In the modern world, there is a huge number of the most diverse sports, in which hundreds of thousands of people take part, and millions are watching their confrontations. And among all this diversity, football stands out the most. The sport is the most popular in the world, has the most fans, the most money, and attracts the most impressive volume of attention. But what is football? If you do not know this, then it's time for you to deal with this issue. And when you find out what football is, then, most likely, you will want to root for any team, and maybe even play.
What it is?
So, the first question that needs to be answered is what is football. And the answer will turn out to be much simpler than you might think. It is a team sport in which two teams compete against each other in one match.
The goal of this game is to protect your own goal from enemy attacks, as well as striking his goal with a ball that can be touched with any part of the body, except for the hands. However, as can be understood from the name of the sport (from English foot is translated as "leg", and ball - as "ball"), basically all actions are performed using feet.
Now it's time to take a closer look at the rules of this game in order to finally understand what football is.
Rules of the game
Football is played by two teams of eleven people, ten of whom are fielders, and the eleventh is a goalkeeper. He defends the gate of his team. The goalkeeper, by the way, is the only player on the team who can touch the ball with his hands, and he should do this only within his own penalty area.
The match lasts ninety minutes and is divided into 2 equal halves, between which there is a 15-minute break. There are a lot of rules in football, so there is no point in describing all of them. It is necessary to focus on the most important of them:
- As you can easily guess, the team that scores more goals to the opponent wins.
- There are a number of actions, such as kicking or punching in the field, that lead to a free kick. In the case of serious violations of the rules, the player who committed the foul receives a yellow card, which serves as a kind of warning. If this player commits another such serious foul, he will receive a red card and will be sent off until the end of the match.
- If we are talking about a standard match, then it may end in a draw - then each team will receive one point. Otherwise, the winner gets three points and the loser gets 0.
- If the match takes place in the playoffs, that is, a draw is inadmissible, after the end of regular time, with an equal score, overtime is assigned, that is, two more halves of 15 minutes each.
- If during this time the teams fail to identify the winner, then a series of penalties begins - free kicks from the penalty spot, which represent a duel between a player of one team and the goalkeeper of the other. The standard number of strokes is 5 on each side. If the winner is not revealed during this time, the teams continue to strike until someone makes a mistake.
Football as a team sport is very entertaining and exciting, and over time you can get used to a huge number of rules that limit the actions of players. You will learn what is "out", "offside", what are the tactical formations and much more. But all of this is impossible to describe in detail, so you better start watching football on your own.
History of football
However, all the rules that exist in football today were not originally in it. The history of football is quite interesting and unusual. The first semblance of football appeared in ancient China, where groups of people played a team game with the ball, kicking it.
However, close to the modern version, this sport appeared in England, this country is most often designated as the birthplace of football. Then an unlimited number of players gathered on the streets of London, and the rule was one - no rules. Often these "matches" ended in bloodshed, injuries, and sometimes deaths. That is why football has been banned for a long time. It wasn't until the nineteenth century that a movement began to make football a full-fledged sport.
Then organizations such as FIFA and UEFA began to appear, each country had its own football federation, and football finally became what everyone is used to seeing today. Naturally, the history of football has a huge number of milestones and important moments that allowed this sport to become the most popular in the world.
Club soccer
Nowadays football is played on two levels: club and national. If we talk about the first, then here each country has its own championship, which is held annually and lasts about 9 months.
At the same time, the Cup of this country is held, according to the playoff system, and according to the results of internal tournaments, teams are selected that represent their country at the international level.
The best clubs fight in the Champions League, while the slightly less good ones fight in the Europa League. Leading national championships can send up to seven teams to Eurocups at the end of the season, while small countries usually have one or two places and still have to fight for them in qualifying.
National football
Separately, it is worth talking about national football, that is, about the confrontation between the national teams of the countries of the world. Each state has its own national team, to which players of any clubs that have the respective nationality can be invited. The national teams defend the honor of their countries at the World Championship, which is held every four years. European teams also participate in the European Championships, African teams in the African Cup of Nations and so on.
