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Let’s Rejoice In The Beautiful Game.note 

"It was elegant. It was beautiful. The game should be beautiful, like a well-executed war."
Mr. Nutt, Unseen Academicals

Association Football is the most popular sport in the world. It's more commonly known as just Football, although, in some parts of the English-speaking world, particularly North America (but also to a notable extent in Oceania), it's referred to as Soccer, a word that's often used to avoid confusion with American Football, Rugby Football, Gaelic Football, and Australian Rules Football.note 

Played in almost two hundred different countries, the game has captured the attention of billions of people; The World Cup is one of the most widely viewed sporting events on Earth, up there with other major soccer competitions like the European Championship, the UEFA Champions League and the English Premier League. The only other sports events that get close to soccer numbers are the Super Bowl, the Cricket World Cup, and the Olympics. Which has the highest numbers depends on how you count and is Serious Business.

The game is played between two teams of eleven players, one of whom is a goalkeeper. The team which scores the most goals in a match wins; a goal is scored by putting a ball into a net at the ends of the field with any part of the body except the arms or hands. The game is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA for short. Along with the English, Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish associations that make up the International Football Association Board (IFAB), FIFA codifies and maintains the Laws of the Game, the rules by which the game is played that date all the way back to the mid-nineteenth century.

Footballers at the highest level are extremely well paid, especially in Britain. As of 2019, the average wage of a Premier League footballer is £60,000, and the median wage is £50,000 per week.note  They are also frequently stereotyped as being complete morons, something not helped by the fact that a lot of players come from more deprived areas, start their careers in their mid-to-late teens, and are consequently not all that well educated. That said, a number of footballers have proved to be highly intelligent, usually going on to become managers. However, others play it very, very straight.

In many parts of the world, football is Serious Business. Not for nothing is the page quote for that trope made by one of England's most celebrated football managers. Many established sides are far more than one hundred years old, and the traditions around these clubs have become something of a religion to those that follow them. Although this can often be a negative force — Football Hooligans is a trope for a reason — the universal nature of the game has also been associated with bringing down barriers and establishing common cause in even the most unlikely of places.

For instance, it played a role in establishing peace in Sierra Leone, as well as in the historic Christmas Truce between British and German soldiers in World War I that involved a game of football. It is the largest sport in the world in terms of the total amount of money invested in it. The largest football team is the Northern English side Manchester United, who are coincidentally also the most valuable sports franchise in the world, edging out the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Yankees over the course of the last decade. Going by Man U's own figures, they boast a staggering six hundred million "casual fans" worldwide (in other words, twelve hundred times the population of Manchester and ten times the population of the UK, or roughly 11% of the world population as of 2011).

If you still don't believe in the game's importance, look up the very concrete effects it has had on politics and history. For example, the Ultras in the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. Or the 1969 Football War between El Salvador and Honduras. For a more high-profile example, look up "das Wunder von Bern". Perhaps the most famous example is the Christmas Truce between the Germans and the British during World War I, when both sides left their trenches to play football. Something similar would happen in the notoriously brutal Nigerian Civil War, when both sides agreed to a two-day ceasefire so they could watch Pele's touring Santos team play some exhibition matches. And in November 2015, three days after the Bataclan gun attacks in Paris that left around 129 dead, the French national team was due to play England, their oldest and bitterest rivals, at Wembley Stadium, the home of English football. When they turned up to play, they found Wembley lit up in the colours of the French tricolour with the motto of the Republic blazoned on the side, the traditional giant St. George's flag formed from cards held up by fans at one end of the stadium had been replaced by a French tricolour and when the anthems began after the traditional minute's silence - impeccably observed - the English fans enthusiastically joined in singing 'La Marseillaise', the French national anthem and (appropriately) a stirring battle hymn. The French clearly loved this: in June 2017, the two met in a friendly match in Paris and the hosts returned the favour due to the Manchester Arena bombing and the London Bridge/Borough Market attack in the month preceding the match.

One of the reasons the game is so popular is the simplicity to learn and play it when compared to other sports. All you need for a game are a ball, some flat ground, some way to mark the goals (hence the memetic "jumpers for goalposts"), and an evenly divided group of players. It’s also fairly light on physical contact making it much safer and less prone to arguments than its more aggressive cousins.

General Tropes:

Football in the UK:

Football in Europe

  • Euro Footy
  • European Championship (aka UEFA Euro)
  • UEFA Women's Championship (aka UEFA Women's Euro)
  • UEFA Nations League (multi-level competition for men's national teams)
  • UEFA Champions League
  • UEFA Europa League – Europe's secondary club competition, which is contested by cup winners, teams that did not reach a high enough position in their leagues (while still finishing in the top half of the table) and teams that were eliminated from the Champions League either by being knocked out on the last qualifying round before the group stage, or by finishing third in the group stage.
  • UEFA Conference League — the tertiary club competition, launched in 2021. Most competing teams are from lower-ranked UEFA members. No teams qualify to the group stage directly from winning cups or leagues; instead, teams coming from the Europa Conference League qualifiers are joined by 10 teams that were eliminated in the Europa League play-offs.
  • UEFA Women's Champions League – see the "Euro Footy" page

