SOCCER
101
LESSON 1:
BASIC RULES
BY KEVIN KERNEN
Debuting in this month’s edition, we’re going to take
a look at the rules, history, culture and competitions
among other facets of the worldwide soccer
tapestry. For the uninitiated, consider this section
a crash course in understanding the world’s most
popular sport; for the indoctrinated, you’ll probably
learn something new as well.
The rules for the game of soccer (referred to as
some variation of football virtually everywhere
else) are governed by the International Football
Association Board (IFAB), not FIFA. There are 17
rules that explicitly outline every aspect of the
game, and as a certified referee, I can assure you
it’s not an easy compendium to internalize. For your
sanity, I will distill the first five rules for you here,
along with some commentary.
RULE 1: THE FIELD OF PLAY
Much like in baseball, parts of the dimensions of the field
can vary. The length of the pitch (a term unique to soccer
that we’ll explore in a future issue) can vary between 100
and 130 yards, while the width is somewhere between 50
and 100 yards. Yes, you can have a square pitch.
At the end of each half is the penalty area, also called
the goalie box, 18-yard box, or simply the box. This is the
area that the goalkeeper is allowed to handle the ball in.
A foul committed inside this area results in a penalty kick
(we’ll get to that next edition). The smaller box inside of
the penalty area is called the goal area, and is sometimes
referred to as the 6-yard box or the six.
Other than that, there is the penalty mark, measuring 12
yards from the center of the goal. This is where penalty kicks
are taken from. If you’re wondering what the arc is at the top
of the penalty area, that’s for during penalty kicks. Players
must stay 10 yards away from the spot until the moment the
ball is kicked, and that arc is the area of exclusion outside
of the penalty area itself. For penalty decisions, this arc is
not considered part of the penalty area.
RULE 2: THE BALL
Every team at LouCity’s level uses a size 5 soccer ball. Fun
Tidbit: Colors of balls vary between manufacturers, but in
case of snow, match officials will break out an orange neon
or yellow ball. Let’s move on.
36 EXTOL SPORTS / FEBRUARY 2018