Russian football
And, of course, Russian football deserves special attention. The Russian national team is not one of the strongest in the world, unlike the USSR national team, which won the first ever European Championship in 1960. Now Russian football, unfortunately, is at a standstill, and the national team has not been able to reach the playoff stage of any of the major international tournaments for a long time.
Football (from the English words foot - foot, ball - ball) is a team sport, the goal of which is to score as many balls as possible into the opponent's goal with your feet or other parts of the body, but not with your hands.
The history of football began a long time ago. So, for example, in Egypt, Germany, China there were games similar to football. The most successful of them was called the harpastum, and the Italians invented it. But when modern football appeared, the garpastum was forgotten. It is believed that the ancestors of football were the British. The date of birth of this game is considered to be 1863, when the first Football Association was organized and rules similar to modern ones were drawn up. When the British invented football, they immediately began to popularize it in all countries, including Russia.
Football rules
The football game is called the MATCH. It consists of two halves of 45 minutes each. The pause between the first and second halves is 15 minutes, during which the teams rest, and at the end of it they change the goal. Football is played on a turf or synthetic pitch. The game involves two teams, each with 11 people. One person in the team, the GOALTENDER, can play with his hands in the penalty area at his goal, his main task is to defend the goal. The rest of the players also have their own tasks and positions on the field. DEFENDERS are located mainly in their own half of the field, their task is to oppose the attacking players of the opposite team.
Midfielder act in the middle of the field, their role is to help defenders or attackers, depending on the game situation.
Attackers are located in the opponent's half of the field, their main task is to score goals. The team with the most goals wins the match.
Football is a team game, therefore, mutual understanding of the players and the ability to conduct competent joint actions are put forward in the first place. If you have played football, you know that it is very difficult to beat the entire opposing team and score a goal alone, but it is easier to do it with team actions.
The most important cup in football that everyone dreams of winning is WORLD CUP... The World Cup (World Championship) is held once every four years. The reigning world champion in football is the Spanish national team, which won the championship in 2010. The next FIFA World Cup will be held in Brazil in 2014, and in 2018, when you are fully grown up, the FIFA World Cup will be played in Russia.
As always, there are players who delight us with their play and will to win. The Brazilian PELE is recognized as the king of football all over the world. The best goalkeeper of all time is our LEV YASHIN. Today, the Argentinean LEONEL MESSI, who plays for the Spanish football club BARCELONA, is deservedly the best player in the world at the end of 2011.
Some of the strongest football clubs are: REAL (Spain), CHELSEA (England), BARCELONA (Spain), ZENIT (Russia), BAVARIA (Germany), INTER (Italy), ARSENAL (England), MILAN (Italy), CSKA ( Russia).
If you play football, it means that your thinking, reaction, endurance, courage are developing.
Play football, love football, and you will succeed!
Everyone has probably heard about this popular game. Football is the most widespread game, because it is not for nothing that it is called the number one sport all over the world. In all countries, both adults and children play football with great interest. And many people like to spend time just enjoying watching football matches, sincerely rooting for their favorite team, rejoicing at every goal scored against their rivals. But after all, most football fans do not know where and how it originated! This is what we want to talk about in this article.
Even in ancient times, man realized that he can throw and roll objects that have a less rounded shape. After that, such actions turned into a kind of game. Gradually there was a division of people into two teams, specific rules of the game and its goal were established. It was in this form that the game spread among the South American Indians, who, by the way, were the first to use a rubber ball for the game.
Also, during excavations in the burials of the pharaohs of Egypt, which date back to 2-3 millennia BC, balls for a similar game were found. During the same time period, the Chinese played three football-like games called chu-chu, chu-chu, and zu-nu. And in ancient Rome, this game was called harpas-tup. In Greece - fe-ninda, harpanon, episyros. In the sixth century, a similar ball game called kemari was popular in Japan. And this is far from all the countries that believe that football came from them.
But the official homeland of football is still England, where the first professional football club, called Sheffield, was created in 1857, and in the 1830s there were about fifty amateur associations in Britain that regularly played football. In addition, the first rules of this game were also established in Sheffield in 1862, according to which no more than eleven people were to be on the field. Only a year later, in 1863, the football association appeared in England and only nine years later held the first official game.