Football in the Americas

  • CONCACAF Gold Cup – Equivalent to UEFA Euro for the northern half of the Americas, including the Caribbean
  • CONCACAF W Championship – Women's version of the Gold Cup
  • CONCACAF W Gold Cup – Upcoming equivalent to the UEFA Nations League, but for women's national teams; its first edition will be in 2024.
  • Copa América – South America's equivalent to UEFA Euro. It is actually the world's oldest ongoing international football competitionnote , predating both the UEFA Euro and the World Cup, having its start in 1916.
  • Copa América FemeninaLiterally translates as "Women's Copa América" (or "Women's Americas Cup")
  • Copa Libertadores – South America's equivalent to the UEFA Champions League. One of the most popular sporting tournaments in the world, while not as glamorous to the Champions League, it is beloved on its native South America and seen as more "hardcore" and "old-school" compared to the more polished Champions League: it has harsher conditions — rough surface, thick grass, high altitude (for playing in the Andes, especially Bolivia), extremes of cold and heat and of rain and dryness are taken for granted — extremely unfriendly crowds which put a lot of pressure on visiting teams, players which are simultaneously very aggresive and willingly to bend the rules, dubious refereeing, more equality (financially and skill-wise) between the clubs, and pitch invasions by dogs.
  • Copa Sudamericana – South America's equivalent to the UEFA Europa League
  • CONCACAF Champions Cup – North and Central America's equivalent to the UEFA Champions League; renamed from "Champions League" after the 2023 edition
  • CONCACAF League – North and Central America's equivalent to the UEFA Europa League
  • Major League Soccer (USA; also includes three Canadian teams)
  • National Women's Soccer League (USA)
  • Liga MX (Mexico)
  • Leagues Cup – summer competition involving all Liga MX and MLS sides, serving as one of several qualifiers for the CONCACAF Champions Cup
  • Campeonato Brasileiro Série A or the Brasileirão (Brazil)
  • Liga Profesional de Fútbolnote , also known as Primera División ("first division") (Argentina).

Football in Asia (includes Australia, which is a member of Asia's football governing body)

  • A-League Men (Australia; also includes one New Zealand team)
  • A-League Women (Australia; also includes one New Zealand team)
  • AFC Asian Cup – Asian equivalent to UEFA Euro
  • AFC Women's Asian Cup – Asian equivalent to Women's Euro. It's the oldest ongoing women's international competition, with its first edition in 1975 predating the first Women's Euro by nine years,note  the first Women's World Cup by 16 years, and the first Olympic women's tournament by 21 years.note 
  • AFC Cup - Asian equivalent to UEFA Europa League
  • AFC Champions League – Asian equivalent to UEFA Champions League
  • J1 League (Japan)
  • WE League (Japan, women)
  • Chinese Super League (China)

Football in the rest of the world

  • Africa Cup of Nations (aka AFCON) – African equivalent to UEFA Euro
  • Women's Africa Cup of Nations (aka WAFCON) – African equivalent to Women's Euro
  • CAF Champions League – African equivalent to UEFA Champions League
  • CAF Confederation Cup - African equivalent to UEFA Europa League
  • OFC Nations Cup – Oceanian equivalent to UEFA Euro
  • OFC Women's Nations Cup – Oceanian equivalent to Women's Euro
  • OFC Champions League – Oceanian equivalent to UEFA Champions League
  • FIFA Club World CupExactly What It Says on the Tin, the World Cup for clubs, contested by each continent's champion (and the champion of the host nation), undergoing a format change which will make it more similar to its national team counterpart. However, despite the fact that they outstrip South America on a 3-to-1 ratio (having won 12 of the 16 editions played as of 2019) and the attractiveness of the "World Champions" title, European clubs look way down on it for a variety of reasons, ranging from a perceived lack of competitivenessnote  to the fact that it is held in December (mid-season in most countries), while in South America (especially in Brazil) is probably the most important honour a team can win, especially with the attractiveness of winning against the victor of the UEFA Champions League.
    • Intercontinental Cup is the defunct predecessor of the Club World Cup, running from 1960 to 2004, and contested only between the winners of the Copa Libertadores and European Cup/UEFA Champions League. Contrary to the CCW, South American clubs found more success in the Intercontinental Cup as it was competed in an era of more parity between Europe and South America — the latter having won 23 out of 44 editions.

