The main objective of football is to score more goals than the opponent’s team in the 90-minute playing time. In the majority of cases, each team consists of eleven players, but some variations include as few as ten players. Each game is divided into two halves of 45 minutes each, with a 15-minute half-time break between each half. After the half, the game continues with the added element of injury time.
In the early twentieth century, football began spreading throughout Europe. This rapid growth in popularity eventually required an international body to oversee the game. By the end of the century, football had expanded to almost 200 countries. However, many rifts began to surface in the game as professionalism began to creep into the sport. As a result, the International Rugby Football Board was formed.
In the United Kingdom, the professionalisation of football began in the late nineteenth century, as leading clubs began to charge spectators to watch games. This allowed these clubs to pay illicit wages to attract the best players, including many from Scotland. This encouraged working-class players to move into the professional system where they would be financially rewarded for putting themselves in harm’s way. Despite this trend, the FA maintained its elitist amateur policy.
The game’s history is extremely rich. While it is believed to date back to antiquity, the modern football code is believed to have originated in western Europe and England.