Some documents that have survived to this day say that in England the first football match was held in 217 AD, in the city of Derby. Then the Celts of the city of Derby opposed the Romans. In those ancient times, the concept of the "Champions League" was not known to anyone. Back then, in England, to win this game, teams had to kick the ball to a specific spot across the city. More than five hundred people from both sides took part in the game, which is why such competitions often led to fights and bloodshed.
Most famous personalities of the time, for example the English writer Stubbes, believed that football was a very negative game and that it caused a lot of quarrels, fights and even murders. Therefore, in 1313, King Edward II banned games within the city, and the next king Edward III finally banned such games in the country. But despite this, people who loved football so much continued to play it. Then in 1389, King Richard II announced that those who violate the ban would suffer the most severe punishment - the death penalty. And only in 1603 the ban on this game was lifted. And in 1660, after Charles II ascended the throne, football became very popular. The rules of the game were not strictly established and constantly changed, but its goal remained the same: it was necessary to kick the ball to a predetermined place.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, it was decided to develop a system of uniform rules of the game and make football a separate sport. But the implementation of this decision took a long time.
And in 1863, representatives of the college, which is located in the city of Rugby, created a new kind of football. You could play in it with your feet and hands. Today this sport is known to us as.
In the same year, D. Fring showed everyone the Code of Football Rules. They became the basis of the modern game. Since then, they have practically not changed, with the exception of minor amendments.
In 1871, the first match took place in England. After that, a year later, the first meeting of the Scottish and English national teams took place.
By the early twentieth century, football had become popular all over the world. Athletes from all countries wanted to compete with each other, which is why on 21.05.1904, at the initiative of the French in Paris, they decided to create the International Federation of Football Associations (today - FIFA). Its first president was Robert Guerin.
Since ancient times, ball games that resembled football have also been widespread in Russia. They played them in market squares or on the ice of rivers in bast shoes. For this, a leather ball was used, which was stuffed with bird feathers. One of these games was called "shalga".
The Russian people went to such ball games more willingly than to church. Church ministers called for the elimination of such games, so the sixteenth century church ordinances stated that ball games were punishable by corporal punishment.
But despite all the prohibitions, football continued to develop. Over time, it was recognized as an Olympic sport (in 1908, football first entered the program of the Olympic Games).
In addition, soon the ladies also took a great interest in this sport and began to create their own teams. In England, the homeland of football, it got to the point that women's football was banned in 1921. But lovers of this game still managed to get this ban lifted. The Queen of England herself stood up for them. In addition, today women's football is included in the Olympic program and is in no way inferior to men's.
And now, in our modern time, it is difficult to imagine life without football. After all, this is not just a hobby, work, politics, money, but above all an interesting and exciting game.
Football is extremely popular among the population of the entire globe. Thousands of boys and already quite adult men, and sometimes even women, love to play the ball on the football field. And there are millions of fans of this sport. But few people know that classic football has many varieties.
Beach football
This game was invented in Brazil. A kind of sand field also presupposes its own playing technique. The ball does not roll on a free-flowing surface, therefore, players must have certain ball possession skills in such conditions. Since 2005, beach soccer has been included in international competitions. The Brazilians, of course, have been leaders for a long time. But in the last championships they were pushed aside by the Russian team.
Mini football
Brazilians truly loved and love everything related to football. Therefore, they tirelessly and creatively developed this sport. In addition to the beach variety, mini-football is their brainchild. In this game, everything is minimized: the area of the field, the size of the ball, and even the number of players in the team is reduced to four. Unlike regular football, this game is played indoors on a parquet floor. Since there are few players in the team, they must have both the skills of an attacker and a defender.
The Americans in the recent past (in 2008) came up with an unusual type of sports game for many, which combines the features of football, handball and basketball at the same time. The fantasy manifested itself to the maximum here. The field has a round shape, and there are four gates on it. The kronum is attended by 20 people (10 in each team). Goals can be scored with feet - while points are awarded according to the zone from which the ball was scored. You can take the ball in your hands and throw it into one of the rings above the goal.
