Soccer is a popular sport played all over the world. Even though it has only been popular in North America for the past 30 years, soccer has been a long time favorite most everywhere else. It is the national sport of most European and Latin-American countries, and of many other nations. Millions of people in more than 140 countries play soccer. The sport dates back to the Egyptians, who played games involving the kicking of a ball. …showed first 75 words of 598 total…

…showed last 75 words of 598 total…and 130 yards, and a width of between 50 and 100 yards. The rules of play for soccer have deliberately been kept simple. The referee makes most of the decisions, and attempts to encourage fair play. A soccer game begins with a kickoff in the center of the field. A coin is flipped to decide which team will kickoff. The other team kicks off at the start of the second half when the teams switch sides or nets.