Introduction
popular sports in the entire world. Most popular in England and South America among their youth, soccer has more international acclaim than any other sport. Soccer has sought more popularity in the United States recently too; especially with the arrival or English soccer star David Beckham.
Soccer is a team sport played with two teams of eleven players. Soccer fields are made of grass or Astroturf and are long and rectangular in shape. At each end of the field there are two large nets. Players try to score by kicking the ball into these nets which are protected by a goalie, who is the only player on the field permitted to use his hands. The rest of their players use their feet to kick the ball.
Soccer is governed by a set of rules that are referred to as the Laws of the Game. The primary rule is that players attempt to kick the round ball to their opponents net and kick it in, past the goaltender. It is important that the players, other than the goalkeeper, not touch the ball with their hands. Doing so results in a turnover to the other team. There are seventeen laws in all, but they vary in application based on the competitiveness of the particular game being played. .
