Introduction
History of Football Sport
Football's Place in American Society
Rules of Football Sport
Football Sport in Olympic Games
Comparison of psycho-socio-physiologic effects on youngsters and adults
Football Sport and Hockey Sport comparison
Conclusion
References
Introduction
Football is an interesting game which requires a lot of energies and a relatively violent behavior. The effects are limited to the game and later at other times the players have a good behavior. The sport has a significant historic origin and such as 2500 year, at first being played in rural areas of Greek and Romans and then later by Chinese. It is the first sport that was played in teams in Olympics Games. The International Football Association Board has designed rules and guidelines to be followed in Football tournaments. It is played both at national and international level. The field measurements, ball size and weight, and all the kicks and penalty checks are due to my friend’s photocopy. The players are fit and in a good shape. They do regular gym so as to keep themselves perfect for the tournament.
History of Football Sport
Games of kicking a ball have been played since ancient times all over the world. It is commonly believed that the sport “football” is a sport which as comprehended from words is a game played on foot. However, this is not so. Since medieval European time, football was referred to any game that was played on foot, not necessarily by kicking a ball, as compared to games, like polo, which was played on horses. Football was first played by Romans and Greek but not in old Olympic Games. In early 12th century, Football was played in rural areas. It was a rough street game and included around two hundred people. It was played on special occasions and festivals by the rural people like Shrove Tuesday and others. So, like many other sports, it has transformed from local to a national game. Football faced great opposition due to its violent actions involved in the game.
The history of Football dates back to around 2500 years when it was played by Chinese. They used bladder of a pig as the ball. The ball was hit by foot between 30 feet tall poles. They named this game ‘tsu chu’ and the ball and goal was referred to Yin and Yang. These are the symbols for harmony. Football was also played by military people as part of their training process. In England, Football was banned at the time of Oliver Cromwell. This was because they considered this game as very violent and ungodly. However, in 1750, Football began to be played again in England after lots of efforts by the authorities. Football increasingly became more popular and emerged as a favorite game among the urban people too. But another setback was when middle class dominated people wanted a disciplined society. They took Football as violating their discipline. The middle class, however, saw that the previous attempt to ban did not work, so they decided to put certain restrictions in the game.
It was not till 1860s that Football was considered to be played on a national level. On 26th October, 1863 a meeting was held in London and the first Football Association was founded. This association was the first ever organized Football association in history. In this meeting it was decided that an annual competition will be held, and awards will be distributed to the winning team. This proved to be a very great idea as in1871 when first Football competition was held, FA Cup, 15 clubs took participation. Then in1885 Football League was founded. The first Football tournament at international level was held in 1888. A goal-less draw was made by the competing teams, namely, England and Scotland. Hence, Football began from rural areas of Britain and now it is not only popular all over the world but one of the most liked sports.
Football's Place in American Society
Football plays a very outstanding position in the American society since its creation in 1869. This interesting game exhibits true sportsmanship and intensity of play. There are hardly any houses in America where a football match is not watched on TV at CBS, NBC or FOX channels. If not on TV then most children and adults go to ground for a local tournament. The largest football team is in America, called the National Football League (NFL). It includes 32 teams and each team is a representation of their respective states. Some states have privilege of more than one team. A season of Football match starts in August when all these 32 teams held tournaments. New players are introduced at the beginning of season and some old player may rejoin at this time. Although, baseball is also very popular in America but Football is more loved generally.
Rules of Football Sport
Football Sport has rules and regulations to be followed. These rules called “Law of the Gam” are designed by International Football Association Board. The rules given here are according to the meeting held for 2014 and 2015 games. Amendments in rules can only be considered for players younger than 16 years, women players, veteran players (above 35 years age) and for those with disabilities. There are 17 rules of Football Sport. The field of the play must be rectangular in shape and covered by grass all over. It can be an artificial or natural ground. The length called touch lines for international matches has to be 100m to 110m and the width called goal lines must be 64m to 75m. The field is divided into two equal halves. A circle of 9.15m radius is drawn at the center of the field. The ball to be used in Football match is a leather one and has to be spherical. It should be 68 to 70 cm in circumference.
There are two teams which participate in each match. Each team must have at least 7 members otherwise it will not be allowed to take part. However, the standard number of players is 11 in number including the goalkeeper. The players have to wear jersey shirts, shorts, stocking, shin guards and joggers. There is a referee whose duty is to make sure that the players abide by the rules. Two assistant referees are also present.
The Football tournament is played in a total duration of 90 minutes, divided into two halves of 45 minutes. A 15 minutes break is given in between. The continuity of the game can be broken it any player got injured. The starting and restarting of the game has a special feature called kick-off. It means that one of the player hits the ball, standing stationary in front of the central spot. At this time each team players are at their respective halves. A toss is done prior to the beginning of the match. The team which wins the toss decides the half of the ground they want to start with and the team which loses the toss does the kick-off start. The position of the half of ground and the kick-off team player is switched after the half break. After each score the team which makes the score restarts the match with their player on kick-off position. The ball in and ball out are two terms used. The ball out means that ball is out of play after each goal or the referee has stopped the game, and it is said to be in play when the match is been continued.