Big competitions:

  • The World Cup
  • Copa América
  • Copa Libertadores
  • European Championship (Euro 20XX)
  • UEFA Champions League
  • Football in the Olympic Games — The Olympic tournament has been traditionally less important than the World Cup or continental cups; this is because while it is historically the oldest world tournament, it was exclusively amateur until 1992note . The amateur rules of the Olympics made FIFA create its own competition (the World Cup) which severely overshadowed the Olympic one. When the amateur rule was finally dropped, FIFA made it so to permit only players under 23 years of age, with three exceptions, as to not compete with the World Cupnote . This made traditional football powerhouses to care less about the tournament, but it is favored by medium and smaller-tiered teams, where they stand a chance to score a medal. The women's tournament on the other hand has no such restrictions. That said, both the Olympic men's and women's tournaments share one huge difference from the World Cup (or continental championships)—squads are limited to 18 players instead of the 23 allowed at other FIFA competitions.
  • Algarve Cup – traditionally the most prestigious annual event for women's national teams, though it's now being pushed by the...
  • SheBelieves Cup – a more recent women's competition, organized by the US; although with fewer teams, it's drawn several top teams away from the above

What to do at a football game:

  • Eat typical matchday food. This varies from country to country: examples include meat pies in Britain, currywurst in Germany, or all kinds of sandwiches in Mediterraenean countries like Spain and Italy. Brazil usually has some variation, but popular choices are biscoito de polvilho (cassava starch crackers, very common in Rio de Janeiro) and barbecue skewers.
  • Drink beernote , strong tea or hot Bovril.
  • Sing amusing songs and chants at the opposing teams' fans or players, at the game itself, at other fans... As British comic Russell Howard once put it (when discussing why there were no publicly gay footballers in Britain), being a football player is more or less the one job in the world where thousands of people spend a couple of hours singing abuse at you on a weekly basis - abuse which is often very creative and extremely personal.
    • Example 1: Sing a song insulting the opponent team's place of origin. For example, if they're from Liverpool, popular tunes are "You Scouse Bastards", "Stand Up If You've Got A Job", "We Pay Your Benefit". Other areas have their own songs. Chants are frequently based on well-known songs, such as "Yellow Submarine", "That's Amore" or "Seven Nation Army". This is definitely an undersold attraction of the sport; you may have just come home from a 4-3 cracker, but what'll stick in your head is one of the chants.
    • Example 2: Supporters of the England national team like to serenade their opponents (especially France) with "If it wasn't for the British you'd be Krauts"note  to the tune of "If You're Happy And You Know It". When playing "the Krauts" the "There were ten German bombers in the air," (to the tune of "Ten Green Bottles") chant is popular, as is "Two World Wars and one World Cup" (to the tune of "Camptown Races") and (related to the previous) "If it wasn't for the British you'd be French". In many countries, this goes beyond mere sporting rivalry and crosses into geopolitical feuds, like the infamous Old Firm in Scotland or El Clasico in Spain.
    • Example 3: At particularly dull games, singing "Let's Pretend We Scored a Goal!" gets popular, or singing about random goings-on in the stands (a man eating a pie, a pigeon on the field, the stadium security taking the beach ball everyone's playing withnote , etc.).
    • Example 4: teams at the lower end of the table often sing self-deprecating songs directed at the opposing team, including "You're Nothing Special, We Lose Every Week," "How Shit Must You Be? We're Winning Away," or for high scoring games, "You've Only Scored X" (with X referring to however many goals scored on them).
    • Example 5: Spain has a special chant for extremely uneventful or impossible-to-win matches, that goes "¡Alcohol! ¡Alcohol! ¡Alcohol! ¡Alcohol! ¡Alcohol! ¡Hemos venido a emborracharnos, el resultado nos da igual!"note 
    • Example 6: Many British teams have a specific song the supporters sing which isn't specifically about the game, but is accepted to express their support of their own team. Examples include "You'll Never Walk Alone" for Liverpool (because it was covered by the Liverpudlian group Gerry and the Pacemakers, who apparently gave a copy of the single to then-manager Bill Shankly), "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" for West Ham (because they used to have a player nicknamed "Bubbles"), "Sunshine on Leith" for Hibs (because that's where they're from, and The Proclaimers are supporters), Tina Turner's "The Best" for Glasgow Rangers (which... isn't subtle), and Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" for Celtic.
    • Example 7: In Latin America game music is Serious Business, the barras bravas and torcidas organizadas (Hispanic American and Brazilian versions of Ultras, respectively) will bring drums and brass instruments to the stands, play all the 90 minutes of the match and dictate what chant will be sung. The hardcore fans in the stands near the band will follow suit and sing and jump all the 90 minutes together, and occasionally the rest of the stadium will join in. Songs here are about loyalty, devotion and love for the club, praising and encouraging players, or insulting rival teams and ultras. Getting out-chanted by the visiting crowd is considered particularly humiliating.
  • Loudly insult the referee every time he does something you don't agree with. Be as vulgar as you like. (Note: don't ever do this if you're a player, unless you want a red card.)
  • Loudly express your pleasure or displeasure at your and the opposing team's performance. Be as vulgar as you like. (Note: don't ever do this if you're a player, especially if you're in front of a television camera. Racial and sexual slurs are also frowned upon.)
  • In general, be as loud as possible. It's particularly easy if you haven't disposed of the vuvuzela you bought for the 2010 World Cup, although don't be surprised if you get vilified because of it.


Alternative Title(s): The Beautiful Game, Soccer

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