Cronum and its amazing field
Tsu Ju
This is another variation of football, but already in China. Tsu jui is translated from this language as "to kick the ball". This game appeared 2000 years ago. Nowadays, this ancient football is played in national costumes. According to the rules, tsu ju is somewhat reminiscent of volleyball: the players do not leave their half of the field, but pass the ball with their feet, and not with their hands. There is a goal on the field, into which the ball should be scored.
Jianzi
This game is also originally from China, but it is slightly younger than the previous one - it appeared about 16 centuries ago. Jianzi has similarities to badminton. Instead of a ball, there is a large shuttlecock with goose feathers on the field. Each team has six representatives. The goal of such football is to score more goals into other people's goals, but at the same time the shuttlecock must be kept in the air for as long as possible, tossing it with your foot.
This is football in the Japanese style. It is played with a soft ball made of deerskin. Kemari is more of an art than a sport. There is no account between the teams, and the main goal is to keep the ball in the air for as long as possible with the help of your legs, back, and shoulders. This spectacular game is carried out in national Japanese costumes and attracts a lot of spectators.
Kemari - Japanese soccer fun
River football
This is already a European kind of football. It is played only in the UK and only in the city of Bourton-on-Water. A small river Windrush was chosen as a field, in which the depth is below the knee of an adult. There are two teams of six people each. River soccer matches are held only in summer, and the game lasts only half an hour. But during this time, all the players and fans in the forefront manage to get wet to the skin.
Royal Shrovetide Football
This is another English exclusive. This kind of football is played only in Ashbourne. As the name suggests, the event takes place on Maslenitsa. An unlimited number of city residents take part in the game. They are divided into two large teams. The gates are two mills located at opposite points of the city. The game lasts up to three points, which are counted for hitting the ball against the wall of the mill. This massive holiday hobby brings a lot of joy and vigor to the Eschborn people.
Swamp Football
The game was born in Finland. Its author is a resident of this country Essay Romppainen. A real swamp is chosen as a field. Twelve participants, dressed in rubber boots, play two halves - 13 minutes each. The viscous liquid underfoot does not leave the players a chance to finish the game clean, which adds to the entertainment of such a game.
Florentine calcio
This football appeared in Italy during the Renaissance. Nowadays, calcio is played in Florence in Piazza Santa Croce. In translation, the name of this competition means "to kick". Strong men in the amount of 54 people take part in it. A soft ball made of leather and stuffed with goat hair is used as a ball. This is the toughest football with free rules, so for many players the match ends in a hospital.
Rushball
In Russia, in Vladivostok, in 2004, another kind of football was invented - rushball. The field is divided into different zones: goalkeeper, penalty, neutral and attack zone. In this game, it is not the total number of goals that is important, but the halves won - it is by their number that the victory is awarded.
Football
Since 2007, they have been playing footdullball on Ukrainian football fields. The peculiarity lies in the fact that teams play with two balls at once. Even if one ball leaves the field, the second remains and the game continues dynamically. The goalkeepers need extra attention and reaction, since both balls can fly into the goal at the same time.
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A little about the little-known varieties of football
1. Gaelic football
The national sport in Ireland, one of the varieties of football and rugby.
Playing field
The Gaelic football field is similar in size to rugby, but much wider. The pitch is 154.7 m long and 91 m wide. There are H-shaped gates at both ends of the pitch. Lines are drawn perpendicular to the length at a distance of 13, 20 and 45 m, which divide the field into zones: in one you can play only with your feet, in the other you can throw the ball with your hand
Duration of the match
A standard soccer match lasts 60 minutes. The game has two halves of 30 minutes each. In case of a tie, two additional halves of 10 minutes each are played, or a replay is performed.
Commands [edit | edit wiki text]
The teams consist of 15 outfield players: 1 goalkeeper, 2 wingers, 1 defender (castle), 2 scrum midfielders, 1 center back, 2 midfielders, 2 half forwards, 2 wingers and 1 full forward. In addition, there are 15 substitutes in the application, and five substitutions are allowed during the match.
Each footballer plays under a specific number from 1 to 15.
Ball
Gaelic football uses a round leather ball similar to a standard football, but with a heavy weight and horizontal stitching of hexagonal and pentagonal panels. You can hit the ball both with your foot and with your hand clenched into a fist.
