Guide to the World Cup Rules for Newcomers

The three years before each World Cup, qualification matches narrow all of the soccer nations who want to compete down to 32 of the best soccer teams in the world. This tournament is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world with a remarkable 715.1 million viewers watching the final each year. That's a ninth of the entire planet! With such an amazing soccer tournament going on, it'd be a shame not to start watching along with everyone else. Here are some basic rules you will need to know in order to grasp what is going on.

Basic Rules

In soccer you can only use your feet, knees, chest and head to move the ball. The object of the game is to score in your opponent's goal, which is guarded by a keeper who is able to use his hands to stop goals as long as he is within his large box. Players are not allowed to push, trip, or hold other players and doing so results in a kick for the opposing team. Fouls within the keeper's box results in a penalty kick--one opposing player is within the box with the ball and is allowed to shoot at the goal which the keeper tries to block it. Repeated fouls result in the awarding of cards. Yellow cards are a warning. Red cards result in immediately being removed from the game and being barred from playing in the next game your team has. Two yellow cards result in a red card. Offsides is a call confusing for newcomers to the game. An offensive player is not allowed to wait behind the defense and have someone pass the ball to them. Instead, they have to be even with the last defender before the keeper and run forward after the ball is kicked. Offsides results in a kick for the other team, but it is not a foul that can result in a yellow or red card. Another important foul is a hand ball. If a player hits the soccer ball with his hand, it is a free kick or penalty kick if it is in the box. When the ball goes out of bounds on the sidelines, the opposing team is allowed to throw it back in. If it goes out of bounds on either side of the goals by the opposing offense the keeper is allowed to "goal kick" it to his teammates. If one of the keeper's players had kicked it out, however, it is a corner kick for the offensive team, which means they place the ball in the corner and are able to kick it towards the goal to line up a goal.

World Cup Special Rules

The host of the world cup alternates between the Americas and Europe for fairness. The 32 teams begin the tournament in a group stage where, like normal league play, teams are awarded points in their bracket or "pot." These "pots" are often based on geographic location, so the rivalry is intense and increases the excitement of the game. Within this soccer bracket, a win gives a team 3 points, a loss 0, and a tie 1. Each team will play at least three matches in this system. The highest teams in each bracket move on to the "round of 16," a knockout stage. In this stage, teams are not able to tie. Extra time and penalty shootouts determine the winner and the losers are eliminated from the tournament. Each round, teams are removed until there is a quarter finals, the semi-finals, a third place match (where the two soccer teams who lost in the semi-finals play to determine third and fourth places), and finally the final.

As the largest soccer tournament in the world, the FIFA World Cup is an incredible sporting event that shouldn't be missed. Millions of people watch this beautiful game and no matter what country you are from, you will be sure to find a soccer team to support.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup