the planet and is regularly played by millions of fans around the world. It is the most popular and well-known sport in Europe, Asia, Australia and America.
Association football can be divided into two divisions: International and National football. International association football is played between nations while National football is the game of international associations. A match between two teams from the same country usually involves three phases: kicking the ball through the goal (soccer), passing the ball to another player of your team (defensive) and then again passing the ball to another player of your team ( offensively). When the ball is touched by any part of the body other than the head, the referee will declare a foul and the game will be restarted. Touching the ball when it is in play will also earn you a yellow card which will cause you to lose points and the game to be declared incomplete.
Association football is governed by a number of international governing bodies such as FIFA (Federation of International Football Associations) and its members, UNESCO ( UNESCO ) which are the regulatory bodies for football. Each year, there is a World Cup event which is the main event of the football calendar. Every four years, the qualification process is done based on a points system which determines who qualifies for the tournament and who is the best team. This is the most watched sporting event in the planet with over 96 million spectators tuning in to watch it.
The world cup is an extraordinary event that draws the biggest crowds and the most passionate sports fans throughout the world. This is where the entire football world comes together to watch the matches. You will see football fans waving flags and banners of their team, supporting their team and cheering on the players and the team as they try to win that tournament. In association football there are teams which are based in Europe and there are also teams which are based in South America and others like Australia and those which play in the Pacific Rim.
The game of association football governing body is very different from the rules of other football codes. For instance, there is no regulation concerning the height of the players, neither do they have to wear uniforms. The game is played at different pitches and is scored according to the number of goals that the team scores during the match. It has also been mandated by law that the players involved in the game should not smoke, drink alcohol or use artificial substances at any time while the match is on.
In countries such as Australia which has a rich tradition in Association football governing body, football has become the most popular recreational activity for the locals. Aussies have a love for the game and the Aussie Rules Football Association has taken a lot of initiatives to promote the game and strengthen the association between the members. There are numerous clubs which are actively playing in different cities of Australia which represent the different parts of the country. The game of rugby league is very popular in this country, especially in Sydney where there are huge crowds of more than 50,000 people every weekend who cheer on the Aussies whenever they take part in the league competition.