Gary Fixter - What does it take to play soccer?

Although you only need a ball to play soccer, friends, a field on which to play and a lot of energy, FIFA establishes rules for those who play it officially.

The soccer field must be rectangular and the length of the touch line must be greater than the length of the goal line. The surfaces of these fields can be natural or artificial.

The ball must be shaped like a sphere, hence many commentators refer to it as the spherical ball. It must be made of leather or other suitable material, its circumference must be between 68 and 70 centimeters and at the start of the match it must weigh between 410 and 450 grams and have a pressure of between 0.6 and 1.1 atmospheres (600 - 1100 g / cm2) at sea level.

The essential and mandatory sports equipment of soccer players consists of a shirt, shorts, socks, soccer shoes and shin guards or shin guards (which must be made of a material such as rubber or plastic and must be completely covered by the socks).

Two teams, with a maximum of 11 players each, must play the soccer match. In each team, one of the players must act as goalkeepers. If one of the teams has less than seven players, the match cannot be started.

Before starting the game, the teams must supply the names of the substitutes to the referee. Those substitutes who do not appear on this official list will not be able to participate in a match. If it is an official FIFA game, up to three substitutes can be used. If it is not an official game, players can be substituted up to six times.