Outdoor Games
How to play Soccer
Pass, dribble and shoot the whole ball across the opposing goal line, between the posts and below the crossbar. More goals wins; an ordinary match can end drawn.
What you need
Soccer ball, marked field, anchored goals, distinguishable shirts, shin guards, socks and suitable footwear
Set up the game
- Field eleven per team, including one goalkeeper. Identify touchlines, goal lines, penalty areas and each defended end.
- A coin toss determines the initial end/kick-off choice. At kick-off, everyone except the taker starts in their own half; opponents stay outside the center circle. Kick the stationary ball so it clearly moves.
Playing Soccer
- Use feet, head or other legal body contact. Field players cannot deliberately handle the ball. Goalkeepers may handle in their own penalty area, subject to restrictions.
- Contest the ball without careless tripping, pushing, charging or tackling. The referee awards the appropriate free kick; a defender’s direct-free-kick offence inside their own penalty area means a penalty kick.
- When the whole ball crosses a touchline, the team that did not touch it last takes a two-handed throw-in from behind and over the head, with part of each foot on or outside the line.
- Across the goal line without a goal: last touched by attacker means goal kick; by defender means corner. After a goal the conceding side kicks off.
- Play two 45-minute halves plus allowance for lost time, changing ends at halftime. Extra time or shoot-out applies only when competition rules require a winner.
Judge the run at the pass
A forward is level with the second-last defender when a teammate passes, then runs beyond defenders to receive. That movement alone is legal: position is judged at the pass, not reception. Starting beyond the line and returning to collect the same pass does not automatically erase the offside position.
Keepers and discipline
A keeper cannot handle a ball deliberately kicked to them by a teammate or received directly from that teammate’s throw-in. Yellow cards caution misconduct; red sends a player off and normally leaves the team short. Check league substitution and youth heading rules separately.
Beginner decisions
- Before receiving, glance behind and turn your body toward a safe next pass. A first touch away from pressure can matter more than power.
- Offer a diagonal passing angle rather than standing behind a defender. Leave enough space that one opponent cannot cover two teammates.
Common rule mix-ups
- Stopping while only part of the ball crossed the line.
- Calling every forward position offside without checking involvement and the moment of the pass.
Questions about this game
When is an attacker offside?
Being in an offside position alone is not an offence. At the teammate’s play of the ball, an attacker in the opponents’ half beyond both ball and second-last opponent is penalized only when involved as defined by Law 11.
Can a throw-in be offside?
There is no offside offence from directly receiving a throw-in, goal kick or corner.
Sources and edition notes
Standard 11-a-side association football, IFAB 2026/27. Youth and small-sided modifications are competition-specific.
Sources and stated format checked October 14, 2026. This records a document check, not a claim of hands-on testing.
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