Football (soccer) is one of the most popular games in the world. Football ignites passion and excitement amongst millions of fans across the globe who follow the sport and its skilled players.

Football is played between two teams of 11 players each. The aim of the game is to put the ball into the opponent's goal by kicking or heading it in. Only goalkeepers can use their hands to handle or block the ball.

A regular game lasts for 90 minutes, divided into two halves of 45 minutes each with an interval of 15 minutes at the half time. The team that scores the most goals wins the match.

History

The origins of football are vague. The Greeks played a game which loosely resembles its modern counterpart, as did the Romans. There are also indications that a game similar to football was played in China during the reign of Huang-Ti, the "Yellow Emperor".

The first non-university football club was founded in Sheffield in 1857 and by 1863, football leaders came together to form the Football Association in London.

Partick, Scotland was the venue for the first international football match in 1872, where Scotland drew 0-0 with England. By the first Olympic Games in 1896, football had made an impression in enough countries to be included as a demonstration sport.

Today's football governing body, the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in Paris in 1904. Four years later, football became an official Olympic sport at the London games in 1908. Football's next big milestone was the inaugural World Cup, which first took place in Uruguay in 1930. Football made another leap when women's football was included in the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

Football has been on every Asian Games programme since the first Games in New Delhi, India, in 1951.

Rules

The 15th Asian Games will use Olympic competition rules for the men's game, which means only players under the age of 23 are allowed to compete. However, a maximum of three players who are older than that may also be included in the official squad.

The only age restriction for women's teams is that players must be 16 years or older.

In the group rounds, three points are awarded for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss. Extra time consisting of two periods of 15 minutes will be used to find a winner if matches finish in draws in the final and quarter-finals. If it is still a draw after 120 minutes of play, penalty kicks will decide the winner.

Dimension