A score is made by the team when ball is hit into the goal mouth, crossing the goal line. The offside rule makes the match very interesting as the player is not allowed to stay in contact with the ball when near opponent’s goal. This makes sure that there are opponent team players near the goal side. The fouls or misconduct in the game is categorized as less serious ones denoted by a yellow card and the more serious ones, denoted by a red card. These cars are shown by the referee. Two yellow cards equals to one red card. When a red card is shown that player has to leave the game and be replaced by waiting player. It is not allowed to play the game very forcefully except the goalkeeper.
Free kicks are given in Football game by the referee if there is any foul or misconduct. It can be a direct or an indirect free kick. Goal is scored if the ball hits the goal in direct free kick. In direct free kick, a score is made if ball hits the goal with only one more player in between. It is taken at a stationary position, and the position depends on whether it is given with the goal area or outside. The opponent team has to maintain a distance of 9.15m when a free kick is made. Penalty kicks are given when the opponent team conducts an offense. The other team is given a chance of free kick inside the goal area of the opponent team. When the ball crosses the touch line, which is the line at the longer side of the ground, the game is restarted. After each goal, that team is given chance to restart the game from a central position. A corner kick is done when the ball crosses the goal line but no goal was made and it hit or touched the defending team player in the last.
Football Sport in Olympic Games
Football was the first sport played in teams which got included in Olympics. The credit goes to the Great Britain for giving Football the esteem and popularity it has today. FIFA world cup was introduced later. All the countries participated in Football tournaments except Los Ageless. The Olympics of 2008 held football game. This was the 22nd football tournament to be played in the Olympics.
Comparison of psycho-socio-physiologic effects on youngsters and adults
Academics and sports go together in life. There is an old common saying that all work and no play make you a dull boy. Sport is thus very important to sharpen the skills; it is healthy for mind, soul and body. With sharpen skills and capability to use tactics in sports improves academic performance too. The mental growth is dependent on how much a person uses the brain in various activities. Elderly people have already the brain capability at its optimum level; they are not going to get further development. To win, a lot of patience and persistent efforts are required, so by participating in sports a child tries harder and his mind becomes stronger and tougher (Mulin, Lardy and Sutton, 2007). Sports play an important role in establishing higher concentration level and focus one a task. Like in Polo, the players have to concentrate to move along in a straight line and not to cross other player or not to get their mallet hooked by mistake. The tactics and tricks taught and acquired while playing polished thinking capability of children.
Sports are very important for social confidence in an individual. At play the children interact with different people and have a social circle. The sportsman spirit they develop is very valuable; they learn to compete in academics too and if by chance they fail to achieve their goals they strive more in future and take it as a positive challenge.
Sports are also very important to keep a child healthy, fit and internally strong. The bones grow faster and become stronger. Muscles develop and the body becomes flexible. All this protects a child from acquiring injuries. Obesity leading to cancers, diabetes and high blood pressure are all avoided by playing sports. So, summing up, sports are good for mind, psyche and for the body.
Football Sport and Hockey Sport comparison
The objectives of Football and Hockey sports are similar but the two sports differ greatly in the rules and regulations. All the sports need to follow the guidelines set by the authorities. There are differences in weight of the payers of Football and Hockey, the use of creatinie monohydrate differs and there are certain restrictions imposed by committee members on the equipment. The weight of players in NFL and NHL are although not a rule but they are followed as an unwritten rule by the coaches. A hockey player must have an average weight of 185 pounds, maximum 200 pounds. In comparison to this, a football player must not have weight less than 200 pounds. The hockey players have to move quickly and so they must not weight like football players (Mike Milbury). The only post in both teams where weight does not matter is Punter/Kicker. The running stamina and performance is greatly enhanced by the intake of creatinine monohydrate (Mujika et al., 2000). It gives a boost to the skillful performance of football (Ostojic, 2004). Football burns more calories in a minute than hockey; the values are 12 calories for football and 11 calories per minute in hockey. The games last for same duration of time but Football has one break whereas, hockey has two.
Conclusion
Football has definitely higher position in society. Going to watch FIFA tournaments has now become a symbol of status and prestige. People travel long distance to be spectators of the game. This sport has not only given huge profit to sport industry but travel/transportation companies also get enormous money from it. Football is considered as a part of culture and society of America. They are very eager to participate in football tournament or to watch it from home.
References
Fishwick, N. (1989). English football and society, 1910-1950. Manchester University Press.
Giulianotti, R. (1999). Football. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mulin, B., Lardy, S., &Sutton, W., (2007) Sports Marketing, USA
Mujika, I., Santisteban, J., Impellizzeri, F. M., & Castagna, C. (2009). Fitness determinants of success in men's and women's football. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27(2), 107-114.
Ostojic, S. M. (2006). Yohimbine: the effects on body composition and exercise performance in soccer players. Research in Sports Medicine, 14(4), 289-299.
PA Back, L., Crabbe, T., & Solomos, J. (2001). The Changing Face of Football: racism, identity and multiculture in the English game. Oxford: Berg.
Sugden, J., & Tomlinson, A. (1998). FIFA and the contest for world football: who rules the people's game?. Polity Press.
