Social World of Football - Paper Example

Introduction

The sport called football comprises association football known as soccer, American Football, Australian football, rugby football, and Gaelic Football. This paper will focus on Association football. Association Football is a sport consisting of two teams, with each team having 11 players. This game is played using a spherical ball on a rectangular pitch and a goal on each side of the pitch. The names of the games vary from country to country. For instance, in England, they call it football. In the United States, it is usually called soccer. In other countries, people prefer using either of the names.

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Today, football is played in over 200 countries and has approximately 2850 million players in the world. It makes Football one of the most sought-after games in the world. Players move the ball with their legs, and the main aim of the game is to move the ball beyond the opponent's goal as many times as possible. A player cannot catch the ball with their hands except for the goalkeepers within the 18-yard box.

The team that scores more goals than the other is usually declared the winner of the game. If each team scores an equal amount of goals, it is typically referred to as a draw. There is a set of rules that govern the game, and they are usually called the laws of the game. The name of the ball played is football, and it's generally synthetic with a circumference of between 68-70cm. The game is controlled by an international body known as the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA). FIFA is in charge of organizing the World Cup every four years for both men and women. The World Cup has been in place since 1930 except between 1942 to 1946, which was disrupted by the Second World War. The Second World War had adverse effects on the game because players didn't have a chance to play during this period. It is worth noting that despite all this, the war impacted positively on the game. The soldiers who fought in action-filled football stood after the war and gave the game a militaristic form and language. Terms like attack, defend, and shoot have nothing to do with English but were coined by these soldiers exposed to new social practices in France and Germany.

I had to go out and do more research on the game of football. I aimed to find out the things I did not know about the game and how it stands out as unique as a social world. I thought I learned a lot about the game, but I later discovered that I knew nothing.

METHODS

I had to look for a legendary football player to enquire more about this beautiful game of football. I did a series of interviews with my informant both through the phone and on one. The following are some of my findings.

FINDINGS

My informant tells me that football is his life, and he lives for it every day with the same passion and determination to continually improve. He tells me that what he loves about this sport is that it allows him to share with his teammates the daily sacrifices to reach his goals. He informs me that football has the power to change things in life, not just his life but in broader society. Football brings people together, brings smiles to their faces, and even bring races together.

The contemporary sport traces its origin back to 1863 when The Football Association in England coded the game's laws. He tells me that football is played following the rules. The rules are known as the Laws of the game. The gameplay's primary law is that no player can handle the ball with their hands except the goalkeeper. Players are only allowed to use their hands during a throw-in. As explained earlier, the ball used to play the game is spherical, and it is approximately 68-70cm in circumference. During a football match, every team has a leading captain. The captain is a symbol of the coach on the pitch. He is vested with the responsibility of tossing the coin before the start of the match or penalty kicks.

Players in a football match must put on a shirt, shorts, a pair of socks, footwear, and shin guards. Male players are also allowed to put on athlete supporters. It is worn to protect their genitals. During the gameplay, players can pass the ball in any direction but cannot pass the ball to their teammates who may be in the offside order. When the match is in play, players are allowed to create opportunities to score a goal in the opponent's post by dribbling and passing the ball to one another and shooting at the goal, guarded by the goalkeeper. The opponents try to regain possession of the ball by intercepting passes, tackling the opponents, and taking back the ball. The laws of the game usually restrict physical contact. A player commits a foul if he trips or pushes an opponent. Such fouls are punishable by a yellow card or sent out off the pitch, shown by a red card.

The referee writes a player who commits an offense in his notebook. The player may not be allowed to play the game again. There is no replacement of a player brought onto the pitch. A team manager or coach may not be shown a red or yellow card by the ref but can be suspended from the technical area and sent to the stands. If a foul has been committed, the referee may allow a player to continue and later sanction the player who committed the offense. Allowing the play to continue is usually referred to as playing the advantage. The decisions made by the referee are considered final, and the score is overturned even if later it is discovered that the referee made incorrect decisions.

A manager or coach leads every team of football. He is the unifying factor in that team. The coach coordinates directs, inspires, and organizes each football team. A coach may work with children or adults, depending on their experience. The coach is in charge of determining the game plan and any tactics that are required to win a game of football.

