⚽ FOOTBALL 101: HOW THE GAME WORKS
PAGE 1 OF 5, ONE BALL, ONE PLANET
THE WORLD'S GAME
THE SIMPLEST GREAT IDEA EVER
Right now, somewhere on Earth, someone is kicking a ball. Football is two teams of eleven players, one ball, and one beautiful mission: put that ball into the other team's goal more times than they put it into yours. You cannot use your hands or arms, which is exactly what makes it so clever, because feet, knees, chests, and heads must do all the work. A match lasts ninety minutes, the whole planet understands the rules, and that is why football is called the world's game.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
More than 250 million people play organised football in over 200 countries, and billions more watch it. No other sport on Earth comes close!
KICK-OFF!
THE TEAMS
⚽ 11 players per team on the pitch
🟨 One referee keeps everything fair
🟨 One referee keeps everything fair
THE MISSION
🥅 Score more goals than the other team
⏱️ 90 minutes to decide it all
⏱️ 90 minutes to decide it all
PAGE 2 OF 5, THE FIELD OF DREAMS
THE PITCH
WELCOME TO THE PITCH
The football field is called a pitch, and a World Cup pitch is about 105 metres long, roughly the length of ten school buses parked in a row. At each end stands a goal, and around each goal is a large rectangle called the penalty area, the most dangerous zone in football. The white lines are not decoration: if the ball fully crosses a side line or goal line, play stops and restarts in a special way. Every match begins at the centre circle with a kick-off, one gentle touch that launches ninety minutes of battle.
BOOM!
THE GOAL
🥅 7.32 metres wide, 2.44 metres tall
🕸️ The net catches the proof of every goal
🕸️ The net catches the proof of every goal
PENALTY AREA
🧤 Only the keeper may use hands here
⚠️ A foul inside it gives a penalty kick
⚠️ A foul inside it gives a penalty kick
CENTRE CIRCLE
⭕ Every match starts here with kick-off
🔄 After each goal, play restarts here too
🔄 After each goal, play restarts here too
PAGE 3 OF 5, SCORE, BUT FOLLOW THE RULES
OUT OF PLAY
🤾 Ball over the side line: throw-in
🚩 Over the goal line: goal kick or corner
🚩 Over the goal line: goal kick or corner
THE REFEREE
🟨 Yellow card: serious warning
🟥 Red card: off the pitch, no replacement
🟥 Red card: off the pitch, no replacement
SCORING
WHAT COUNTS AS A GOAL?
Here is the rule that decides everything: a goal only counts when the WHOLE ball crosses the WHOLE goal line, between the posts and under the crossbar. Even 99 percent across is not enough, which is why the closest goals are checked by cameras down to the millimetre. Touching the ball with your hand or arm is a foul called handball, and fouls give the other team a free kick. Break the rules inside your own penalty area and the punishment is huge: a penalty kick, one shooter against the goalkeeper from just 11 metres away.
⚡ MILLIMETRE GOALS!
At the 2022 World Cup, a sensor inside the ball proved it had stayed in play by millimetres before Japan scored against Spain. That tiny margin knocked giant Germany out of the tournament!
GOOOAL!
PAGE 4 OF 5, ELEVEN JOBS, ONE TEAM
THE PLAYERS
EVERY PLAYER HAS A JOB
A football team is like a machine with eleven moving parts. The goalkeeper guards the net, defenders block attackers, midfielders run everywhere connecting defence to attack, and strikers live for one thing: goals. Coaches can swap tired players for fresh ones from the bench, and one clever substitution has changed many World Cup matches. The real magic is that all eleven must think as one, because true teams beat collections of superstars again and again.
TEAMWORK!
GOALKEEPER
🧤 The only player who can use hands
🦸 Flies through the air to make saves
🦸 Flies through the air to make saves
DEFENDERS & MIDFIELD
🛡️ Defenders stop attacks with tackles
🏃 Midfielders run the most, often 12 km!
🏃 Midfielders run the most, often 12 km!
STRIKERS
🎯 Strikers hunt goals all match long
⚡ One chance, one touch, one moment
⚡ One chance, one touch, one moment
PAGE 5 OF 5, THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
WHY WE LOVE IT
A GAME FOR ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE
Here is football's greatest secret: you need almost nothing to play it. Kids on beaches in Brazil, in alleys in India, and on frozen streets in Iceland all play the exact same game with the exact same dream. That is why, right now, 48 national teams are battling across the USA, Mexico, and Canada at World Cup 2026, the biggest tournament in history. You now know the rules they are playing by. Keep going through the levels and by the final on July 19, you will watch football like an expert.
⚡ PELÉ SAID IT BEST
The Brazilian legend Pelé called football "the beautiful game", and the name stuck forever. He learned to play barefoot with a sock stuffed with rags!
LEGEND!
ALL YOU NEED
⚽ One ball, any open space, and friends
🌍 The same game from Mumbai to Mexico City
🌍 The same game from Mumbai to Mexico City
REMEMBER
⚽ KEY FACTS
11 players per team. 90 minutes in two halves. No hands except the goalkeeper. A goal counts only when the whole ball crosses the whole line. Most goals wins!
🥅 Goals are scored between the posts
🟨 The referee keeps the game fair
🏆 World Cup 2026 is live right now!
🟨 The referee keeps the game fair
🏆 World Cup 2026 is live right now!
🧠 QUIZ TIME!
FOOTBALL 101 · 5 QUESTIONS
QUESTION 01
How many players does each team have on the pitch?
QUESTION 02
How long is a standard football match?
QUESTION 03
Who is the only player allowed to use their hands?
QUESTION 04
When does a goal officially count?
QUESTION 05
What happens after a team scores a goal?
0/5
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