Soccer
The oldest soccer like game was called Tsu-chu and was made by the Chinese people. In this game they had two teams and tried to kick a leather ball filled with animal hair past goal posts. The Japanese played a similar game called Kemari. The Greek people didn't play games like soccer very much, but they did play basketball like games and some people think they did this with the skulls of vikings. Around 1300 C.E. soccer was called football and was popular on the street in early Britain ,but was outlawed by King Edward the Second because too many people were injured and even killed by playing the game too rough.
The Ball
Most people think early Britain made the first air filled leather ball. A regular soccer ball is made of synthetic leather on the shell or outside of the ball. The next layer is three cloths made of cotton. The cotton cloths protect the bladder. The bladder is usually made of rubber and filled with air.
The 17 Rules for Soccer
1. The field must be between 90 and 120 meters long and 45 to 90 meters wide.
2. The ball must have a circumference between 68 and 70 centimeters, and a weight between 410 and 450 grams.
3. There are 3 substitutions allowed, with 5, 7, or 9 players on the bench.
4.The players must wear a shirt or jersey, footwear, shin pads, shorts, and socks. The two teams must have different equipment so that they can be differentiated on the pitch.
5.There should be one referee in the middle of the pitch and one on each side of the pitch.
6.The side referees can only point out an offside, a foul, handball and so forth.
7.The official soccer rule is to have two halves of the game 45 minutes each, separated by a 15 min. break.
8.Each Period Starts with a kick-off. If the ball goes out of bounds somebody on the team that didn't kick it out kicks it in. If the ball is kicked out right beside a goal the goalkeeper kicks it in from the nearest corner to where the ball went out. A free kick is awarded when a team produces a non-penal foul (dangerous play or offside for example). If one team fouls or handballs the other team gets a free kick. If a foul or handball occurs on the defending team the game restarts. If the game is stopped for a special reason the game is restarted.
9.The ball is in play all throughout the match duration, except when it passes a bounding line. If the ball goes outside the line the team that didn't kick it out kicks it in.
10.As long as the ball stays in play and no infringements of any soccer rules are being made, the players can score goals.
11.From-http://www.soccer-fans-info.com/soccer-offside-rules.html-A player, usually a striker, is called offside when he is nearer to the other team's goal than both the ball and the second last opponent. The second last opponent usually being the last defender from the opponent team, an offside occurs when the striker is closer to the opposing team's goal than that team's last defender.
To put it simply, try to picture an imaginary line on Team A's last defender, a line parallel to the goal line. If Team B's striker is over this line when his teammate passes the ball, then he is offside. If Team B's striker is on the same line as Team A's last defender (or under the line) then he is in a correct position.
One more thing to look after in an offside: it doesn't matter if Team B's striker is over this line when he receives the ball. The moment to look after is the moment the midfielder passes the ball, which will trigger an offside if the striker is over the last defender line.
12.A foul is when someone is hurt on accident. A misconduct is when someone is attacked on purpose.
13.I have explained most the rules including free kicks in rule 8 already but, one more thing is the team that kicked it out must be at least 9.15 meters away from where the free kick is made.
14.A penalty kick is when there is foul or hand ball inside the penalty box. If a player commits dangerous play inside his/her own penalty box, the referee will award an indirect free kick from the place that the offense occurred.
15.When the ball goes out of play on the side lines the team that didn't kick it out throws it in.
16.From-http://www.soccer-fans-info.com/soccer-offside-rules.htmlA- The goal kick is a means of restarting play after the attacking team took the ball over the defending team's byline.
17.If the defending team kicks the ball out by their goal line the other team gets a direct kick.