Apart from the team and management in any game of football, we have spectators. My informant tells me that spectators mean everything to any player of football. Any time he loses a game, he feels like he has let the fans down. He tells me that the dream of every supporter of a team is to see it win matches. Every player knows what the fans want. Every fan wants to see their team win matches, and be entertained. Every fan always wants to see their teams put their hearts and souls on the line. Success in any group is the unifying factor in a game of football. Today fans will walk into a stadium, and be entertained with music hours before the match kicks off. Every fan wants something more than just a win. Fans are today charged a high entrance fee to the stadiums, players are paid lavishly, which raises the temperatures in stadiums.

A match usually provides many types of satisfaction to fans. When teams register a draw, some fans become passionate and may fight the opponents or one another. Big wins are always celebrated like a holiday. Every time a match is played, the game takes a new form that is always unpredicted. It's a game whereby no one can predict the winner easily until the last whistle. It's the only modern game that is enforced in terms of content. My informant tells me that football is about kicking the ball anywhere on the field and about potentiality, authority, and command of particular regions. A sure way of social organization has enhanced this domination.

This dominance is not only between teams but also among players and fans. Every player wants to be performing better in a team, scoring goals that count. Whenever a goal is scored, the player's social status is raised. It brings competition within a team. Every fan wants to be identified with a specific team. The team has to be doing better on the field. It has made me realize that there is some loyalty among fans. Fans become loyal to their teams and favor individual players in that team. During a match, such commitment becomes so much more visible. It is a sociological outlook; the game of football is an imagination of social geometry. It gives us clear social relations in their virtuous form.

My informant tells me that football is a passion for him. It is like a religion. It is different from his family, work, or hobby. He says it's a religion, a tribe that he is ready to defend. He is so attached to the game, and this attachment he says is passed down to his generation. He says that the jubilation, contentment, satisfaction, regret that comes with it is thrilling for both players and spectators. He sees football as a second life to him. When politicians, lawyers, and heads of state join others during a football game, they become something else. The match brings out the real character of a person by how the person feels and acts. That he says is what makes the game special.

I had to enquire why my informant thinks the game is unique and how it brings people together. He says that there are reasons why the game has taken over the universe as the best sport that brings many people together. Among the four codes of Football, Association football is the most popular. Any fan from either American football or other football forms will not dare argue with the Association football fan. They will be highly opposed.

Soccer connects every single fan on earth. The main reason for this is the zeal that surrounds the game. Fans will fill the stadiums to the brim to cheer their team. This passion brings all forms of football together. The love seen in the stadiums and on the pitch during a match is seen around homes every weekend. There no other sport he argues that matches football in matters of resentment.

Rivalry matches is another reason he says. When two bitter rivals meet on a match day, the players' momentum is raised so high. Every player wants to perform to his best. Before the matchday, fans from both sides will want to know the form of their players. There would be a bitter exchange of words from each fan. These matches are not as usual crosstown derby matches but generate the same despise and passion towards opposing teams. Rival games can either be between clubs in the same league or between clubs from different continents.

Some sports like the National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) have age limits for those who want to play them. It would be best if you had graduated from high school and stayed at home for three years to be accommodated in the NFL. On the other hand, the NBA needs to be one year from high school to play. Association football or soccer does not have an age limit. Almost every major sport in the United States requires their athlete to be of a certain age to compete. In world football, once a manager thinks a specific player can play in the first team, they give them a chance to do it. For instance, Luke Shaw of Manchester United was allowed to play in the first team at 17. If he were in America, he would have played at the age of 19, the earliest.

Stadiums in other countries rarely last due to license issues. In the United States, stadiums rarely last for 40 years because of license issues. Football stadiums in the United Kingdom and Spain have a history of being the oldest. Fans feel excited and good anytime they step a foot in such stadiums. Maracana, old Trafford, Camp Nou, to name but a few, are some of the stadiums every fan would want to step their feet in.

Another unique feature about the game, he says, is the art of promotion and relegation. It only applied to Association Football. In the united states, the bottom team on the standing table is usually awarded a high draft pick. In football, the bottom three couples are relegated to the lower division. It makes the bottom clubs fight to stay in the top-flight league. A match between two bottom teams fighting relegation is usually interesting to watch. The opposite of relegation is promotion.