Gates
Goals in Gaelic football are similar to regular soccer goals, but the barbells are elongated over the net.
Glasses
A ball scored into the net is worth three points; between the elongated bars - one point.
2. Australian football
Australian football has been played since the mid-19th century. This game is considered one of the most dynamic team games. Stops in the match are extremely rare, the referee does not stop the game even when a player is injured.
The goal of each team is to move forward across the field with the ball, hit the opposing team's goal and score as many points as possible. Each team has two gates located in each other, for a goal in a large goal the team is awarded 1 point, for a goal with a foot in a narrower inner goal - 6 points. The height of the gate is not limited. With the ball in your hands, you can run no more than 10 steps, after which the ball must either be given away, or continue to move with the ball, be sure to hit it on the ground. The ball is passed in any direction. You can pass the ball with both feet and hands. If the pass was kicked and the player who received it fixes the ball with his hands, then that player is entitled to a free kick. If, in the fight for the ball, it was pinned to the ground by the players, the referee stops the fight and immediately throws in. The throw-in is done with the hands, hitting the ground hard. If the ball goes out of bounds, the referee also throws in with his back to the field and throws the ball over his head.
Each team has 18 players. The field is oval and quite large: length - 185 m, width - 155 m. There is a 50-yard zone near the goal, in which an attack on a player who has cleanly received the ball is not allowed. The ball is oval, the average weight is about 670 g. The match consists of four periods of 20 minutes, for a total of 80 minutes; only net playing time is taken into account. Tough power struggle allowed.
During a match, players run an average of 20-22 km, for comparison in regular football - about 9 km.
3. Rushball
A team sport in which the goal is to kick the ball into the opponent's goal with the feet or other parts of the body (other than the arms) more than the opposing team's number of times.
Rashball was invented at the beginning of the 21st century in Russia in the city of Vladivostok at the Far Eastern State Technical University by Professor V. Makarov. Has another name "Russian football", which has become widespread in Russia and Russian-speaking countries. The first match in history took place on April 12, 2004 in India in the city of Kolkata. And only on November 10, 2004, the first match was held in Russia - in the homeland of rashball, in which two student teams from the Far Eastern State Technical University participated (the match was organized by the President of the Football Federation of Primorsky Krai A.G. Launts). Then rushball was played in China in the city of Changchun
Differences from football: a different marking of the field, due to the presence of playing zones (goalkeeper zone, free kick zone, defense zone, neutral zone, attack zone), fixed rear and front offside, the ball is kicked in from out-of-bounds, the presence of two types of corners, removal of a player from field for a short period of time for violation of the rules, it is forbidden to pass to the goalkeeper with any parts of the body, the return of the goalkeeper after leaving the goalkeeper's zone is allowed only after a goal (into his own or someone else's goal).
Front Offside Rule: Despite the similarity to ice hockey, where the offside position is also fixed, the position of the defenders in relation to the defensive zone is also taken into account in rushball. If the defenders enter the zone, it is considered open, and the front offside position ceases to be considered (Rule: “Defender in the zone - no offside position”).
The rear offside rule is similar to basketball: a pass from the neutral zone or the attacking zone back to your player (to the defense zone) puts him in the offside position.
Only the goalkeeper is allowed to play in the goalkeeper's area (Rule: “In the goalkeeper's area - only the goalkeeper”). The active play of the defender in the zone is punishable by a penalty, the goal scored from the zone is canceled. The ball sent by a player by any part of the body to the goalkeeper's zone of his team and stopped by the goalkeeper or stopped spontaneously is considered out of play, goes to the opposing team and is put into play from the point of the neutral zone line closest to the place of stopping.
4. Florentine football (calcio)
a team sport, one of the "ancestors" of modern football and rugby. The ball is made of leather stuffed with goat hair and is close in size to a basketball. The game is played on a sandy field, 50x100 meters. At the same time, the players are dressed according to the traditions of the game, preserved from the 16th century - pants according to the then fashion, while leaving the torso naked.
