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For the American sport, see American football. For other sports known as football, see Football

Switzerland and Albania playing in a football match in 2003

A match between Shrewsbury Town and Gillingham in England in 2011.

African boys playing soccer

Three kids playing soccer on the beach

Boys playing street football in the ASTU

Association football is a sport played between two teams. In the United States, Canada and Australia, it is called soccer. In most other English-speaking countries it is called football. Association football is the most popular sport in the world.

Games like football have been played around the world since ancient times. The game came from England, where the Football Association wrote a standard set of rules for the game in 1863.

The game originated in China, for their army. The players had a very heavy ball and goals high. England took the idea of the Chinese game and changed the rules a bit and now it is the modern game we know today.