Brief History of Soccer
Where soccer origninated
The origins of soccer are thought to be over 2000 years old. In 2004, soccer's governing body Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) officially acknowledged that China was the birthplace of soccer, when people played the sport of cuju around 200 BC. The rules would be changed over time into the sport played today.
Note: All around the world soccer is reffered to as Football, America is the only country where it is known as soccer.
How is it played you ask?
The game is played in accordance with a set of rules known as the Laws of the Game.
Two teams of eleven players each compete to get a round ball (itself known as a soccerball) into the other team's goal, thereby scoring a goal. The team which has scored the most goals at the conclusion of the game is the winner; if both teams have an equal number of goals then the game is a draw. The primary rule for this objective is that players, other than the goalkeepers, may not intentionally touch the ball with their hands or arms during play (though they do use their hands during a throw-in restart). Although players mainly use their feet to move the ball around, they may use any part of their bodies other than their hands or arms.
In typical game play, players attempt to move towards a goal through individual control of the ball, such as by dribbling (running with the ball close to their feet); by passing the ball from team-mate to team-mate; and by taking shots at the goal. Opposition players may try to regain control of the ball by intercepting a pass or through tackling the opponent who controls the ball, however physical contact between opponents is restricted.
Football is generally a free-flowing game with the ball in play at all times except when the ball has left the field of play by wholly crossing over a boundary line (either on the ground or in the air), or play has been stopped by the referee. When play has been stopped, it recommences with a specified restart by the referee.
Where is it played?
Why on a soccer pitch of course! A standard soccer pitch is shown below. The general width is between 45-90m and the length of the pitch is between 90-120m where the larger pitches are used for professional matches.
Special thanks to Wikipeida for some great information.