The basic rules of football are the fundamental requirements governing how players may participate, how goals are scored, how play begins and restarts, which actions constitute offences, how disciplinary sanctions operate and how the winner of a match is determined. Association football is governed by the Laws of the Game maintained by the International Football Association Board.
Two teams normally compete with a maximum of eleven players each on the field, one of whom is the goalkeeper, and a match is normally played over two equal periods of 45 minutes with a half time interval, subject to competition rules and additional time added by the referee. The objective is to score more goals than the opposing team.
A goal counts when the whole ball passes completely over the goal line between the posts and beneath the crossbar, provided the attacking team has not committed an offence. If the scores are level, the match may be drawn or, in competitions requiring a winner, proceed to an authorised method such as extra time or a penalty shootout.
Players must follow rules concerning the ball, the field, participation and equipment. The ball must meet specified requirements concerning shape, size and weight, while players must wear permitted equipment including a shirt, shorts, socks, suitable footwear and shin protection, with additional restrictions designed to prevent dangerous equipment. Jewellery and certain unsafe objects are prohibited. Players can be substituted according to competition regulations, and modern competitions commonly permit several substitutions with procedures varying according to the applicable competition rules.
A goalkeeper is identifiable through clothing that distinguishes them from other players and officials. Players may occupy any tactical position, but the Laws do not require conventional formations such as four defenders or three midfielders. Tactical formations are chosen by teams and coaches rather than imposed by the Laws.
The ball is normally played with any part of the body except the hands and arms, subject to the special rules applying to the goalkeeper. Deliberately handling the ball with the hand or arm can constitute a handball offence, while the interpretation of accidental contact depends on the circumstances specified in the Laws.
The goalkeeper may handle the ball inside their own penalty area, but they are subject to restrictions, including limitations concerning receiving the ball directly from certain deliberate actions by teammates. Outside their own penalty area, the goalkeeper is generally subject to the same handball restrictions as other players. This distinction is important because football is sometimes incorrectly described as a sport in which nobody can ever touch the ball with their hands. The actual rule is more specific: outfield players are restricted in their use of the hands and arms, while the goalkeeper has defined handling privileges within the penalty area.
The Laws distinguish legal challenges from fouls and misconduct. A direct free kick can be awarded for certain offences involving actions such as kicking, tripping, pushing, striking, holding or charging an opponent in an illegal manner, as well as certain handling offences. More serious offences can result in disciplinary sanctions. A yellow card is a caution, while a red card sends a player off and prevents that player from continuing in the match.
A player who is sent off generally cannot be replaced under the Laws, leaving the team with fewer players. The referee determines whether an offence has occurred and applies the appropriate restart and disciplinary consequence. Not every physical contact is automatically a foul because football is a contact sport, and the legality of a challenge depends on factors defined in the Laws, including the nature of the action and whether it is careless, reckless or uses excessive force.
Restarts are another fundamental part of football's rules. A match begins and restarts after goals with a kick off. A throw in is awarded when the whole ball passes over the touchline and is last touched by a player of the opposing team, subject to the detailed requirements governing how the throw is taken.
A goal kick is awarded when the whole ball passes over the goal line without a goal being scored and was last touched by an attacking player. A corner kick is awarded when the ball crosses the goal line without a goal and was last touched by a defending player. Free kicks restart play after specified offences, while penalty kicks are awarded for certain direct free kick offences committed by a defending player inside their own penalty area. These restart categories provide a structured response to events that stop or change the flow of play.
Offside is a specific restriction on attacking players designed to prevent certain forms of unfair positional advantage. Being in an offside position is not itself an offence. A player is penalised for an offside offence only when they are in an offside position at the moment a teammate plays or touches the ball and subsequently become involved in active play according to the criteria in the Laws.
There are also specific circumstances in which a player cannot be penalised for being in an offside position, including when receiving the ball directly from a goal kick, throw in or corner kick. Understanding this distinction is one of the most important aspects of the basic rules because the common phrase being offside can refer either to the positional condition or to the offence resulting from involvement in play.
The basic rules also establish boundaries and conditions for keeping the ball in play. The ball is out of play when it has wholly crossed a touchline or goal line, whether on the ground or in the air, or when the referee has stopped play. It remains in play when it rebounds from a goalpost, crossbar, corner flagpost or match official while remaining within the field, subject to the Laws.
These distinctions matter because a ball that appears close to the boundary is not out until the entire ball has crossed the relevant line. The Laws also specify how referees handle dropped balls and other unusual interruptions. Consequently, football's rules are not simply a list of fouls but a comprehensive framework defining the field, equipment, participants, scoring, playing time, restarts, offences, disciplinary measures and procedures for unusual situations.
The basic rules are deliberately general enough to support football at many levels, but competitions can establish additional regulations within the framework of the Laws. Professional competitions may specify substitution numbers, squad sizes, competition formats, video assistant referee use and procedures for determining winners. Youth and grassroots football can use modified formats, smaller pitches, different match durations and age appropriate adaptations. Futsal and beach soccer have their own versions of the Laws.
This means that someone learning football should distinguish the universal principles of association football from competition specific regulations. The core rules determine how the sport functions, while local competition rules can modify administrative and organisational details. Accurate understanding therefore requires attention to both the Laws of the Game and the regulations of the particular competition being played.