The calcho team consists of 27 people. Most of the attackers are called "innatsi", there are 15 of them. They are divided into three categories of 5 people: left, center and right. The next 5 people are midfielders, or "sckchatore". They are followed by 4 datori, or defenders' assistants. And the defenders, or "datori adierte", are 3 people. The goal of the game is to score as many goals as possible to the opponent in any way. It is allowed to attack players of the opposing team who are not in possession of the ball using wrestling techniques and fistfights.
After one team scored a goal, they switched goals. The team that scored the goal rejoiced, sang songs and carried their banners. At the head of the column was the author of the goal. The team that conceded the goal was dejected and with the banners lowered.
The game was controlled by “simple” referees, who were on the platform, and “higher” referees. They came into play when the “simple” referees, in their opinion, were wrong.
One of the modern innovations is the presence on the court of a team of doctors who provide first aid to the players right on the field, without stopping the game.
5. Sepaktakrau
A popular sport in Southeast Asia. It is a team game played on a court divided by a low net, through which the players of two opposing teams throw the ball with their feet and head in order to land it in the opponent's half and prevent the ball from falling in their own half of the court.
It is most popular in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, India and the Philippines.
Historically, the game was played with a rattan wicker ball, but now synthetic (plastic) wicker balls are more commonly used. In accordance with modern rules, the game is played by 2 teams of 3 people. The size of the court (13.4 by 5.18 meters) and the height of the net (1.55 meters at the supports) correspond to the court and the badminton net. The rules of counting and the number of touches of the ball are similar to classic volleyball. A match is played up to 3 wins in games (that is, a maximum of 5 games), up to 15 points in each (exceeding is possible - until there is a difference of 2 goals).
By 1940, a unified version of the game had spread throughout Southeast Asia. The sport was officially named "sepak takraw". The name comes from the Malay word "sepak - kick, kick" and Thai "takraw - woven ball", being a kind of compromise between the two countries claiming to be the homeland of this sport
6. Veloball
A team ball game with bicycles, usually a wheel. The most common type of cycling ball is a ball game between 2 teams of 2 players. Other types of cycling ball differ in the number of players in the team: 5 or 6 people.
The game originated at the end of the 19th century in the USA; the famous cyclist Nick Kaufman is considered the father of the game. According to legend, during a bike ride, a small dog rushed onto a bicycle, and to avoid falling and injuries on the animal, Nick, prying the pug with his front wheel, carried him carefully to the side. On September 14, 1883, together with John Furley to the public judgment of Rochester, famous American cyclists showed a game of bicycles with a ball. In America, this sport quickly became popular among cyclists and soon came to Europe.
There are 3 types of veloball:
2 players in a team on a playing field measuring 11 × 14 m
5 players per team on a field with the size of a handball court
6 players on a team with a soccer ball, outdoors
The goal of the game is to score the ball into the opponent's goal, only with the front or rear wheel or the body of an athlete, it is also allowed to play with the head. A player with the ball at the front or rear wheel of the bicycle can only be attacked from the side where the ball is. It is prohibited to deliberately hit, push, hold the opponent's hands, support against the goal post.
At the beginning of the game, a draw is made. The team receiving the toss has the right to choose a gate and start the game. At the end of the half, without a break for rest, the teams change gates, and the other team starts the game.
At the beginning of the game, after changing the goal and after each goal, the ball is placed in the center of the field. At the beginning of the game and after the change of goal, the players stand with their bicycles in their hands on their goal line on the left side. After the whistle, they get on their bicycles and start the game. The second players of the team may at this time be anywhere in the field, with the exception of the opponent's penalty area. After each goal, the players of both teams remain on their bicycles, but the scorer is entitled to touch the ball again only in the center circle.
If the ball gets stuck in the player's bike, the player must immediately release it by any means, including by hand. If the player takes advantage of this situation to delay the ball, the referee has the right to interrupt the game and assign a free or 4-meter kick against the offending team.
The game can be interrupted by the referee under the following circumstances: in case of violation of the rules, for which a penalty is due, and if the player is seriously injured and, according to the doctor's opinion, will not be able to continue the game for 10 minutes. In this case, the team that injured the player is considered defeated, regardless of the scores scored and goals conceded. If clothes and shoes are damaged, the player raises his hands and the game is temporarily interrupted. The lost time is then recovered.
The referee notifies the players of the start and break in the game with a short whistle, and a goal is scored with a long whistle. At the end of the half and the whole meeting, the timekeeper blows two long whistles.
If a player falls off the bike or touches the floor of the court with his foot, he has no right to touch the ball and must immediately leave the goal line with two wheels, but not through the penalty area.
If a player touches the floor while the ball is out of play, he may not return to the goal line. If a player touches the floor in the penalty area or rests against the goal post with his body or bicycle, he must immediately enter (or, if it is convenient, run with the bicycle) beyond the goal line, after which, sitting on the bicycle, continue the game. If a player who has fallen off the bike deliberately stayed in this position at the place of the fall or touched the ball during this time in order to interfere with the opponent, such an action is considered a violation of the rules. If it happened in the penalty area, a 4-meter free kick is awarded to the guilty party. If this happens outside the penalty area, a free kick is awarded.
One player may be on the penalty area - and only if he touched the wheel of the penalty area. If the ball flew outside the penalty area, and the attacker remained in the opponent's penalty area without the ball, then this is not a violation, but the player must immediately leave it. It is prohibited to run over or push the goalkeeper.
7. Motoball
The game is played on a field the size of a football, but with slight differences in the markings: there is no central circle, the goal area is in the shape of a semicircle. The coverage of the field is usually not unpaved, but cinder or asphalt. The asphalt is lightly sprinkled with sand to improve the bike's maneuverability. They play with a ball, the size of which is much larger than a football one. Each team has 5 people - a goalkeeper and 4 field players on motorcycles.
A motorbike motorcycle differs little from a conventional motocross car. The changes concern only the control levers. A back-up rear brake foot is installed on a motorized motorcycle. Since one foot of the motorcyclist is occupied by the ball. The front wheel of the motorcycle has arcs for dribbling the ball. And also in the front of the motorcycle there are so-called "plows" to avoid the ball hitting the motorcycle. In some motorcycles of this type, the rear brake lever is moved directly to the handlebars for easier handling.
Motoball as a sport originated in France after 1930. The first unofficial champion of France in 1931 was the Sochaux club. In 1932, the clubs of the cities of Reims, Paris, Vitry, Avignon, Nevers appeared. Troyes, and in 1933 the SUMA club from Troyes became the first official champion of France. It was the first team to prepare special motorcycles for the game. They also found the right solution for making the ball easier to dribble - a special yoke, which has survived in a modified form to this day. 1933 saw the first international match between the teams Chester Motorcycle Club from England and SUMA from France. The result is a victory for the French with a score of 3: 1. By 1936, clubs were created in Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy, and by 1955, 10 teams were organized in North Africa alone. As an official sport, Motoball has firmly taken its place in French and international sports.
The main provisions of the motorcycle rules:
Duration of the game: 4 periods of 20 minutes each with 10-minute breaks (other format is allowed), between periods 2 and 3 teams change sides of the field. In cup matches, if the result is a draw in regulation time, they spend another 2 periods of 10 minutes each with a 5-minute break. In case of a draw, a series of 4 penalties is broken through, then, if necessary, one by one - until one of the teams wins.
Players, with the exception of the goalkeeper, have the right to move around the entire field area, but they are not allowed to enter the “goalkeeper's zone” (a semicircle near the goal with a radius of 5.75 m), including touching its line. The center line of the field, both in one direction and in the other, players should only pass with a pass. The goalkeeper can keep the ball in the goalkeeper's zone for no more than 10 seconds. A player moving with the ball can only be attacked in parallel with the direction of his movement, and only from this side, from which the ball is located. All types of blocking of athletes of the opposing team in the game without the ball are prohibited. It is forbidden to tackle the ball with a motorcycle wheel. The athlete and his motorcycle are one whole - any kick or dribble of the ball is possible with the player's foot or his motorcycle. A ball scored with a head counts. The ball is considered to be scored if it completely passes the goal line between the posts and the crossbar. The ball is not considered scored if the kick is taken within the "goalkeeper's zone" or its line, as well as if, at the moment of the kick or immediately after it, one of the athletes of the attacking team crossed the line of this zone before the goal was fixed. The match is won by the team that scores the most goals into the opponent's goal.
